n ti fi c I d ea ism

E R A N D FO RC E A N D T H E I R R ELAT I O N

TO LI F E AND C ON S C I O U S N E S S

W I LL I A M KI N G S L A N D
A U T HO R OF
”
E M Y ST I C Q U EST , T HE ESOT ERI C B AS I S O F C H RI ST I A N I T Y ,

ETC .

LO ND O N
REBM AN LI M ITED
1 2 9 S HA FT E S B U R Y A V E NUE ,
WC .

1 9 09
 FO RE WO R D

THE great question What is Life is one which may be asked

,

and answered in many different ways ; but each individual

must assuredly answer it in some manner or other for he is ,

confronted with it in a most undeni a ble and practical form ,

sim ply because he i s a live .

Each one of us possesses life and consciousness and we ,

cannot avoid the problem though we may fail to understand

its real nature and may even — with more or less success for
,

a certain length of time— ignore it .

In its lowest and most material aspect the problem is simply

one of daily bread—o r daily pleasure Many indeed are .
, ,

unconscious of the problem in any other form .

But man cannot live by bread alone and sooner or later , ,

in the evolution of every individual there must come a time

when the great problem assumes other and higher aspects .

’
In the history of man s endeavour to solve the problem of
his own life and the great Riddle of the Universe of which
,

he is a part these higher aspects fall into three categories

, ,

known respectively as Science Philosophy and Religion, , .

Each of these may be said to regard the problem from a

di fferent point of V iew and each is commonly looked upon as
,

more or less independent of the others .

To show that this is not so in reality is one of the main

t

obj ects of this present work .

What is herein attempted therefore is somewhat in the

, ,
‘

nature of a synthesis of science philosophy and religion not

, , ,

however as either of these is commonly understood in any

,

mere formal or scholastic sense but rather as representing

,

three phases of human though t and experience which are

fundamentally inseparable in the true life and development
o f every individual a n d which can be thus understood without
,

any special training in connection with either .

It I S therefore hoped that what I S here presented will enable

the reader to understan d s omewha t more of the nature of Man
vi FOREWORD
and his relation to his environment and to the Uni verse as a
Whol e — than is commonly found either i n sci ence as such or ,

in any purely formal system of philosophy metaphysics or , ,

religion.

We say s omewh a t more because by no possibility can the

,

solution of the problem of life and consciousness be placed

before any man or woman in mere words or phr as es These .

a r e but algebraic symbols — and at best a broken and , ,

fragmentary symbology— of what little the mind can grasp

of R ea li ti es which lie beyond the mind— but n ot beyond
experience— even as they lie beyond the forms of time and
“

s pace in which alone the mind can express itself .

But though the problem cannot be thus s olved it may

, ,

possibly be helpfully stated— with the unknown factors

clearly indicated To state a problem is often half-
. way
towards a solution The intuition may possibly fil l in what
.

the mind fails to formulate and this will certainly be done

when ever the soul has exp eri en ced— i n its own in n er nature ,

and proper manner— what the outer symbology endeavours

to express .

Science in the modern acceptation of the term has no

, ,

dealings with either religion or metaphysics the former being

regarded as altogether outside of its possible investigations ,

the latter being commonly sneered at as mere intellectual

web - spinning .

Yet it is quickly seen that every scientific concept necessarily

begins and ends in a metaphysical region ; and indeed the retort , ,

has been made that scientists are after all only unconscious , ,

metaphysicians Mo reover i t is readily granted that no depart

.
,

ment of human thought knowledge or experience can rea lly

, ,

be separate from the whole and that if science , religion and ,

philosophy or metaphysics may be said to have their own

particular sphere of activity each more or less independent of ,

the other : it must at least be granted that nothing which is

, ,

really tru e in either of these can be antagonistic to wha t is true

in the others .

We need in the first instance however a clear conception of , ,

the n a tu re of truth and this will occupy our attention in our

first chapter .

We are desirous that the reader should understand that no

claim is made for any theory or theories advanced in this work
other than that they are more or less in the nature of a helpful
 FOREWO RD vii
form ul ation of existing knowledge and reasonable deductions
,

made therefrom They a retru e j ust to the extent to which they

.

are h elpful in throwing some little light on the problems of

life and the great Riddle of the Universe We might even say .

of any mere theory that its value li es not so much in its abstract
,

truth as in its concrete helpfulness It is certainly necessary .

that it should be true within the limits of existing kn owledge ,

and as a s tatement of what things a p p ea r to be but it must

also help us to further knowledge or practical achievement ,

otherwise it is but a barren and empty form .

Where we do not really k n ow we must be content with a

,

working hypothesis where we do not actually s ee we must ,

endeavour to form a mental image which sha ll help us to further

dis coveries Such is the scientific method
. .

Some would deny us even the possibility of knowing any

thing at all in certain directions Mere Materiali sm goes .

beyond mere Agnosticism and asserts positively that there

,

i s n oth i ng to know where Agnostics are content with asserting

we do not know The materialistic position we shall have
.

to repudiate absolutely .

To the Agnostic we hope to o ffer a sound working hypothesis .

To the Religionist—not the mere formal religionist who is

already satisfied with a cut - and - dried system — we may
perhaps hope that what is herein presented may prove to b e
something more than a mere working hypothesis that it may “

even become a li vi ng truth proved in his own experience

, .

There are three things in the Universe the existence of

which we know of beyond dispute These three things are .

Consciousness Matter and Motion

, , .

With regard to the first of these it has been asserted by

some that it is the p roduct of the other two and this V iew of ,

the matter is commonly termed Materialism On the other .

hand Idealism commonly regards matter as merely the

,

ob j ectivised contents of Consciousness : thus making Con

s ci ou s n es s the fundamental Reality and matter more or ,
‘

less of an illusion when regarded as having an indepe ndent

reality of its own We shall endeavour to reconcile the s e
.

extrem e views and show how they meet in a truly S ci en ti fi c

,

I dea li s m
.

Now with regard to Matter and Motion it is a funda ,

mental axiom of the scientific conception of the phe

n om en a l universe that these are eternal and indestructible .
viii FO REWO R D
The indestruc ti bility of matter ( or substa nce ) —the qua li fi ca
tion is important— and the conser vati on of energy ( or motion )
are the corner - stones of modern science They possess our .

minds with an insistency which refuses to be displaced They .

are es s enti a ls of our intellectual apprehension of th e nature

of the U niverse : and we shal l e ndeavour to show that they
are the negation of all Materialism and most positive factors ,

in a truly S ci enti fi c I dea li s m .

As regards Consciousness the whole question is : can we

,

really conceive oi it as being the p roduct of matter and

motion as being merely a particular phenomenon like heat ,

or electricity P
If we cannot do this then Consciousness must be conceived
,

of as s omethi ng els e other than matter and motion ; and ,

equally with matter and motion we must conceive of it as ,

being eternal and indes tructible .

0

Science is commonly supposed to be ascertained or de

m on s tr a b l e knowledge : and so it is— up to a certain point .

But the man of science is continuall y questioning the unseen

and unknown seeking to penetrate with his i ma gi n a ti on
, ,

with the eye of the mind that region which lies beyond the
,

reach \ of his physical senses In order to do this he must

.

constantly endeavour to create a men ta l i ma g e of forms of

matter and modes of motion in the unseen world That .

mental image is necessarily in the first place based upon

, ,

what is already familiar and it serves as a worki ng hyp oth es i s

,

for the discovery of new facts which in t h eir turn may modify , ,

or even completely revolutionise the existing mental image .

Let us take for exa mple the worki ng hypothesis form ul ated
, ,

by Dalton at the commencement of last century concerning

the a tom of physical matter The mental image embodied
.

in that hypothesis was that of an ultimate minute particle

of matter incapable of further subdivision Each of our
w ell-
.

known chemical elements was considered to consist of a

special kind of such atoms each special atom p ossessing not
,

merely its specific and distinctive ch emical qualities but also ,

a definite weight corresponding to the combining weights

,

or proportions of the di fferent elements This was called the .

a tomi c wei ht of the element

g .

All our great modern science of chemistry has been built

up on this theory which is true-s o far as it goes Up to a
, .

certain point the mental image of the atom as a definite ,

 FO REWORD ix

indivisible minute particle is su fficient for all practical pur

,

poses of chemistry But for some considerable time prior

.

to the discovery of Radium certain physical and chemical

,

phenomena were known which made it extremely probable

that the ch em i ca l a t om was not the smallest particle of a
’

substance — i n fact t hat it was an exceedingly complex thing

, ,

and therefore further divisible With the discovery of .

Radium this V iew became a certainty ; and therewith the old

working hypothesis —though true within its own proper
limits— has had to give way to a new one and the scientist ,

is forced to create a new mental image of the atom This .

new mental image is a very wonderful and magni fi cent thing ,

opening out an infinite microcosmic universe an infinite ,

i n teri or conception of space comparable in every way to the

infinity of macrocosmic space which we sense when we look
outwa rds to th e universe of Suns and Planets and Worlds
, , ,

and Systems without end .

A working hypothesis then may be true within certain

, ,

limits and may even be presented as a dogmatic form of

,

truth — s o long a s i ts li mi ta ti on s a re r ecog ni s ed .

Now it is p r ecisely as a working hypothesis that we would

present the present work to our readers ; and if any state
ments m ade herein may appear to be of a dogmatic nature ,

it is to be hoped that it will be understood that they are so

only as legitimate deductions from given premises and not ,

in any sense as final stateme nts of Tr uth .

Sooner or later in the evolution of the individual there

comes a time when th e mind and intellect revolts against
the limitations of authority and convention N othing that .

is li vi ng can remain long in a fixed state ; such a state ,

indeed being the equivalent of stagnation a n d death not of

, ,

l i fe which is essentially movement and expansion

, In .

proportion as systems of thought or religion become fixed

and hardened so surely do they die
, .

Infallible systems of truth religious or philosophical are

, ,

like infallible systems of breaking the bank at Monte C a rlo

tested in the long run by human experience they are one and
all found to be inadequate to achieve the resul t for which
they profess to exist That is not to say that they are not
.

us eful in th e ir way or that they may not give to many

individuals a good run for th eir money -
,

a considerable
equivalent of excitement or emotion and even a temporary ,
x FOREWORD
succes s while they will certainly give what after a ll , ,

may be said to be the main thing in evolution namely , ,

experience .

Doubtless if a ll the factors which go to determine any

and every spin of the roulette wheel or deal of the cards ,

or even a preponderating proportion of these were known : ,

we might have an infallible system of breaking the bank .

Likewi se if we knew a ll the factors which are concerned in

,

the production of the phenomenal universe we could explain ,

any single phenomenon in all its relations and proportions

— which is equivalent to saying that we coul d explain the
universe from top to bottom and should therefore have an , , ,

infallible system of Truth .

But nothing is more cert ain than that we do n ot know all

the factors ; and so failing this your infall ible system is
, ,

compelled to give a n a me to some one or more of the unknown

quantities and to assume that thereby its n a ture is adequately
,

explained .

This may be and indeed commonly is su fficient for the

, ,

individual up to a certain point There is no authoritative .

system too absurd or superstitious to lack some adherents .

We are intellectual and spiritual children first before we are ,

spiritually full-
grown men It a pparently takes ages untold to
evolve the full-
.

grown spiritual man it being nothing less than

this which lies at the root of the whole evolution of the Human
Race And because the individual is a child fi rs t— n ot physi
.

cally merely or in any one particular life but through long

, ,

periods of the childhood of the Race— s o the Race as a whole ,

and also the sub - race the nation the tribe or the community
, , , ,

must pass through that prelimina ry stage when authoritative

guidance is a necessary part of training for the later stage when
the man becomes a law unto himself .

Sooner or later the child must grow into the man Sooner .

or later the authority to which he has hitherto submitted

unconsciously at first and with more or less willingness or
,

revolt in the second stage — must be tested and approved by his

own j udgm ent or altogether rej ected and set aside This is
, .

—
true sooner or later— o f every kind of authority whether ,

parental communal or in matt ers of reason belief and con

, , , ,

science .

In the third stage the man defin itely takes his nature and
,

destiny into his own hands He commences to do what no.

 FOREWORD xi
'

one else can really do for him he commences to work o ut h i s

own salvation .

In doin g this the test which he brings to bear upon the

,

authoritative systems which have hitherto been o ffered to

him as the solution of the problem of his own nature with which
he is now face to face is si mply the test of his own experience ,
.

No other test really exists for any one .

Not necessarily however not by any means merely the , ,

conscious experiences of his present physical life but ,

experiences and intuitions welling up from the deep u m

fathomable subconscious parts of his own nature —the fruit
of many lives of many incarnations ; the experiences not merely
,

of a particular individual thread of consciousness linked by

memory but a lso of a larger consciousness on a higher
,

Plane embodyi ng the experiences of individuals and families

, , ,

and tribes and ra é es long since buried in the oblivion of the

,

past s o far as history is concerned : yet active living potent

'

, , ,

in every cell of our bodies and assuredly present with us as ,

fa c u l ty
— and possibly also as memory in a higher self — causing
the i n s ti n cti ve use and adaptation of our physical organs and ,

the i ntui ti ve acceptance or otherwise of certain matters which

belong more especially to the inner subj ective nature to the ,

mind soul reason and co nscience

, , , .

The more we think indeed of the causes which have made , ,

each individual what he is to - day the more we find that each ,

individual has a ffiliations which link him with the whole past
Even physically there is a continuity of germ -
.

plasm and proto

plasm which goes back to the very commencement of life on
this globe Where then did the present individual commence
.
, ,

his expe ri ences — those experiences which enable him to be

”

what he is to - day ? What makes him an individual at all :

something namely separate and distinct P The more we come
, ,

to examine these and similar questions the more we shall find ,

that our artificial distinctions based upon the mere appearance ,

of things break down ; and the individual must ultimately

,

claim not merely his relationship to the Whole but his i den ti ty ,

therewith .

Thus the individual in the search for the rea li ty of his own ,

life and consciousness finds that reality ever appearing to ,

e V a d e him because it always lie s in something f urther something

, ,

greater something yet to be attained And in proportion

, .

as this is realised he must necessa rily revolt against any and

,
 xii FO REWORD
every system which would li mi t him : either i n the past the ,

present or the future

,
.

Now it would appear that at the present per i od in th e

evolution of our Western Races a very large number of indi ,

vi d ua ls — though perhaps not yet a preponderating proportion

- have arrived at this third stage of intell ectual and spiritual
manhood which we have j ust sketched : the stage at which“

nothing can be accepted on mere authority .

The intellectual and even the religious thought of to -

,
day
is largely marked by a revolt against authoritative systems and
dogmas which one hundred years ago passed almost without
question This state of things is boun d to overtake soone r or
.

later every system as a system simply because as such it is ,

‘

a ma teri a li s ed thing Thought life consciousness are subtle

.
, , , ,

fluid progressive matter form dogma are inert cumbrous

, , , , , ,

restrictive The life growth evolution of Humanity can never

.
, , ,

long remain fixed or materialised in any particular form it

enters into and flows through all but will not be restrain ed or ,

con demned of any History and the records of the past are
.

strewn with the dead carcasses of authoritative systems which

once exercised undisputed sway ; and our present systems ,

wherever they endeavour to limit and restrict can only meet ,

with the same fate History will doubtless continue to repeat

.

itself for the same Principle is ever working therein

, .

But it is necessary to note here that along with the present

revolt deeply underlying it indeed as the ca u s e of it is t h e
, , , ,

larger intuition of a Truth not embo di ed in the present dominant

system : or rather no t expressed in the present authoritative
,

form into which that system has been hardened by ecclesiastical

authority .

A very large number of individuals at the present time have

become more or less conscious of a spiritual truth as to their
own nature which is the very antithesis of Materialism on the
one hand and of Supernaturalism on the other The God
, .

within them has awakened ; the crawling worm theory of

’
man s nature can no l onger hold them in bondage they are
becoming conscious of their own inherent and inalienable
divine nature .

Intellectually it is seen that all science and all philosoph y

tend more and more to correlate and unify a ll phenomena
and a ll Nature both subj ective and objective and the
,

immediate deduction which we must make from the funda

 FOREWORD xii i
mental principle of the U nity of the Universe is that our own ,

nature in all its heights and depths in all its relations and
proportions is on e with th a t Self -
, ,

,
Existent Reality which must
necessarily lie at the Root of al l things ; that Pri nciple— b y
whatever name I T may be called— which I S the Universe .

This truth is not merely expressing itself intellectually in

our literature : it is being rea li s ed— made a li vi ng truth— with
ever greater intensity in the inmost nature of those to whom
we refer as ha ving passed the spiritual— babe stage In some .

cases it i s even thus realised before it is apprehended with

,

any intellectual clearness ; and i n the e ffort to formul ate it

into a more or less logical system it is sometimes grafted ,

with more or less success on to some older and more a u th ori ta

,

tive system .

But in so far as this is sought to be done the deeper truth

, ,

which is thus dimly apprehended is al most bound to stultify

itself You cannot hang a universal truth or principle upon
’

any particular peg or i s m You cannot put new wine into

.

old bottles You cannot shut up in any individual form th at

.

which lives and moves in all .

The realisation of the oneness of the individual self with

the U niversal Self with the Life and Consciousness which
,

moves in ALL is the keynote of the higher Truth which is

,

now being realised in so many ways in so many streams ,

of thought all tending in the same direction and to the same

result— a higher knowledge of the Self and its powers .

This modern trend of thought has sometimes been r e

ferred to as The New Mysticism .

We m a y give what name we like to the Universal Self to

'

that Ultimate Reality in and by which all things exist and ,

live and move and have their being and we may try to hang
, ,

this ultimate truth on some particular peg— perhaps it is only

by doing this that some can realise it in any degree at all
but whatever be the name or form given to it the p ri nci p le ,

which underlies any possible form in which it can be stated

mus t always be one and the same It is this p ri n ci p l e rather
.
,

than any particu lar form which we shall endeavour to elucidate

, .

Many writers are wr iting about it to - day some from one ,

point of V iew some from another Those who read and under
stand are an ever -
.
,

growing number Moreover we are learning .

,

more and more to realise in action our real powers the hidden ,

deep un s uspected powers of the inner man the power of human

, ,
 FOREWORD
thought and wi ll And even as science h as now di s covered
.

some of the hitherto unsuspected inner forces of the atom of

physical matter so also science itself is discovering that
,
.

behind the conventional man— a y even withi n our very

,

bodi es— lie potencies and powers deep and strong as the Infi nite
’
Itself All the Cosmic Powers of the Universe are Man s did
.
,

he but know how to ut ilise them .

They are more than hi s they are Hi ms elf

, .

Wh ether a pop ul ar religion can ever be scientific and

philosophical may perhaps be questioned Any attempt to
,
.

bring down to a low level the highest achievements of human

thought — not to speak of the transcendent insight of the seer
or mystic— must inevi tably be more or less of a failure The .

history of all religions is a stan di ng witnes s to this S up ers ti

tion survives or re-
.

,
asserts itself even on the very foundations
,

laid by the highest teachers the world has ever known .

Nevertheless it is not wholly beyond hope that in an

, ,

enlightened age Religion may be nay must be scientifi c in

, , ,

so far as nothing which is known as scientific fact shall be found

to be antagonistic to it and philosophical in so far as it shall
,

be rational and logic al instead of authoritative .

 C ON TENT S

C HAPTE R I

W H AT IS TR U TH P
P AG E

s e a rch o f r T r u th a n d w h a t i t i m p li e s — I ts n e ces s i ty i n h u m a n
— —
,

li fe T r u t h t h e d e e p es t n e c e s s i t y o f o u r n a t u r e T h e i n n er

c o m p u l s i o n —Th e e ffor t o f t h e s e l f t o r e a li s e i ts el f
,
- Th e
re l a ti vi ty and li mi t a ti on o f o u r co mm on p e rcep ti o n o f
t h i n g s — W h a t we m ea n b y Tr u th — Tr u th a n d con ve n ti on a l
l a n g u a g e— Th e fu n d a m e n t a l fa c t of con s ci o u s n e s s — S ci en ce ,
h i l os o p h y , a n d r eli gi o n — Th e t es t o f Tr u th — Th e U ni v e rs e
p
a n e te rn a l V eri ty — Th e q u e s ti o n a n d a n s w er o f li fe — Th e l a w

o f 1i fe — T h e l es s on s of f a i l u re — Tr u th a n d fai t h — T h e U n i ty
o f th e U n i v e rs e— Pa s t , p r e s e n t , a n d fu t u r e —Th e li mi ta ti o n s
o f c o n s ci o u s n e s s — Th e E t e rn a l C e n tr e — Th e n a t u re o f th e
S elf— Th e n a t u re o f R e li gi o n — S u m m a ry o f t h e fo re g oi n g
Th e On e R ea li ty — Th e n a tu r e o f t h e I nfi ni te — V a ri o u s
n a m e s for th e I n fi n i te or Ab s ol te u — u
Th e fi n a l Tr th

C HAPTE R II

M ATTE R AN D S U B S TA N C E

Wh a t i s m a tt er — How i t m u s t b e d efi n e d — Li mi ta ti on of s e ns e
p e r ce p t i on s — M a tt e r or S u b s t a n c e — Th e On e R e ali ty o r
N o u m e n on — Th e u l ti m a te q u e s ti on a m e t a p h y s i ca l o n e
Rel a ti on b e tw een con s ci o u s n es s a n d m a tter— Th e p rovi n ce o f
s ci en c e —A n a l y s i s o f m a t t e r— C h e mi c a l e l e m e n ts — R a d i u m
— Pro gr es s d u ri n g l a s t c en tu ry — S y n th e ti c ch e mi s try
A t o mi c a n d m ol e c u l ar p h y s i cs — Th e n a tu re o f a to m s
Th eo re ti ca l a n d p hi l os o p hi c a l d i ffi cu l ti es — S u b di vi s i o n o f
t h e a to m — ’ -
N e w to n s t h e ory — Vo r te x ri n g t h eory — Cl er k
M a x w el l s t h e ory — a d i u m d i s cove re d — I t u p s e ts t h e ol d
R
’

t h eori es — Hi s tory o f t h e d i s cov ery — C a th od e r a y s — X ra y s

-
R -
a di o a c ti vi ty i n g e n era l — M a d a m e C u ri e
’
s w o r k — Th e
-
s i g ni fi ca n ce o f th e di s c ov er y — B r e a k u p o f a to m s — C o rp u s cl es
or E l ec tron s — E l ec t ri ca l t h eory o f m a tte r — I n e r ti a o f
m a tte r— E le c tri ca l i n e r ti a —Th e E th e r— W h a t w e h a v e
g ai n e d — M a t t e r e v o l v e s — Tra n s m u ta ti o n of e l e m e n ts
R oot S u b s t a n ce — Th e o ld i d e a o f i n fi n i te d i vi s i b i li ty
Li mi ta ti on s o f th e m od ern th e o ry
 CONTENTS

C H A PTE R "I I I
TH E G R E A T AN D TH E S M A LL
P A GE

M a t te r a n e vo l v e d pro d u c t — I ts r e l a ti o n to d e e p e r r e a li ty
a

M a tt e r a n d E t h e r — M a tt e r p o s s i b l y a v oi d — D i s tri b u ti o n o f
m a t te r i n s p a ce — Th e S ol a r S y s t e m — Th e fi x e d s ta r s
V el o ci ty o f li g h t— S ca l e m od el o i t h e S ol a r S y s te m — L i mi ts
o of u r u n i v e rs e — C o m p a ra t i v e s i z e o f a t o m s — T h e c o n t e n ts o f

a n a t o m — C o n v e n ti o n a l i d e a s o f s p a c e — A t o mi c i n t e r s p a ce s
— M o ti o n s o f a to m s a n d m ol e cu l e s — S i e o f a n a to m — S i e o f
z z
a co r p u s cl e — M o ti o n s o f c o rp u s cl e s — Th e g rea t a n d th e
s m a ll i n t i m e — D o g m a ti c s ci e n c e — E n e r gy o f a to m s — L i fe o f
t h e S ol ar S y s t e m — Ti m e i n fi ni tel y d i vi s i b l e— A r e t h e s e
m a g n i tu d e s re a li ti e s — N eces s i t y O f a b a n d o ni n g co n v en
t i o n a l i d ea s

C HAPTE R EI V

FOR C E , M OTI O N , E N E RG Y

M e n t a l p i c t u re of a n a to m — M e c h a ni c a l t h eory o f th e U n i v e rs e
F o rc e a n d m a s s — F i r s t l a w o f m o ti o n — E n er gy o f m a s s i n
m o ti o n —U l ti m a te a t o m s o f t h e u ni v e rs e— el a ti o n o f th e R
m e ch a n i ca l t h e o ry t o li fe a n d c on s ci o u s n e s s — B as i s O f t h e
m e ch ani c a l t h e o ry — A t o m s co m m o n l y r e g a rd e d a s i n d e
s tr u c ti b l e — D i s c o v ery of R
a di u m u p s e ts old th e or i e s
—
I n fi n i te s u b d i vi s i o n o f m a t t er Th e u l ti m a te p a r ti cl e t h e or y
— M a s s a n d i n er ti a — M a s s a n d w ei g h t— i g i d i ty a n d i n R
el a s ti ci ty o f a to m — M o ti o n i n d es tr u c ti b l e— Th e c o n s e rv a ti o n
of e n e r gy — A p p li c a ti o n t o u l ti m a t e p a r ti c l e s — Ri fi e b u ll e t -
a n d t a rg e t - M as s m o ti o n a n d m o l e c u l a r m o ti on — Colli s i on
of b o di e s — Ul ti m a t e p a r ti cl es a n d a b s o l u te e la s ti ci ty
C o n ti n u o u s fl ui d th e ory —Th e E th er— Vo r te x ri n g s - S ub—
s t a n ce , n o t m a t t e r , t h e u l ti m a t e b a s i s — Th e o ri e s a s t o n a tu r e
’

o f t h e E th e r — Pri m or d i a l S u b s ta n ce — Ob j ec ti on s to con
ti n u ou s fl ui d t h eo ry — M e t a p h y s i c a l u e s ti o n s —~ D i s ti n c ti o n
q
b e t we e n force a n d e n e rg y — or ce a n d m o ti on — Po t e n ti a l a n d
F
ki n e ti c e n ergy — G r a vi t y — M i s u s e o f t h e t er m force ‘

L i mi ta ti on s O f s ci en ti fi c t e rm s — Ph e n o m e n a o f R
a di um
D i s i n te g r a ti o n o f a t o m s — a d i u m a n d e n er g y — V a ri o u s
R
p a r ti cl e s th ro wn o ff b y R a di u m o w c o rp u s cl e s o cc u p y t h e
S p a c e o f a n a to m — E th e r t h e s o u r c e o f a l l m a tte r a n d a ll
e n e r g y — E l e c tri ca l
.

n a tu r e of co rp u s cl es — E l e c t ri ci ty and
m a s s — E l ec tro ni c th eory o f m a t t e r —M a t te r d e m a t eri a li s ed
Pa r ti cu l a rs a n d u n i v ers a l s — Th e rel a ti o n o f thi n g s to a
l a rg e r W h ole

C HA PTE R V

I N TE R -
R E LA TI O N OF PLA N E S

Two c os mi c Pl a n es k n o wn —R el a ti on of m a t te r to s p a ce
Li m i t a ti on s ofli fe a n d co n s ci ou s n e s s — E th e r a n d m a t t e r
How we k n ow t h a t E th er e x i s ts —E th er a n d li fe— E th er
 CO NTENTS xvii
P AGE

t h e s o ul o f m a tte r —
A c ti o n a n d i n te ra c t i on b e twee n E th e r
a nd m a t t e r— N e w to n a n d E t h e r —Th e o ri e s o f li g h t
B r e ws t e r a n d Ty n d a l l — U n d u l a t o r y t h e o r y o f l i g h t— i r s t F
i d e a s a b o u t t h e E t h e r — A c ti o n a t a d i s t a n c e — E t h e r a n d
g r a v i t a t i o n fl E t h e r a n d e l e c tri c i t y
— Li n e s o f fo rc e— E l e c t r o
m a g n e ti c i n d u c ti o n — I n d u c ti o n a n d m a s s — E l e c tri c c h a r g e
C los e d cy cl e s o f e n e r gy — E a r th s l os s o f e n e r g y — E n e r g y o f
’

S un— R a d i a n t e n e r gy i n s p a ce — E n e r gy a n d d i s i n te g r a ti o n o f
m a tt er — Pr ob l e m o f co n s e rv a ti o n O f e n e r g y — Th e o ri e s O f
s p a ce— E u i v a l e n ce
q i n p h e n o m e n a —Ph y s i c a l Pl a n e n o t

flfl
c o m p l e te i n i ts e l f— Th e m a t eri a l u n i v e rs e fi n i t e — Th e
i n d i v i d u a l s el f a n d th e C o s mi c S elf— T h e Ol d es t p h i l os op h y
E v ol u ti on of Pl a n e s fr o m C o s m i c S u b s t a n c e— Pl a n e s b e y o n d
t h e E th e ri c— S tor e d e n e r gy — H ow a r e a to m s w o un d u p
-
Ph y s i ca l Pl a n e n ot s el f wi n d i n g — C r e a ti o n o u t o f n o thi n g
— A r t o f cre a ti o n u n d e rs to o d i n o u r s e l v e s — I n u x a n d e f u x
of e n e r g y — C os mi c p ri n ci p l e s o f c o rr e s p o n d e n ce — Hi g h e r

Pl a n e s — Th e e n or m o us a c ti vi t y o f E t h e r— W h y th e u ni vers e
a p p e a rs a s s u ch a n d s uc h —Pos s i b i h ty o f co n s ci ou s n es s o n
h i g h er Pl a n e s

C HAPTE R v1

PR I M OR D I A L S U B S TA N C E
Poi n t n o w r e a ch e d -
-
rDi s ti n cti on b e t we en m a tte r a n d s ub s t a n ce
E th e r n o t m a t terflM e t a p h y s i ca l d e fi ni ti o n o f m a t t er
Pos s i b i li ti e s o f e th eri c b o d i es — Pri m o r di a l S ub s ta n ce — Tw o
t h eo ri e s of u l ti m a te s u b s t a n c e— U l ti m a t e p a r ti cl e a nd
c on ti n u o u s m e d i u m — S i r Oli v er L o d g e o n co n ti n u ou s m ed i u m
t h eo ry — M o d e rn vi ews O f E t h er i n a d e u a t e— Th e g re a t
q
fu n d a m e n t a l n o te Of N a t u r e — A ca d em i c m e t a p h y s i cs n o t
-
_

n e c e s s a ry Th e co n cep t o f t h e A b s ol u te — A t t e m p ts t o de fi n e
t h e Ab s o l u t e— 7 V a ri o u s n a m e s for D e i t y
— Th e A b s ol u t e a n d
Pri m or d i a l S ub s t a n ce — W h a t Pri m or di a l S u b s t a n ce i s n o t
M o ti on a n d Pri m or d i a l S u b s t a n ce — Pri m o rd i a l S u b s ta n ce
a n d d e ns i ty o f m a tt e r— M o t i o n t h e b a s i s o f p h e n o m e n a
I l l u s i on s I d e a li s m Tr a n s fi g u r e d R e a li s m — S ci e n ti fi c
ca t e g ori e s o f m o ti o n — L i b e r a ti o n o f m o ti o n — L i mi t a t i o n o f
m ot i on — Tra n s fe r o f e n e r g y t o h i g h e r Pl a n e s — i n er force sF
a n d t h e l es s o n o f R a d i u m — L i mi t a ti o n s o f Pl a n e s — A b s ol u te
m oti o n — C o m p a r a ti v e a c ti vi ti es o f Pl a n es — M o ti on m u s t
r e t u r n t o i ts s o u r ce — Pa r ad ox e s o f t h e E th e r— Th e U ni v e rs e
-
s e lf c o n t a i n ed — A
p p li c a ti on o f s ci e n ti fi c c on c ep ts t o li fe a n d
co n s ci o u s n es s — U l ti m a te S ub s t a n ce a n ecess a r y c on cep t

CHA PTE R VII

CO NS C I O U S N E S S

— ’
How we a r e cog n i s a n t of th e E th er S i r Oli v er L o d g e s a n al og i es
A p p li ca ti o n t o li fe a n d co n sci o u s n e s s — H ow w e li v e i n t h e
E th e r— M o ti on t h e b a s i s o f p h en o m e n a — V a ri o u s m o d es o f
m o ti on —S e n s a ti on i s s u b j ec ti ve —S en s a ti on of col o ur
,
xviii CONTENTS
P A GE

Q u a li ty a n d q u a n ti ty of m o ti o n — O th er c o n s ci ou s n e s s e s th a n
o u rs — C os mi c B ei n g s — W h erei n d o e s con s ci o u s n es s r es i d e
— C on s ci ou s n e s s a n d Pri m or d i a l S u b s t a n ce — Con s ci ou s n es s ~

a n d or g a ni s m — O r g a n i s m a n d c h e m i s t r y
— L i v i n g a n d d ea d

m a t te r— Po s s i b i li t y o f m a ki n g p r o top l a s m E v ol u ti on o f m -
fo r m — S i m u l a t e d li fe m o v e m e n t s — A ll li fe c o m e s fro m li fe
L i fe a n d m o t i o n a n a l o g o u s — C on ti n u i ty o f m o ti on a n d li fe
S i m p l e con c ep t o f p ri m or d i a l a to m s — I ts a p p li ca ti o n t o th e
r o b l e m o f co n s ci o u s n e s s — D i ff er e n c e o f d e g r ee a n d d i ffe r e n ce
p
of k i n d — Th e r o o t q u e s t i o n — A t o m s a n d a w a r e n e s s — Th re e
l
a te ti v t o ri i n o f m o t i o n — S i mi l a r a l te rn a ti v e s a s
r n a e s a s o g
t o ori g i n o f c on s ci o u s n es s — Pri m or d i a l S u b s t a n ce d e fi n e d
— Con s ci o u s n es s a n d p h e n o m en a a ri s e s i m u l t a n e ou s l y i n
Pri m or d i a l S u b s t a n ce— C o n s ci ou s n es s o m ni p r e s e n t

C HA PTE R VI I I

M A TE R I A L I S M v
. I D E ALI S M

E x trem e s m ee t— Th e rel a ti on a n d li mi t a ti on of t hi n g s
R e a li s m o f s ci e n ce — I d e a li s m and M a teri a li s m — Th r e e
a s p e c t s o f th e r el a t i o n o f li fe a n d co n s ci o u s n e s s t o t h e C o s mi c
D ra m a — e a li s m , S u p ern a tur a li s m , I d e a li s m — Th e m ee ti n g
R
r o u n d o f I d e a li s m a n d M a te ri a li s m — Th e hi g h e s t a chi e v e
g
m e n t o f p hi l os op h y — Th e r e a li s a ti o n of th e I d e a l Pri m o r d i a l -
S u b s t a n ce b o th s u b j e c t a n d Ob j e c t— E x p r es s i on o f th e
u n i v e rs a l S u b j ec t i n ob j ec ti v e for m — A ffi r m a ti on a n d n e g a
t i o n o f li fe—Pa r a l l eli s m o f m o ti o n i n s u b j e c t a n d ob j e c t
M a t e ri a l i s m s t u l ti fi e s i ts el f— Th e s e lf a n d th e n o t s elf -
R e l a t i v i t y o f t er m s d e a d — Pos s i b i h ti e s o f a
‘
l i vi n g and
d eep e r co n s ci o u s n e s s — C o n s ci ou s n es s a s d ee p a s th e I n fi n i t e
— E vol u ti on of c on s ci ou s n e s s — S e l f— r e a li s a ti o n — M a t e r i a li s m
n o t v a li d a a i n s t S ci e n ti fi c I d e a li s m — S u e rn a t u ra li s m h a s
g p
n o s t a n d i n g — Th e l e s s o n o f n e g a ti o n — L i fe a n a ffi r m a ti o n

M a t e ri a li s m l e a d s u s n o w h e r e — Th e w o r ki n g h y p o th e s i s o f
l i fe —Tru e k n owl ed g e i s s el f- k n o wl e d g e

C H APTE R IX

S C I E N TI F I C M A TE R I A LI S M — O R W HA T

I d e a li s m —Hi s r e fer en ce t o S p i n o a — Hi s n eg a ti o n o f
z
’
H a e ck el s ~

— ”
G o d , fr ee d o m , a n d i m m or ta li ty Li fe m e ch a ni ca l
— ’
H a e ck el N o I a n d H a e ck el N o 2 H a ec k el s d ou b le p er s on
. .

a li ty — Hi s l a w Of s u b s t a n ce — I n d es tr u c ti b i li ty o f m a t t er
a n d con s e rv a ti o n o f e n er gy — H i s t ra n s c e n d e n t a l p r ob l e m s

N a t u r e of n a tu r al l a w— W h a t t h e l a w o f s ub s t a n c e d oe s
n ot e x p l ai n —H i s i d e a o f s ub s t a n c e— H i s u n kn o w a b l e
H i s d u a l a s p e c ts o f s u b s t a n c e E n er gy o f t h ou g h t
—
M e ch a n i ca l s y n o n y m s I s S u b s t a n ce d e a d or a li v e — ’
Vo g t s
py k n o ti c t h e o ry
— C on tr a d i c ti on s i n th e m e ch a n i ca l t h e o ry
of s u b s t a n ce S u b s t a n ce n ot d ea d C o n tra di c ti o n s
b e twe e n t h e t w o H a eck el s — H op e l e s s co n fu s i o n a n d mi s u s e
of l a n g u a g e — ’
H ux l ey s cl ea r s ta te m en t o f th e p rob l e m
 CONTENTS xix

C HAPTE R X

U
TH E N O M E N A L AND TH E PHE N OM E N AL
PA G E
R e l u c ta n ce to ad mi t d es i g n i n — S u p er n a tu r a li s m d i s
n a tu r e
cre d i t e d — G od an d N a t u r e— M i ra cl e s C re a ti on — C on
fii c t of th eol o gy and s c i e n c e—
M e ch a n i s m a n d d e s i g n i n
n a t u re — ’
H a e ck e l s d e t e r m i n i s m Hi s M on i s m cri ti ci s e d
fi

Di s ti n c ti o n b e tw e en N o u m e n on a n d Ph e n o m e n on — Th e
p r i m a r y a t t ri b u t e O f t h e N o u m e n o n — F u l n es s o f li fe
R e a li s a ti on of s el f— A p p e a ra n ce of i n d i vi d u a l i ty — A c ti o n
o f t h e mi n d —Ob je c ti v i s a ti o n o f t h o u g h t— Cr e a ti v e p o w e r o f
t h o u g h t— M a t eri a l i s ti c m e t h o d s o f s t u d y i n g li fe a n d c o n
— C o n s ci o u s n es s o m ni p r es en t— I n d i v i d u a l fo r m s o f
s ci o u s n e s s
th e On e — — ’
Th e Ab s ol u t e ca n n o t e v ol v e M a n s p os i ti on a s a
c o n s ci o u s b ei n g — H o w b e s t t o u n d e rs t a n d co n s ci o u s n es s
Th e fu tu r e i n t h e li g h t of t h e p a s t— I n te r - r e l a ti o n o f c y c l e s
H u m a ni ty a U ni t— Th e p a r t o f th e i n d i vi d u a l — A n a l o gy o f
S ol a r S y s t e m — K e y t o a p p a r e n t m e ch a n i s m o f n a t u r e
"

-
U n i o n o f i d e a a n d for m — C r ea ti v e fi r e — S elf r e a li s a ti on — Th e
— R — “
j

p er s on a l G o d ea l s elf i m m or t a l Th e t r u e la w Of
s u b s t a n ce —
N o fi n a li ty i n m e re p h e n o m e n a — Th e p h e n o
m en t a l o n l y s y m b oli c — E x p r es s i o n O f t h e e te r n a l i d e a — Th e
u n i v e r s e t h e g r e a t A r t W o r k — M e ch a n i s m o f a r t — -
A t on e
m e n t—Th e vi s i on Of t h e s e e r

C HA PTE R XI

CO S M I C E VOL U TI O N
E vol u ti on
n a t u re — a u ni v e rs a l
p ri n ci p l e Th e p rog res s i ve or d e r o f
q
E vol u ti o n a n or d ere d s e u en ce o f u n fol d m e n t
'

Pre d es ti n a ti on a n d d es i g n — M o ti on o f Pri m or d i a l S u b s t a n ce
— Di s ti n c ti on b e twe en li fe a n d con s ci o u s n es s — All p h e n o m e n a
a re p h e n o m en a o f li fe a n d co n s ci o u s n e s s — N O r e a l d i s ti n c ti on
'

b e tw ee n li vi n g a n d d e a d m a t t er— C os m i c m a t t er a n d cos m i c
li fe— I n vol u ti on a n d e v ol u ti on — A t om s —A c ti on a n d i n te r
a c ti o n o f a to m s a n d E th er— E th e r n o t Pri m or d i a l S u b s t a n c e
—P1a n es b ey on d E th er— E vol u ti on a n u n fol di n g — A rch e
t yp a l fo rm s or I d e a s - —Li fe a n or g a n i s i n g
a

p ri n ci p l e — Li fe
un i v e rs a l —M a t eri a li s a ti o n o f a n i d e a — Ti m e a n d S p a c e
I n v ol u ti on o f Pl a n es — N a t u r e o f Pl a n es — Th e m e n t a l Pl a n e
— Arch e typ a l M a n C os mi c co n s ci o u s n e s s o f m a n S en s e
or g a n s a nd th e e t h e ri c Pl a n e—I n te ra c ti on wi th hi g h e r
Pl a n e s —C os mi c for m s of li fe — A n a l ogy o f t h e p h y s i ca l b od y
—Th e form a ti v e p ow er o f th ou g h t— A l l i d ea s ex i s t e te rn a ll y
-Ph y s i ca l a n a l o gy — e ca p i tu l a ti on — I n d i vi d u a li s a ti on o f
R
t h e D i vi n e I d e a — I n v ol u ti o n o f con s ci o us n es s — A ll th i n g s
r el a te d t o th e W h o l e — lWh
y li fe i s n o t r e cog n i s e d i n m a t t e r
Th e U n i ty of th e U ni ver s e— N e ces s i ty o f th i n ki n g cos mi c a ll y

C HA PTE R XI I
OR G A N I C E VOL U TI ON

Gen er a l p ri nci p l e o f e v o l u ti o n l o n g k n o wn — I ts s p eci a l fo r m i n

t h e n i n e te e n th ce n t u r y — G eol ogi ca l s ci en ce—I n ves ti g a ti o n
XX CONTENTS
P A GE

I n to c a u s e a n d m e th o d — D a r wi n a n d n a t u ra l s el e c ti o n

S u r vi v a l o f t h e fi t t es t — ’
D a r wi n s t h e o r y o u tli n e d
B i t t er o p p os i t i o n — E v o l u t i o n o f m a n — M o d e m e v o l u ti o n a ry
t h e or y m a te ri a li s ti c— D e ep er i s s u es ob s cu re d V a n a ti on
Us e o f t h e t e r m ‘
n a tu re — S ci e n ce r e j ec ts th e s u p er n a t u ra l
Re v e r s a l o f o r d e r o f c a u s e a n d e ff e c t — C o n t r o l o f n a t u ra l

fo r c e s — I n t e lli g t u i d a n ce — E v o l u ti o n a ry f a c t o r s o f b i o l o gy
e n g
—N a tu ra l s el ec ti on — S ex u a l s el e c ti on — H ere d i ty — V a ri a ti on
— G e r m c el l s — M a n e v o l v e d fr o m a cell
~ R e ca p i t u l a

ti on
’
i n t h e e m b ry o — S g t a e s o f t h e h u m a n e m b r y o —
R u di

m e n ta ry or g a n s — R a t i o o f t i m e i n r e ca p i t u l a t i o n — q
A c ui r e
m e n t o f fa cili t y a n d fa c u l ty — a c u l ty p re ce d e s o r g a ni s m
F
-
G er m c e ll t h e ori e s Ph y s i cs and c h e mi s t ry Of p hy sio
l o g i ca l p r o ce s s es - H e rb e r t S p e n cer s
’
p yh s i o l o g i ca l u n i ts
— W ei s m a n n s ’
d e te r mi n a n ts — C on t e n t s o f g e r m cell -
fi
S c i e n ti c i m p a s s e A b g — i o e n e s i s — U n i v e rs a li t y ’ o f li fe — Al l
m e m ory a c o n t i n u i ty o f e x p e ri e n ce— W ei s m a n n s g er m ce ll -
t h e o ry —D i ffi cu l ti e s — ’
of th e t h e ory H er twi g s t h e o ry
L i mi t a t o i n s o f m a t e r i a li s ti c t h e o ri es — N a t u ra l s e l ec ti on a n d
i ti — D fi n i t e l d i r e c t e d e v o l u ti o n — T r a n s mi s s i o n of
va r a o n e y
q
a c ui red c h a r a c te ri s t i cs — E v o l u ti o n o f th e h ors e— N a t u r e

of t h e p rob l e m o f s e l e c t i o n a n d v a ri a ti o n G e r mi n a l
s el e c t i o n - I n n er c a u s e s o f e v o l u ti on — C a u s e a n d e ffec t ar e
o n e — H e r t wi g s t h eo ry e x t e n d e d —
’
E v e ry a to m a g e r m ce ll o f -
t h e U n i v er s e — M on i s m a n d I d e a li s m — Th e g o a l o f e vol u ti on

C HAPTE R XI I I
THE E VOL U TI ON OF MA N
— Pr o top l a s m —Pr o to
.

Ma n th e l a s t r e s u l t i n o r g a ni c e v o l u ti o n
l a s m a n d li f e — T w o al t e rn a t i v e s of li fe — Pri m ord i a l
p
S ub s t a n ce a n d li fe— E v o l u ti o n fr om t h e g er m ce ll —Pr e -
fo r m a ti on t h e ory d i s c r e di te d — A p p li ca ti on o f p a r ti cu l a rs
t o u n i v ers a l s - L i fe i t s e lf d o e s n o t e v ol v e— L i fe a ca u s e , n o t
a n e ffe c t — L i fe a n d f or m — Li fe cy cl e— M a n th e d i vi n e—Th e
p l a c e o f t h e i n di v i d u a l — I n t er re l a -
t i o n o f Pl a n es — S t a g e s o f

o r g a ni c e v ol u ti o n -M a n a hi g h er a n i m a l W h e n di d m a n
fi m

c o m m e n ce — A p p li ca ti on o f t h e p ri n ci p l e o f c orr e s p on d e n ce
a nd a n a l o gy — M a n h a d to e vol ve— Th e t i m e e l e m e n t
H u m a n i ty a U ni t— Th e d i vi n e I d e a o f M a n — e c a p i t u l a ti on R
-
i n g er m ce ll— M a n t h e p a r en t - s te m o f t h e t r ee o f li fe 7 -
I n t e r m e d i a te s p e ci e s h a v e d i ed ou t— M a n a n d a p e—D e
fi ni tel y d i r e c te d e v ol u ti o n O f m a n — A n i m a l s e v ol v e d fro m
— — ’
m a n E v ol u ti o n o f m a n i n e vi t a b l e M a n s p r es e n t p os i ti on
— u tu r e s t a g e s — E g g s y m b ol—E v ol u ti on o f e m b ry oni c
F
M a n —Th e p a r t o f t h e i n d i vi d u al —M a n r el a t e d t o hi g h e r
’
Pl a n e s C orres p on d e n ce wi t h e n vi r on m e n t Ma n s
I n fi ni t e e n v i ro n m e n t — Th e -
m o ti ve p o w e r Of e vo l u ti on
F a cu l t
y a n d o r g a n i s m — M a n
’
s f u t u r e e v o l u ti o n — S u b li mi n a l
r e g i o n o f co n s ci o u s n e s s — Th e n or m a l
p l a n e o f co n s ci o u s n e s s
-
Th e s u p r a li mi n a l r e g i o n — S h i f ti n g o f t h e fi eld o f con s ci ou s
n e s s — Th e s o ca ll e d - s u p e r n a t ura l — Po w e r o f s u g g e s ti on
Th e r e a l m a r v e l o f li fe— u t u r e fi e ld o f co n s ci o u s n es s
F
R e l e g a ti on t o th e -
s u b co n s ci o u s — u t u reF p h y s i o l og i ca l
ch n g es — K
’
ey t o M a n s e v o l u ti o n — M en a re n o t M A N — M
’
a an s
d i v me n a t u r e— Plo ti n u s u o t e d q
 CONTENTS xxi

HA F TE R X I V

THE E VO L U TI ON OF TH E I ND I VI D U A L
P
-
AGE

a ma n di e s h a ll h e li v e a g a i n H o w th e q es ti n
u o mus t b e
a n s w e re d — Th e On e L i fe— Th e ti m e p ro ce s s — M A N a n d
m e n — Th e L o g o s — M A N t h e
“
D i vi n e S on —H o w d o e s
~

li mi t a ti o n a n d n e s ci e n ce a ri s e — I n d i vi d u a li s a ti o n o f con
s ci o us n es s — Ob je c ti v i s a ti o n o f t h e S e l f— Th e O n e S e l f b o t h
s u b j ec t a n d Ob j e c t— I n v o l u ti o n a n d e v o l u t i o n o f t h e S e l f
A n a l og i e s o f i n d i vi d u a l a n d u n i v e r s a l co n s ci o u s ne s s — Th e
-
n a t u r e o f I n e s s — L i fe o m n i p r e s e n t — O u r w or ki n g t h e o ry o f
m

li fe — E s o t e ri c a n d e x o t er i c c o n ce p ts — E th eri c for m s o f
li fe — ’
M a n s p s y ch i c b o d y Th e s u b li mi n a l co n s ci o u s n e s s
4 S u rfa ce c o n s ci o u s n es s — Te l ep a th y M o d e r n p s y chi ca l
r e s e a r ch — Co n s ci o u s n e s s i n h er en t i n a l l for m s -
U ni v e rs a l
-
co n s ci o u s n e s s — D e s ti n y O f t h e i n d i vi d u a l— F
o u r Pl a n e s o f
s u b s t a n c e— I n d i vi d u a li s a t i o n on t h e m e n t a l Pl a n e — Th e
e v o l u ti o n a r y c y cl e— Th e h i g h e r a n d t h e l o w er s el f— Th e
e x a m p l e a n d p os s i b i li t y o f g e n i u s — N a t u r e o f t h e c o n u e s t q
m a tt e r —Th e i n d i vi d u a l , p a r t o f t h e r a ce — Th e or y o f
‘
Of
r e i n c a r n a ti on — Or th o d ox i d e a s o f p a s t a n d fu tu r e — K a r m a
R ei n c a rn a t i o n a u n i v e rs a l p ri n ci p l e —
Th e ON E b e c o m i n g
m a n y — D i vi n e Hi era rchi es — I n d i v i d u a l s r e e c t t h e u ni v ers a l
fl
p ro c e s s — G o d c a n n o t k n o w e v i l — E vi l a nd li mi t a ti o n
C on s ci o u s n es s o n hi g h er Pl a n e s —Th e i n c a r n a ti n g C h ri s t
a

Th e c os m os o f t h e b od y — W h a t g a rn e rs t h e ex p e ri e n ce o f t h e
i n d i vi d u a l — W h a t co m es d own —
M em ory —Th e h i g h er
“

s el f, b i r th l e s s a n d d e a th l e s s

C H APTE R XV
THE H I G H E R S C I E N C E

f u n d a m e n ta l p ri n ci p le o f th e U ni ty o f th e U n i v e rs e
S tr u c t u ra l fa c ts — Hi g h e r s ci en c e a n d or th o d o x s ci en ce
Po t en ti a li ti es o f t h e u n s ee n u n i v e rs e— I n n er n a tu r e o f a n
a to m — T h e li m i t a ti o n o f t hi n g s — I n n er n a tu re o f m a n
F
O u r co m m on p ercep ti on o f thi n g s — a cu l ty co n d i ti o n e d b y
o r g a n i s m — A b n o r m a l p s y c hi c p ow er s — Th e n e w p s y ch o l o g y
Th e ro o t o f con s ci ou s n e s s — Th e r e a l H i g h e r S ci e n ce — M o d e r n
i n v e s ti g a ti on — Or th od ox y fos te r s c r e d u li ty — S ci e n ce a n d
p y s c h i c h e n o m n a — F W H M ’
w o k — P os t m or tem
p e . . .
y e r s r
c o m m u n i ca ti o n s , a n d s u rvi v a l — Th e co n ti n u i t
y o f th e r e a l s e l f
— C o n s ci ou s n e s s d i r e c te d o u tw a rd — L i mi ta ti o n s o f p h y s i ca l
c on d i ti o n s — C e ll m e m or — A t o mi c m e m o r — Ps ch o m e try
y y y
Ps y chi c a c ti v i ti e s o f t h e b o d y —C o n te n t s o f t h e s u b li m i n a l
c on s ci o u s n es s -Po w e r of t h e p a s t i n o r g a n i s m — S u p ra
l i m i n a l co n s ci ou s n es s —E x te n s i on o f a n a l o g y o f w a v e m o ti o n
—Th e i n n er a n d th e o u ter — Th e fa ll i n to m a t te r — Th e
i ll u s i on o f s elf - s e e ki n g F a c ts of p s y chi c a l res ea r ch
M e ch a ni s m o f th e p h y s i ca l — Te l ep a thi c i m p a c t— N a t u re o f
’ ”—
i n th e mi n d
‘

p res en t a ti on Ps y chi ca l i n va s i o n Th e
hi g h e r p s chi c s el f— I d e n ti fi ca ti o n o f vi s i on wi t h or g a n
y
Th e con s ci o us n es s o f s e l f — M u l ti p l e p ers o n a li ty — Po s s e s s i on
a n d m e d i u m s hi p —S ci e n ti fi c s e a r ch for t h e fa c ts o f a h i g h e r
—
Pl a n e N a t ur e of th e Hi g h er S c i e n ce .
xxii CONTENTS

C H A PTE R XV I

TH E H I G H E R RE L I G I O N
—
P AGE

Th e hi g h e r s c i e n ce a n d t h e hi g h e r r e li g i o n S t a g es o f r eli gi ou s
e p
x e ri e n c e — A n ci e n t S a n s cr i t li t e ra t u r e — M a x M ii ll er
"

q u o t e d — E x o t e ri c C h r i s ti a ni t y a m a t e ri a li s a ti o n o f s p i ri t u a l
t r u th A s p i ri tu a l r en a i s s a n ce R ev. R .
J Ca m p b e ll
.

q uo ed
t — T r e n d o f m o d e rn t h e o l o gy
— T h e d e e p e r t ru th ,
al w y a s k n o w n — D e fi n i ti o n o f r e li g i o n — S ci en ce a i d s r e li g i on
q
D u a li s ti c th e ori e s i n a d e u a te — R e l a ti o n o f a ll t o th e I nfi n i te
—E s o te ri c r e li gi o n a t o n e wi th s ci e n c e a n d p h il os op h y
E v ol u ti on i s r e li gi o n — E v o l u ti o n a n d i n v ol u ti o n p a r t o f t h e
d i vi n e p roce s s — E s s e n ti a l n a t u r e o f r eli gi o n — R e li gi o n a c ti v e

a n d p r a c ti ca l H o w e vil cea s e s -
N on a tt a ch m e n t C on
q u e s t o f s elf— Th e e l e m e n t s o f r e li gi o n — F a i t h , c on d u c t , l o v e
— a i th a n d b eli ef— eli gi o n a n d e m o ti on — L i mi ta ti o n s o f
F R
reli g i o u s fo r m s — Th e b e g i n ni n g a n d e n d o f r eli gi o n — O n e
fi n a l t ru th — M a n n o t re a d y t o r e cei v e i t— I n vi s i b l e h el p e rs
D i vi n e i n ca rn a ti on s — Li vi n g t ru th — Th e ce n t re o f s ta b i li ty

C HA PTE R X VI I
THE H I G HE R AN D TH E L OW E R S E LF

Ou r l o f ty I d ea li s m — H ow i t m a y p a s s i n t o re a li s a ti o n — How we
h a v e r e a ch e d o u r p r es e n t p os i ti on — C on s ci o u s n e s s a n d
Pri m or di a l S u b s ta n c e — C on s ci o u s n es s a n d m a tt er— C os mi c
for m s o f li fe a n d c on s ci ou s n es s — Th e
‘
t hi n g i n i t s elf
I n t el l e c t u a l a p p re h en s i o n o f th e p rob l e m — e a li s a ti on o f t h e
R
s e lf— N a t u r e o f t h e l o w er s el f— R
e a li s a ti o n o f G o d i n m a n ,
a n d m a n i n G o d — N a tu r e o f s a l v a ti o n -E v e ry thi n g kn own
b y i t s Op p os i te — Th e hi g h e r di r e c ti v e p ow er— N a t u r e o f s o u l
—Ou r p r es en t i n t er m e d i a te p os i ti o n —All t h e ow ers O f th e
p
u ni v e rs e o u r s — A p p a r e n t e vi l — Th e s tru
g g l e b e tw e e n th e
l o w er a n d t h e hi g h e r — H o w t h e s o u l l e a r n s — L ock e a n d t h e
d oc t ri n e o f i n n a t e i d e a s — I n h e ri t e d i d eas — ei n ca rn a ti o n a
R
k e y t o p rob l e m o f a c ui r e d e x p e ri e n ce— Th e c hi l d s ou l
q
E d u ca ti on — R es p o n s e o f th e l o w e r t o t h e hi g h e r— A c ti o n o f
th e m i n d -E v ol u ti o n o f m i n d — R
e ca p i t u l a ti o n o f p as t
e x p eri e n ce s — Th e hi g h e r i s t h e s a cri fi ci a l vi c ti m o f t h e
l ow er — - —
N a t u re o f t h e H i g h e r S elf C l a s s i fi ca ti on o f m a n s ’

i n n er p ri n ci p l es

C HA PTE R X VI I I
TH E I D E A L R E AL I S M

Th e b a ttl e -g ro u n d o f t h e s o u l — Th e hi g h e r a n d t h e l o wer s el f
—
Th e D i v i n e W i ll a n d n a t u r a l l a w M a n s C h oi c e
’
Ri g h t a n d —
wr o n g — Th e t r u e , t h e g oo d , t h e b e a u ti fu l — O u r p erce p ti o n
o f t h e s e — Th e s w a o f t h e l ow r n t u — F
ai l u re a n d e ffor t
y e a r e
— H ow d i vi n e p er fec ti on i s t o b e re a li s e d — A u th ori ta ti ve
for m s of r eli gi on —S p i r i tu a l b a b es a n d s p i ri t u a l a d u l ts — Th e
p ow e r o f t h o u g h t — How i t s h o u l d b e u s e d — E vol u ti on o f th e
 CONTENTS
P
mi n d -
AGE

b o d y — Po we r of mi n d ov e r b od y — Me n t a l h ea li n g
C h ri s ti a n S ci en ce— Y o g a p r a c ti ce — Th e h i g h er n a t u r a l l a w
Th e I d ea l R -
e a li s m — R e cr e a t i o n a n d r e g e n e ra ti o n o f t h e
l ow e r n a t ur e— Th e p os i ti on o f t h e mi n d o r s o u l— M i n d a n d
m e m or y — Th e p r a c ti ca l m e t h o d Of re a li s a ti on — C o n cre te
p e rs o -
n a l e x a m p l e — A s c e ti ci s m — N o n a t t a ch m e n t — T h e t ra n s
c e n d en t a l s e l f— Th e s e l f u s es th e mi n d — Th e g o a l o f t h e
s e l f— T h e r e a l o r t h e i d e a l : w hi c h — Th e t h r ee s ta e s o f
g
e v o l u ti o n — Th e p o w er o f t h e s p i ri t— Th e r e a li s a ti o n o f th e
n a t u r e Of t h e S E LF — A ll o u r p r e s e n t p o w e r s a r e d i vi n e - A ll
l i fe i s r e li gi ou s — Th e r e a li s a ti o n o f wh a t w e A R E — H ow
m o d er n s ci e n ti fi c co n c e p ts h el p u s — Al l a c ti vi ty t h e a c ti vi ty
-
o f s e l f re a li s a ti o n — D i vi n e i n c a r n a t i o n a c o s m i c f a c t — Th e
Pa th — Th ou a r t Th a t
C H A PT E R I

IS TRUTH
Th er e i s an i n m os t c en t re

W h er e Tr u t h a b i d e s i n fu l n e s s
W a ll u p on w a ll t h e g r os s e s h
T h e p e r fe c t
,

cl ear con cep

fl
in u s a ll

, an d ar o u n d ,

h em s i t in
ti on w h i ch i s Tr u th ;
B
",

R OW N I NG.
 C HA P T E R I

W HAT Is TR UTH ?

IN all ages men have sought for Truth and have found it in ,

greate r or lesser degree according to their individual needs ;

and have su ffered and fought and died for the measure of
truth which they have found
‘

Truth is the inspiration of life in a ll its mod es and aspects

it makes of life a noble reality and leads us ever to a wider ,

and deeper k nowledge of our own nature ; to a fuller and

more perfect realisation and expression thereof .

Al l that is permanent and enduring all that is worth ,

stri ving for or living for all our hopes and aspirations a y
, , ,

and also our doubts and fears are summed up in the one ,

word— Tr u th .

Truth Goodness Beauty : these find expr ession in human

-
, ,

life as the highest and n oblest qualities and a ttainments as ,

knowledge conduct a rt reli gion

, , ,
.

The highe s t aim of a ll life of all art literature science , , , ,

philosophy or religion is to seek truth and perfection so

, , ,

far as may be possible ; to seek to kno w truth to express ,

it in beautiful forms and above al l to u nderstand how to

,

Those whom -we recognise as the greatest of our race are

those who have given to us by their lives and teachings some
large measure of truth ; those who by their genius inspira ,

tion or example have placed before us some W id e a n d far

,

reaching revelation of the fundament al realities of li fe and

consciousness of that which can gi ve permane n t satisfaction
,

to our deepest nature in contradistinction to those transitory

,

a n d impermanent appearances under whose illusion human

nature is so prone to fall .

Truth is the foundation of science the aspiration of ,

philosophy the inspiration of religion Th ere is no possibility

, .

oi huma n thought in any direction W itho u t tru th

'

.
4 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
This is the one thing perhaps the o nly thing in which all , ,

human thought is in absolute agreement namely that under , , ,

lying all phenomena i h the external world and in our own ,

life and consciousness there is a permanent Reality an infini te

, , ,

everlasting abiding Truth ,

.

To know that Truth is the deepest necessity of our nat u re

i t is the goal to which all things move I t is bo th the outward .

necessity and the inner comp ul sion of life in all its forms .

In our outwar d circumstances in all that makes for welfare , ,

progress and happiness the knowledge and practice of truth

, ,

is the essential condition It is only by and through truth .

that life can be harmoni ous that it can be pure free j oyous , , , ,

and expansive .

Truth is the sunshine of life Where truth is absent life .

,

is stunted and dwarfed and its accompaniment I s pai n and ,

suffering .

But the inner necessity the deep comp ul sion of our nature ,

to seek the truth is somethi ng infinitely more than the ,

pressure of mere external circumstances somethi ng more ,

even than a search for happiness or a desire to enj oy to the

f ul l the wine and the sunshine of life Men can put these .

aside and sacrifice everything which this life h a s to o ffer

, ,

for the sake of truth .

The inner compulsion exists even in the lowest forms of

life It is the spontaneous evolu t ion of life itself ; that
.

mysterious s omethi ng which is ever moulding organi sing , ,

and adapting matter— with its associated forces— i n order

to evolve to body forth as it were in the outer world a more
, , , ,

and yet more perfect representation image reflection or , , ,

expression of its own inherent inexhaustible inner nature ,

and essential prerogative —the crea ti ve power of the Self

within .

The search for truth then is the search for the under , ,
.

lying and permanent reality of things It is the e ffort of .

the s elf to know and establish its fundamental relation to

that external obj ec t ive world which appears to be the
not - self ; and in doing so to realise its own inherent natur e
, ,

and p owers .

It is evident that if things were in reality what they appear

to be there would be no need to search for truth and this
,

search therefore so soon as it becomes a conscious or self

, , ,

conscious e ffort is in the first instance an endeavour to

, , ,
 W HAT Is TR U T H ? 5

penetrate beneath the mere appearance of things and to ,

understand them in their proper relation and proportion .

But although this fact that the ob j ective world is o n ly

an appearance is so self -
, ,

evident no t hing is more ch aracteristic

, ,

of human thought and action than the assumption not merely

of reality in the phenomena of the senses but also of finality ,

in our common concepts of these phenomena This is not .

merely the case in everyday life and action where indeed ,

such an assumption is both necessary and legitimate but it ,

prevails and dominates almost entirely in the region of

scientific specul ation and authoritative religion In t h e .

former it is seen in the e ffort which is made again a n d a g a i n ‘

to explain the universe from top to bottom— including life

and consciousness itself— on the basis of mechanical principles
deduced from the laws of mass and motion which are applic a ble
to matter in its physical form In the latter it is seen in .

the violent and arbitrary separation of the n a tura l from the

s up er-n a tu ra l and in teachings ab out the origin and natu re
,

of the cosmos and of man which are based upon the crudest
form of re a lism .

There is in fact a constant tendency in every department

, ,

of human thought to assume that things are in reality j ust

exactly what we represent them to be in our mental concepts
'

or picturing of them .

The fi rst step therefore towards an understanding of

, ,

Truth is a clear perception of the rel a ti vi ty of all phenomena

,

or in other w ords an understan di ng of the limitations under

, ,

which these phenomena are cognised and consequently of ,

the limitations of the concepts which we are compelled to

form of them These limitations are in eve ry cas e d ue to
.

th e nature of the organism through which the thinking Ego

or Self is compelled to act In exceptional cases these .

limitations are found to be transcended in some one or other

particular direction ; and it is principally by a study of these
exceptional cases that we may come to understand the larger
and transcendental powers of that true Self whose nature is so
largely masked rather than disclosed by the physical organism
, ,
.

Let us endeavour in the first instance to form a , ,

de fi nite and Clear conception of what is meant by the term

truth .

The question what is truth P can be answered much more

,

readily than the question what is true ? The term truth i s ,

6 SCIENTI F IC IDEALI SM
o ften used in a general sense to cover a number of categories ,

such as : facts Opinions theories appearances realities etc

, , , , ,
.

But when we speak of truth in the abstract we do not mean ,

so much— or har dly at a l l— m ere facts as the deductions or ,

generalisations which we make from those facts All truth .

must be founded upon facts these being as it were the material , , ,

basis of truth F a cts are true but they are not truth for
.
, ,

though we deduce truth from facts it is at root the truth ,

itself which gives rise to the facts and not the facts to the ,

truth Facts m a v thus be said to be the obj ective side of

.

truth.

B ut we may be perfectly well agreed as to a certa i n number

or class of facts and yet we may make deductions therefrom
,

which are quite antagonistic to each other Thus arises the .

conflict of one Opinion with another .

Again we may make deductions from a certain number

,

of facts and those deductions may be perfectly accurate so

,

far as those particular facts are concerned but may be quite ,

inaccurate or inadequate in relation to a l a rger number of

facts be a ring upon the same phenomenon Thus a statement .

may be true within certain limitations but false outside of ,

those limitations This is clearly illustrated in all th e metho ds

.

of science and the advance of scientific knowledge In dealing

, .

mathematically with certain phenomena it is neces sary and

legitimate to assume certain limitations within which the
formul ae are a p plicable and accurately true Outside of those .

limitations however the truth must be stated in other terms

, ,
.

Further than this new facts are constantly coming to light

,

which necessitate a re- statement or abandonment of previous

theories and deductions Up to the point of the previously .

known facts the old theories were a su fficient statement of

,

truth inasmuch as that truth or generalisation covered all

,

the known facts But with a wider knowledge of facts comes

.

a wider or deeper generalisation or statement of truth .

Again a statement may be true as appearance but not

, ,

true in fact There are many statements which we make

.

as a conventional form of language which however a r e not , ,

true as real e xpressions of the facts of the case Thus we .

say that the Sun rises and sets implying that there is a ,

motion of the Sun round the Earth ; whereas the real fact
is that the appearance of rising and setting is due to the
revolution of the Earth on its axis Or we speak of a thin g .
 W HAT Is TRUT H ? 7

as having a certain colour as if colour were something in

,

itself which could be given to or taken away from the thing

whereas colour is due to the property which an obj ect may
p ossess of absorbing or reflecting certain rays of light and , ,

and colour is purely a subj ective e ffect in our own conscious

,

ness If I say of a rose that it is red I am describing it

.
,

relatively to my own consciousn es s acting through my ,

physical organ of S ight To an eye di fferently constituted

.

the rose might appear to be quite a di fferent colour The .

language in which we usu al ly de s cribe things is only true by

a more or less common convention arising from the fact that
to the large maj ority of our fellow-
, ,

beings ob j ects in the ,

external world present the same appearance or have a similar ,

effect in consciousness Our language is the expre ssion of a

.

common — s en s e it is only true relatively to the common appear

,

ance of things due to the possession by every individual

,

of a sim ilar set of senses and more or less similar mental

,

associations These latter play a large part in our common

.

conceptions of things and even in our recognition of ob j ects

,
.

A European going to India for the fi rst time will fi n d it

di fficult to distinguish one native from another because the ,

type of face is different from that to which he has been accus

t om ed All faces appear to be alike and it is o nly after
.
,

some months when the necessary mental associations have

,

been formed that distinguishing differences can be recognised

,
.

Thus the fundamental fact is not that a thing i s so and s o ,

the fundamental fact is the fact of consciousness the fact ,

that things are represented in a certain manner to conscious

ness working in or through a certain physical organism .

This latter as pect of truth is a very wide and important

one because it leads us directly to the great question as to
,

how much of the external world is mere appearance and ,

how much is reality ; in other words what is the real and ,

true relation between the subj ective and the obj ective between ,

consciousness and that of which it is conscious between the ,

I and the N ot I ~
.

We shall have to deal with this question more fully later

on but in the meantime W e may note that it is very evident
,

that so far as external phenomena are concerned we do not

, ,

see or know anything as it really is but only as it is limited ,

by our physical senses Given a di fferent set of senses or

.
,

an extension of the range of our present senses and the world ,

6 SCIENTI F IC IDEALI S M
often used in a general sense to cover a number of categories ,

such as : facts opinions theories appearances re a lities etc

, , , , ,
.

But when we speak of truth in the abstract we do not mean ,

so much — or hardly at all— m ere facts as the deductions or ,

generalisations which we make from those facts All truth .

must be founded u p on facts these being as it were the material , , ,

basis of truth F a cts are true but they are not truth for
.
, ,

though we deduce truth from facts it is at root the truth ,

itself which gives rise to the facts and not the facts to the ,

truth Facts may thus be s aid to be the Ob j ective side of

.

truth.

B u t we may be perfectly well agreed as to a certain number

or class of facts and yet we may make deductions therefrom
,

which are quite antagonistic to each other Thus arises the .

conflict of one Opinion with another .

Again we may make deductions from a c ertain number

,

of facts and those deductions may be perfectly accurate s o

,

far as those particular facts are concerned but may be quite ,

inaccurate or inadequate in relation to a l a rger number of

facts be a ring upon the same phenomenon Thus a statement .

may be true within certain limitations but fal se outside of ,

those limitations This is clearly illustrated in a ll th e methods

.

of science and the advance of scientific knowledge In de al ing

,
.

mathematically with certain phenomena it is neces sary and

legitimate to assume certain limitations within which the
formul ae are applicable and accurately true Outside of those .

limitations however the truth must be stated in other terms

, ,
.

Further than this new facts are constantly coming to light

,

which necessitate a r e- statement or abandonment Of previous

theories and deductions Up to the point of the previously .

kn own facts the old theories were a su fficient statement of

,

truth inasmuch as that truth or generalisation covered all

,

the known facts But with a wider knowledge of facts comes

.

a wider or deeper generalisation or statement of truth .

Again a statement may be true as appearance but not

, ,

t rue in fact The r e are many statements which we make

.

as a conventional form of language which however are not , ,

true as real e xpressions of the facts of the case Thus we .

say that the S un rises and sets implying that there is a ,

motion of the Sun round the Earth ; W hereas the re al fact

is that the appearance of rising and setting is due to the
revolution of the Earth on its axis Or we spea k of a thin g .
 W HAT IS TRUT H ? 7

as having a certain colour as if colour were something in

,

itself which could be given to or taken away from the thing

whereas colour is due to the property which an obj ect may
p ossess of absorbing or reflecting certain rays of light and , ,

and colour is purely a subj ective e ffect in our own conscious

,

ness If I say of a rose that it is red I am describing it

.
,

relatively t o my own consciousness acting through my ,

physica l organ of sight To an eye di fferently constituted

.

the rose might appear to be quite a different colour The .

language in which we usu al ly de s cribe things is only true by

a more or less common convention arising from the fact that
to the large maj ority of our fellow-
, ,

beings ob j ects in the ,

external world present the same appearance or have a similar ,

e ffect in consciousness Our language is the expression of a

common -
.

s en s e i t is only true relatively to the common appear

,

ance of things due to the possession by every individual

,

of a sim ilar set of senses and more or less similar mental

,

associations Th ese latter play a large part in our common

.

conceptions of things and even in our recognition of obj ects

,
.

A Europ ean going to India for the first time will find it
di fficult to distin guish one native from another because the ,

type of face is different from that to which he has been accus

t om ed All faces appear to be alike and it is o nly after
.
,

some months when the necessary mental associations have

,

been formed that distinguishing differences can be recognised

,
.

Thus the fundamental fact is not that a thing i s so and s o ,

the fundamental fact is the fact of consciousness the fact ,

t hat things are represented in a certain manner to conscious

ness work i n g in or through a certain physical organism
'

This latter aspect of trut h is a very wide and important

one because it leads us directly to the great question as to
,

how much of the external world is mere appearance a n d ,

how much is reality ; in other words what is the re al and ,

true relation between the subj ective and the ob j ective between ,

consciousness and that of which it is conscious between the

I and the Not -
,

I .

We shall have to deal with this question more fully later

on but in the me a ntime we may note that it is very evident
,

that so far as external phenomena are concerned we do not

, ,

see or know anything as it really is but only as it is limited ,

by our physical senses Given a different set of senses or

.
,

an extension of th e range of our present senses and the world ,

8 SCIENTI F IC IDEALISM
would have for us a totally different appearance Thus .

everything in the external world everything which we a re ,

conventionally accustomed to accept as true which we are ,

accustomed to regard as the rea l is appearance merely All ,

.

that we actually know all that is actually true in our

,

experience has a limited and merely relative value It is

,
.

only true in rel a ti on to something else never absolut ely so ,

.

The absolute truth of a thing would be its relation to every

thing else it would be a statement of the natur e of the thing
beyond which no further statement could possibly be made ,

becaus e there would be nothing left in the universe to which

’
we could relate it It would be the thing in itself if indeed
.
,

there can be any such thi ng .

To know the full and complete truth about anything ,

we must know it in all its r elations and proportions But .

such a knowledge the knowledge of absolute Truth implies

, ,

a knowledge of the whole Universe To know the absolute .

Truth of anything even of the smallest atom of matter is

, ,

to know that Infinite Self by whom through whom and in , , ,

whom al l things eternally A RE .

From the foregoing considerations therefore we shall see , ,

that we may define truth as : th e cl ea r p ercep ti on of th e

rel a ti on a n d p rop orti on of thi n gs .

All knowledge being thus necessarily relative we may ,

classify the facts of our life and consciousness in their relation

ship to one another and to the Whole in three main divisions
, ,

or aspects
( a ) The relation which exists between things in the extern al ,

Ob j ective world .

(6) The relation of the ob j ective world to our own conscious

ness — to the subj ective self .

(c) The relation of our individual consciousness or self t o

the Permanent Reality the Root Principle or Noumenon of
, ,

the Universe .

These three aspects correspond broadly to the three great

departments into which human knowledge and experience
is usually divide d namely to science ph i losophy and religion
, , ,

respectively Each of these has its own appropriate field of

.

experience and methods of research Each deals w ith a

, .

cert ain c lass of facts which may be considered in a more or

less independen t manner and each may state the deductions
,

from the facts with which it deals in terms which are more
 W HAT Is TR U T H ? 9

or less foreign to the others But we must be careful to.

note that there is no arbitrary line of division between any of

these and that the highest truth must include them all
, .

Unfortunately s cience phi losophy and religion have

, , ,

come to have a certain arbitrary conventional and limited , ,

meaning attached to each term as if they had no connection ,

the one with the other Ecclesiastical authority in the early

.

centuries of the Christian Era made religion amongst the

western nations synonymous with super- naturalism By .

doing so it divorced religion from philosophy and science and ,

for long centuries the Church has bitterly opposed the growth
of k nowledge a n d the progress of truth outside of its own
narrow and dogmatic pronouncements Nor does ecclesiastical
authority to -
.

day present in this respect other than a somewhat

curious spectacle of a vain endeavour to cling to old traditions
and authority and a fruitless e ffort to stem the rising tide of
,

k nowl edge whi ch threatens to wash away the very foundations

of a long - cherished edifice of supernaturalism Happily .

religion is finding another basis and other representatives , ,

who have recognised that the highest religion is also the

highest science and the highest philosophy and that one ,

truth cannot possibly be antagonistic to another .

D uring the latter half of the last century the rapid

progress of scientific knowledge and the traditional attitude ,

of the Church towards it caused a reaction and a revolt

,

against religion itself The representatives of religion had

.

nothing to teach but supernaturalism and the representatives ,

of science denied that there could be such a thing as the s up er

natural Many of the foremost intellects of the day were in
.
“

open antagon ism to all forms of religion so called and took ,

refuge in blank denial and materialism Science came to be .

almost s ynonymous with materialism but that phase was ,

happily of short duration and though materialism h a s fs ti l l

,

its representatives modern scientific thought may be said

,

to have clearly recogni sed that matter and force are not the
be all and the end a ll of the universe and that true religion ,

is not necessarily either supernaturalism or s uperstition but ,

h a s a legitimate field in the experience of the individual and

the race Science indeed may now be said to have recogn ised
.
, ,

that there i s a vast superphysic al region of phenomena of the

deepest interest and importance and is investigating p s ychi ca l
,

ph enomena which not very long ago were either wholly denied ,
I O SCIENTIFIC IDEALI SM
or regarded as mere subj ective hall ucinations altogether ,

outside the region of solid facts .

The highest truth must combine the results obtained in

every depart ment of human life and experience The highest .

truth is the syn thesis of science religion and philosophy ;

, ,

and each of these must in the long run adapt itself to the
, ,

truths which the others bring to light The growth of human .

knowledge and the natural evolution of the race carries with

, ,

it ever a wider and a deeper perception of the relation and

proportion of things Old tra di tions and beliefs remain
.

valid o nl y for those who represent the particular limitations

under which those beliefs sprang up .

Every form of truth represents a certain stage of evolution

and since races and indivi duals are W idely apart in the scale
of evolution and therefore cann ot see things in the same
,

relation and proportion we have a vast number of differently

,

formulated aspects of that which fun damentally is one , ,

changeless Truth and we have a survival in certain com

,

m u n i ti es and individuals of a s p ects the inadequacy of which

,

have long since been recognised by the more advanced

representatives of human evolution and therefore abandoned
,
.

Now it directly follows from the foregoing that the test

or measure of Truth is its u ni vers a li ty that is to say its freedom
, ,

from limitations It is the degree to which we can know a

.

thing in its widest and deepest relations and proportions .

So long as we are limited and conditioned in our faculties

and consciousness and so long as there is in front of us a
,

possibility of gro wth and evolution there will always be a ,

deeper and a still deeper truth to which we may attain a ,

clearer and more perfect perception and conception of the

real relation and proportion of things and a greater and ,

still greater freedom from the limitations of appearances .

The deepest Truth the One Tru th the final Truth is that
, , ,

permanent underlying Reality or Noumenon in which by , ,

which and through which the whole Universe eterna lly IS

,

Science philosophy and religion ali ke acknowledge this

, ,

One Reality the cause and source of a ll things though they

, ,

may differ widely as to Its nature and Its relat i on to the

,

phenomenal world and to hum a n consciousness Science .

stu di es its manifestations in matter and force and recogni ses ,

Its truth and permanency in the invariable laws of nature .

Philosophy or Metaphysics stu di es It as Consciousness as the ,

 W HAT IS TR U TH ? I I

relation of the s ub j ective t o the ob j ective Religion deals .

with It in the instincts and emotions which lie so deep in the

so ul of man to know and apprehend a Supreme Intelligence
and a Divine Power or a Personal God , .

Thus in every department of human thought and

experience it is only by and thro ugh a conception of the
,

uni verse as an Eternal Verity that the search for Truth which , ,

is such a deep necessity of our nature is possible at all That , .

the Universe can be otherwise that it can be a lie and a ,

delusion is simply unthinkable Lies and delusions do not

,
.

exist in reality cannot exist in that Consci ousness which sees

,

and knows everything in its proper relation and proportion

as the necessary and inseparable part of the great Whole .

A lie and a delusion is simply a false representation of a thing .

It does not make the thing so represented false in itself It .

is a thing seen out of proportion imperfectly or partially , ,

or through a medium which colours or distorts Everything .

is true in its proper relation and proportion even that which ,

we call evil .

And because a ll things are true in their proper relation

and proportion a s part of the great W hole truth must b e ,

the absolute necessity of our life in all its stages and all its
relationships Let us realise that the search for truth is no
.

mere dream of the Philosopher or the Saint is no mere quest ,

of an ideal which perchance does or doe s not exist but it is ,

the hard practical necessity of life itself from which we cannot ,

escape Every living creature from the lowest to the highest

.
, ,

must give a practic al answer to the great question what

“

am I —b y living ; and according to what the answer is ,

from moment to moment so will the individual life express ,

i tself in the external world of form and action .

Each and all whether consciously or unconsciously i s

, ,

bound to answer the great question in some manner or other ,

is indeed answering the question at every moment simply

, , ,

because each is a li fe indissolubly connected in his inmost

,

nature with that Infinite Life which is not merely the source ,

but also the goal and the summation of all things .

Each of us then by the very fact of life is compelled to

, , ,

-
form some theory o f life however unconsciously or however
, ,

crude or incomplete that theory may be ; and each one of

us does from moment to moment act upon a n d regulate
, ,

his life by that theory whether we may have actually ,

1 2 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
formulated it to ourselves or not The life which we live is .

the answe r which we give to the great question W hat am ,

I? and our welfare now and in the future is entirely

dependent upon whether that answer be a true or a false one .

If the answer be true if it be in harmony with the laws of

,

our nature at our o wn particular stage of evolution we shall ,

find room for growth expansion happiness to the fullest , , ,

extent which we may demand we shall get l i fe and get it ,

more and more abundantly If we know how to ask these .

,

we shall certainly receive for the kno wing how to ask is the ,

knowledge of natural law in the inner or spiritual world as ,

well a s in the outer material In other words it is the know .

,

ledge of Truth But if we know not how to ask if we are

.
,

untrue to our own n ature or false in the answer of the life ,

which we live then we shall meet with su ffering and pain ,

we shall be checked and thwarted so that at last we are ,

comp ell ed to turn aside from the falsity of our lives .

All life is a question and an answer ; a question in the

W ithin an answer in the without
, It is the great question .

of the self within wh at am I Unconscious or instinctive

in the lower forms of life self-conscious in man it is ever being
, ,

answered in wider and deeper terms as the s elf within

experiences and evolves For every one and at every stage .
,

of evolution there is an appropriate answer a corresponding

, ,

truth According to the stage of evolution at which we have

.

arrived so W ill be the answer which we ourselves give in the

,

life which we live and so also will be th e further measure

.
,

of truth which we can receive .

But we must seek if we would find ; th efe is no other

law of growth and evolution Each man obtains — i n the .

long run — j ust exactl y what he seeks .

’
H i g h er th a n I n d ra s y e m a y li ft y ou r l o t,
And s in k i t l o wer th a n t h e wor m o r g n a t .

Wh atsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap , .

To reach the light to acquire the power of clear sight to

, ,

see things as they are a man must seek the light persistently
, , ,

continuously through many lives The field in which he

, .

sows and reaps is boundless and eternal The sower and .

the reaper is the same immortal Self To one life the sowing .
,

to another the reaping There is no miracle of growth or .

transformation of the inner man any more than of th e outer .

 W HAT Is TR U T H ? 1 3

The seed must be sown and wat ered before it can spring up .

It must become fi rst the blade then the ear then the full , ,

corn in the ear And W hether we sow wheat or tares the

.
,

law is the same .

S e e y on d er fi eld s ,
Th e s es a m u m wa s s e s a m u m , th e cor n
W a s corn Th e s i l en ce a n d th e d a r k n es s
. k n ew ,
’
S o i s a m a n s fa t e b orn .

He co m e th , r ea p er of t h e thi ngs he s owe d ,

S es a m u m , cor n , s o m u ch c a s t i n p a s t b i r th ;
A n d s o m u ch we e d a n d p oi s on s tu ff, whi ch m a r -
”
Hi m a n d th e a chi n g e a r th .

The U niverse is an Eternal Verity and the W hole Truth , ,

the full complete and fi nal answer is writte n large before

,

our eyes in the infinitely great and th e infinit ely small in

the c o mmon -
, ,

place facts of our life and experience j ust as

much as in any miracle that could possibly be wrought ,

had we but eyes to see and an u nderstanding heart ; For

Tru th is not W hat has been or what will be it is W hat I S It , , .

is the Eternal Changeless Reality which underlies all

appearances .

If then we are seeking for Truth in its fullest and widest

, ,

expression we must accept all facts all phenomena as true

, , ,

i n their proper relation and proportion to one another and

_
,

as part of the gr e at Whole ; for a ll phenomena rightly ,

understood that which we call evil as well as that which

,

we c al l good are part of and essential to that fundamental

,

underlying Unity by and through which alone the U niverse

can be conceived of as a Cosmos and not a Chaos .

And the measure of truth which we have apprehended

will be j ust exactly the extent t o which we can recognise
the existence of Un i vers a l Pri n ci p les underlying all phenomena .

It will be the extent to which we can reco g nise the universal

in the individual the One in the many , .

Science philosophy and religion are all agreed as to the

, ,

existence of this fundamental Unity but differ greatly in ,

their apprehension or formulation of it because each considers ,

it from a special and limited point of V iew Broadly speaking .

,

s cience deals with it in terms of matter and force considered

dynamically ; philosophy endeavours to express it in terms

of consciousness and pure reason and religion I n terms of a ,
I 4 SCIENTIFIC IDEALI SM
Supreme Being Each of these if true in its presentation
. , ,

should be a necessary and integral part of the whole Truth

‘

mutu al ly corroborative and interdependent for each deals with ,

one particular aspect of the fundamental and essential Unity .

That the workers in each of these departments of hu man

knowledge are not in harmony at the present time we know ,

full well and the seeker after truth is often sorely perplexed
with the confusion and conflict of one s o - called truth with
another even to the point of abandoning all hope of finding
,

any truth whatsoever Yet the darkest hour of doubt is

. .

Often n earest to the dawn and there i s always light enough ,

for the next step Let none ever despair or turn aside from
.
,

t h e great Q uest In an infinite Universe of law and order

.

there can be no such thing as failure in any direction in which

e ffort is made Our apparent failures are necessary lessons
. .

We often learn more by failure than by success The on ly

I

real fail ure is to ce a se to endeavour .

Is there not indeed enough truth already plainly disclosed

, ,

in the workin gs of nature on the page of history and in the , ,

’
teachings of the world s greatest and noblest to give us an ,

infinite measure of fa i th where as yet we do not k now or , ,

where we perceive but dim ly ? Shall we deliberately close

our eyes to the light which we al ready have because that ,

light seems perchanc e to be so small or so obscured ? Shall

we get more light otherwise than by growth of that fac ul ty
which already perceives the light and will that fac ul ty evolve ,

otherwise than by natur al law ? Will it come otherwi se

than by that process by which we have reached our presen t
powers — the process of e xperience Others have more
powers than we have even to a divine degree and what is
, ,

theirs may certainl y be ours even to the divinest degree for , ,

are we not all Sons of God

And if looking outwards at the changing world of
,

phenomena we realise more and more definitely the littleness

,

and vanity of mortal life its pains and its illusions is it not , ,

al so true that looking inwards lookin g beyond the mere

, ,

appearance of things we realise with ever -

, increasing certainty
the illimitable possibilities and depths of our inner immortal , ,

and true nature even to its oneness w ith the In fi nite and
,

the Eternal
Science philosophy and religion rightly understood
, , , ,

shoul d and do combine to give us the fullest and most de fi nite

 W HAT I S TR U TH 1 5

assurance of a fundamental permanent Reality underlying

al l phenomena a ll mere appearance ;
,
an unchanging and
unchangeable Truth by and through which a ll things are
what they are Could we but realise this Truth in our life
.

and consciousness it would be to us the end of all doubt and

,

of all strife for it would be the realisation of our own inher ent
,

and i nalienable divine nature the realisation of the Infinite Self , ,

the attainment of which is the end and goal of our evolution .

Science and philosophy can and do give us a clear

intellectual apprehension of the necessary unity of the
U niverse in all its manifestations as matter force life and , , ,

consciousness of the essential and necessary existence of a

permanent and substantial Noumenon of all phenomena .

Every m anifestation every individual ob j ect or form is de

,

pendent upon and linked to that permanent and indestructible

Noumenon not merely by some sequence of cause and effect
, ,

but i t is a t every moment directly dependent upon it being in ,

very fa ct in i ts last analysis none oth e r than that Noumenon

, ,

Itself ; wh il s t i ts phenomenal appearance is an a s p ect of that

Noumenon It is the One seen partially and incompletely
. .

In every form in every phenomenon there is a twofold

, ,

aspect or element the one impermanent and transitory the

, ,

other permanent and continuous The first is its aspect as .

form the second its existence as substance

, .

Every form and form is dependent upon a sequence of

, ,

cause and e ffect going back in an unbroken catena to the

,

illimitable past At every moment the form changes it is

.
,

the product of a continuous flux or transi tion In our con .

s c i o u s n es s that transition may appear to take place more

or less slowly or quickly the form may persist for a longer ,

or shorter period of time That wh ich any particula r form

appears to be at any particular moment is at one and the same
.

‘
, ,

time both the e ffect of the past and the cause of the future
, , .

In looking at things in this aspect which is the one we ,

commonly employ we use two conventions of language

, ,

neither of which is true In the first place we commonly .

speak of the presen t whereas in truth there is — i n this respect

,

— no present but only past and future For no sooner

, .

’
have we said now than it has already become the past
, ,

an d now is nothing more than an arbitrary mathematical

line of division between past and future and as such has no , , ,

dimensions whatsoever .
 W HA T IS TRUTH ? r .

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r ac s m th e ti m e p la n e of M
4
125

mm
’
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n
d m a de is s e e ne, n o: ti
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”
i n ful n esa
1 6 SCIENT I F IC IDEALISM

In the second place we speak of a beginning and an end ,

whereas there is in truth no beginning and no end save in ,

appearance for there is no break in the lin e of sequence of

,

cause and effect All that is at any one moment implies

. ,

the whole past and involves the whole future ; but not
,

necessarily indeed by no means t he whole past and the

, ,

whole future as we understand past and future .

Thus all forms are doubly deceptive they give us a false

conception of the present and lead us to think that it is only
this pseudo -
,

sequential -present which is th e reality ; and

they give us a false idea of separation and discontinuity i n
things they lead us to isolate phenomena to lim it them in a
, ,

more or less arbitrary manner and thus to endow them with ,

a false relation and proportion .

If however as a concessi on to our conventional methods

, ,

of speaking and thinkin g we are compelled to postulate that ,

there must have been in the beginnin g an effi cient First

Cause for all that exists it still remains true that that First ,

Cause can be none other than that Infin ite Eternal Principle
which is the N ou m en on of all that exists .

But if we can act i n consciousness in another direction

or dim ension as it were to that which we normally employ
, ,

if instead of fi xing our mind on the horizontal line of sequence

of cause and effect in ti me by lookin g backwards and forwards , ,

we turn our attention in a direction at right angles so to ,

speak to our normal consciousness and look i nto things we

, ,

shall assuredly fin d there in the I nmost of every form in , ,

every atom of matter as in our own m i nd and consciousness

, ,

that abiding permanent Reality which is not what has been ,

or what will be but what Eternally IS , .

The difficulty of do i ng this does not lie in what things

a r e it lies in the limitations of our o wn mind and consciousness
,
.

The Truth the full and fin al Truth is always th ere could we

, ,

but perceive it Along the horizontal line of cause and effect

.
,

the false or imperfect dimension of consciousness we shall ,

’
seek in vain for any finality for any First Cause or any , ,

final goal for there is neither first nor last in Reality and
, ,

Trut h in this direction is ever retreating to an infinite

distance If along this lin e we make Truth dependent
.

upon historical events then we are in the worst possible ,

plight for we see these events g ret rea t i n g furth erj and
,
k

further into the past becoming ever more and more

 W HAT IS TR U T H P I 7

diffi cult of demonstration becoming less and less realisable ,

and credible .

But in th e vertical direction the true plane of conscious ,

ness the interpenetrative plane Truth is untouched by time

, ,
.

Its symbol and mode is space not time space i n which all , ,

forms exist yet whi ch is independent of any ; which is the

,

innermost of the inner as well as the outermost of the outer

, ,

and which we must conceive of as existing though every form

therein should perish In this direction or dimension of
.

consciousness Truth is not removed to an infinite distance it

, ,

is infinitely near and our search in this direction leads us ever

,

nearer and nearer to that inmost centre where Truth abides

in fulness .

That centre is everywhere and we are always at that ,

centre could we but realise it in our mind an d consciousness

,
.

Wherever we move we carry that centre with us for we a re ,

that centre Even with our present consciousn ess we never

.

-
conceive of oursel ves otherwise than i n the c entre of abstract
space The concrete idea of positio n in Space is purely a
.

matter of relation and proport i on among phenomenal ob jects .

It is the province of scienc e a n d philosophy to help us

to understand and realise these trut h s by tracing out for , .

us both th e horizontal line of sequence in cause and e ffect ,

and the vertical line of direct relation to the Noumenon and ,

enabling us to formulate them as demonstrable knowledge .

Science demons trates to us the horizontal line of cause and

’
e ffect in what is known as natural law It also ende a vours .
,

to follow up the ver tical line in its e fforts to get behind matter , ,

to penetrate to the root of matter and discover i t s f undamental

basic constitution But in so fa r as in doing this it isolates
.

mat ter and makes of it an independent reality al t ogether

,

apart from consciousness it is only dealing with phenom ena

,
“

Th e Noumenon lies in consciousnes s in the Self not in that , ,

which the Self cr eates.

.

But knowl edge the intellectual apprehension of Truth

, ,

is on e thing the pract ic al realisation of it as life and conscious

,
.

ne s s is another— i t is Religion .

Science and philosophy are necessary to formul ated

religion— though formul ated religion commonly ignores them
as a presentation of things in their proper relation and propor
tion — l h ut they are not Religion its elf becau s e Religi on is ,

Li fe —Life becoming ever fuller richer and more abundant ; , ,

2
I 8 SCIENTI F IC IDEALISM
ever re al ising more and more completely i ts onen es s with the
I n finite and the Eternal .

That is the root and es s ence of a ll religious however ,

dissimilar and even antago ni stic they may appear to be in

their outwar d forms or however crude or superstitious they
,

may be in their origin and development One and all have .

’
their basis in the central fact of man s spiritual nature of ,

the inherent and inalienable oneness of the Self within the ,

immortal Self with that permanent Reali ty which is the

,

Infinite and Eternal Noumenon of all that exists .

All forms of religion are more or les s imperfect attempts

t o state the es sentials of the p roces s by which that oneness
can be realised more and more completely The witness to .

the truth of our divine nature exists in our own heart and
conscience and i s the compulsion of the supreme moral law
,

of Love It well s up from withi n to find a more or les s perfect

.
,

expression in infinitely complex forms of life in the without .

And because of this eternal inner witness religion is ever

the most potent factor in human life it is the key-
,

note the ,
’
fundamental undertone supporting all life s harmonies and , ,

resolving a ll its discords Human life and history without .

religion without that compelling power ever present in the

,

heart of man i S u tt erly unimaginable and inexplicable

,
'
.

’
Th is inner consciousness and witness of man s inh erent
divine nature must necessarily express itself in the outer
world of forms in various ways principally on account of the ,

fact that physical man is the product of an evolutionary

process and that his knowledge and perception of truth
, ,

and his ab i lity to li ve that truth varies immensely at di fferent ,

s tages of his evolution in the individu al in the community

, , ,

and in the race .

Forms of religion like all other forms are temporary and

, ,

local the product of time and place They belong to the hori
, .

z on t a l line of sequence of cause and effect ; they are historical

and evolutionary and as such they change and pass away

, .

But Reli gion itself the energising power in the heart of

,

man which causes him to seek the Truth in larger and ever
increasing measure and makes that Truth the one vital
,

necessity of his nature compelling him to li ve in accordance,

with the measure of truth whi ch he has found— does not pas s
away for it belongs to the vertica l fi n e of direct connection
,

wi th the Etern al Reality .

 WHAT IS TR U T H ? 1 9

It is the ever present witness that the Self within— the

transcendental Ego - Sub j ect — is one with the Infinite Self ,

by whatever name that Infinite Sel f— the Noumenon of a ll

that eternally I s — may be called ; or in W hatever form it
may be apprehended or worshipped from time to time by
th e individual the community or the race
, ,
.

In all exoteri c forms of religion that N ou m en on is reg a rded

as extra- cosmic and extra- human It falls together with .
,

the whole externality of consciousness — the obj ective world

of matter -into the category of the not - self or the super ,

natural But i n es oteri c religion in all true mysticism and

.
,

t ra n s Cen d e n t a l i s m the distinction between the self and the

not -
,

self vanishes for it is clearly seen that that distinction

,

is a n arbitrary and illusive one that it pertains only to those

limitations which at present condition the Ego -
,

Subj ect in our

personal selves -how or why we have still to discover— and
arises only in the limitations of that lesser self .

The consciou s realisation of that oneness the discovery ,

of the transcendental nature of th e real Self the throwing ,

off of t e limitations of the personal self the understanding

h ,

of the how and why : in short the realisation of the divine ,

and infinite nature of the Self within— that is Religion in its ,

fullest widest deepest sense ; than which in human nature

, ,

is naught higher or nobler and to which all things all ex p eri

, ,

ence all knowledge and all l i fe moves and ministers

, , .

It is the finding of T R UTH the realisation of Eternal Life

,
.

We might summarise what we have now s aid as to the

nature of Truth in the following diagram

THE UN I VE RS E . UN I TY . TH E O N E R E A L I TY .

S CI E N C E . PH I L O S OPH Y .

Pri m or d i a l Th e A b s ol u te .

S u b s ta n ce Th e U n kn o w a b l e
M a t ter -
. .

F orce . Th e Un con s ci o u s .

It indicates in the first place that all streams of thought

, ,

and experience lead to th e apprehen s ion of a U nitary or

20 SC IENTIFI C I DEALISM
Fundamental R E A LI TY existing Eternally as the Root or
,

Noumenon of all things .

That One R E A LI TY i s All Things ; and All Things a re

that One R E A LI TY .

It must be conceived of therefore as a U N I TY There , ,

.

are not two or more Root Principles ; there is o nl y ON E

an Infinite U nity underlying that Infinite Diversity which
we know as Phenomena .

This Concept the existence of this One Root Principl e

, .

is the One Truth respecting which all are agreed The .

Universe is unth i nkable without it It is as it were the . .

, ,

point of sight in our mental picture of the Uni verse ; the

point to which all lines converge Without it we can have .

no perspective in that picture no j ust relati on and proportion ,

enabling us to formulate our knowledge in that ever widening

and deepening measure which is the measure of Truth —its
universality .

But though the existence of this One Root Princi ple is

beyond dispute though it is the One Truth on which all are
,

agreed all are by no means agreed as to the n a tu re of this

,

Principle as to wh a t it really is or how it should be defined , .

The reason for this disagreement is fairly obvious The .

m oment we be gin to define a thing we must do so by relating ,

or comparing it with something else All our experienc e .

,

all our formulated knowledge is of the nature of such a relation ,

or comparison We can only know a thing or the quality of

.
,

a thing by its opposite ; and th ough we are obliged to

,

postulate this One Unitary Principle as lying at the Root of

all things as indeed bei n g all things : yet in reality we can
,

o nl y know the Univers e as a duality in which everything has

its opposite .

Now the great maj ority of people are constitution al ly

incapable of seeing both sides of a question at the same time
-o r perhaps at any time — consequently we have di fferences
of opinion as wide apart as the poles as to what thi s One
, ,

Root Principle re al ly is Some take it for one thing some.

,

for another Some S ide with God or Spirit ; others with

.
,

the Devil or Matter

,
.

But when we have once grasped the real idea of Unit y ,

of a Oneness of a Monad of an Atom— me aning that Which

, ,

is indivisible— we sh al l understand that this Root Principl e

cannot be a Wha t at all It is so to speak all Wha ts .
, , .
 W HAT I S TR U TH ? 21

It cannot be o n e thing to the exclusion of anything else

or one qua li ty t o the exclusion of its opposite — simply because
it is ALL .

For this reason it can o nl y be expressed by a paradox ;

for of any category wh ich may be mentioned it can o nl y be
-
s ai d that i t both i s and i s n ot that which is mentioned It .

is the failure to recognise this which places so many systems

of s o- called Truth in opposition to each other .

The Infinite must express Itself in an infinite variety of

forms modes qualities attributes all of which are necessarily
, , ,

in contrast with something else Those who cling onl y to one

‘
.

form to one aspect of truth merely will inevitably miss what

,
“

Browning c a lls The perfect clear conception which is

,
”
Truth .

U nders tanding clearly this principle understanding that ,

truth is the relation and proportion of things and that we ,

must al ways come short of t h e final Truth of a thing until

we have related it to a ll and everything else — i n other words ,

to the On e Root Principle — we sh al l reach a centre of equi

librium a centre of poise and balance from which all the
,

distracting cries of lo here or 10 there can never turn us

as ide.

We may take our diagr am as representing not merely the

fact that a ll streams of thought lead to this One Unitary
Principle to which many and various names are give n but
, ,

also as repres enting broadly the di fferences which exist between

the three principal categories of human though t and ex
ri en ce : Science Philosophy and Re l igion
p e , ,
.

On the one hand we have Science which commonly ignores ,

Relig ion al together and even sneers a t the Metaphysics of

,

Philosophy Science deals only with the ob j ective phenomenal

.

side of the Universe with Matt er and E n ergy All its concepts
,
.

are mechanical and must be capable of reduction to mathe

,

ma ti cal form u l m .

At the other extreme we h ave Religion which commonly ,

ignores b oth Philosophy and S cience .

The place of balance really belongs to Philosophy midway ,

between the two extremes Philosophy must take account .

of al l human experience not of one half only ,

.

The terms used by Science and Religion respectively to

connote the One Root Principle are more or less expressive
of a partial and on e-
s ided view The terms used by .
22 SCIENTIFIC IDEALI SM
Philosophy are not so They are ho weve r mor e or less
.
, ,

paradoxical — as any definition of the ONE must n eces

s a ril y b e — and therefore can never b e p opular .

The t erm Absolute is simply a term for the ALL with ,

out any colouring so to speak

,
.

The term Unknowable —when rightly understood — may

stan d for the paradox that though the ONE is all that we .

can possibly know and all that we can possibly k now i s t h e

,

ONE yet to know that ON E in its entirety would be to know

nothing ; simply because all that we call knowle dg e being ,

a matter of relation and proportion when ALL i s k nown all

relation and proportion must cea s e —there is nothing el s e to
,

relate it t o
.

In the same manner the term U nconscious i s a paradoxical

,

expres s ion for the fact that Absolute Consciousness must be

Unconsciousness Consciousness is essentially the rel ation of
.

Sub j ect to Obj ect But in Absolute Consciousness Sub j ect

.

and Obj ect become ONE—and therefore both vanish .

Perhaps if we might hazard a guess a s to why the

phenomenal universe exists as to why the ON E apparent ly
,

becomes the many it woul d be j ust for this very reason that
, ,

an Infinite Sub j ect requires an Infinite Ob j ect whereby to

know Itself
All k nowledge is at root self-
.

knowledge We shall never .

find the ONE anywhere than within o urselve s We realise .

our own inner nature and powers by our outer experiences by ,

what we term li fe and as our ob j ective experiences become

W ider and deeper and more and more complex s o al s o must
, ,

our realisation of the Self within .

The final truth is the recognition of the oneness of the

i ndividual self and the U niversal S E LF ; the onenes s of a ll
Life and Consciousness in the within as in the without , .

There is naught to know beyond that .

The indivi dual consciousness which we conventionally

know as ours elves may grow and expand from power to power ,

and from knowledge to knowledge even to the attainment of

,

what may now appear to us to be the measure of the stature

of the Divi ne Itself Yet in reality th e Divine and the Human
.

are only terms of comparison and perchance when we have

reached to the full est measure of attainment of that which
at present appears to us to be di vine we shall still find ,

possibil ities of further evolutio n—even to the endles s end .

 WHAT Is TRUTH ? 23

Man i s as nece s sary to God as God i s to Man—and in

re al ity the two are ON E
.

My individual particular nature and your individual

,

—
particular natur equally with that of every individual
e

particular thing —must be referred back to the One

Infinite Reality as its ground and b as is It can have no
.

existence or explanation save in Th a t But as we trace it

.

back to Th a t—from stage to stage if you will though in

, ,

reality there are no stages — the limitations which make it

’
an individual thing must gradually fall away so that
‘
,

in the end we perceive nothing but the In fi nite Itself ;

“
that Infinite which is the inmost centre where Truth
”
abides in fuhi es s .
 C H A PTE R II

MATTE R S U BSTANCE
 It s e em s r ob a b l e m
to e t h a t G o d i n t h e b eg i nn i n g form e d m a t t er i n
p
, , , , , z
s oli d m a s s y h ar d i m p en etra b l e m ova b l e p a r ti cl es o f s u ch s i e s a n d fi g ures ,

a n d wi th s u ch o t h e r p rop er t i e s , a n d i n s u ch p ro p or ti on t o S p a ce a s m os t t o

con d u c e t o t h e en d for whi ch H e for m ed t h em ; a n d t h at th e s e p r i m i ti v e

p ar ti cl es , b ei n g s oli d s a r e i n com p a r a b l y h ar d er th a n a n y p o rou s b od y com

p ou n d e d of t h e m e v en s o v ery h a r d a s n ev er t o wea r or b r e a k t o p i eces no

or di n a r y p ower b ei n g a b l e t o di vi d e wh a t G o d Hi m s el f m a d e on e i n t h e fir s t
crea ti on —S I R I S A AC NE W TON , Op ti ck s
. .
 C HA P T E R I I

MATTE R A N D S UB S TAN CE

THE most comm on and obvious fact of our everyday conscious

ness is the existence of ma tter .

S O common and Obvious indeed is this fact that nothin g

, , ,

s a ve m a tt er appears to possess any reality for the average

human bein g nothing would appear to be further removed

,

from the region of mystery and con j ecture Probably not .

one person in a thousand has any conception that matter

is not what it seems to b e—sim ply matter perhaps not one
in a mil lion has ever realised that the mystery of matter is as
great as that of his own soul and that every atom of matter
C ould we but penetrate to its inmost recesses -
,

contains the
key to the whole riddle of the universe .

’
Ask the man in the street what is matter and he will ,

probably stare at you and ta k e you for a more or less harm

,

less lunatic or at best think that you are j oking But if

, .

you can succeed in persuad i ng him that you are really in

earnest and indeed most anxious to have his opinion what
, ,

answer do you suppose he will be able to give you save that ,

matter i s — well j ust matter

, .

It is only quite recently in deed that the most learned

, ,

scientist has been able to give any answer which is sub

.

s t a n t i a ll y di fferent from this It is o n ly quite recently that

.

we have been able to say with a fair amount of certainty

, ,

that matter can be traced to a deeper region that it is not ,

something s ui g en eri s but a derived or evolved product of

,

something else and that at a certain stage it ceases alto

,

gether to be ma tter in th e physical sense of that term

, .

Now if we are unable to trace matter any further back

than itself that is to say if we were unable in our ultimate
,

analysis of it to derive it from somethin g which is not matter ,

it is obvious that we S hould be unable to define it or state it

in any other terms than that of its own nature and properties ,

27
28 SC I ENTIF IC IDEAL I SM

an d thos e prop erties o nl y such as we coul d cognis e wi th our

own li mi ted faculties our de fin i tion b eing in fact al together , ,

empiric al an d de p endent ent i rely upo n our sense perceptions

,
.

Now we k now tha t our sense p erception s are exceedi ngly

limi ted in their rang e and that matter must have a great ,

many properti es of which we have no di rect cogn i san ce but ,

whi ch may be more or l ess inferred from its interactions in

var ious phenomen a In deed i f the question is thought out
.
,

to its full extent it is r eadil y seen th at though matter qua

, ,

matter mus t have a limi ted number of properties i n so far

, ,

as at a certai n point in its anal ysis it ce a s es to b e matter

al together yet an d s u bs ta nce it must have an i n fini te number
,

of pro p erti es in so far a s it m u st have its roo t in and must b e

, ,

a factor or as pect of that perm anent Noumenon that fun d a

, ,

mental R eali ty whi ch mak es a n Infinite Universe possible ,

be caus e nothin g i n the Uni vers e ca n ever b e separated

S ave in appea r ance — from that Ul timate Reality .

The question as to how far back we sho ul d have to carry our

an al ysi s of matter in order to reach that N oumenon i s an open
one Two thi ngs however we may say for certain ; firs tly
.
, , ,

that long before that Noumenon is r eached in fact at the ,

very next remove matter ce as es to b e matter at a ll as we

, ,

know it that it h as lost every quali ty which characteri ses it

,

as such to our physic al senses a n d secondly that the ulti , ,

mate question i s a pur ely metaphysic al one that it concerns ,

mind and consciousness as well as matter ,

.

Since it is our consciousn ess whi ch cognis es matter or ,

let us say an external Ob j ectiv e world there must be some

, ,

fun dament al relation between t h e two What that relation is .

,

it i s the obj ect of metaphysics and phi losophy to di s cover .

The o nl y ce rtai n definition of matter in relation to conscious

ness therefore which we ca n give at the pres ent time is that
, , ,

it i s obj ecti ve thereto So long as there is an ob j ective world

.

extern a l to conscio usness that world must be in some sense ,

materi al and however far back we may carry our an alys is of

matter it must always have thi s Characteristic of obj ectivity
, .

If we think of consciousn ess as functionin g on other plan es

which ar e not materi al in our pres ent physical apprehension
of the term if for instance we t hi n k of the po ssib i lity of
, , ,
’
enterin g an other world after death it is evident that i n ,

so far as that world is obj ective to our then state of conscious

ness it m ust be ma teri al in some sense of the term for if i n
,
 MATTE R AND S U BSTANCE 29

that world there are obj ects or bodies they must be formed ,

of some kind of s u bs ta nce which will differentiate them from

,

consciousness and will give us the impression of subj ect

,

and ob j ect of a self and a not -

, self j ust as we have now on the ,
’
physical plan e Even a spiritual body qu d body must be
.
, ,

material in so far as it is the object of consciousness and as

such is a not -
, ,

, self .

But thes e metaphysical considerations are not the pro

V ince of science in the mo dern acceptation of the term
, .

Science commences with the empirical fact of an extern al

obj ective world and deals with that world as an independent
,

reality The tendency of science is to make matter or

.
,

substance the permanent reality of the universe rather

“

, ,

than consciousness Nevertheless there is a higher science

a science of the S elf as well as a science of the not -
.
,

, self To .

reach the highest truth we must have a knowledge of both .

Let us now endeavour in the first instance to ascertain , ,

how far our modern science can take us in its analysis of

matter and force .

Matter presents itself to our senses in three states the ,

solid the liquid and the gaseous Furthermore we see that

, , .
,

there are a great many different substances which possess very

di fferent qualities ; that some of these can exist in all three
states some in two and some only in one Water is the most
, , .

common instance of a substance e x isting rea di ly in all thr ee

states The metals such as iron gold lead etc whi ch
.
, , , , .
,

commo nl y exist in a soli d state can be li quefied by heat ; ,

l iquids may be either solidi fied or rendered gaseous by a p 9

p rop ri a te means ; while Substances whi ch usually exist as a

gas such as oxygen hydr ogen carbonic acid etc can be
, , , ,
.
,

liquefied and even solidified by extreme cold and pressure

, , .

It is fairly obvious to our unaided senses that most of the

substances with which we deal in everyday life are not simple
s ubstances but are compounds of others
, But if we wish to .

discover the exact nature of these compoun ds to discover ,

what are the simpler elements into which they may be resolved ,

we must have recourse t o the science of chemi stry .

Here we take one step further than we can go by means

of our unaided senses ; we take the first step into th e arcane ,

into that region which is hidden from the senses but which ,

is discerni ble by the mind and reason We also take a first .

step from the common a p p ea ra nce of th ing s towards a

30 SCIENTI F IC IDEALISM
better understan di ng of their inner nature towards a ,

definite answer to the question what is matter in its ultimate ,

n a ture
The fir st and most obvious business of chemistry in this
respect is to resolve all known substances into their simplest
elements— to try and di scover W hat are the most primitive
forms of matter We find by analysis for example that such
.
, ,

a common thing as water is not a simple substance but can ,

be resolved into two elements namely oxygen and hydrogen , , ,

each of which exists in a natural state as a gas We do not .

find however that oxygen a n d hydrogen can be split up into

, ,

anything else and these are therefore classified as elementa ry

,

substances The same must be said of all the metals ; gold

.
,

silver iron copper etc are all el emen ta ry substances i n ca p

, , ,
.
, ,

able of being resolved by any known process into any simpler

forms of matter .

The number of simple elementary substances which can

now be enumerated is between seventy and eighty but most of ,

these have been known from the remotest times and during the ,

last century so notable for scientific di scove ry and achieve

,

ment only some ten or a dozen new el ements have been dis
,

covered most of which exist in very small and insignificant

,

quantities It is worthy of note however that the scienti fic

.
, ,

and philosophical importance of these rare elements appears

to be almost in inverse ratio to their practical i n s i g ni fi ca n ce .

The existence of some of them such as Helium was predicted , ,

before they were discovered and their actual di scovery was a

,

fitting climax to some of the most brilliant and remarkable

scientific work .

The latest element which has been added to the list an ,

elemen t so rare that its very existence was not even suspect ed

ten years ago is RADIUM We print it in capital letters

,
.

because there is no discovery in the whole range of science ,

ancient or modern which can compare in philosophical i m

,

portance with this latest di scovery It marks an epoch in .

the history of the world to which we are perhap s as yet too

,

near to realise the full significance How and why this is so .

we shall hope to make clear as we proceed .

Out of the seventy or ei g h ty primary elements with perhaps

~
,

a few more which have not yet been di scovered the whole ,

of those substances— a n almost un limited number—Which we

handle and manipulate which we eat and drink with which
, ,
 MATTER AND S UB STANCE I

we clothe ourselves and of which our physical body is built

,

up are compounded
,
.

But it must not be supposed that because che mical science

during the past century has only been able to add some ten or
a dozen to the known number of elementary substances and ,

has been unable to resolve these primary elements into any

thing else that therefore i t has added very little to our know
,

ledge of the constitution of matter Apart altogether from .

the discovery of Radi um our knowledge of the structure

“

of matter is almost immeas urably greater than it was a

hundred years ago when Dalton fir st propounded his atomic
,

theory .

Space will not permit of our givi ng any account of th e

brilliant achi evements of synthetic chemistry of th e building ,

up of extremely complex substances which were previously

supposed to belong o nl y to the organic world to be the ex ,

clu s i ve product of the vegetable or animal kingdoms Alcohol .

,

sugar in di go formic acid a large number of fats and a host

, , , ,

of other substances are now made by purely Chemical processes ,

and hav e taken the place of the natural products which were
previously the sol e source of supply .

The discovery of i s omeri c substances is another example

of the triumph of chemic al analysis and synthesis Isomeric .

substances are those whi ch have exactly the same chemical

composition exactly the same constituent elements combined
, ,

in exactly the same proportions but which yet diff er so much ,

in thei r properties and effects that in the one case they may ,

form a deadl y poison in another case be quite harmless , .

Butyric acid which gives the peculiar smell to rancid butter

, ,

has the same chemic al composition as acetic ether which has ,

th e pleasant odour of apples Each consists of the same number .

of atoms of carbon hydrogen and oxygen ( C4H8 02) yet their

, , ,

properties are totally different .

Singul arly enough almost all these achieve ments are

,

based upon the extraordi nary combi ni ng properties of one

very common element namely carbon There are some, , .

compounds of carbon which have actually been isolated and

studied and others are known to be possible
, .

All thes e brilliant achievements wo uld have been absol utely

impossible apart from some definite conception as to the
ultimate structure of matter apart from a mathematical ,

knowledge of atoms and molecules and it is principally in ,

32 SCIENTI F IC IDEALISM
this direction in atomic and molecular physics th at such
, ,

e normous adva n ces have been made during the past century .

Having discovered that certain substances are el ementa ry ,

that they cannot be resolved by any known process into

anything else the next question which naturall y arises is
, ,

how much can any given mass of such a substance be sub

divided what is the smallest mass or particle of such a sub
,

stance is there such a thing as a smallest possible particle

, ,

and if so what is its nature

,

This question was practically settled so far as chemical ,

analysis is concerned rather more than a hundred years ago

, ,

when Dalton propoun d ed the atomic theory which has since

been associated with his name .

Speculations as to the atomic constitution of m a t ter d a te ‘

back to the remotest times and are specially associated with

,

the name of Democritus 47 0 But the distinguishing

,

feature of the theory of Dalton was that he assigned to every

atom a special wei ght corresponding to the defin ite weight
,

with which the various elementary substances were known

to co mbine with each other Thus for instance the smallest .
, ,

quantity of oxygen which will enter in combination with

another substance is always S ixteen times heavier than the
small est quantity of hydrogen It does not matter whether .

we weigh these two substances in pounds ou n ces or grains , , ,

the combining proportion will always be 1 6 to I Dalton .

argued from this that if we could isolate a sin gle atom of

oxygen and also a single atom of hydrogen we should find that ,

the oxygen atom is sixteen times heavier than the hydrogen

atom This theory very quickly became the b asis of a ll
.

chemical Operations and even if there were no such things as

,

atoms in reality it would still be t rue as an empiric al fact that

,

there is a certain min imum quantity of every elementary sub

stan c e which can enter into chemical combination and it is ,

that quantity which is called the a tom .

But the mind cannot rest there we must push the inquiry ,

still further back and ask what is the nature of the atom itself
, ,
’
Al though Dalton s atomic theory satisfies all the requirements
of chemical science — u p to a certain point — and is perfec t ly
true wit h in its own limitations there still remains a theoretical
,

and p h ilosophical difficulty It arises thus . .

If the atom is a perfectly defin it e mass of matter and a s , ,

such must occupy a certain amount of space however minute

, ,
 MATTER AND S U BSTANCE 33

that space may be how is it that it cannot be subdivided

It is impossible to conceive of anything which has bulk or
extension in space which may not be divided in imagination
, ,

at a ll events ; and if in imagination why not in act u ality ? ,

In other words what is the nature and structure of the atom

,

itself
If the atom cannot be subdivided but yet has mass and ,

extension in space are we to conceive of it as a hard rigid

, , ,

impenetrable particle as some phenomena would lead us to

,

conclude or are we to conceive of it as possessing elasticity

, ,

as other phenomena most certainly necessitate But if it is

elastic it must have parts which can move relatively to each
other it must in fact be compressible or d i s t ort i b l e and is thus
, , , ,

not the simple indivisible particle which the term atom implies .

But if this be so and the atom can actually be subdivided

, ,

how far may that subdivision be carried and what is the nature ,

of the various parts of which it may thus be presumably com

“

posed Are we to conceive that each of these smaller parts

is still matter possessing the same characteristics and pro
,

e r t i e s as the atom itself or are we to conceive that the atoms

p ,

are built up of some rarer or more subtle element which ,

possibly might possess none whatever of the characteristics

of physical matter even as water is so totally different in all
,

its characteristics from the two gases of which it is com

pounded
These and similar questions have occupied the most acute
minds in science and philosophy during the past century ,

and many various and mutually contradictory have b een

, ,

the theories which have been put forward to cover the observed
phenomena and experimental exigencies of the case The .

atom has been attacked exp erimentally mathematically and , ,

metaphysically from all sides and in every conceivable manner , ,

but down to the very close of the century it continued to

present in practice a hard and impassable barrier an appar ,
’
ently impenetrable veil which defied all man s e fforts to pierce
into the arcane region beyond and perchance to read there ,

the solution of the ri ddle of the universe .

At the commencement of this chapter we give a remarkable

quotation from one of the works of Sir Isaac Newton written ,

about the year 1 704 This passage presents to us in a clear

.

and concise form the orthodox s ci en t i fi c— and we may also

add the orthodox religious — view of the origin and con s ti tu
,
34 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM

tion of matter which has prevailed from Newton s tim e—not ’

to g o any further bac k —to our own and which even yet pre
va i ls with those who have failed to grasp the epoch -
,

making
discoveries of the past decade or who are afraid to accept ,

them in their full significance lest they sho ul d be swept from

their old moorings from the solid ground of re al ity— s o-
,

called
-
,

into an unkno wn region where matter becomes a p urely

metaphysic al abstraction Moreover the thought of to d ay .
,

is still dominated to a large extent by the old crea ti on a l ide a

which so evidently held possession of the mind of Newton .

In 1 8 8 5 we find a wel l kn own Professor writing a s follows

’
of S i r Wm Thomson s (afterwards Lord Kelvin ) vortex
.

atom theory of matter : Its very basis implies the a bs olute

n eces s i ty of an intervention of Creative Power to form or to
”1
destroy one atom even of dead matter .

We are very far fro msayin g that natural laws are not at ,

their root and source the expression of a divin e formative ,

Pr i nciple and Intell igence but it is di fficult to see how the

formation of an atom of matter out of some simpler element
involves a special creative act any more than the formation ,

of a molecule of some substance— say water—compounded

out of these same atoms Moreover as we know that the .
,

atoms d o disin tegrate in the case of Radium and probably ,

of al l other substances we must if we accept the above dictum

, ,

postulate the intervention of Creative Power in the phe

n o m en a of radio - activity If atoms can and do break up by .

a natural process they may b e— and by a ll an al ogy they are

,

formed al so by a natural process .

But the scientific faith of the nineteenth centu ry has bee n

pinned to the conception of an indest r uctible atom Over
the founda tion -
.

a n d over again atoms have been cal led stones

of the universe If they had been call ed the foundation
.

stones of materialism it woul d have been somewhat nearer,

the mark The following quotation is from the f a mous Dis

.

course on Molecules delivered before the British Association

,

at Bradford in 1 8 73 by Professor Clerk Maxwell

N o th e o ry o f ev o l u ti o n ca n b e fo r m e d t o a cc o u n t for th e s i m i l a ri ty
of m ol e cu l e s for e v ol u t i o n n eces s a ril y i m p li es co n ti n u o u s ch a n g e,
,

a n d t h e m o l e cu l e i s i n ca p a b l e o f g row th or d e ca , o f g en e ra ti o n o r
y
d es t r u c ti o n .

1
R ecent A dva n ces i n _Phy s i ca l S ci en ce, b y P . G Tai t
.
( E di n b urg h ) 3rd ,
ed .

p . 2 4.
 MATTER AND S U BSTANCE 3 5

N on e of th e p r o ces s es o f N a tu re , S i n ce t h e ti m e wh en N a tu re
b eg a n , h a v e p r o d u ce d t h e s li g h t es t di ff er en ce i n t h e p r op er ti e s o f a n y
m ol e cu l e W e a r e th er e for e u n a b l e to a s cri b e ei th er th e e x i s t en ce o f
.

t h e m ol e cu l es o r th e i d e n ti ty o f th ei r p r op er ti es to a n y o f t h e c a u s es
wh i ch we c a ll n a tu r a l .

N a t u r al ca u s es a s w e k n ow, a re a t wor k , w hi ch t en d t o m o d i fy ,
,

i f th ey d o n o t a t l e n g th d e s tr oy , a l l t h e a rr a n g e m e n t s a n d d i m e n s i o n s
o f th e e a r th a n d th e w h ol e s o l a r s y s t e m B u t th o u g h i n th e c o u r s e
.

o f a g es c a t a s tr op h e s h a v e o cc u rr e d a n d m a y y e t occu r i n t h e h e a v e n s ,

t h ou g h a n ci en t s y s t e m s m a y b e d i s s ol ve d a n d n e w s y s te m s e v o l v e d o u t
o f th ei r r u i n s , t h e m o l e cu l e s o u t o f w hi ch t h es e s y s t e m s a r e b u i l t— th e

fou n d a ti on - s to n es of th e m a t eri a l u n i v e rs e— r e m ai n u n b r ok e n a n d
u n w orn Th ey c on ti n u e thi s d a y a s th e y we r e cre a t e d —p erfec t i n
.

”
n u m b e r a n d m e a s u r e a n d we i g h t .

We may note in this again the theological bias creeping , ,

in and g ivi ng rise to positive assertions wh ich are not merely

,

u nwarranted but whi ch we now know to be untrue

,
.

We may give here one other extract from a popu l ar

scientific work published in 1 8 9 9 and supposed to give the
, ,

latest word of science at that date respecting the nature of

matter to S how how the idea that matter is something s ui
,

g en eri s has held scientific minds even down to the very close
of last century In M a tter E th er a n d M oti on by Professor
.
, , ,

A E D olb ea r of Tufts Coll ege Mas s US A ( English ed

. .
, , ,
. .

1 899 p ,
we read the followi ng
.

Th e re i s n o th i n g t o i n d i c a te t h a t a t tri ti on a m on g a to m s o r m ol e
c u l e s e v e r re m ov e s a ny of th ei r m a teri a l . It ap p e a rs a s i f o n e m i gh t
a ffi r m i n th e w a y th a t th e a to m s
s tr on g e s t o f m a t t er n e v e r w e ar

ou t . S o on e m a y b e l e d t o t h e co n cl u s i o n th a t w h a t e v e r e l s e m a y
d e ca y , a to m s d o n o t , b u t r e m a i n a s ty p e s o f p e r m a n e n cy th r o u g h a l l
i m a gi n a b l e ch a n g e s — p er m a n e n t b o d i es i n fo r m a n d a l l p h y s i ca l
q u a li ti e s , a n d p e r m a n e n t i n ti m e , c a p a b l e a p p a r e n t l y o f e n d u ri n g

t h r ou g h Pr e s e n ti n g n o e v i d e n ce o f g r o w th or d ec a y ,
i n fi n i te t i m e .

th ey a r e i n s t r o n g c on tra s t wi th s u ch b o d i e s o f vi s i b l e m a g n i t u d e a s
o u r s e n s e s d i r e c tl y p e rcei v e Th e re a p p e a r s t o b e n o thi n g s t a b l e
.

but a to m s .

Such indeed was the a p p ea ra n ce of things at that time .

But in 1 8 9 8 Radium wa s discovered ; and all such long

cherished ideas wi th much else besides were blown to the
, ,

winds .

We should remark however with regard to dates that it , , ,

was not until 1 9 02 or 1 903 that the phenomena connected

with Radium b eg a nZtobe understood or their true explanation ,

given It wa s not un til then that it was defi nitely proved

.
36 S CIENTIFIC IDEALI S M

that the phenomena were due to the actu al brea k ing- u p of

the Radium atom .

I t must not be supposed that the discovery of Radium

was an isolated or fort ui tous scientific achievement or that ,

the revolution which it has now effected in our scientific

knowledge of the nature and constituti on of matter was
wholl y unforeseen Such is never the case with any great
.

scientific discovery The way is always paved by other

.

discoveries and experiments a n d the coming event casts ,

its shadow beforehand The discovery of Radium was a .

fitting climax to a number of brilliant investigations and

di scoveries which have never been equalled in the history of
science and which will assuredly mark out the past decade
, ,

even in the light of more brill iant achieveme n ts yet t o come ,

as the definite triumph of mind over m a tter as the commence ,

ment of a new era in science and philosophy .

For the great fact which is represented by the work of

that decade is this — th a t we h a ve g et behi n d the a tom of ma tter .

We must go back much more than a decade for the actual

experimental foreshadowing of this momento us achievement .

We must go ba ck some 3 0 years to the discovery by Sir ,

Wm Crookes of what are known as the ca th ode r a y s It

. .

had long been known that when an electric discharge was made
to pass through a tube from which the air was exh austed
c omm only called a Geissler tube —certain remarkable luminous
e ffec s co uld be obser ved but their significance was not under
t ,

stood These effects were exhaustively studied by Sir Wm

. .

Crooke s who was also able by obtaining a very high vacuum

, ,

in his tubes to observe certain effects which had not hitherto

,

been recorded These e ffects were found to be due to a

.

peculiar form of radiation which emanated from the cathode

electric pole with in the tube When these ra y s impinged .

upon any substance upon the opposite pole or anode or upon

, ,

th e walls of the tube they produced certain heating and

,

luminous e ffects notably tho se of phosphorescence and

,

fl uorescence They were found to travel in str a ight lines

.

t o cast a shadow of any obj ect placed in their path ; to be

capable of deflection by means of a magnet ; and perhaps ,

more extraordinary still they coul d prod uce mechanical ,

e ffects such as driving a sm al l wi ndmill All these phenomena

, .

were very di fficult to explain on the supposition that the

cathode rays were similar in nature to other known forms of
 MATTER AND S U BSTANCE 37

radiant energy such as light or heat and the theory which

,

Sir Wm Crookes himself put for ward was that the rays
.
,

consisted of actual particles of matter repelled from the

cathode with ve ry great velocity under the influence of the
el ectric c urrent But this matter he supposed to be in a
.

di fferent state from that with which we are commo n ly familiar

and he named it ultra- gaseous or ra di a nt ma tter This
, .

explanation is now known to be substan tially correct but ,

it was not accepted at the time .

’
For twenty years or more Crookes tubes were in general
use for demonstration and experimental purposes without any ,
‘

thing very remarkable being further discovered But i n 1 8 9 5 .

Professor R ontgen observed quite by accident that there

, ,

was a new and extraordinary kind of radiation emitted by

these tubes and that these ra ys were active outs i de of the
,

tu be
. The presence of these ra ys is manifested by their
abilit y to produce power ful fluorescence in certain substances
such as the platino -
,

c y anide of barium But their most striking .

and remark a ble property is that of acting upon a photographic

plate and of penetrating ordinary matter t o a certain degree
,

depending upon the density of the matter This ch aracteristic .

of the rays was utilised as is now so well known to obtain

, ,

photographs of the bones of the body Owing to the difficulty .

of acco unting for these remarkable rays they were named

X ray s This discovery was one more step in the
.

notable series which c ulminated in the discovery of

Radium .

The next step was the discovery by Professor Henri

Becquerel in 1 8 9 6 of the pecul iar properties of U ranium .

He found by a series of experiments on the fluorescent

properties of this substance to which he was led by the
,

discoveries of Crookes R ontgen and others that Uranium

, , , ,

’
like the Crookes tube possessed the peculiar property which
is n ow known under the general term of ra di o-
,

a cti vi ty It .

was found to emit a peculiar kind of radiation which was

capable of penetrating matter and of producing effects on a
,

photographic plate Compared with the X rays this pro

.
,

perty was very feebly manifested in the case of Uranium ,

but still it was there and had to be accounted for

,
.

In the meantime other investigators were at work in

other departments of chemistry physics and mathematics , , ,

a ll endeavouring to undermine the stability of t h e hitherto

38 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
indestructible atom but the signific a nce of their work was
,

only understood by a very few .

The next date takes us to 1 8 9 8 when Madame Curie ,

published the results of an exhaustive examination of all the

known elements for any trace of radio - activity Only one .
,

namely Thorium , was found to possess that property and a

, ,

new one — Polonium — was discovered But her investigations

.

led Madame Cu r ie to surmise the existence in compounds of

Ur anium of a n ew and hitherto unsuspected element possess ,

ing immensely greater radio —activity than either Uranium

or Thorium She immediately set to work to discover this
.

element and the result wa s —Radium

,
.

Such ver y briefly is the history of the remarkable dis

, ,

c over i es which have revolutionised the orthodox scientific

conceptions of matter and of much else besides

, .

The significance of Radium lies in the fact that here we

have a n element which is actually di s i n tegra ti n g i ts elf ; that
the atom of Radium — or at all events some of the atoms a ,

definite proportion of a given mass — are brea ki n g up of th ei r

own a ccord and actua l ly converting themselves into another
,

element —Helium — wh i le some of the contents of the atom

fly off into S pace with enormous velocity and in doing so ,

give rise to the now well - kno wn phenomena of radio - activity .

Some of these emitted particles or corpuscles — those known

as t h e B rays — have been identified with the Cathode rays
’
of the Crookes tube and they a re found to possess a ma s s
which is about one -
,

thousandth that of the lightest atom

known namely Hydrogen
, , .

The study of the phenomena of radio - activity has led to

a very definite knowledge of these extremely minute corpuscles ,

and the evidence is now irresistible that they constitute a

sub -atomic form of matter that all matter all the atoms in ,

fact are built up of these corp u s cl es or el ectr on s as they have

, ,

been called and that the atomic weight of the various elements
,

is largely if not entirely due to the vary ing number of el ectr on s

which go to make up the atom of any particular substance .

B u t t h i s is by no means the whole of this remarkable

’

chapter of discovery The obvious question arises what is

.
,

the n ature of the el ectron itself P Is it still matter is it o nl y ,

a still smaller subdivision of the atom of that which with ,

we are already familiar as a ma teri a l substance or is it some

thing wholly different P
 MATTER AND S U BSTANCE 39

Th e answer to this question is that the el ectron I s some ,

thing quite different from what we have been accustomed to

think of as ma tter It may be and indeed by some scientists
.
,

is considered certainly to b e— e lectricity Each el ectron .

exhibits all the characteristics of a definite quantity of elec

t ri ci ty it is a unit charge an atom of electricity as definite
, ,

and apparently as indivisible in its turn as was the atom of

matter which it h as supplanted as the smallest known thing .

It possesses i n erti a the most characteristic property of

,

matter but that inertia ma y be wholly electrical or electro

, ,

magn etic i h its nature and not due to what we have been
,

accustomed to think of as the m a s s of the substance Thus .

all matter ma y be an electrical phenomenon and the apparent ,

inertia of matter in bulk only a masked effect of what would

be better described as energy rather than matter For as .
,

we shall see presently the apparent inertness of matter is

,

altogether il lusory All matter is in reality extremely active

. .

But when we have said that the el ectron is electricity a n d ,

presuming that the existence and properties of the el ectron

will account for all the phenomena of electricity as well as of
matter— which is by no means certain— we have only Changed
our name for the thing What we require to know is what
.
,

is the s u bs ta n ce of the el ectron P There appears to be no doubt

whatever in this respect The el ectron is some form or
.

modification of the E th er ; it is a manifestation of etheric

activity .

Now the Ether is an invisible impalpable intangible , ,

something of whic h we have no direct evidence whatever

,

through the medium of our senses but whose existence it is ,

n e ce s s a rv to infer from the phenomena of light heat elec , ,

t r i ci ty and magnetism
, All these were formerly classed as
.

forces but more rec ently as modes of energy or modes of

, ,

motion A force may be defined as that which acts in upon

.
, ,

or through matter to produce motion Matter cannot move .

itself Its fundamental characteristic — i n bulk— is i n erti a ;

.

it requires force to move it and force to stop it when it has

,

been set i n motion The amount or measure of this force is

.

the measure of the ma s s of matter involved .

What then is the position which now obtains ? Matter

has resolved itself into electrons and electrons are —what ? ,

centres of force in the Ether etheric ghosts verily as i m, ,

material as the reflection oi ourselves which we see in the

40 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
looking - glass For the Ether is absolutely impalpable and
.

intangible It is so subtle that it interpenetrates the densest

.

substances and o ffers not the slightest resistance to their

,

motions although it apparently fil ls a ll space It is not

,
.

subj ec t to any of our famil iar laws of dynamics though it is ,

undoubtedly the immediate cause of them all It b elongs .

to a n other Pl a n e of substance intimately rela ted to our ,

physical Plane yet so far as -our direct consciousness of it is

concerned— non -
,

existent .

Can we pursue these g hosts any further ? Must science

now own itself ba ffled and defeated own that the riddle is ,

more insoluble than ever P By no means It has long been .

foreseen by a few th a t the present position would obtain ,

and that we should have to fall back upon a knowl edge of

the Ether for the solution of every problem in physics and
dynamics .

As far back as 1 86 7 Lord Kelvin propounded what is

known as the vortex - ring theory of matter in which he sur ,

m s e d that matter might consist of a number of vortex rings

i -
of v arying size and complexity formed in the substance of ,

the Ether This theory was cap a ble of explaining some

.
,

but not all of the properties and phenomena of matter Other .

investigators have long been deal ing with the problem of the
Ether both experimen t ally and mathematically but no
, ,

general consensus of Opinion as to its n a ture and properties

has yet been arrived at .

The el ectron s are certainly some form or mode of Ether ,

precisely what that mode is or what the Ether itself is is, ,

the n ext step in the s o lution of the great problem .

If then we have only pushed the question back one step to

, , ,

an impalpable and unsubstantial region where it is apparently

much more di ffi cult to foll ow it : what have we gained P
We have gained very much i n d eed p h il os op h i ca lly In m
.

the first place we have no longer two unknown factors

matter and Ether— to deal with but only one— Ether So ,
.

long as matter was i rresolvable into anything else it was ,

also an irresolvable factor in the equation of the universe it “

might b e considered as a primal or primordial en tity whose ,

existence it was necess ary to account for s u i g en eri s ; and

indeed a s we have already seen it was so accounted almost
, , ,

’
without exception by natural philosophy not to mention
, ,

au thorit ative religion .

 MATTER AND SUBSTAN CE 41

But the whole of philosophy is necessarily directed towards

a unification of all phenomena towards some conception of ,

the Universe as a Un ity in which there are not several ,

Ultimate Principles or Fundamental Realities but only ON E

, ,
.

And if matter has now been definitely traced back to

some more primal factor to something which is more nearly ,

akin to what has hitherto been classed as force or en ergy to ,

something which takes us altogether out of the materialism

of matter : it is one step and that a very large one towards , ,

such a conception of a primal basic fundamental Reality ,

of a unifying Principle which is certainly not matter and ,

which did not create matter as a S pecial act — out of nothing

—but of which matter in common with every other phenomena
,

in the external obj ective world is a mode and a manifestation ,

.

In its higher aspects that fundamental unifying Principle ,

or Noumenon may be Mind Spirit Consciousness Life or

, , , , ,

Pur e Being whatever any of these terms may hereafter come

,

to signify Having gained the first step having definitely

.
,

got behind matter and resolved it back to anoth er Plan e

, ,

the further steps become b y p ri n ci p l es of correspondence ,

‘

a n d an al ogy and the general uniformity of nature almost

, ,

certainly assured .

Thus physical matter qud matter must cease to be , ,

regarded as a created thing It takes its appropriate place .

as an evolved product it falls into line with that universal

,

principle which operates in all phenomena and is the basis ,

of all real philosophy both ancient and modern —the principle

,

of evolution .

Herbert Spencer to whom we owe the modern develop

,

ment of this great principle deals very exhaustively in his ,

F i rs t Pri n ci p l es with the question of the divisibility of

matter and comes to the natural metaphysical conclusion
,

that matter so long as it has extension in space must be

, ,

infinitely divi sible But he assumes that matter as such is

.

indestructible and that evolution is merely the result of

,

redistrib utions of matter and force On the other hand .

,

many physicists ma terialists and uph olders of the atomo

, ,

mechanical theory will have nothing to do with such infinite

,

divisibility Thus we find B ii ch n e r in his F orce a n d

.
,

M a tter saying
, To accept infinite divisibility is absurd ,

and amounts to doubting the very existence of matter .

In 1 8 8 7 Sir Wm Crookes published a paper on The

.
42 SCIENTIF IC I DEALISM
Genesis of the Elements in wh i ch he outlined an evolutionary ,

process for the chemical elements from some Pri mordi a l

S u bs ta n ce which he termed Pr otyl e in accordance with what
, ,

is known in chemistry as the p erio dic law This was perhaps .

the fi rst definite attempt to deal with matter itself from an

evolutionary point of V iew and ; like much in the work of ,

this scientist was suggestive of very much else which was not
,

acceptable at the time but which afterwards became clearly ,

recognised .

But if we go back in philosophy to still earlier times to ,

Medieval Al chemy for example we find there very definite

, ,

statements as to the possibility of transmuting one el ement

into another ; in other words the Alchemists either knew , ,

or surmised that the atom of matter was not indestructible

,

and immutable There is no positive and conclusive evidence

.

that the transmutation of one metal into another was ever

practically accomplished though many students of alchemical ,

lore believe that such was th e case but it is at least remark

able that the Alchemists shoul d have taught the possibility
of such a process wh ch we now know to be theoretically
,
i

correct and in the case Of Radium is actually being a ccom “

, , ,

p li s h e d by a natural process We must remember also that .

in t h ose times Philosophers had to be very careful of their

skins for the infallible Church which tortured Galileo and
, ,

sent Bruno to the stake had a great deal to s ay in the matter ,

.

Moreover it is very unlikely that any one who really did

,

possess this knowledge would make it common prop erty .

The absence of any definite evidence that the process was

actually accomplished is t h e refore hardly to be wondered at ,

and must not be taken as conclusive .

We may also go back to the old Greek Philosophers for

many conceptions both of matter of the Z Eth er and of , ,

evolution which find a si n gular confirmation in our most

,

recent discoveries .

Further back than that again we may go to the old ,

Vedanta Philosophy of the ancient Aryans and find therein ,

a statement of the principles of cosmic evolution which is

immensely wider in its scope than any of the accepted doctri nes
of the present day and which defini tely asserts the evolution
,

and involution of the whole of the Cosmos from one Primal

Source in accordance with a periodic law
, .

We may therefore now ask if physic al matter is derived

, ,
 fl
MATTER AND SUBSTANCE 43

or evolved from the Ether from W hat is the Ether itself ,

derived ? Is it a primitive and indestructible substance is ,

it the Urs to of the universe or is it in tur n derived from ,

something still further removed from the Plane of physical

matter ? Is there some form of substance which approaches
still nearer to that eternal and fundamental Reality which
the mind must of necessity postulate as the basis of all
phenomena and which approaching nearer and nearer to that
, ,

Reality must take on more a n d more the characteristics of

,

free unconditioned unbounded and infinite Life and Conscious

, ,

ness departing more a n d more from the opposite pole which

,

is to us physical matter P
Physical science can give no answer t o this question ; it
has enough to do for the present without pushing the inquiry
any further back than the Ether and indeed it is an immense
step to have got back so definitely by purely inductive and ,

experimental methods to the Ether itself ,

.

But the question in its final form is not a physical one at

all it must necessarily be a metaphysical and philosophical
,

one for it must include the factor of consciousness and the

, ,

relation of subj ect and obj ect Orthodox science however .

, ,

abhors metaphysics its conceptions of the universe are nothing

,

if not dynamical and who ever heard of the kinetic energy

of consciousness or applied to it the methods of th e calculus P
,

The most that science can postulate in this connection

is the necessity for the existence of some ultimate substantial
basis something which we may term S u bs ta n ce even if we
,

cannot term it ma tter at the root of all the phenomena of

,

matter and energy the existence of some form of Pri mordi a l

S u bs ta n ce eternal indestructible immutable in the sum total
, , ,

of its attributes or qualities which at present are rep re ,

sented in the scientific consciousness as Matter Ether and , ,

Motion .

Al though therefore as we have now seen it is necessary

, , ,

that we should rid ourselves of the idea that physical matter

is a created product or that it stands in any sense b y it s elf
,

as a special or primary factor in the constitution of the Un i verse

cons idered as a Whole ; and although we must abandon the
favourite scientific dogma of the nineteenth century that
(physical ) matter is i ndestructible : we find that it is st i ll
necessary to fall back upon some idea of S u bs ta nce such as ,

the Ether from which matter is derived or crystallised out

, , ,
 44 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM

as it were and I f the Ether in its turn — as i ndeed is very

likely— proves to be atomic in its structure or at least has s ome ,

characteristic which is equivalent to atomicity namely that it , ,

is not continuous in its structure as it has hitherto been

considered to be that it is not homogeneous and does not
, ,

completely fil l space then we should have to fall back upon

some further form of Substance interpenetrat ing the Ether , ,

as the Ether does physical matter and from which the Ether ,

itself might also be derived or differentiated out .

It should be noted here that this is quite a different idea

from that of the infinite divisibility of matter in the old sense ,

such as Herbert Spencer deals with in his F i rs t Pri n ci p les .

That idea is based upon the supposed indestructibility of

matter an d matter a thing which we now know to be false
, .

The idea which must replace it is that of matter as the resultant ,

the end term as it were of a series of differentiations from

, ,

some Primordi al Substance which may be very many removes ,

away back from physical m atter as we know it and which ,

even in its next remove is something so totally different ,

fro m matter that any conceptions we can form of it based

,

upon our common ex p erience of the material world on this

Plane of consciousness only result in the most absurd con
,

t ra d i c t i on s .

Whatever therefore may be the nature of that U ltimate

, ,

Real ity which I s the Universe we must note here that in so , ,

far as all ph enomena imply a duality of subj ect and ob j ect ,

in so far as there exists in consciousness an obj ective world ,

it would appear to be necessary that we should demand as

the basis of that obj ective world some form of S u bs ta nce ,
"
which qu a Substance must always appear to be an inde
pendent reality outside o f consciousness ; to be in fact t h e
not -
, ,

self .

We shall revert to this later on but it is necessary here , ,

and from the purely scientific point of V iew that we should ,

clearly grasp the principle that the whole phenomenal universe

must have ema nated from and may be resolved back into , ,

one Primordial Root Substance and that the various differ ,

en t i a t i on s of this Primordial Substance constitu t e a descending

series of Planes of which the Etheric a n d the Physical appear

,

to us to be the two lowest terms the furthest removed from ,

the Primal N oum en on .

The con cepts of modern science respectin g this Primal

 MATTER AND S U BSTANCE 45

Noume non or Primordial Substance are a t present almost ,

entirely dominated by the physical dynamics and dead - atom

mechanical theories which have constituted the orthodoxy
of science during the past c entury .

Whilst the scientific method of slow and cautious advance

upon the assured ground of experimental facts is in a certain ,

limited sense the real basis of all true knowledge it has to be

, ,

accepted with many qualifications and much reserve respect

ing a large part indeed the largest part of human nature
, ,

and experience which science cannot touch by its methods

, .

It must be clearly understood that scientific theories and

principles in so far as they are true are only true within very
, ,

narrow lim its and the whole history of science is one of con
,

st a n t readj ustment of theories to meet the requirements of

a more extended knowledge of phenomena .

There is a natural tendency of the mind to explain all new

a n d Un familiar facts in terms of those concepts which have

been found adequate to represent the already known pheno

mena and not merely so but also to attach to those concepts
,

a false and misleading significance to forget the infinity of ,

possibilities which lie behind phenomena and t o give to the ,

external world a reality and a finality corresponding to the

already formed concepts An exclus i ve reliance upon scientific
.

k nowledge undoubtedly exaggerates this n a tii r a l tendency .

of the mind as witness the dogmatic pronouncements of many

,

prominent scientists during the latter half of the nineteenth

century some of which make very curious reading at the
,

present time It also causes many facts in other departments

.

of hu man experience to be rej ected on a p ri ori grounds if ,

those facts appear to be violently in conflict with accepted

’

theories Witness in this respect the attitude of orthodox

.

science towards psychic phenomena because forsooth psychic , , ,

phenomena appear to — and undoubtedly do — indicate a

higher order in nature than that of the mere mechanics of
science.

Now we may explain a derived phenomenon in terms of that

from which it is derived but we cannot reverse this order
, .

We may explain matter in terms of Ether but we cannot ,

expl ain Ether in terms of matter We may possibly ultimately

.

explain both in terms of Consciousness but when it is known

that Co nsciousness can act independently of the physical
org ani s m we mu s t definitely abandon the idea of explaining
,
46 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
Consciousne s s in terms of that which Cons ciou s ne ss it s elf
uses .

Desperate attempts have been made by certain scientists

to accomplish this latter feat to conceive of the ultimate ,

factor of the whole universe as a mere movement of dead

atoms We shall notice one of these attempts somewhat
.

more in detail in a subsequent chapter .

Many attempts have al so been made to conceive of the

properties of the Ether to form a ment al picture of its nat u re
,

and constitution on the basis of the fami liar principles of

-
mechanics and thermo dynamics The mutually destructive .

theories of the Ether which have resulted therefrom are too

numerous to mention It is of course perfectly legitimate
.

and necessary that a provisional wor k ing hypothesis

should be formed and this wi ll naturally be on the basis of
,

what is al ready known a n d familiar But when it is sought .

to explain the whole Universe from top to bottom in terms

of deri ved phenomena instead of in terms of that from which
,

it is derived when certain facts even are rej ected as being

, ,

inconsistent with already formulated articles of faith whether ,

scientific or otherwise the only result can be confusion and

,

the darkening of counsel .

So long as we are dependent upon our physical senses and

organism for the consciousness of an external Universe al l ,

that we can know of the higher Planes of the Etheric the , ,

Mental and the Spiritual must be disclosed to u s — ob j ectively

, ,

—i n or through physical matter must in fact be a ccomp a n i ed ,

by p hysical phenomena We have absolu tely no knowledge .

of the Ether apart from its action in or upon physical matter .

Yet the Ether is not a phenomenon of matter ; quite the

contrary matter is a phenomenon of it Are we then to say
,
.

that thought life consciousness— being necessarily and i n

, ,

e vi t a b l y accompanied on this Plane by physic al phenomena

are therefore ca u s ed by physical matter or even by physical ,

matter p lu s Ether and force ? On the contrary all analogy ,

wo ul d teach us that the ph y sical Plane lies furthest from ,

and not nearest to the One Eternal Noumenon the Plane of

, ,

Re al ity— i f indeed anythi n g can be said to be nearer or further

from that Reali ty save in our own limited and individual
,

cognition of it .
 C H A PTE R III

THE GREAT AND THE SMALL

 Th e w orl d ar o u n d u s op e n s b e for e o u r vi ew s o m a gni fi ce n t a s p e c t a cl e

o f o r d er , v a ri e ty , b e a u ty , and co n fo r mi ty t o en d s , t h a t w h e t h er w e p u rs u e
o u r ob s er v a ti on s i n t o t h e i n fi ni ty o f s p a ce in on e d i r ec ti on or i n t o i t s i l li mi t
,

a b le d i vi s i o n s i n t h e o th er , w h e t h er w e t h e w or l d i n i t s gr e a t e s t o r
r eg ar d

l e a s t m a n i fes t a ti on s we fi n d t h a t l a n g u a g e i n t h e p r es e n ce o f w on d er s
so i n co n c e i v a b l e h a s l o s t i ts for c e , a nd n u m b er i t s p o w er t o re c kon , nay,

e v en t h o u g h t fa i l s t o c on c ei v e ade q u a t el y , a n d ou r c on c e p t i o n of t h e w h ol e
d i s s ol v es i n t o an a s toni s h m e n t W i th o u t th e p o w er of ex
p r e s s i on
- ll
a th e
m ore el o q u en t th a t i t i s -
K AN T .
 C HA P T E R III

THE G R E A T A N D THE S M A LL

W I TH a clear understanding that physical matter is not an

original or created article which must be treated s ui g en eri s
, ,

but a derived or evolved product of something existing on a

higher Pla n e namely the Etheric : it must cease to be
, ,

regarded either in bulk or in its atomic form as the tounda

, ,

tion-stone of the Universe

-
.

Just as the old geocentric ideas which placed ou r little

speck of a globe in the centre of the Universe and conceived ,

of the S un and all the Hosts of Heaven as revolving round it ,

and as created for its sole use and glory had to give place ,

to the larger conceptions founded on a better understanding

of the relation and proportions of the heavenly bodies and ,

to the fact that the Sun is the centre of our own particular
System that our whole System is only an insignificant unit
,

in S pace and is itself rushing through space at the rate

.

astronomers tell u s —of 7 00 mill ions of miles in a year and in ,

all probability revolving round some further centre in its

enormous depths : so the conception of physical matter as
constituting the basis and rea li ty of the Universe must now
give place to a truer and deeper insight into the nature of that
Reality and the proper relation of matter to it
,
.

Physical matter not merely does not con s ti tute the Universe ,

but even in its sum total it i s an utterly insignificant portion

of that p l en um that fuln es s which alone can be considered to
,

be th e Reality and which — either as Substance or as Being

,
’ ’
is neither here nor there but everywhere and to whose , ,

eternal nature physical matter may well be related merely

as an a cci dent a happeni ng an unessent i al in time and
, , ,

‘
s p a ce f

It is curious to note in this connection that one of t he

latest of the many serious scientific theories put forward as
to the relation be tween matter and Ether is that the atom ,

4
50 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
is not a s pecialised form a condensation or aggregation as it
, ,

were of the Etheric Substance but that it is actually a voi d

, ,

in the Ether 1
In other words matter according to this
.
,

theory is a minus quantity it is the a bs en ce and not the presence

,

of something— which is reversing a ll our ordina ry conceptions

of it with a vengeance .

Let us glance for a moment at the distribution of matter

i n space in order that we may obtain a j uster view than
,

commonly prevails of its proper relations and proportions .

Using our physical eyes we look outwards into space and ,

see thousands upon thousands of Suns and Worlds in the

Star - strewn Heavens Spectroscopic research shows us that
.

these heavenly bodies are composed of material elements

which are mainly similar to those with which we are familiar
on our own Earth .

Astronomical observation and instruments of gr eat ,

delicacy and refinement have enabled us to calculate within

,

a very small limit of error the distances and sizes of those

bodies which constitute our own Solar System The Sun .
,

which occupies the centre of our System and round which ,

our Eart h revolves once in the course of every year is 9 3 ,

millions of miles away from us consequently the vast circle ,

which the Earth must describe in its annual j ourney is some

5 7 8 millions of miles in circumference ; to get round which
.

in the course of 3 6 5 days we must rush through space at the

rate of miles per hour .

Between our Earth and the Sun revolving in smaller ,

circl es are two other worlds or Planets Venus and Mercury

, ,

the former 6 7 millions and the latter 3 6 millions of miles

,

from the Sun But outside of our orbit revolving in still

.
,

vaster circles are five other superior Planets Mars Jupiter

, , ,

Saturn Uranus and Neptune The latter so far as is known

, , .
, ,

is the outermost member of our System Its mean distance .

from the Sun is millions of miles and i t takes more than ,

1 6 4 of our years to accomplish a complete j ourney in its orbit

r ound the Sun .

Vas t as are these distances however they are as nothing , ,

compared with those which separate our Solar System from

the S o- ’
called fixed stars which however are not fixed , , ,

at all but are moving through space with enormous velocity

,

1 Profes s or Os b orn e R eyn ol d s Th e R ode L ectu re on , An I n v ers i on , of

I d eas a s t o t h e S tr uct ur e o f th e U ni ver s e ( C a m b ri d g e Pr e s s ,
 THE G REAT AND THE SMALL 51

their distance from us however being so great that their

, ,

movement is not apparent even over long periods of t ime , .

From the records of ancient astronomers however it appears , ,

that some of the constellations have altered their configuration ,

whilst modern spectroscopic research furnishes us with a

direct method of detecting and measuring so me of these
move ments In this manner motions of the s o-
l

. ca ll e d fixed
,

stars have been detected at velocities varying from some

2 0 to 3 00 or 400 miles per second .

It is perfectly certain that all matter whether in its ,

atomic or molecular form or in its aggregations as Plan ets

, ,

Suns and Systems is in perpetual motion impelled by subtle

'

, , ,

fo r ces which make of the parts and of the whole a C os mos , , ,

a Unity a manifestation o f immutable law and order

,
.

So far as is at prese nt known the nearest fixed star is ,

the one known as a in the constellation of Centaurus ; and

its distance is estimated to be miles
“

In dealing with s uch an enormous d istance as this however , ,

we need some standard of measurement much larger than

that of a mile and it is usual to estimate these distances in
,
)

terms of the velocity of light Light travels at the rate of .

‘

miles per second or let us say that a ray of light

,

setting out from the Sun would reach our Earth in minutes ,

and that it would reach Neptune in rather more than 4 hours .

But if it continued its j ourney out into space it would take ,

4% y e ars to reach a Centauri .

In t h e depths of space there are stars which are certainly

thousands of times this distance or in other words light would , ,

have to travel from them many thousands of years before it

would reach us .

Th ese distances are so vast as to convey little meaning

to the mind u nless they are reduced to terms of something
more familiar We might for instance endeavour to make a
.
, ,

model of the Solar System in which the distances and sizes ,

of the various bodi es are represented in their proper relation

and proportion on a small scale Let us see how such a .

model would work out .

It wou ld be out of the question to include a Centauri in

such a model If we were t o represent the whole of the vast
.

’
circle of the Earth s orbit miles in diameter by a
small cir cle the si z e of a half-
, ,

penny we sho ul d have to place ,

a Centau ri at more than t imes that distance away ,

52 S CI ENTI F I C IDEALISM
-
or approximately 2 miles from our half penny If our half .

penny represented the size of our Earth then we should have ,

to place Centauri at a distance of

a miles ; and yet
—so far as we know — Centauri is the nearest star
m
a

We cannot form any conception of the size of the fixed

stars for they are too far away for the most powerful telescope
,

to make any app r eciabl e difference in their apparent diameter

we can only j udge of their probable value in this respect by
their comparative brightness Many of them are doubtless .

blazing Suns exceeding our own Sun in size and brilliancy

,

many thousand times We do know however the com .

, ,

p a r a t i v e sizes of the various members of our Solar System .

Representing now the diameter of our Earth miles

by a half- penny or the Eart h itself by a b al l one inch in
,

diameter the Sun wo ul d be represented by a globe rather

,

more than 9 feet in diameter and this globe would have ,

to be placed at a distance of 3 2 6 yards from the little ball

representing our Earth .

But the Earth as we have already seen is quite near the

, ,

Sun compared with the planet Neptune the outermost member ,

o f our System Neptune is rather more than 3 0 tim es farther

.

away from the Sun than the Earth consequently it would ,

have to be placed at a distance of yards or rather more ,

than 5 % miles .

A model of the Solar System on such a scale as that would

be somewhat inconvenient and we must reduce our scale ,

of dimensions still further in order to bring it within reason

able proportions Instead therefo r e o f representing our
.
, ,

Earth by a ball one inch in diameter we may rep r esent the ,

Sun which has a diamete r o f

,
miles by such an ,

obj ect ; and we can then place our Ea r th at a distance of

9 feet . Even then howeve r Neptune would have to be
, ,

mo r e than 9 0 yards away But the di fficulty is that if the .

Sun were represented by a one -inch ball the Earth would ,

have to be something less than one - hund redth of an inch in

diameter or let us say somewhere about the size of a full
,

stop on this page Venus would be about the same size

.
,

a n d Mercury less than half .

It is evident from these considerations that the distances

are so great compared with the sizes that we cannot construct ,

any model nor draw any diagr am which shall represent both
, ,

distances and sizes in their proper proportions However .

 THE G REAT AND THE SMALL 53

g reat in fact we may thin k those Suns and Worlds which go

to make up what we commonly call the Universe they are ,

but insignificant specks in the vast and illi mi table expanse

of Space .

What else then does Space contain ? What is it which

, ,

fi lls Space which perchance i s Space ? Nothing which is

,

visible or palpable to our physical senses ; and therefore for ,

most people it is a voi d i t is empty of all Reality Even for

, ,
.

the materialistic scientist although he knows that it is n o t ,

void that at least it contains the Ether yet it is empty of

, ,

everythi n g that can be called Reality in any true sense of

the term for it is empty of everyt hing connected wi th Life
,

and Consciousness .

It is impossible to conceive of s pace as coming to an end

it is equally impossible to conceive of it as not coming to an
end— notwithstanding a ll the speculations and demonstrations
of th e transcendental geometricians as to the curved nature
of space and their e fforts to prove that parallel lines may
,

meet in infinity and a straight line if infinitely prolonged

, , ,

W ill return upon itself But the speculati on as to whet h er

.

the particular material universe of which we are cognisant

may not really have a li m it whether in fact it m a y not have ,

a definite configuration is a legitimate and natural one The

, .

existence of the Milky Way is supposed to point to such a con

figuration as approximating to that of a flattened sphere or disc .

Now it is quite possible and indeed probable from all , ,

that we know of the distributions and groupings of mat t er ,

both in the small and in the great in the microcosm and in ,

the macrocosm that our particular universe has a definite

,

limit and shape But even supposing that this could be

.

ascertained beyond any doubt and that our universe incal , ,

cul a b l y vast as it appears to be has yet its limits — there is ,

still space beyond and in that space other univers es as vast ,

or vaster than our own and who shall say how many of such
universes P Recent investigations based upon the movements
of the s o- called fix ed stars tend to show that the whole cosmos
,

of stars visible to us may be divided into at least two definite

universes ; two vast systems each having its own distinctive ,

motion in space .

We must in fact come to the conclusion that the grouping

, ,

of matter into atoms and molecules into systems and con ,

s tella ti ons a nd univ erses is i n fi nite b ot h i n t i me a nd s ace ;

, p
54 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM

that by no stretch of the imagination can an y fi n a li ty be a rrived

at in that dir ection nor any Reality for it is al l p hen omen a
, ,

an endl ess sequence of ch a nge whilst the Reality which we ,

seek is the Eternal Changeless Noumenon which though , ,

it ca us es through the un changeab l e Power of Its own Nature

, ,

al l this infi ni te succession of phenomena in time and space ,

i s Itself in no wise bound or limited thereby nor under any ,

illusion of birth or evolution or death but knows a ll this

, ,

as the infin ite pleasure of Its own I n fi ni t e -Nature and Will .

If science could conduct us out into space to the l imits of

our own material u ni verse ; if it coul d clearly define and
measure those limi ts ; it woul d stil l in fact only have con , ,

ducted us to the borderland of Space it woul d not even have ,

touched for us the real problem of Space itself and it wo ul d ,

leave us still straining our eyes to catch a glimpse of other

universes and despairing as well we might of ever finding
, , ,

in those illi mitable depths a solution of the riddl e of Life .

Wh at indeed co ul d we see at the l imits of our own univ er se

, , ,

save an endl ess refl ection of that which we see here ; or how
coul d we find th ere if we have not found it h ere that Noumenon
, ,

which in reality is ,

C lo s er th a n b r e a t hi n g , a n d n e a re r th a n h an d s a n d fe et
" ?

,
If then we can not find this in any wise by looking out
,

wards let u s see how far science can aid us in looking inwards
, ,

and whether by any analysis of matter and force we can hope

to come any nearer to a re a lisation of the nature of that Reality
which we are seeking .

We have al ready seen that a ll matter consists of an a ggr e

g a t i on of a toms but we h a v e n ot dealt with the comparative
'
'

sizes and groupings of those atoms The existence of solid .

substances naturally suggests that the atoms or the mole ,

cules into which they combine are packed so closely together ,

as to be incap able of any motion relatively to each other _

.

But this is only the common appearance of things which i s ,

entirely relative to our own particular physical organism .

There is no such thi ng as a solid substance in th e sense that ,

there are withi n it no interspaces and the densest substances ,

al low of many movements of the componen t atoms and

molecules .

In o ur ordi n ar y conventional habits of thought we are

accus tomed to regar d space a s extending ouéwa rds an d hardly ,
 THE G REAT A ND THE SMALL 55

at all as having any extension i n wa rds When we think .

inw a rds we co n ventionally t h ink of a diminution not of an

, ,

extension Far from thinki ng of space as being i n fi ni te in

.

an inward direction we think of it as diminishing to— Ii oth i ng

, .

But sci ence now discloses an i n fi n i tu d e within comparable ,

in every respect to the i n fi n i t u d e without U si n g our physical .

eyes and with the aid of a powerful microscope we discover

, ,

a beautiful world of life and form so minute that we are lost ,

in wonder and admiration of the possibilities of nature in the

infinitely small j ust as we are in the possibilities of the i n
,

finitely great But what the microscope can reveal of the

.

infinitely small is as nothing to what physical research dis

closes as to the m olecular atomic and sub - ,
atomic structure ,

of matter .

It is perhaps only recently since the discovery of Radium , ,

and the existence of electrons that we hav e really been able ,

to a ppreciate and understand the infinite contents of the

inner depths of space the possibilities and po tencies which
,

lie in the infinitely small the en dl essness of space in that

,

direction as well as in an outward direction .

Astronomy by disclosing to us the relative sizes and dis

,

tances of the celes tial bodies enables us to realise the infinite

,

extent of space in an outwa rd direction Without the science

of astronomy the star-
.

,
strewn vault above us wo ul d be nothing
more than an obj ect of childi sh wonder and the stars them ,

selves for anything we really knew might be li terally h oles

, , , ,

bored in the floor of heaven to let the glory through Per .

chance there may be found even yet to be an exceedingly

deep truth in that idea but then the language in which we
thus express it will be poetical and figurative and not a literal ,

statement of fact .

Yet the old ideas which prevailed before astronomy

became a science— or perhaps we should rather say in those ,

communities in which astronomy was not known as a science

—still survive in the convent i ons of religion Probably most .

people who think of Heaven at all think of it as a p l a ce , ,

located or related both in time and space to the m a terial

, ,

universe of which they are at present conscious They .

think -o i it as outs i de a n d a bove in spite of the express declara

,

tion that the kingdom of Heaven is within you Prayers .

are directed upwards and outwards and the Deity is commonly

supposed to be extra-
,

cosmi c outside of things and of ourselve s

,
.
56 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
Now j ust as it is impossible to conceive of space as coming
to an end anywhere in an outward direction so also it is ,

impossible to conceive of its ending anywhere in an inward

direction But to rea li s e this to any extent we must have the
.
,

con ten ts of these inner depths of space disclosed to us at least ,

in some partial manner and it is precisely this which physical

,

science by getting behind the hitherto impenetrable atom

, ,

is now able to do for us .

Let us suppose for a moment by way of illustration that , ,

up to a certain time in our history mankind had been unable

to see any of the vast systems of worlds which lie beyond
the limits of our own Solar System and had had no means ,

whatever of detecting or even suspecting the presence of those

worl d s in the depths of s p ace beyond us that in fact the only , ,

obj ects visible in the vault above were the Sun the Moon , ,

and th e Planets What in that case would our conceptions

.

of the universe or of space itself have been

, Metaphysicians
,

might no doubt have postulated the necessity of an infinite

extension of space and even the existence of worlds therein
, ,

but they would probably have been regarded as idle dreamers

by the scientists whilst the theologians who asserted that
,

Heaven lay right there j ust beyond our Solar System would
, ,

have had it pretty much their own way .

But now let us conceive that scientific discovery had

advanced to such a point as to make it absolutely certain
that the space beyond our Solar System contained an enormous
number of Suns and Worlds comparable with those of our
o wn System We might easily conceive that the existence
.

of these though still invisible to the physical eye — might

—

be demonstrated beyond the shadow of a doubt by certain

e ffects gravitational or other wise upon our own System
, , .

To such a point as that science has now brought us as, ,

regards the contents of the inner extension of space That .

which we have been accustomed to think of as the infinitely

small the a tom the final indivisible and irreducible minimum
, ,

of matter itself the boundary of our universe in an inner

,

—
direction is sho wn to be a whole cosmos of worlds and systems
within itself comparable in this res p ect in the relation and
, ,

pro p ortion of those inner bodies to each other with those ,

worlds and systems which we see in the outer extension of

space.

Science now shows us that a single atom of some s o- called

 THE GREAT AND THE SMALL 57

elementary substance contains thousands of still sm a ller

,

bodies revolving in orbits or vibrating with enormous

, ,

rapidity ; and that between these minute bodies or sub - atoms , ,

are enormous spaces comparable so far as the size of the

, ,

sub -atoms is concerned to the immense distances which ,

separate the heavenly bodies .

Even as there are universes in the Macrocosm which lie

infinitely beyond the reach of our most powerful telescopes ,

so there are universes in the Microcosm which our microscopes

are utterly inadequate to reveal But though we cannot see .

them we know that they are there and by the aid of the ,

scientific imagination by mathematical reasoning and by

, ,

analogy from the known laws of nature we may form a ,

me ntal I mage of their constitution and activities it .

When therefore we look at a s o-

, , called s oli d obj ect we ,

may i n our imagination magnify i t or a very small portion ,

of it many millions of times so that the smallest particles

, ,

into which it is scientifically divisible may become in our

mental picture of an appreciable size We should then see .

that not merely are there great interspaces between the various
atoms and molecules but that these are in rapid and ceaseless
,

motion In liquids the molecules are farther apart than in

.

solids and consequently have much greater mobility and

,

freedom of action In gases they are still farther apart

.
,

and each molecule indeed has so much individual action that

it is perpetually rushing about with extraordinary velocity ,

and continually j ostling and colliding with its neighbours and ,

bombarding the sides of th e vessel in which it is contained .

A mol eca l e is always a combination of two or more a toms .

It may be defined as the smallest quantity of a substance

which can exist in a free state Even simple substances .
,

such as Oxygen and Hydrogen require to combine into a ,

molecule consisting of two atoms in order to exist in a free

state The molecule of water consists of three atoms two of
.
,

Hydrogen and one of Oxygen Other compound substances .

may consist of many hundreds of atoms These are supposed .

to be held together into one s y s tem by the mutual attractions

of the atoms but may be separated by appropriate chemical
,

means ; and we must picture to ourselves these systems of

atoms as being somewhat analogous on a small scale to what
our Solar System is on a large scale where each of the Planets ,

and the central Sun might be taken to represent the different

58 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
atoms We must not however picture the molecule as a
. , ,

mere inert mass of still more inert atoms clinging to each ,

other somehow or anyhow We have already referred to the .

fact that the same number of atoms can in the case of ,

i s om eri c substances form two totally different molecules

, ,

and this fact points to some very definite structure of the

molecule to the fact that it is a s y s tem a cosmos governed
, , ,

by law and order Moreover the more we penetrate matter

.
,

the less i n ert it becomes It is only matter in bulk which

.

has the appearance of being inert The molecules of a .

substance are in constant motion the motions of the atoms

a r e still more vigorous ; and recent discoveries have shown

us that the atom itself is a centre or focus of enormous activity .

~ f
In fact the more we penetrate into the inner r eces s es o
,

matter the more active it becomes

,
.

Let us now endeavour to form some idea of the magnitudes

with which we have to deal in this microcosmic universe .

The smallest obj ect which can be detected by means of

the most powerful microscope is such that about one hundred
thousand would have to be placed side by si de in order to
cover the length of one inch Blood corpuscles are common .

obj ects and they are of such a size that it would requir e ten
,

thousand of them to make up one inch But a molecule of .

water is p robably some twenty - fi ve thousand times smaller

than a blood corpuscle that is to say it would require s ome
, ,

-to cover the length of one inch A cubic centi .

metre o f water is estimated to contain a numb er of molecules

which would be represented by the figure 3 followed by twenty
'

two ciphers .

These figures by reason of their very magnitude dwarf

, ,

our imagination , and convey as little r eal meaning to t h e

ordinary mind as those at the other end of the scale with
which we have to deal in astronomical distances ; and j ust
as in the latter case we had to reduc e them to terms of some
thing more familiar in order to grasp somewhat of their
relation and proportion so in this case we must magnify our
,

molecules and atoms in order to obtain a better idea and a

clearer mental picture It has been estimated by Lord
.

Kelvin that if we take a drop of water and magnify it up to

,

the size of our Earth we should then find that the magnified
,

structure was somewhat more coarse - grain e d than a heap

of small shot but probably less coarse -
, grained than a heap
 THE G REAT AND THE SMALL 59

of cricket balls Each of these molecules is made up of three

.

atoms two of hydrogen and one of oxygen We do not know

, ,
.

what th e size of these may be or what is their relation to ,

each o ther within the molecule but it is doubtless one of ,

intense but orderly activity .

But the atom itself as we now know from the phenomena

,

of Ra di um and radio -activity is divisible into still smaller ,

parts into what are known as corp u s cles or electron s Wh at

, ,
.

then can be the size of these corpuscles if some thousands

of them are required to make up a single atom of matter ?
This is a very di fficult question to ans wer and the ex p eri ,

mental evidence upon which the calculations must be made

is by no means complete or conclusive Nevertheless one .
,

thing appears to be quite clear that the corpuscles themselves ,

are so exceedingly minute compared with the size of the atom ,

that even the marvel of the latter sinks into i n s i g ni fi ca n ce .

Th e corpuscles can go right through a considerable thick

ness of solid metal That simply means that in a sheet of
.

metal such as iron or lead the interspaces are so great

, ,

compared with the size of the corpuscles that the latter ,

have a free passage right through j ust as a body t h e size of ,

our Earth moving at an enormous velocity in a straight line

, ,

might go right through our Solar System without coll iding with
any of the members of that System and might conceivably go ,

th r ough a great number of such Systems without any collisions .

Consider wh at this means in the case of the corpuscles .

The B rays of Radium wh ich are shot out in straight lines at an

,

enormous velocity will pass in considerable numbers through

,

a sheet of copper or other metal abo ut the thickness of a

V isiting card We might calculate from the fig ures already
.

given how many molecules a corpuscle would have to avoid

in order to accomplish this We might take the thickness .

of our metal plate at say the one - hundredth of an inch and

, , ,

in that case since i t requires about 2 5 0 millions of molecules

,

to extend one inch it will require ,

to extend one
hundredth of an inch that is supposing that the molecules
, ,

are packed close together How close or how far apart they .

may be in a solid substance we do not know but it is quite ,

evident that in order to get through even one - hundredth of

an inch each corpuscle must pass an enormous number of
, ‘

molecules and a still greater number of atoms without being

, ,

materially impeded in its flight It must in fact either go .

, ,
60 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
through the spaces which separate the molecul es—though
—
these are probably comparatively small or those which
separate the atoms within the molec ule itself or else through ,

the inter - atomic sp aces or perhaps through all three This

,
.

proves to us two things : firstly the comparatively Open ,

nature of the densest solids ; and secon dl y t h e excee di ngly, ,

minute size of the corpuscles which compose the atom itself .

Calculations as to the actual size of the corpuscles or

electrons are at present based entirely upon the supposition
that they are wholl y electrical in their nature and upon that ,

supposition i t is found that their size is onl y one hundred

thousandth that of the atom itself The atom of the lightest .

substance we know namely hydrogen has a mass which is

, , ,

some eight hundr ed to one thousand ti mes greater than that

of the corpuscle that is to say there might be 8 00 or
, ,

corpuscles in a single atom of hydrogen .

But these corpuscles will o nl y occupy a very small

portion of the apparent size of the atom If we were to .

magnify an atom until it was the size of a very large room ,

and magnify the corpuscles in the same proportion each ,

’
corpuscle would st i ll be no larger than a printer s ful l stop
on this page and a few thousand of them— the total contents
,

of the atom— would only be comparable to a few specks of

dust flying about in t h e room .

But the motions of the corpuscles are by no means

haphazard They move with enormous velocity wi thi n th e

fl
.

li mi ts of th e a tom It is onl y in the case of such rare radio

.

active substances as Uranium Thorium Radium Polonium

and Actinium that we have been able to detect any break -
, , , ,

up

of the atom such as would be imp lied if any of the corpuscles

,

escap ed from that i n u e n ce— whatever it may b e— which

holds the atom together and flew off into space
, .

The motions of the corpuscles within the limits of the

atom may be compared to the motions of the Planets within
the limits of the Solar System Just as the Sun by its .

attractive p ower holds together the various members of that

System so there is some co-

fl
, ordi nating power which holds
together all th e thousands of corpuscles which compose a
S ingle atom and causes their motions to be regular and
,

ordered within cert ai n limits which we know as the size of the

atom but which would be perhap s better defined as its
,

sphere of influence or boundary of in u e nce We sh all de a l

, .
 THE GREAT AND THE SMALL 61

with this somewhat more fully in our next chapter on

F orce .

The size of the Solar System or its sphere or boundary ,

of influence might thus be taken for the sake of comparison

, , ,

as that of its outermost planet Neptune ; that is to say ,

millions of miles in diameter If now we let this .

represent the size of a single atom then a single one of its ,

component corpuscles might be considerably larger than our

Earth but less than either Jupiter or Saturn
,
.

But though science carries us thus far into the region of

the infinitely small into the depths of the inner extension
,

of S pace we cannot stop there in thought any more than we

,

can stop at the confines of our vast universe of Suns and

Worlds I n fi n i tely small as are the corpuscles they still
.
,

have exten s i on i n s p a ce ; a n d whatever has extension in space

can still be subdivided— to infinity .

In an ancient Sanscrit book it is written There are v a st

universes hidden away in the recesses of every atom .

If we turn our attention to the gr eat and the small in

ti me we find the same characteristics
,
Many and curi o us .

have been the theories both scientific and otherwise which , ,

have been put forward as to the age of our World and as ,

to the period during which the Sun and the whole Solar
System has already existed or can continue t o exist Some ,
.

very authoritative and dogmatic scientific statements have

been made based upon the principles of mechanics and
thermo -
,

dynamics We may quote the follo wing from

.

Lectures on R ecen t A d va n ces i n Phy s i ca l S ci en ce by the ,

late Professor Tait as an illustration of some of these weighty

,

scientific utterances
I d a re s ay ma ny q
y ou a r e a c u a i n t e d wi th th e s p e cu l a ti on s o f
of

Ly el l a n d o th er s , e s p e ci a ll y D a r wi n , wh o t el l u s th a t fo r e v e n a co m
p a r a ti v el y b r i e f p or ti on o f r e ce n t g e ol o g i c a l h i s tory th r e e h u n d r e d
m i ll i o n s o f y e a r s wi ll n o t s u ffi c e "
W e s a y — s o m u c h t h e w o r s e fo r
g e ol o gy a s a t p r e s en t u n d e r s t oo d b y i ts ch i e f a u th ori ti e s , for, a s y o u
wi l l p re s en tl y s ee , p h y s i ca l c on s i d era ti on s fr om v a ri o u s i n d e p e n d en t
p oi n ts of v i ew r en d e r it u t t e rly i m p o s s i b l e t h a t m or e th a n te n or
”
fi fteen mi lli on y e a rs ca n b e gr a n t e d .

But since the discovery of Radium all su ch dogmatic

assertions have looked very small indeed for in truth they ,

were a ll based upon the assumption that the atom was an

indestructible material body and moreover that it was i n ert , ,
62 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
the only energy which it possessed being the ld n eti c energy of
its motion as a whole which energy it was constantly losing
,

in the form of radiant heat and whi ch could o nl y be renewed,

by the ap plication of heat or motion from some externa l

source The atom was not cre di ted wi th any i ntern a l energy
. .

But S ince it has been dis cove ed that the atom itself is r

a vast storehouse of energy all these thermo - dynamic al ,

calc ul ations and theories as to the age of the World and ,

the time which the Sun will take to become a cold body ,

have been scattered to the winds and the physicists are now ,

will i ng to gr ant to the geologists as many thousands of

millions of years as they may require -and perhaps a good
many more in addition .

The Solar System as a Sys tem no doubt had a de fi ni te

, ,

commencement in time and t here will no doubt be a time ,

when it will utterly cease to be for such is the co urse of al l ,

phenomena which appear on the screen of space and time ;

all must follow the cycli c law of birth evolution devol ution , , ,

a n d death whether the period of their phenomenal existence

,

be reckoned by us in s econds or in years in centuries or in ,

untold millions In time as in space there is no great and

.

no small to the Soul that maketh all

, .

The Solar System as a System may well have lasted

, ,

mill ions of milli ons of years In our estimate we have now .

to reckon not merely the time which the Earth —not to speak
of the other Planets — woul d take to cool down to a habit
able state but we have also to reckon with the time
,

which atomic matter itself may have taken to evolve For .

atomic matter as we have it at present is an evolved product .

Matter itself is subj ect to the cyclic laws of change As it .

has evolved so also it will involve devolve or di sintegrate

, , , .

di di -
Ra um and other ra o active elements we now know definitely
to be doing this a n d the probability is that all matter is
,

doing it but at such an excee di ngly S low rate th a t we are

,

unable to detect it One thing is certain that every ad di tion

.
,

to our posi t ive knowledge of the processes of nature which

go on around us increases the duration of those periods of
,

time which we must conceive of as being necessary for these

processes The limitations which are imposed in any one
.

age or community by the limitations of thought knowledge , ,

or langu age constantly give place to ever wider and still

,

wider gener a lisations As we can fix no limits to space in

.
 THE GREAT AND THE SMALL 63

an outward direction so neither can we fix any limit to time

,

and when our whole Solar System has run its course and is ,

no more there will still be an i n fi n i tu d e of other Worlds and

,

Systems ; for any one of these is but a drop in the mighty

Ocean of Infinite Being .

Like space in an inward direction time is also infinitely ,

divisi ble One second of time is not a long period to our

.

ordinary states of consciousness — though a whole li fetime

may be dreamt in that brief moment — yet we have to divide
one second by hun dreds thousands and millions of millions in
, , ,

some of the operations of natural law of which we are cognisant .

The vibrations which give us the sense of musical sound ,

vary from about 3 0 per second in the lowest bass to more ,

than per second in the highest treble But such a rate .

of V ibration is nothing compared with those etheric undulations

which give us the sense of light and colour These vibrations .

vary from 3 9 5 million million per second at the red end of

the colour S pectrum to 7 63 million million per second at the
,

violet end .

In order to appreciat e better what this means we may put

the matter into this form The number of vibrations of the
.

string which gives out the sound of the middle C of the

pianoforte is 2 70 per second The number of vibrations .

of the middle or F line of the light sca le is

per second A little arithmetical calcul ation S hows us that
.

our pianoforte string would have to go on vibrating for

years I n order to complete the number of vibrations
which are accomplished by a single atom or corpuscle of
glowing Hydrogen in one second of time .

What then shall we say of these magnitudes of the ,

infinitely great and the infinitely small ? Are they realities ,

or only appearances Is there no Consciousness to transcend

them no Life un touched by their limitatio n s In Eternity
,
.

the longest time is even as the shortest in Infini ty the whole

U niverse is no larger than the atom The great and the .

small are equally limitations because they only display and

,

express a relativity not a finality or an absoluteness No

,
.

amount of multiplication or division can bring us to either

of these nor yet to any Unity
,
.

Does not the very infinity of time and space show us that
the Truth we seek lies not in that direction at all ; that it
can never be reached by any mere exten s i on that it can ,
64 SCIENTI F IC IDE ALISM
never be found in mere external phenomena I s it not .

clearly seen indeed that these qu a n ti ta ti ve expression s can

never give us the qu a li ta ti ve knowledge which al one can
’
satisfy our inmost nature o u r heart s desire ? The Truth
,

which we seek is the absolute Truth of our own nature and

being ; we can never be satisfied with any mere relativity ,

however large that may g row The true Infinite is in no .

wise conditioned by time or space ; it lies neither within n or ‘

without these ; it is wholly untouched by them It lies .

W ithin Thyself .

Were it not best then that we should once and for all
, , , ,

frankly abandon in our habits of thought all conceptions

whatsoever of the nature of the Universe and of our individual ,

relation thereto of the relation of the Self to the Not Self

,
- ,

which are based upon our conv entional standards and ideas
of time and space and turn from the vain quest for Reality
,

in external phenomena to a truer understanding of the

subj ective nature of that Reality which is yet is not , ,

phenomena which is yet is not the universe as we know it

, ,

and which being the universe is also ourselves and which

, , ,

not being the universe ( as we know it ) is not ourselves— as we ,

commonly reckon ourselves— but infinitely more even as we ,

ourselves in our inmost nature are infinitely more than we

commonly reckon ourselves even to a on en es s with that
,

Divine Life which I S the Universe .

For nothing can be more certain than that the N ou m en on

of All the true Infinite Reality expresses Itself in our own
, ,

life and consciousness j ust as surely as it does in all external

phenomena Just as certainly as that Infinite Re al ity is
.

the Power which sustains the atoms as well as that which ,

holds the mighty Suns in their courses j ust as surely as It

expresses Itself in the infinitely small as well as in the i nfinitely
great so surely is it the Power which holds together and acts
within this body of ours — this body which is itself a vast
cosmos of worlds and systems instinct with myriads of ,

lesser lives and activities .

Nothing can be more certain than that we participate in

the nature of that Power wh i ch I S the Universe All questions .

as to what that Power is oth er th a n ou rs elves are secondary

, ,

questions questions of relativity a n d proportion ; questions

of time and place and language of history and of evolution
, , .

AS we conventionally know ourselves we are part of th e ,

 THE GREAT AN D THE SMALL 65

pseudo -reality of time and space phenomena ; and it is only

as we free ourselves from the limitations of convention and ,

time and place as we lose the personal self in the larger L I FE

,

of the Whole that we can find that real inner Self which
, ,

truly is none other than the Infinite a nd the Eternal Reality .

C H A PTE R IV

MOTION ,
ENERGY
 ’
Ma n y c on t e m p o r ary p h y s i ci s ts wi s h t o s u b jec t D es ca r t es i d ea t o
s tri c t cri t i ci s m . F
r om t h e
p hi l os op hi ca l p oi n t o f v i e w t h e y fi r s t i n u i r e
, q
wh e th er i t i s r e a ll y d e m on s t r a t e d t h a t th er e e x i s t s n o t hi n g el s e i n t h e kn ow
a b l e t h a n m a t t er a n d m ov e m e n t q
N o t h i n g p r ov es t h a t t h os e a c ui s i ti on s
.
,

w hi ch a re th e m os t a n ci en t i n hi s t ori ca l or d er o u g h t i n t h e d e v e l op m en t
, ,

of s ci e n ce , to r e m ai n t h e b a s i s o f o u r k n o w l e d g e N or d oe s a n y t h eory
.

p r ov e t h a t o u r p er c ep ti on s a r e a n e x a c t i n di ca ti on o f r e a li ty M a n y r e a s on s
.
,

o n t h e c on t r a r y mi g h t b e i n v o ke d w hi ch t e n d t o c om p el u s t o s e e i n n a t u r e
,

”—
p h en om en a w hi ch ca n n ot be re d u ced to m ov em e n t . P0 1 N CA R é , Th e
N e w P h y s i cs .
 C HA P T E R I V

FORC E , M OTI O N , E NE RGY

T HE mental picture which science enables u s to form of the

inner nature and constitution of matter is by no means a C lear
and definite one and the latest discoveries as we have already ,

seen have in no wise served to bring the final sol ution of the
’

problem any nearer to us These discoveries have in fact

.
, ,

utterly de m aterialised matter th ey h a ve taken us right back

,
'

to the Etheric Plane and left us face to face with a deeper

,

problem than ever .

So long as the atoms could be regarded as the foundation

stones of the universe we seemed to be on fairly solid ground
,

and so long as they might be thought of as definite i n d es truct

ible particles whose ma s s was unchangeable so long as these
,

material particles could be regarded as absolutely inert and

’
dead and as being only acted upon or moved by external
,

forces it was comparatively easy to construct a mental picture

of a solid a liquid or a gas in which these material atoms were
, , ,

S imply aggregated in certain ways and with greater or less

,

density ; such a picture being in fact only a little exercise

, ,

of the imagination based upon our common and everyday

experience of matter in bulk .

With matter thus defined it was also easy to construct a

purely mechanical theory of the universe — leaving o u t of
account the fact of consciousness and a good many other
things besides — the two axiomatic requirements of such a
theory being those two princi p les which are reckoned as the
foundation - ’
sto n es of mod e rn science namely the inde , ,

s tru c tib i li t y of matter and the conservation of energy

,
.

But with the discovery that atomic matter is n ot inde

s tru c t i b l e and that it is n ot inert it is necessary to revise
, ,

the old conceptions both of matter and of force or energy ,

.

Let us glance for a moment at the old mechanical co n cep

tion in order the better to understand the new position which
,
 ’
Ma n y con t e m p or ar y p h y s i ci s ts wi s h t o s u b j ec t D es ca r t es i d ea t o
s t ri c t c r i t i c i s m
. Fr om th e
p h i l os op hi ca l p oi n t o f v i e w t h ey , fi q
rs t i n u i r e

wh e t h er i t i s r e a ll y d e m on s tr a t e d t ha t th er e e x i s t s n o t h i n g e l s e i n t h e kn ow
a b l e t h a n m a t t er a n d m ov e m e n t . q
N o t h i n g p r ov es t h a t t h os e a c u i s i ti on s ,

w hi ch a r e t h e m os t a n ci e n t i n h i s t or i ca l or d er o u g h t i n th e d e v el op m en t
, ,

o f s ci e n ce , t o r em a i n t h e b a s i s o f o u r k n o w l e d g e . N or d o e s a n y t h e or y
p r ov e t h a t o u r p er c ep ti o n s a r e a n e x a c t i n d i c a ti on o f r e a li ty M a n y r e a s on s
.
,

on th e c on t r a r y m i g h t b e i n v oke d whi ch t en d t o c om p el u s t o s e e i n n a tu r e
—
,

p h en o m e n a w h i ch c a n n o t b e r e d u ce d t o m o v e m e n t
”
PO I N C A E Th e
. R ,

N e w P h y s i cs .
 CHA P T E R I V

F OR C E , M O TI ON , E N E R G Y

THE mental picture which science enables us to form of the

inner nature and constitution of matter is by no means a clear
’

and definite one and the latest discoveries as we have already ,

S een have in no wise served to bring the final solution of the

,

problem any nearer to us These discoveries have in fact

.
, ,

utterly dema terialised matter t h ey h a ve taken us right back

,

to th e Etheric Plane and left us face to face with a deeper

,

problem than ever .

So long as the atoms could be regarded as the foundation

stones of the universe we seemed to be on fairly solid ground
,

and so long as they might be thought of as definite i n d es truct

ible particles whose ma s s was unchangeable so long as these
,

material particles could be regarded as absolutely inert and

’
dead and as being only acted upon or moved by external
,

forces it was comparatively easy to co nstruct a mental picture

of a solid a liquid or a gas in which these material atoms were
, , ,

simply aggregated in certain ways and with greater or less ,

density ; such a picture being in fact only a little exercise , ,

of the imagination based upon our common and everyday

experience of matter in bulk .

With matter thus defined it was also easy to construct a

purely mechanical theory of the universe— leaving out of
account the fact of consciousness and a good many other
things besides — the two axiomatic requirements of such a
theory being those two p rinciples which are reckoned as the
foundation - stones of modern S cience namely the inde , ,

s tru c ti b il i t y of matter and the conservation of energy

, .

But with the discovery that atomi c matter is n ot inde

s t ru c tib l e and that it is n ot inert it is necessary to revise
, ,

the old conceptions both of matter and of force or energy ,

.

Let us glance for a moment at the old mechanical con cep

t i on I n order the better to understand the new position which
,
70 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
now obtains in consequence of the momentous discovery of the
vast i n tern a l energies possessed by the atom itself .

Our common experience of any mass of matter is that it ,

requires the application of force to move it when it is at rest ,

or to accelerate or retard it when it is already in motion and

we find in general that the larger the mass or the heavier it is , ,

the more force is required either to start or to stop it We .

cannot throw a 2 0- l b shot nearly so far as a cricket ball and

.
,

if both were moving with the same velocity we might be able to

st 0p the cricket ball but hesitate to place ourselves in the way
,

of the shot This distinctive characteristic of matter is what

.

is commonly known as its inertness or i n erti a It is stated in .

’
Newton s first law of motion as follows E very body con ti n u es
i n i ts s ta te o f res t or o f u n i form m oti on in a s tr a i g h t li n e ,
ex ce t p
in so far a s i t ma y be com p ell ed by i mp r es s ed forces to ch a n g e

th a t s ta te Thus matter in bulk appears to be absolutely

.

indifferent to motion ; it cannot originate moti on or move ,

itself and the m a s s remains the same whether it is at rest or

,
’
in motion We commonly speak of it in fact as being dead
in contrast with those self-
.
, , ,

moving organisms which possess

the inherent principle of li fe .

But matter in motion p ossesses en ergy it is able to do work , ,

and a very little consideration S hows us that this energy is

dependent upon both of the two factors ma s s and moti on or , ,

rather upon m a s s and vel oci ty We may stop the 2 0- l b S hot as . .

easily as a cricket ball if the velocity of motion of the former ,

is not too great The shot may be tossed from one man to
.

another and caught but if we discharge it from a cannon

, , ,

any attempt to interfere with it would be somewhat hazardous .

N ow we have only to consider the a tom to be an exceedingly

small mass of matter having as such all the characteristics of
,

matter in bulk with which we are experimentally familiar

a n d n othi n l — and our mechanical theory of the universe
g e s e

is fairly com p lete .

Such a theory very briefly stated postulates that all the

, ,

phenomena of the universe are due S imply to the motion o i

discrete ultimate p articles of matter that these ultimate
p a rticles or atoms are indestructible in time and s p ace and
that all en ergy is simply the energy of matter in motion either ,

in its atomic form or in bulk In short the mechanical theory .

,

is the reduction of all the p henomena of the universe to the two

simple terms of matter or mass and motion , , .
 FORCE MOTION ENERGY , , 71

We may note here that this theory may either include or

exclude the phenomena of life and consciousness If it includes .

them it is materialism pure and simple if it excludes them

, ,

then it remains to be determined what is their true relation to

the phenomenal world of matter and in what way they enter ,

in and modify as they undoubtedly do the distributions of

, ,

matter and the direction or application of energy The main .

point to determine would be as to whether life is a force in ,

t h esense that it can originate or ca u s e motion of matter or

whether life is simply a guiding or directing principle which ,

can affect the distributions of matter and energy without

adding to or taking from their sum - total which can in fact , ,

utilise matter and energy without either creating or destroy

ing the same
'

Before however we can deal with these questions it is

, ,

necessary that we should clearly understand on what basis the

mechanical theory rests and how far it can take us in its
,

generalisations from particulars to universals .

In the first place it is of course based upon the empirical

,

facts of our experience of matter and force in the phenomenal

world in which we live We have already seen in our previous
.
,

chapter on matter that up to the close of the last century we

,

had no experimental knowledge of the destructibility of the

chemical atom and that this was very generally regarded as
the final and irreducible minimum of mass of matter The .

discovery of Radium gave a rude shock not merely to the

doctrine of the indestructibility of matter but also to that of ,

the conservation of energy It has in fact taken us into a .

, ,

region where neither of these doctrines are applicable in their

old accepted form where indeed it might be said that they , ,

are n ot d emon s tra bly true it has taken us right back to the
Etheric Plane as the immediate source of all matter and of all
energy and we have no experimental knowledge whatever
,

of the Ether except in so far as it acts and reacts upon

,

physical matter .

The minimum of physical matter with which we are n o w

acquainted is not the chemical atom but the corp u s cl e or , ,

el ectron ; and the upholders of the mechanical theory — to whom

it is of vital necessity that there S hould be a minimum irre

d u ci b l e m a s s of matter— are now therefore compelled to fall , ,

back upon the indestructibility of the corpuscle until that in ,

its turn shall be proved to be composed of smaller particle s ,

72 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM

and so on — ad This however is practically a

i n fin i tu m .
, ,

r ed u cti o a d a bs u rdu m No amount of subdi visi on can bring us

.

either to finality or Reality .

For let us clearly understand what is involved or implied

in this idea of an ultimate particle In the first place it must .
,

p ossess m a s s Mass is the irreducible minimum of physical

.

qualities Matter without mass ceases to be matter even in

.

the most remote sense of the term Now mass in the ordinary .
,

acceptation of the word i s simply any quantit y of matter small

, ,

or great and as such its primary characteristic is extension in

, , ,

space But whatever has s i z e however small may conceivably

.
, ,

be subdivided We may waive this littl e difficulty however

.
, ,

as being too metaphysical for serious scientific consideration .

Let us suppose that we have captured our ultimate particle ,

our irreducible minimum of matter what will it be l ike Here

again we must say— spe aking this time in a strictly scientific
sense and from the standpoint of the mechanical theory
,

that it must have m a s s or as most physicists would probably ,

’
say mass or inertia
,
.

Mass and inertia however are not strictly sp eaking inter

, , , ,

changeable terms though they have come to be very generally

,

used as such in scientific literature ; inertia having come to

signi fy a sort of r es i s ta n ce to motion an opposing force , ,

which is wholly illegitimate as regards the true sense of

the term .

Let us understand in the first place however what is meant , ,

by the ma s s of a body Mass is not measured in science by.

the bulk of a body but by the force which is required to move it

, .

If we find that of two bodies A and B A requires twice as , ,

much force to move it a given distance in a given time— say one

foot in one second— we say that A has twice the ma s s which
B has We have indeed no direct knowledge of mass at a ll or
.
,

rather we have no direct knowledge as to why one body should

require twice as much eff ort to move it as another we simply
express the empirical fact that this is so by saying that the one
has twi ce the ma s s of the other Nevertheless we possess a .
,

very convenient way of estimating the r el a ti ve masses of two

or more bodies by S imply w eighing them The weight of a .

body however is o nl y an expression for the force with

, ,

which gravity acts upon the body and since the force of
’
gr avity varies at di fferent parts of the earth s surface the ,

weight of a body is not the same at all places though the ,

 FORCE MOTION ENERGY
, , 73

quantity of matter in the body must necessarily remai n con

stant ; and the m a s s also would presumably be found to do
so if we had any a bs ol u te measure of mass .

Now we must understand clearly that i n erti a is not a

u a n ti ty at all — e xcept when the term is used as a syn onym
q
for ma s s It is rather a qu a li ty- or perhaps not even that
.
,

for it is the absence of all qualities We cannot say that a .

material particle is more or less dead because it is i n our —

,

commo n estimation — wholly dead Neither can we say of a .

body which is wholly inert that it is more or less inert or that

, ,

it possesses more or less i n erti a Nevertheless our common ex .

,

p eri en ce of inert matter that it requires

,
the application of force
in order to move i t a n d that some bodies require more force than
,

others leads us naturally to associate the idea of inertia with

,

that of t h e force with which we have to act upon a body in

order to move it and therefore to speak of overcoming its
,
’
inertia as if inertia were a sort of resistance which varied
,

with different bodies What does vary however is not the

.
, ,

inertia but the ma s s

, .

Our ultimat e particle of matter then must possess mass or

I nertia — strictly speaking mass only— i n so far as it must
,

require a definite amount of force to set it in motion when it is

at rest —to overcome its inertia —or to modify its motion
when it is already moving But if we ask ourselves why such
.

a particle isolated and at rest in void space S hould require a

, ,

definite amount of force to move it why for example another , ,

particle com i ng I nto collision with it should not continue to

move with a uniform velocity and carry the other particle with ,

i t— there is no answer to be given The bare empirical fact .

of which we are cognisant on the Plane of physical matter is

that when motion or energy is imparted from one body to
another the on e body l os es wh a t th e oth er ga i n s
, .

Our ultimate particle must also be absolutely rigid and

inelastic because elasticity implies a change of figure and there
, ,

fore a motion of component parts But our ultimate particle .

has no component parts It must necessarily by definition

.
, ,

be a simple homogeneous hard impenetrable thing

, , ,
.

All the ultimate p articles must be absolutely alike These .

ultimate atoms cannot have such inherent di fferences as we

find in the chemical atoms and there cannot be any mutual ,

action between them other than that which is caused by the

impact of one against another All phenomena a ll those .
,
74 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
di fferences or contrasts of one obj ect with another which con
s ti t u t e the very essence of phenomena are caused according , ,

to the mechanical theory by di fferences in the aggregations

,

and motions of these simple ultimate particles and we ,

must now therefore glance for a moment at what is implied

, ,

in the idea of moti on in connection with these primitive

obj ects .

We must of course pass over the little preliminary di fficulty

, ,

as to how they ever came to have motion at all Science .

does not deal with such a question and indeed a s s u mes that ,

it has no real connection with the problem Nevertheless .

,

the mechanical theory does postulate very definitely that

the motion of these ultimate particles is ceaseless and
indestructible a s a wh ole or i n th ei r s u m tota l The motion
,
.

of any one individual particle or of any aggregation of ,

particles can be modified or even arrested altogether but

, , ,

only by receiving from or handing over to other particles

,

the exact equivalent of the motion lost or gained .

This is the well known doctrine of the conservation of

energy Energy is simply the power to do work and although
.
,

2
energy or work is measured both by mass and velocity (%mv )
it is essentially the handing over of motion — molecular or
otherwise — from one body to another All our experimental .

science S hows us that when energy is transferred from one

body to another when one body gains in motion at the expense
,

of the loss of motion by another body the sum of the united ,

energies of the two bodies is always the same as it was before

the transfer took place ; and if such a transfer takes p lace
among a large number of bodies the sum - tot a l of all their,

energies is ex a ctly the s a me as i t was before the transfer In .

other words energy may be transferred indefinitely but it

, ,

is never destroyed it m a y appear now in one form now in ,

another but in every transformation there is always an exact

,

equivalence in the energy lost by one body or disappearing ,

i n one form and that gained by another body or reappearing

, ,

in another form .

This doctrine is of course the exact analogue of that of

the indestructibility of matter and it largely stands or falls ,

with it .

In order to understand exactly what is implied in this

doctrine in its final application to the ultimate particles of
matter which the mechanical theory postulates we must ,
 FORCE MOTION ENERGY
, , 75

take a concrete exampl e When a rifle bullet strikes an

.

iron target there is a total cessation of the motion of the

,

bullet as a whole ( neglecting the rebound ) and the motion ,

.

is not handed on to the target which remains fixed What ,

.

then becomes of it if it is not destroyed We know that it

is mainly converted into a form of motion of the molecu l es
of the bullet and of the target and reappears as h ea t The ,
.

total a mount of heat energy thus generated in the bullet

and the target as the result of the impact is the exact ,

equivalent of the energy of the mass of the bullet in motion

as a whole immediately before I mpact .

The conversion of motion or energy in this manner from ,

external movement of the mass to internal movement of the

m olecules is of course wholly dependent upon the mass being
,

constituted of smaller particles which are capable of movement ;

and we know also that the elasticity of a body is S imilarly
dependent upon its internal structure When one body .

rebounds after collision with another on account of its

elasticity as for instance in the case of two billiard balls
, , , ,

part of the original motion or energy is accounted for in the

rebound and to that extent therefore it is not converted
, , ,

into internal heat energy If the body were perfectly elastic

. ,

it would rebound with exactly the same velocity which it

possessed originally and none of the energy would be con
,

verted into heat .

But what would happen if the body were absolutely

devoid of parts ? We should have to conceive that in that
case it would be a bsolutely rigid and inelastic and therefore , , ,

it would be incapable of converting any of its mass motion

into a motion of constituent parts .

In such a predicament stands the ultimate indivisible

particle of the mechanical theorists and on this basis the ,

fundamental a xiom of the conservation of energy or motion

falls to the ground because two such particles meeting in
, ,

direct collision with the same velocity would neutralise each ,

’
other s motion and energy and indeed every collision what , ,

soever would mean a destruction of energy to a certain

extent The conservation of energy in fact demands of
.
, ,

the ultimate particles nothing S hort of perfect elasticity ,

whilst on the other hand elasticity implies change o f shape ,

internal structure or parts and therefore a presumable

, , , ,

subdivision .
 76 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
It rests with the mechanical theorists to show how these

fl
mutual contradictions can be reconciled .

Many attempts have been made to get out o f these _

di ffi culties but none successfully and by some the position

, ,

has been altogether abandoned in favour of what may be

-
call ed the continuous u i d theory It is evident that on .
,

the basis of the mechanical theory there must b e— i n order ,

that the ultimate atoms should have room to move about

considerable spaces between these atoms ; and there being ,

nothing else in the universe except these atoms this space ,

would be literally voi d— another serious philosophical d i ffi

culty . But it has long been known that S pace is apparently
filled with an exceedingly subtle imponderable substance
called the E th er and all the earl y theories about the nature
,

of this Ether regarded it as absolutely s tructureless homo ,

g en e ous and continuous : regarded it in fact as being

, , ,

of the nature o f a p erfect incompressible frictionless fluid

, ,
.

Now if we imagine all space to be filled with this perfect

,

fluid we m a y conceive of matter as being of the nature of

,

certain kinds of motion in or of this fluid This theory is .

the well -known vortex - atom theory of Lord Kelvin in

‘
,

which the atom of physical matter is conceived to be of

the nature of a vo rtex ri n g formed in and of the Ether of
~

S pace .

It will be seen that in this theory the ultimate substratum

of phenomena is an indestructible s om eth i n g— possibly the
Ether— which must be classed as s u bs ta n ce rather than as
matter for it is imponderable and therefore certainly not
, ,

matter in the physical sense of the term ; but it is Open to

doubt whether the axiom of the conservation of motion or ,

energy could also be retained in this case unless we postulate

, ,

an ultimate vortex - ring which is indestructible as such This .

is practically the same thing as p ostulating an ultimate

indestructible particle of matter only that it would have ,

inherent properties — and in p articular ela s ticity— i n virtue of ,

its specific motion which the ultimate particle has not

, .

It is impossible to deal here with the extent to which

this theory does or does not meet the requirements of
experimental science Now however that it is definitely
.
, ,

recognised t hat the corp u s cl e must be some fo rm or mode

‘

of Ethe r or of etheric activity in fact that all matter as well

,

as all force must be referred back to the Ether it appears to

 FO RCE MOTION ENERGY, , 77

o ffer a better solution of some of the more pressing problems

in physics than the old rigid particle theory But the .

general tendency a t the present time is to regard the Ether

as discontinuous and to abandon the old homogeneous fluid
,

theory ; to regard it in fact as having some definite kind o f

, ,

structure— atomic or otherwise — o f its own in which case

we should have to fall back upon some still rarer medium for
the ultimate Primordial Substance the perfectly un d i fferen ,

ti a t e d homogeneous World -
,
stuff .

There is one little di fficulty in connection with the con

t i n u ou s fluid theory from a physical point of V iew
,
It would .

seem that motion in such a fluid could not be pe rceptible

motion Where all space is equally filled with a substance
.

which cannot be aggregated or d en s i fi e d there does not ,

appear to be room for those phenomenal di fferences with

which we are acquainted unless we fall back upon some ,

metaphysical idea of pure motion as the basis of all such

.

di fferences This may be legitimate when dealing with con

.

s ci o u s n es s but not when dealing with physics All physical

, .

questions however are in their last analysis metaphysical

, ,

ones We shall refer to this more fully in Chapter VI I

. .

If we enlarge the scope of the fundamental concepts of

science if we enlarge our definition of ma tter to include some
,

hypothetical s u bs ta n ce as a substratum of physical matter ,

and our definition of en ergy to suit the requirements of this

hypothetical substance : we shall undoubtedly be on safe
ground in asserting that there must be an ultimate and
fundamental Reality corresponding to that which we
recognise in the phenomenal universe under the forms of
matter and force ; and doubtless also there must be some
kin d of equi va l ence in every transformation or phenomena "
, ,

manifestation of this One Reality ; whilst its conservation

or indestructibility is of course absolutely essential to any
conception whatsoever of such a Reality .

We canno t think of motion apart from something which

moves and if we thus enlarge our definition of matter so as
to make it inclusive of any ultimate or Primordial Substance
which may serve as the basis or substratum of motion we ,

are doubtless on lv speaking within the logical necessities of

thought when we say that such substance - matter must be
indestructible and that there must be an equ i valence in a ll
,

its transformations But we are n o t within either the logica l

.
7 8 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
necessities of thought or the experimental evidence of science
,

itself whenwe postulate the i den ti ty of that ultimate Substance

,

in all or even in a ny of its characteristics attributes or modes

, , , , ,

with that phenomenal form of it which we know as physical

matter ; nor are we j ustifi ed in sayi ng that the ultimate laws
of motion must be i d en ti ca l with or subservient to those , ,

mechanical correlations with which we are familiar in the

dynamics of the physical Plane Thought is undou bt edl y .

motion of some kind and thought is also dynamic kinetic

—according to its own laws and in its action in or upon ,

the physical organism But science has not yet touched the
.

dynamics of thought though it is now dealing very gingerly

and tentatively with telepathy -
,

rather because certain facts

have become too evident to be explained away than because ,

these facts are perceived to be a legitimate subj ect for scientific

inquiry If physical matter may be resolved into Ether
.
,

Ether may ultimately be resolved into Mind- ’

stuff and ,

Mind- stu ff into something still further removed from the

region of physical dynamics .

Before we proceed to consider the motions of the corp u s cl es

or el ectron s and the part which the Ether now plays in
,

scientific conceptions of the nature of matter and force we ,

must note that according to the mechanical theory which

,

now completely dominates scientific terminology and litera

ture for ce and en ergy are not at all the same thing though
, ,

they are often used interchangeably even by scientific wr iters ,

.

It was formerly thought that force had a substantial

existence equally with matter There were supposed to be .

a great number of forces such as heat light electricit y , , , ,

magnetism gravitation etc and all these were classed as

, , .
,

i mp on d era bl es they were supposed to be s u bs ta n ti a l but not

ma teri a l But this idea gradually gave place to the mechanical
.

theory and a ll these forces came to be regarded as modes

,

of motion as specific manifestations of en ergy namely the

, , ,

motion o f m a s s either atomic or in bulk

, .

Force may be very S imply defined as anything which

causes or is capable of causing motion in or of matter But it is .

evident that if we accept the mechanical theory and postulate ,

that matter consists of ultimate particles or atoms whose

m a s s is constant and indestructible a nd that the sum total ,

of the motions of all the ultimate particles in the universe

is a constant quantity then motion is never ca us ed it always
, ,
 FO RCE MOTION ENERGY, , 79

is ,
and force considered as something which moves matter
, ,

has no real existence We may use it as a convenient term.

for anything which appears to be the immediate or proximate

cause of motion in some particular body but it has no real ,

substantial existence
All s o-
.

called forces therefore according to this view are

, , ,

at root the energy of motion of the ultimate units of mass ,

whether those units be called atoms corpuscles vortex , ,

rings or anything else whatsoever which has still to be

,

discovered and named ; and the immediate ca u s e of motion

in any body must be simply i mp a ct of some other body
motion handed on from one body to another Thus there .

are not several kinds of force— there is no such thing as

force at all ; there are not several kinds of en ergy — there is
only one kind the energy of mass movement
.

.
,

And yet text - books of science tell us that there are two
’ ’
kinds of energy potential and kinetic , They tell us .

t h a t wh en a body has been raised to a height against the

'

’
force of gravity it possesses potential energy in virtue of
,

its position because a certain amount of energy has been

,

e xpended upon it in raising it to that position ; and it can

give back exactly the same amount of energy in some form
or another in falling to its original position .

But the fact of the matter is that there is no such thing

’
as potential energy All energy is necessarily active or .

’
kinetic since motion is ceaseless and cannot be annihilated
, .

It is always active s omewh ere When we throw a stone into .

the air its motion graduall y ceases and the stone may fina lly ,

come to rest let us say on top of a building We are told

, .

that the reason why the motion of the stone gradually ceases
is because it is acted upon by the for ce of gravity and that ,

this same force will cause it to fall again But we have seen .

that there is no such thing as a force : that this is only a

convenient term for the immediate or apparent (or possibly
not at all apparent ) cause of motion In this case science .
,

d oes n ot k n ow what causes the motion of the stone to cease ,

or what causes it to return to the ground if a llowed to fall .

There is an unknown something— i n the first instance acting

as a r es i s ta n ce Op posing the upward motion of the stone and ,

in the second instance as a force causing it to fall In each .

case science calls this unknown factor the force of gravity .

But no explanation of a phenomenon has been given by

80 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
merely givi ng it a name The explanation which must be .

given according to the mechanical theory is that gravity ,

must be some kind of impact of material particles This -

.

is the exp lanation given by Le Sage but it does not meet ,

all the requirements of the case and the hypothetical particles ,

have still to be discovered .

In so far as the stone in its upward flight graduall y loses

motion something else must gain i t —the motion must be
,

passed on We know t h at it is not passed on to the molecules

.

of the stone itself as in the case of the rifle bullet The stone
, .

is not heated except in so far as friction with the air is co n

,

cerned The s t on e qu a stone — i n its upward flight does not

.
w

a cqui r e any kind of energy ; on the contrary it loses it , .

There can be very little doubt that it is p assed on to the

Ether but how or in what form we do not know
, , ,
.

In a mechanical universe such as science post ulates there ,

cannot be such a thing as r es i s ta n ce in reality any more than ,

there can be such a thing as force The one is the term we .

give to anything which ap p arently s top s motion the other ,

to anything which apparently ca u s es it But we have seen .

that motion is never real ly either stopped or caused it is ,

only handed on from one body to another A body freely .

suspended in space a frictio nl ess body such as the ,

ultimate par ticles must be supposed to b e - wi ll instantly

respond to the slightest impressed force whether impact of ,

another particle or otherwise ; it o ffers no r es i s ta n ce whatso

ever and it is even doubtful whether such a body could be
,

said to have either mass or inertia Any real causation .

or destruction of either matter or motion any adding to or

taking away from the sum -
,

total of the motions of all th e

ultimate particles in the universe would be a contravention ,

o f the fundamental axiom of science as to the conservation

of energy .

Nevertheless it seems to be diffi c ul t for scientific writers

,

to a void the use of terms which convey —a t all events .

to the lay mind— quite a di fferent impression We find “

one eminent scientist for instance S p eaking of a passive , ,

exertion of force without doing work and of a force ,

at rest Also of a force like that of a groove or slot or

.

’
C hannel or guide 1
Why not also the force of a d ining
‘
.

table or an u m brella ? The one sustains the weight of our

,

1
S i r Oli v er L od g e L i fe , and M a tter p , . 1 65 .
 FORCE MOTION ENERGY , , 81

’
dishes which possess potential energy in virtue of their
,

position on the table ; the other sustains the bombardment ,

or kinetic energy of the rain drops ,

.

We should hardly think however that it conduces to , ,

clearness of thought to classify grooves slots C hannels , , ,

guides d i n I n g -
,
tables or umbrellas as being in the nature of
,

forces .

No doubt also in a popular sense we might have a

, ,

“
force at rest Gunpowder might be said to be a force
.

at rest indeed every material thing not in motion is i n

fl
,

a remote sense a force at rest

, What we need to realise .

very clearly is that a force which is apparently at rest

, ,

relatively to some one or more obj ect or obj ects may b e

fl
,

and indeed always i s ex trem ely active within certain otherm

limits If for example a heavy y —wheel be revolving rapidly

.
, , ,

it may appear to be motionless and so far as my body is ,

“ ”
concerned it is a force at rest so long as I do not touch
it But if the y -
. wheel should hap p en to burst the internal ,

energy of its mass and motion becomes very active in an

external direction and I S hould probably become very
,

active also in trying to avoid it So also I may S i t on a barrel .

of gunpowder so long as no one produces those conditions

,

under which the internal molecular forces of the gunpowder

w ill become active in another direction These molecular .

forces are not passive they are ex tremely active within ,

their own particular limits they only take another di recti on

when the gunpowder is exploded .

But what can we make of a passi ve exertion of force

”
without doing work ? Any ex erti on of force necessarily
- -
implies activity work done som ewhere though perhaps not ,

in an outward or visible form in the body with which we are

immediately concerned All s o —called force as we have seen is .
, ,

en ergy in one form or another

,
and all energy is necessarily
’
active kinetic somewhere There can be no such thing as
, ,
.

passive resistance in reality— either political or mechanical .

The apparent passivity of any resisting body only masks a

more subtle kind of activity .

It is necessary then that we should clearly understand

, , ,

in the first place that a thing is not explained when a name

,

is given to it and in the second place that all these scientific ,

terms : matter force energy resistance inertia e tC are

, , , , , .
,

nothing more than names for the relations and proportions

6
82 S CIEN TIFIC I DEALI S M
which exist in phenomena They are only valid as Convenient
.

terms of reference for empirical facts and if pushed back ,

further than their legitimate li mi ta ti on s are always found to ,

involve a series of contradiction s or unthinkable conditions

, .

The fact of the matter is that none of these terms are

a p p licable at all to an i nfi n i te universe They all express .

relativity and limitation Neither the doctrine of the

.

indestructibility of matter nor that of the conservation o f

energy can be applicable to any Infinity ; for both matter
and motion might be destroyed indefinitely and there would ,

still be an infinite quantity left The s u m- tota l of matter

.

and energy in such a universe cannot be a constant quantity ,

simp ly because the Infinite is not a sum - total at all .

Some writers have perceived this very clearly and attempts ,

have been made to show that the universe is not infinite ,

but finite and even to S how that S pace itself is finite that
, ,

S p ace is cu r ved and that parall el lines might co nceivably

,

meet i f prolonged fa r enough and a straight line return upon

,

itself It would take us too fa r out of our way however

.
, ,

to discuss that question here .

We must n ow turn our attention for a moment to the

phenomena of radio —activity and the motion or energy ,

possessed by the corpuscles or electrons of which the chemical

atom is built up .

When Radium was fi rst discovered it appeared to a fford

an absolute contradiction of the t wo fundamental axioms of
science which we have been considering Radium presents .

the spectacle of a substance which is continually giving o ff

material or semi - material particles without any a p parent
diminution in quantity or weight a n d more startling still , ,

it is continually parting with en ergy in definitely measurable

quantities without any apparent source from which it could
,

obt a in that energy In the words of Professor Boys at the

.

1 9 03 meeting of the British Association : This which can ,

b a rely be d i stinguishe d from the discovery of perpetu a l

motion which it is an ax i om of science to call i mp os
,
‘

sible has le ft every chemist and physicist in a state of

,

bewilde rment .

Nor was the explanation which was presently given of

the phenomenon any more acceptable to many scientific
men than that of perpetual motion ; for they had come to
regard the chemical atoms almost as a kind of fetish as the ,
 FORCE MOTION ENERGY
, , 83

final and irreduc i ble minimum of matter and as th e

foundation -
,

stones of the universe The explanation which.

wa s o ffered was in short that Radium presented the spectacle

, ,

of a substance in which the atoms or a certain number of the

,

atoms in a given quantity were actually di s i n teg ra ti n g them

,

selves and throwing o ff into space with enormous energy

, , ,

part of their constituent elements .

This involved two things which were equally repugnant

to the more conservative and materialistic scientific authorities
( a ) that the chemical atom is not after all a stable thing and
, ,

(b) that the chemical atom is not inert but contains within ,

itself a vast amount of activity and energy .

If we take a small amount of Radium and observe its ,

tem p erature by means of a thermometer we find that it is ,

several degrees warmer than the surrounding atmosphere ,

and that i t con s ta n tly rem a i n s s o Now heat is energy and

.
,

a continuous supply of heat means that we must draw con

t i n u ou s ly upon some source of energy in order to supply it .

Every materi al obj ect with which we are familiar will always
cool down to the temperature of the surrounding atmosphere ,

after it has been heated unless we continue to supply it with

,

heat from some other source .

But Radium continues to heat itself and when this ,

phenomenon was first observed there was apparently no

means of discovering from what source it could possibly
obtain the vast quantity of energy which it was continually
radiat ing away Without any apparent diminution in its activity .

It was found that the heat thus developed by a quantity of

Radium in one hour was su fficient to raise its own weight of
water from freezing - point to boiling -point It has also been .

calculated that a quantity of Radium less than could be placed

’
upon one s thumb nail contains sufficient energy to lift a
,

weight of 5 00 tons one mile high The greatest quantity .

of heat which we can obtain by chemical means is by the

.

combustion of Hydrogen with Oxygen But the total amount .

of heat which would be given off spontaneously by a definite

W eight of Radium would be times as much as that
which could be obtained from the same weight of Hydrogen .

It was at first thought that the Radium atom might in

some way serve as a channel or focus for a subtle form of
etheric activity or energy If the doctrine of the conservation
.

of energy was not to be upset the Radium must either b e

,
84 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
obtaining its energy in some such manner from an ex tern a l
source or else it must contain the energy wi thi n th e a tom
,

i ts elf .

The latter is the explanation which is now known to be

true and we must realise that all this vast amount of energy
,

is stored u p within the atoms themselves and is only liberated ,

wh en th e a tom s brea k u
p .

When that takes place— and it is always taking place

with a certain percentage of the atoms — the contents or

fl
,

part of the contents of the atom fly off into S pace with enormous

fl
,

velocity and it is these flying particles which furnish the

,

energy which appears partly as heat .

For the sake of getting a clear idea let us imagine our ,

atom to be of the nature of a y — wheel revolving with great

speed So long as the y -
,

wheel holds togeth er all is well

fl
.
,
'

but if it S hould chance to burst we S hould have parts of it

flying off in all directions and every part would have a certain
,

amount of energy depending upon its mass and velocity

,
.

Now let us extend the idea somewhat and imagine that our ,

y
-
wheel instead of being
,
made of a continuous solid material ,

is really composed of a number of balls which are — compared

with their size— a t a considerable distance from each other ,

and that these balls are all revolving in the same orbit held ,

together by some central force j ust as our Sun holds the

fl
,

Planets in their orbits I f these balls were revolving fast

.

enough they would of course give us the impression of a

continuous circle of matter j ust as one ball attached to a ,

strin g m a v be swung in a C ircle which will look as if it were

flfl
continuous Our imaginary y - . wheel would not merely
give us the visual impression of a continuous substance but ,

it would also act as such if we tried to insert anything into it .

If now we imagine that for some internal reason such a

-
y wheel were to break up entirely or only partially ; if ,

we imagine that some of the constituent balls are proj ected

flfl
out of the y - wheel and fly off into space with a velocity
,

corresponding to that which they formerly had w hen they

formed an integral part of the fly w heel : we shall have a

fl
very fair picture of our Radium atom
As a matter of fact the y -
.

wheel —or the Radium atom

,

—does not wholly break up Some of the balls still h old .

together and form a somewhat light er y - wheel ; only this

modified y - wheel is no longer Radium it is Helium , .
 FORCE MOTION ENERGY
, , 85

But we must turn our attention for a moment to those

flying particles which are proj ected out into space It is .

found that these are of two kinds the one — known as the , a.

rays — having a much greater mass than the others which ,

are known as the B rays The a particle has a mass about

.

twice as great as that of an atom of Hydrogen whereas the ,

mass of the B particle or corpuscle is about 8 00 or 1 000

, ,

times l es s than that of the Hydrogen atom .

The a particle is principally responsible for the heat

,

which is generated by the Radium Although the m a s s is .

small the velocity is v ery great being about

,
miles ,

per second When a flying bullet strikes a target the energy

.
,

of the moving mass is converted into heat But the energy .

of a moving mass of matter does not vary directly as the

velocity but as the square of the velocity One bullet
, .

moving twice as fast as another will have four times the

amount of energy The a particle of Radium has a velocity
.

about times as great as that of a rifle bullet travelling

at say half a mile per second and the energy which it pos
, , ,

sesses will therefore b e— weight for weight million

times as great .

The mass of the B corpus cle is some to times

less than that of the a particle but on the other hand its , , ,

velocity is very much greater The velocity of all the 6 .

particles does not appear to be the same but in some cases ,

it may be as much as miles per second which a p ,

p roa ch es that of light itself namely miles per second

fl
, , .

We have already seen in our chapter on The Great and t h e

Small that the size of the corpuscle is very small as compared
with that of the whole atom that there are vast interspaces
,

between the corpuscles but we can now understand with the

aid of our y -
,

W heel illustration how it is that the corpuscles

,

practically occupy the whole of the space of the atom They .

do so in virtue of their enormous velocity which we might ,

"
almost Sa y enables every constituent corpuscle to be p ra cti
cally everywhere within the S phere of the atom at every
moment of time and thus to o ffer an enormous Op p osing
,

force to anything which endeavours to penetrate within the

’

boundaries of the atom represented by the orbits or vibra

,

ti on a l limits of the constituent corpuscles .

We do not know what is the central retaining power

which holds the corpuscles together within these limits and ,
86 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
makes of the chemical atom of a ll ordinary substances such
a stable t hi ng but we can easily see that so long as the atom
does hold together it would act practically as a solid substance ,

in spite of the vast in terspaces between the constituent

corpuscles .

The corpuscles cannot be flying about in a haphazard

or promiscuous manner within the limits of the atom They .

must have defin ite and orderly movement of some kind .

p recisely what we do not know but we might imagine it to ,

be comparable to the ordered movements of the Sun and

Planets held together by the force of gravity
,
.

Such very briefly and imperfectly sketched is the new

, ,

world of activity behind or within the physical atom of matter

to which science now introduces us Strange that the more .

we penetrate gross dead matt e r the more active it becomes ,

strange also that after having definitely abandoned the

,

i mp on dera bl es science should be thrown right back upon

,

the imponderable Ether for the explanation not merely of

every form of energy but of the very constitution of matter
,

itself In the words of Professor J J Thomson

. All mass . .

is mass of the ether all momentum momentum of the ether

, , ,

” 1
and all kinetic energy kinetic energy of the ether , .

We see then that all this phenomenal world when analysed

, , ,

by scientific me thods is found to have its roots in a Plane

of Substance which I S altogether beyond the reach of our
di rect physical cognition and senses a Plane which is certainly
not m a tter in any physical sense in which that term has
hitherto been used Doubtless it is m a tter in the remote
.

sense that it is something associated with motion but it

,

is by no means certain that the substance of the Ether itself

possesses in any sense the fundamental ch aracteristic of
matter namely mass or inertia The corpuscles un doubte dl y
, , .

possess mass both in the common acceptation of the te rm as

,

being a quantity of something and also in the strictly scientific ,

sense as a correlative of force But whereas in our common .

experience of what we call matter the mass is constant whether ,

the body be at rest or in motion in th e case of the corpuscle ,

it appears to be variable at di fferent velocities and the mass ,

ma y be— and indeed by several leading physicists is considered

certainly to b e — wholly el ectri ca l in its nature .

It is well known that a n y m aterial body i n motion and

E l ectr i ci ty a nd M a fter p 5 1 , . .
 FORCE MOTION ENERGY , ,
87

also carrying a charge of electricity has an add i tional mass ,

or inertia imposed upon it by reason of that charge and ,

the induction or strain which is thereby set up in the Ether .

Its mass or inertia as a material body is su p posed to be

constant so long as it contains the same quantity of material
,

matter but the addition of an electric charge makes it n ece s

,

sary to use more force to move it ; in other words it has ,

apparently acquired an additional ma s s But we have added .

nothin g material to it for electricity is certainly not physical

,

matter though all physical matter may be electricity

, .

Now the corpuscle either is or else possesses a definite

, ,

charge of electricity which is found to be invariable in every

,

case ; and its apparent mass ma y be partly material and ,

partly electrical or i t ma y be wholly electrical in which case

it possesses no mass at a ll in the material sense of the term
, ,

and its apparent mass is wholly due to its motion to the ,

motion of the imponderable Ether of which it is constituted .

Mathematical investigation shows that in this latter case

the apparent mass would be practically constant at all
ordinary velocities but would rapidly increase as the rate
,

of motion of the corpuscle approaches that of light Som e .

such increase has already been experimentally observed and ,

it is held very strongly by some physicists that the theory

’
known as the electronic theory of matter will receive
absolute confirmation in the immediate future and all matter ,

be thereby proved to b e — electricity By those who hold .

this theory the corpuscles are called el ectron s .

But when we have called matter electricity W e have

only given it another name What is electricity
. The
answer at present is that it is some form of etheric activity
,
.

The important point to note is that we have fairly d em a t eri

,

alised matter and that although behind every manifestation

,

of matter on the material Plane there must undoubtedly be an

equ i va l en t of something however far back we may trace it so
, ,

that the two axioms of the indestructibility of matter and the

conservation of energy may still hold good in a much extended
—
sense that equivalent ceases to be matter immediately we
have traced it back to the Etheric Plane and necessitates ,

therefore a profound modification of our ideas as to the funda

mental characteristics of that external correlative of con
s ci ou s n e s s which constitutes for u s — i n our present state of

consciousness — the obj ective phenomenal universe .

88 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
All things are only th i n gs by reason of the limitations in
which we are conscious of them All m a tter is similarly only
.

m a tter to a limited form of consciousness In thought we can

.

already transcend such limitations in consciousness we may

do s o— when we have learnt how of which more hereafter , .

Let us note here however that all expansion growth

, , , ,

evolution both in thought and consciousness is fr om particulars

, ,

to universals from limitations to an ever widening and deepen

,

ing inclusiveness Even in physics this is true and it is now

.
,

clearly seen that matter being the di fferentiation of an a p

,

p a re n t l y universally di ffused Substance or Ether any con cep ,

tion which we can form as to the nature of that Ether brings

us at least one step nearer to that of some u niversal u n d i ffer ,

en t i a t e d Primordial Substance filling all space and therefor e

, , , ,

further and further away fro m any mechanical theory of

ultimat e dead particles from the absurd idea that Unity or
,

Reality can be reached by infinite subdivision or is to be ,

found in absolute homogeneity .

The Reality of a thing can only be grasped in pro portion

as its relativity to some larger unitary Whole is understood
it can never be reached by resolving that thing into still more
’
isolated and disconnected things J ust in proportion as we
.

fail to grasp the relation of things to a larger and sti ll larger

Whole so will they possess for us a merely evanescent and
,

transitory nature They will still be p h en omen a in time and

.

space ap p earing and disappearing in an endless sequence of

,

cause and e ffect ; here before us in palpable tangible form ,

yet never really grasped forever issuing out of the future ‘

and at the same moment receding into the past —S uch

must they be until we have ceased to isolate them first in ,

thought afterwards in actual consciousness ; until we know

,

them in their proper relation and proportion as p art of that ,

Infinite Self which knows them as the co r relative the outer ,

expression and manifestation of Its own Infinite Life and Will .

 C H A PTE R V

INTER-
RELATION O F PLANES
 A ll t h e p rop er ti e s o f m a t t er a re s o c o n n ec t e d th a t w e ca n s ca rce l
y
i m a g i n e o n e th orou g h ly ex p l a i n e d w i t h o u t o u r s e ei n g i ts r e l a ti o n to a l l t h e
-
,

LO RD
”
o t h ers ; wi t h o u t i n fa c t h a vi n g t h e
, ,
e x p l a n a ti o n o f a l l . KE L V I N .
 CHA PTER V
-
I NTE R R E LATI O N O F PL AN E S

F R OM what has been said in the preceding chapters it may

be hoped that there is now in the mind of the reader a very
definite and C lear idea of two distinct Cosmic Planes that of ,

Physical Matter and that of the Ether ; the former being

,

wholly derived from the latter and therefore presumably re

, , ,

solvable back into it in the natural course of cosmic evolution ,

or devolution .

But the amount of Ether which may be supposed to be

thus differentiated or fixed in the form of physical matter is
i n fi n i t es i m a l ly small compared with that vast abyss of space
which is apparently filled with the free undifferentiated Ether
and if the importance or otherwise of any special form or
manifestation of that underlying Reality which I S the Universe
could be estimated by its relation to either time or space we ,

should have to assign to the whole of the material physical

Universe a very subordinate position in the Unitary Whole .

Some such conception must indeed inevitably dawn upon

, ,

us when we consider the Cosmos from the point of vie w of

Life and Consciousness ; when we consider that these also
are at root a Unitary Cosmic Whole and that j ust as the free
,

Ether is bound limited restricted in its form of physical

, ,

matter and can then only act and interact wi th i ts elf —the
,

free Ether— i n certain limited and restricted ways : so also

Life or Consciousness — being in reality Cosmic and Universal
is also bound and limited by the forms and conditions and
’
natural laws of each particular Cosmic Plane of matter
but is i n i ts own n a tu re something infinitely more than
, ,

any or all of its limited and tem p orary modes whilst that
particular individualisation which is our temporary con ven
t i on a l thinking s elf is also thereby limited and restricted in
,

its action and interaction with Itself which is none other than
,

th e Infin ite Cosmic Self .

9 2 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
Some portion of the Ether bein g thus differentiated or
aggregated into Physical Matter this latter now constitutes a ,

Cosmic Plane which is a pp a ren tly— s o far as our physical senses

are concerned— a separate distinct independent reality ; a ‘ ’

’
thing a Material Universe with no sensible connection with
, ,

that higher Plane out of which it was originally evolved and ,

to which it is returning by an immeasurably S low cosmic

process of disintegration or devolution of which Radium is a ,

palpable and visible example .

We live immersed in an ocean of air which though , ,

invisible to us is evident and manifest in many ways We

,
.

breathe it at every moment and it is absolutely essential ,

to us for the preservation of our physical life and activities

but we take little thought of it on that account since we ,

have learnt to breathe without conscious e ffort It is more .

a p parent to us in the wind which shakes the trees or raises ,

the dust or which seems to rush past us as we tear along

,

in our motors and trains .

But we also live immersed in an ocean of Ether of which ,

we are utterly unco nscious and of which we take no account ,

whatsoever S ince it is neither visible nor palpable Yet it

, .

not merely surrounds and envelops us far more closely than

the air we breathe but it literally en s ou l s us It not merely
, .

interpenetrates every bone and muscle and organ and cell

of our body but every molecule and atom and is the great
co -
, ,

ordinating principle upon which every single phenomenon

on the Physical Plane is absolutely dependent .

How do we know this if the Ether is to our senses absolutely

non -
,

existent immaterial impalpable i mponderable ? The

, , ,

answer is that physical matter and phenomena are i n a dequ a te

,

to ex p l a i n th ems elves and we are forced back by sheer inability

, ,

to account for phenomena upon any other basis to some ,

hyp othetical medium to which the name of E th er has been

given No amount of dissection of the physical body can
.

disclose the existence of the Ether any more than it can ,

disclose the existence of the Soul yet the scientist is absolutely

certain of the existence of the one even if he is as yet , , ,

doubtful of the existence of the other .

But the Ether of science at the present time is only

related or deduced from purely physical phenomena ; its
relation to Life Thought Consciousness has not yet been
, , ,

touched We are gradually feeling o ur way to a knowledge

.
 INTER-
RELATION OF PLANES 93

of its nature and properties through certain phenom ena of

matter and force presently it will have to be related to the
conscious activities of the Ego .

We must recognise therefore that Ether though non , , ,

existent for the senses is an absolute necessity for the mind

,

and reason N 0 single physical phenomenon can be explained

.

without it In it we literally live and move and have our

.

being and if these words are applicable — as they certainly

are— to something higher deeper more universal even than , ,

the Ether it is because this latter is in its turn only a lower

,

aspect of that Absolute Noumenon to which all phenomena

’
must ultimately be referred ; and because each higher
Plane stands in relation to the one immediately below it as
the direct or immediate noumenon of all its phenomena .

In the meantime therefore the Ether stands in relation

, ,

to physical matter as Soul to Body ; it i s the informing

vitalising en ergy upon which not merely does every activity
of physical matter depend but which i s physical matter ,

itself
.

Let us note in the first instance what science ucan now

, ,

te ll us as to the action and interaction which goes on between

the free Ether— the Etheric Plane as a Plane — and physical
matter .

The modern scientific conception of a s ubtle impalpable

’ ’
fluid or m edium filling all S pace dates back to the time
,
‘

, ,

of Newton and was due I n the first instance to the necessity

,

of accounting for the various phenomena of light on some

’
other basis than that of the em i ss i on theory put forward ‘

by that great philosopher Newton conceived that light .

was of the nature of minute particles shot out with i n con cei v
able rapidity by luminous bodies and so ably did he explain
many of the then known phenomena of light on this sup
position and also probably so great was the weight of his
, , ,

’
scientific authority that the emission theory as it was
, ,

called held th e field in the minds of many scientists even

,

throughout the early part of the nineteenth century It was .

upheld to the last by the great astronomer Laplace and also ,

by Sir David Brewster whose name was an authority even ,

fifty or sixty years ago Singularly enough the reason which.

,

this latter scientist gave for rej ecting the undulatory theory
which ultimately established itself in place of the emission
theory Wa s anything but a scientific one It was according .
,
94 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
to Tyndall that he could not thi nk the Creator guilty of
,

so C lumsy a contrivance as the filling of S pace with Ether

in order to produce light "On this Tyndall remarks : The
quarrel of science with Sir David on this point as with many , ,

other estimable persons on other points is that they profess , ,

” 1
to know too much about the mind of the Creator .

’
But even in Newton s time the theory of the Ether was
’
‘
in the air . Newton himself appears to have been feeling
after an ethereal explanation of many phenomena as evidenced ,

in several of the Q ueries at the end of his Op ti ck s .

It was espoused by the astronomer Huyghens and the ,

mathematician Euler but neither of these had su fficient

,

experimental data to prove their theories The definite .

demonstration of the Undulatory Theory of Light will always

be associated with the name of Thomas Young who first ,

published his Th eory of Li g ht a n d Col ou rs in 1 8 01 .

’
Although Young s treatise was bitterly attacked in several
quarters it gradually won the recogn ition and acceptance
,

of all scientific thinkers .

According to this theory light consists of a series of

,

exceedingly rapid waves or undulations propagated through ,

space in every direction by means of the Ether Thus the .

existence of the E ther became first established in the scientific

mind as an essential factor in the phenomenon of light and ,

it was therefore only natural that the properties or Charac

, ,

t eri s ti cs of this hypothetical medium should be conceived of ,

or deduced entirely from the part or function which it was

,

sup p osed to exercise in the transmission of light waves .

Accordingly we find that the first conception of it was that

’
of an absolutely passive inert structureless fluid whose
, , ,
’
only function was to undulate .

Possibly if the matter had gone no further than this we

might have been satisfied with a merely hypothetical medium
—
deeming the nature of that medium since it is altogether
beyond our senses — to be an insoluble problem For it was .

quickly seen that there were enormous difficulties in the way

of realising its exact nature and constitution or indeed of ,

forming any idea of it at all on the basis of anything with

which we are familiar in the sensible material world But .

it was inevitable that the existence of this medium having

been once established other phenomena besides those of
,

1 Ty n d a ll S i x Lectu res
, on Li g h t, 1 87 3 p 47
, . .
 INTER-
RELATION O F PLANES 95

light should fall to be included or explained by its presence

and agency There are several phenomena in which one body
.

appears to act upon another at a dista n ce without any visible

or recognisable connecting link The idea however of pure .
, ,

action at a distance without any connecting medium whatso

,

ever is repugnant to the human reason and if we see one body

, ,

acting upon another however great may be the distance

,

between them or however obscure or occult the means of

,

communication may be we must inevitably concl u de that ,

there i s some means or media by or through which such an

action can take place .

The most important of this C lass of phenomena is perhaps

gravitation that power by which all masses of matter are
,

attr a cted towards each other with a force varying as the

square of the distance and by which the mighty Suns and
,

Worlds are held in their appointed places in relation to e a ch

other as they rush through the vast abysses of space .

It is to the Ether therefore that we must look for an

, ,

explanation of the fact of gravitation But this cannot be .

’
given on the basis of a structureless inert fluid Inert .

matter in an inert fluid cannot possibly be conceived of as

attracting other matter Moreover it appears pretty certain
.
,

that there is no action whatever between the Ether and

matter in bulk The Ether so far as we know is absolutely
.
,

non -
,

existent for masses of matter that is to say we cannot , ,

lay hold of the Ether or appreciate anything in the nature

,

of friction or resistance in any mass of matter as a mass ;

although m ass as measured by force must have an etheric
, ,

basis It is pretty certain that when a body moves it does

.

not even move the Ether which permeates it If therefore .

, ,

a mass of matter cannot get some kind of a grip as it were , ,

on the Ether if it cannot thrust again st it or be thrust

, ,

against by it how can the Ether possibly be the cause or

,

medium of gravitation
This is one of the problems which science has still to solve .

Gravitation must be either a p ull or a push ; the two bod i es

which are attracted to each other must either have some con
n ect i n g rope u pon which each can pull or else mu s t be impelled ,

from behind by some force which pushes them towards each

other This of course is S peaking entirely from what we know
.
, ,

of action and reaction on the physical Plane of matter and ,

the diffi cult y of conceiving of the nature of the Ether lies

94 S CIENTIFIC ID EALISM
to Tyndall that he could not thin k the Creator guilty of
,

so clumsy a contrivance as the fi lling of space with Ether

in order to produce light "On this Tyndall remarks : The
quarrel of science with Sir David on this p oint as with many , ,

other estimable persons on other points is that they profess , ,

” 1
to know too much about the mind of the Creator .

’
But even in Newton s time the theory of the Ether was
’
‘
in the air . Newton himself appears to have been feeling
after an ethereal explanation of many phenomena as evidenced ,

in several of the Q ueries at the end of his Op ti c/es .

It was espoused by the astronomer Huyghens and the ,

mathematician Euler but neither of these had su fficient

,

experimental data to prove their theories The definit e .

demonstration of the Undulatory Theory of Light will always

be associated with the n ame of Thomas Young who first ,

published his Th eory of Li gh t a n d Col ours in 1 8 01 .

’
Although Young s treatise was bitterly attacked in several
quarters it gradually won the recogn ition and acceptance
,

of all scientific thinkers .

According to this theory light consists of a series of

,

exceedingly rapid waves or undulations propagated through ,

S pace in every direction by means of the Ether Thus the .

existence of the E ther became first established in the scientific

mind as an essential factor in the phenomenon of light and ,

it was there fore only natural that the properties or charac

, ,

t eri s t i cs of this hypothetical medium should be conceived of ,

or deduced entirely from the part or function which it was

,

supposed to exercise in the transmission of light waves .

Accordingly we find that the first conception of it was that

’
of an absolutely passive inert structureless fluid whose
, , ,
’
only function was to undulate .

Possibly if the matter had gone no further than this we

might have been satisfied with a merely hyp othetical m edium
deeming the nature of that medium— S ince it is altogether
beyond our senses— to be an insoluble problem For it was .

quickly seen that there were enormous difficulties in the way

o f realising its exact nature and constitution or ind eed of ,

forming any idea of it at all on the basis of anything with

which we are familiar in the sensible material world But .

it was inevitable that the existence of this medium having

been once established other phenomena besides those of
,

1
Ty n d a ll S i x L ectu res
, on Li g h t
, 1 8 7 3, p .
47 .
 INTER -
RELATION OF PLANES 5

light should fall to be included or explained by its presence

and agency There are several phenomena in which one body
.

appears to act upon another at a distan ce without any visible

or recognisable connecting link The idea however of pure .
, ,

action at a distan ce without any conn ecting medium whatso

,

ever is repugnant to the human reason and if we see one body

, ,

acting upon another however great may be the distance,

between them or however obscure or occult the means of

,

communication may be we must inevitably conclude that ,

there i s some means or media by or through which such an

action can take place
.

The most important of this class of phenomena is perhaps

gravitation that power by which all masses of matter are
,

attracted towards each other with a force varying as the

square of the distance and by which the mighty Suns and ,

Worlds are held in their appointed places in relation to each

oth er as they rush through the vast abysses of space .

I t is to the Ether therefore that we must look for an

, ,

explanation of the fact of gravitation But this cannot be .

given on the basis of a structureless inert fluid ’ Inert

matter in an inert fluid cannot possibly be conceived of as
attracting other matter Moreover it appears pretty certain .
,

that there is no action whatever between the Ether and

‘

matter in bulk The Ether so far as we know is absolutely

.
, ,

non - existent for masses of matter that is to say we cannot , ,

lay hold of the Ether or appreciate anything in the nature

,

of friction or resistance in any mass of matter as a mass ;

although m ass as me asured by force must have an etheric
, ,

basis It is pretty certain that when a body moves it does

.

not even move the Ether which permeates it If therefore .

, ,

a mass of matter cannot get some kind of a grip as it were , ,

on the Ether if it cannot thrust against it or be thrust

, ,

against by it how can the Ether possibly be the cause or

,

medium of gravitation
This is one of the problems which science has still to solve .

Gravitation must be either a p ull or a push the two bod i es

which are attracted to each other must either have some con
n ect i n g rope u pon which each can pull or else m u S t be impe l led ,

from behind by some force which pushes them towards each

other This of course is speaking entirely from what we know
.
, ,

of action and reaction on the physical Plane of matter and ,

th e diffi c u lty of conceiving of the nature of the Ether lies

9 6 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
precisely in t his fact that we have nothing whatever to guide
,

us except ph y sical Plane analogies .

It is hardly to be wondered at therefore that the theories , ,

as to the constitution or nature of the Ether which have

hitherto been put forward to account for a certain limited
number of phenomena have not merely been exceedingly ,

ma teri a l in their nature but also for the most part mutually
,

contradictory and destructive not to say unthinkable ; and ,

i t remains to be seen whether a substance such as Ether ,

which is not material at all in any intelligible sense of the

term can ever be ex p lained in terms of physical and dynamical
,

conceptions derived entirely from the p urely empirical facts

with which we are familiar in the action and interaction of
physical material bodies .

But although we cannot lay hold of the Ether by means

of any ma s s o f matter we can lay hold of it in another way
, .

AS soon as any body acquires a Ch a rg e of E l ectri ci ty there

is immediately a direct action and reaction between it and
the free Ether of space The body possesses in virtue of its
.
,
’
charge an a u ra or field of force
,
It throws out lines of .
‘

’
force as they are called and by means of these lines of
, ,

force it exercises an attraction or repulsion upon neigh

b ou ri n g bodies according to the nature of the charge which
it possesses These lines of force exist who lly in the free
.

Ether they are some kin d o f modification or disturbance of

,

the free Ether Similar lines of force emanate from the poles
.

of a magnet and their direction or contour may be made

,

visible by laying a sheet of glass or paper on the magnet ,

and sprinkling iron filings over it .

I t now we m ove a body charged with Electricity it carries

, , ,

its lines of force with it ; but the curious thing is that even ,

then it does not a ppear to carry the Ether with it The .

lines of force are not as it were substantial even in their own

, , ,

element although they are undoubtedly formed in and of

,

the substance of the Ether but when the body is moved its , ,

lines of force move with it th rough the Ether without any ,

thing i n the nature of fri ction or retardation making its

appearance - exce;b t wh en th e body i s bei n g a ccel er a ted or
r eta r d ed It is this exception which is the important part
.

of the matter .

N o t hi n g i n p h y s i cs i s m or e c e r t a i n t h a n th i s , th a t w h e n a b o d y
m o ve s , th e e th er i n i ts n ei g h b ou rh o o d d o es n o t m ov e Th e e t h e r , .
 INTER-
RELATION OF PLANES 97

i n fa c t, i s s ta ti on a ry i t i s s u s c ep ti b l e to s tra i n b u t n o t t o m o ti on it ,
”1
i s th e r ecep t a cl e o f p o te n ti a l n o t o f l oco m o ti v e k i n e ti c e n e r gy
, .

M a t ter a l on e h a s n o p e r ce p ti b l e c on n e c ti on wi th th e e th e r a fa c t ,

whi ch i s p r ov e d i n m y p a p e r i n t h e Ph i l os op h i ca l Tr a n s a cti on s fo r
1 89 3 and 1 897 i t is e l e c tr i c c h a rg e w hi ch g i v es i t a n y c o n n e c ti o n , a n d

e ven th e n i t h a s n o vi s cou s co n n e c ti o n , — t h e re i s n o c o n n e c ti o n th a t
d ep e n d s u p on v el oci ty , or is of t h e n a t u r e o f fri c ti o n , -
i t is p u rely

a cc el er a t i v e co n n e c ti o n it is o n ly wh en th e ch a r g e v i b ra te s , and
”
d u ri n g i ts a c c el era ti v e p e ri o d s , th a t i t i s a b le to i n flu e n ce t h e E th e r .

The moment we try to set in motion a charged body or ,

whenever we try to stop the motion of a charged body or in ,

general whenever we interfere with the motion of a charged

body by acceleration or retardation a certain opposing force ,

makes its appearance a force which is purely etheric and , ,

which is as it were a direct laying hold of the Ether b y the

'

, ,

body in question This action is known as electro - magnetic

.

’
induction and its operation is such that if we try to accelerate
,

a C harged body it opposes such acceleration and if we try ,

to retard it when in motion it again offers a resistance to our

e fforts .

Now it will readily be seen that this is exactly the property

of matter which is usually termed i n erti a and we have already ,

noted (p 8 7 ) that a charged body moving through space

.

possesses an apparent mass or inertia greater tha n that due

to its mere physical mass It may be however —we had .
, ,

alm ost said it must b e —that what we call the material mass
, ,

or inertia of a body is in reality wholly due to this specific

a ction of the Ether in the form of electro - magnetic induction ,

the action being between the free Ether and the corpuscles
or electrons of which every material body is built up The .

idea is at least extremely suggestive and will probably be

, , ,

fruitful of m uch in th e i m m ed i a te future f

Now all these phenomena and many others which cannot ,

be dealt with here make it increasingly di ffi cult to under ,

stand what may be the actual nature and constitution of

the Ether itself Any theory of the Ether to be acceptable
.

must account equally well for all these phenomena for light ,

radiant energy g ravitation electricity and magnetism and

, , , ,

the constitution of matter itself— and many other things

which have not yet come within the range of scientific observa
ti on We cannot accept one kind of Ether to explain light
.
,

“
1
S i r Ol i v e r L o d g e O n E l e ctr on s , j ou rn a l I n s t E l ec E n g v ol x x x h
‘

, . .
, . .
p 47. .

3
1 bi d p
. . 80 .

7
9 8 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
another to explain gravitation and still another to explain ,

electrical phenomena a n d when physical science has finally

elaborated a theory which wil l more or less fully explain
the relations which exist in these empirical and lim ited
phenomena there wi ll still remain the question of the relation
,

of the Ether to Li fe Thought Consciousness , , .

In the phenomenon of gravitation and of electric and

magn etic attraction and repulsion the Ether plays the part ,

of an intervening medium between two physical bo d ies

we have as it were an in visible line or cord in the Ether with
, ,

a mass of matter at each end W h enever a body has a charge

.
‘

of Electricity imparted to it as for instance by rubbing a ,

glass rod with a piece of silk we always appear to produce ,

two Opposite kinds of Electricity known as p os i ti ve and n ega ti ve ,

Electricity and whenever a body is charged wi th El ect ri ci ty

,
'

of one kind there is always an equal amount of the opposite

kind somewhere— on the walls of the room or on the nearest ,

material obj ect The lin es of force which are formed in

.

the Ether connect these two equal and opposite charges ,

and gi ve rise to what is known as a field of force between

them .

These phenomena therefore furnish u s with what we might

, ,

call a C losed cycle or equilibrium of energy ; in which although ,

energy is transferred to the Etheric Plane from a physical mass

of matter we find the other end of it as it were in another
, , ,

physical mass and there is no actual loss of energy to th e

,

physical Plane action and reaction being exactly equal and

,

opposite If we sep a rate two bodies which are held together

.

by the force of gravitation as for instance when we raise a

,

weight we have to expend a certain amount of energy but we

, ,

get back the exact equivalent of that energy when the weight
falls again The same thing holds good for two bodies attracted
.

to each other by reason of possessing a charge of Electricity .

To separate them we must do work but we can get that work ,

back by allowing them to a p proach each other again .

If we fire off a rifle bullet into the air it possesses a certain ,

amoun t of energy by reason of its mass and velocity That .

energy was of course transferred to it from the chemical or

molecular energy of the gunpowder Let us suppose that we .

fire the bul let straight up into the air it will then be gradua ll y ,

expending its energy against the force of g r avitation which ,

will presently altogether stop its motion and c a u s e -i t to fall

 INTER -
RELATION OF PLANES 99

back to the Ea rth The force with which it strikes the Earth
.

neglecting atmospheric friction — will be exactly the same as

that which it originally possessed when it left the rifle and as , ,

we have already seen ( p it is converted for the most

.

part into heat Here then we have a complete closed cycle

.
, ,

of energy in which none is lost to the physical Plane

,

except the heat which is radiated away .

But now let us imagine that the bullet does not return to
the Earth that we can give it su fficient velocity to take it
,

altogether beyond the attraction of the Earth what will be the

result ? The result will be that the Earth as a conservative ,

system of force or energy will have l os t a defin ite amount

, .

Note that it will also have lost a definite amount of matter .

Let us further imagine that we do not fire one but a million

.

, ,

or mill ions of millions of such bullets none of which return to ,

the Earth it is evident that we sho ul d not be able to keep

this up indefinitely unless we could obtain somewhere for our
Earth a fresh supply both of matter and of energy in some form ,

or other .

Now as an actual matter of fact although we are not doing ,

this with material bullets we are doing i t— and that much

,

more effectually— i n another way We are doing it by means .

of radiant heat and the phenomena of Radium show us that

we are also probably doing it by the actual process of S low
disintegration of a ll matter and the shootin g out i nto space
,

with enormous velocities of the corpuscles or electrons .

But by far the most serious and appreciable loss of energy

is that which takes place in th e form of radiant heat The .

Earth is continually cooling down and what we have to note ,

he re is that when heat energy is radiated away into space

, ,

we have a case of th e entire transfer of that energy to the

Etheric Plane with no apparent means of recovering i t
,

certain ly no means of recovering it so far as our Earth is

concern ed We have a physical body at one end and no
.
,

physical body at the other end .

In the case of our Earth however we are constantly , ,

receiving a fresh influx in the form of radiant heat from the

Sun but the energy which we thus continually receive and ,

that which we lose again does not form a C losed cycle the
,

energy which we receive from the Sun is not the same energy
—n or even its equivalent — as that which we lose
The he a t energ y or electro -
.

magnetic energy which re a ch es

, ,
1 00 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM

us from the Sun comes vi a the Ether ; for the time being ,

and while it is on its way to us it exists wholly on the Etheric

,

Plane which is the i mmedi a te source of it so far as we are

,
.

concerned If we could not see the Sun and did not know
. ,

that this etheric a cti vi ty m u s t be referred back to that body ,

we should doubtless refer it S imply to the Ether itself .

So far therefore as our Earth itself is concerned we are

, , ,

continually radiating heat and losing energy transferring it ,

to the Etheric Plane and continually from that Plane receiving

,

a fresh supply which however we ca n trace further bac k to

, , ,

a physical body called the Sun But how does the matter .

stand with the Sun itself From whence does that luminary
obtain its enormous supply of energy
The heat and light which our Earth receives from the Sun
is an infinitesimal part of that which that body radiates away
into space and which is apparently wasted It has been
,
.

calculated that we only receive one mill ionth of the

energy which the sun radiates into S pace and if the share of
all the other Planets were added to this it makes ve ry little
di fference The energy which we receive from the Sun in one
.

year would be su fficient it has been calculated to melt a layer of

, ,

ice spread u niform ly over the whole of the Earth to a depth of

1 00 feet or to heat an ocean of fresh water 6 0 feet deep from
-
,

-
freezing point to boiling point Multiply this by 2 3 00 mil lion
.
, ,

and some idea may be formed of the enormous amo unt of

energy which the Sun might be supposed to radiate into space
every year .

But if the Sun can give out this enormous amount of

energy it must either be receiving it from somewhere or it
, ,

must be drawing upon an intri nsic store of its own which will
sooner or later be exhausted The question as to what becomes
.

of a ll the energy which is thus apparently wasted in space is a ,

most important one from the point of V iew of the doctrine of

the conservation of energy There can be no doubt that so.

far as any particular individual System such as our Solar ,

System is concerned this energy is not conserved The

, , .

energy which is radiated away is lost so far as that individual ,

System is concerned We ourselves receive a definite amount

.

of energy in the form of light from other S uns lying at i mm ense

distances from u s in space The light which we receive from
.
.

some of them has taken thousands of years to reach us travel ,

lin g a t the rate of miles per second Some are so .

 INTER -
RELATION OF PLANES 1 01

distant that we cannot see their light at all yet if we make a ,

long exposure of a photographic plate in connection with the

-
eye piece of a telescope their light effects a definite chemical
,

decomposition which enables us to recognise the presence

of that distant star in a certain position in S pace Now that .

chemical action in our photographic film represents a definite

amount of energy however small it may be ; and that energy is
,

e vidently an i n fi n i tes i ma lly small amount of what that distant

Sun is radiating out into space in all directions j ust as our ,

own Sun is doing .

Perhaps we might also legitimatel y imagine that the

inhabitants of the Satellites of that far distant Sun are also
with their photographic plates — or possibly something
infinitely more effi ci en t—fi x i n g some portion o f the energy
of our Sun given o ff by that body thousands of years ago
,
.

At a ll events we have no reason to think otherwise than that ,

since some of their light reaches us s o also some of our light

,

reaches them that some — the largest portion indeed — oi the

, , ,

energy of our Sun is not available for its own System but ,

travels out and out into space never to return in that or any
,

other form to this particular System .

So then S ince every individual System is thus dissipating

,

its energy more or less quickly and e ffectually it must ,

p ro vi d e d i t is only drawing upon its o wn intrinsic store

sooner or later come to an end of its activities the Sun must
gradually cool down and long before it has finally done so
, , ,

all life and activity on our Earth and the other Planets will
have come to an end the molecular activity of matter itself
,

will cease and everything be locked in the icy grip of perpetual

,

arctic night .

But is the Sun only using up its own intrinsic stor e of

energy Science at present gives an answer in the a ffirmative
—we are not certain that it will always do so It was perhaps .
, ,

only natural that the first theories about the Sun should be
based upon our common experience as to the necessary
conditions for obtaining light and heat namely by combustion ; , ,

and that the Sun therefore should be regarded in the first

instance merely as a huge bonfire Some of the scientific .

pronouncements of the last century on this matter make

very curious reading at the present time (vi de p and .

doubtless the present theories will appear j ust as absurd in

the course of the next hundred years or so The diffi culty .
1 02 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
of the old theory was to know where the fuel could come
’
from Then foll owed the shrinkage theory
.
‘
It was con .

s i d ere d that the heat generated by a gradual shrinkage in

the size of the Sun would account for everythin g At the .

present time Radium has come to the rescue and the store ,

of energy which might be thus liberated in the Sun by the ,

actual disintegration of matter would give an activity to that

,

body for a very much longer p eriod than we can calculate or

even imagine .

But periods of time however infinite they may appear

,

to be to our lesser consciousness do not count for anything ,

in th e eternal duration of the Cosmos as a Whole We must .

live in thought outside of all ideas of time and space if we are

to reach that Truth of our real inner nature which alone can
set us free from the limitations of our present personalities .

Although the duration of the Solar System may almost be

talked of as an i n fin i tu d e compared with other periods of
t i m e wi th which we are commonly familiar : that System ,

a s a p h en om en on i n ti me a n d s a ce is like all other individual

p , ,

time and space p h en om on a fi n i t e fi

.

This is perhaps giving a philosophical rather than a

, ,

scientifi c reason for its finiteness but the scientific reason is ,

equally valid on whatever basis we take it and if we fall

,

back upon the disintegration theory and suppose that energy ,

is being liberated in the Sun by the actual disintegration of

Radium or of other forms of matter— still the time must
,

arrive when that process also will come to an end there being ,

no more matter to disintegrate .

But the disintegration of matter is its return to its original

etheric state or Plane ; and so we shall have not merely the
en ergy of the Sun returned to that Plane but the very ma tter ,

itself .

It is of course absolutely essential to any material

, ,

mechanical conception of the Universe that it should be shown

that the energy thus radiated into space as heat light or ,
-
,

electro magnetic induction is n ot lost to the ma teri a l co s mos

, ,

or cosmic Plane If the doctrine of the conservation of

.

energy is to be limited to mere physical forms of energy such

as we are cognisant of only in physical phenomena then it ,

must be shown that all this radiant energy i s in some way

returned or reconstituted in physical Plane matter and
activities .
 INTER -
RELATION OF PLANES 1 03

But this is obviousl y impossible unless we can solve the

problem of infinite space on a 7§ hy s i ca l basis It might be .

that the radiant energy of our Sun travelling outward into ,

space might ul timately be all absorbed by some one or other

,

material body that in the depths of space are such an infinite

number of worlds that no part of it could ultimately escape
from the mesh as it were But that would be to suppose
, .

th a t ou r Sun after all is at the centre of the Cosmos

, ,
and it
would not apply to those Suns which lie on the outskirts
i f outskirts there can be shown to be physically These ,
.

latter orbs would radiate their energy out into infinite space
without the slightest C hance of its recovery Theories of the .

limitation of the Ether and of the curvature of space have , ,

been invente d to get rid of this di fficulty ; but they rest on no

solid ground of experience and therefore cannot be classed ,

as scientific .

We s ee therefore that the doctrine of th e conservation

‘

, ,

of energy so far as it rests upon actual experience of physical

,

matter and fo rce is not merely undemonstrated but u n

, ,

demonstrable Why then does the scientific mind and also

.
,

all philosophic thought hold so tenaciously to it The answer

,

is quite clear th a t we cannot get away from the idea of an

‘

equ i va l en t in a ll th e changes and transformations which are

the very essence of phenomena .

We cannot trace this e quivalence in a closed cycle in

mere Physical Plane phenomena ; the Physical Plane cannot
explain itself But the moment we dismiss the idea that
.

this equivalence is necessarily of the s a me nature that nothing ,

but the forces or causes with which we are already familiar

on the Physical Plane exist in the Universe or are competent ,

in themselves to explain themselves ; the moment we cease

to look at the Cosmos merely within the limitations of one
particular Plane or of one particular half of its dual aspect
,

of Sub j ect and Ob j ect and regard it from a higher point of

,

V iew more especially from the point of view of Life and

,

Consciousness : these di fficulties vanish It is these very .

diffi c ul ties indeed which comzbel us to seek for an explanation

, ,

of phenomena in some higher order of natural law than that

wh i ch is immediately obvious to our senses The fact of the .

gradual dissipation of the energy of the material Plane in

the form of radiant heat de fi nitely rules out of court all ,

attempts to explain the origin or evolution of physical matter ,

1 04 SCI ENTIFIC IDEALI SM

that is to say of the whole physical universe by the operation

, ,

or agency of any of the processes or laws which we at present

,

recognise as conditioning that universe because all material

systems tend to run down to a common low level of temperature
by reason of the radiation of heat into space and have already ,

had infinite time in which to do so There must in fact have .

, ,

been in the beginning an in flux of energy from the higher

Etheric Plane an influx indeed which may st ill be going on
, , ,

but of whose nature we are absolutely ignorant But when .

we have discovered the nature of that influx in its immediate ,

relation to physical matter we have still to acco unt for its

,

existence on the Etheric Plane ; we have in fac t only put , ,

the question one step further back .

There is undoubtedly an equivalent S u bs ta n ce behind

physical matter and out of which physical matt er is formed
,

but that equivalent is n ot physical matter nor anything like ,

it Neither can we doubt — though it has not yet been

.

discovered— that there is an equivalent for a ll the energy

“

apparently wasted in space ; but that equivalent is not

necessarily any form of energy which sci ence at present
recogn ises as such nor is there necessarily a Physical Plane
, ,

nor even an Etheric Plane equivalent , .

Physical matter having been evolved out of Etheric

Substance the Etheric is the next highes t Cosmic Plane
,
.

It is almost certain from scientific evidence that all matter

is slowly retu rning or involving back into that Plane ; it is
absolutely certain when we come to regard the matter from
a p h i IOS Op h i c point of view .

It is our common experience that all individual forms are

finite ; all phenomena are essentially cha ng e and depend ,

upon our consciousness of time and space It is therefore a .

, ,

philosophic axiom that all time and space phenomena are

finite ; that which appears in t i me and space must end in
time and space no mat t er how long— as we measure time
,

it may apparently exist without change As a matter of fact . ,

no single thing exists for one moment without some kin d

of modification or C hange and sooner or later everything
,
.

’
which we can call a thing everything that is which exists
, , ,

in time and S pace ceases to be that thing in name and form

,

which we once kn ew and its component parts become

,

resolved into something else .

Immediately therefore it has been shown that physical

, ,
 INTER-
RELATION OF PLANES 1 05

’
matter is a thing that it is not a permanent cosmic element
, ,

or factor entirely s ui g en eri s but that it is an evol ved product

, ,

it falls to be included as a time and S pace phenomenon and ,

as such is finite Not merely the atoms themselves not

, .
,

merely any particular Cosmic System but the whole Material ,

Un i vers e m u s t be reckoned as such In other words the whole

‘

.
,

evolution and involution of the whole Material Universe must

be looked upon merely as a passing phase in the ceaseless
Ete rnal Life of that P OW E R whose activity is on a ll the
Planes of the Cosmos ; whose activity is our own activity ;
and whose Life and Consciousness is none other than our own
Life and Consciousness .

And for this reason because we in all our nature a re that

, , ,

Self and in our lesser s elf reflect and repeat the nature and
,

powers of the Infinite Self so in us also this cosmic process is

rep eated The lesser self which we reckon conventionally as
.

ourself takes form and substance in time and space as a

physical phenomenon gathers round itself a material body
, ,

and resulting therefrom we have the incident of an individu

, ,

alised life issuing out of subj ectivity and returning thereto

, .

So also do we conceive of the Infinite Cosmic Self from ,

which we are never really separated taking fo rm and sub ,

stance as the Material Universe What one physical life is to.

the lesser self such is — on principles of correspondence and

,

analogy— the duration of the whole Material Universe to

that Infinite Self which I S the Universe on all its Pl anes The .

material Universe is only a partial and limited expression in

time and space of that Noumenon which neither time nor
space can limit or define Time and space are essentially limit
.

ing and individualising factors they do not reveal but conceal , ,

and are therefore i ll u s i on s To reach Reality we must trans

.

cend them .

The possibility of the whole of Physical Plane Matter

being re di ssolved back into Etheric Substance is a con cep '

tion which has hardly yet dawned upon the scientific horizon
yet it is the oldest philosophical conception in the world .

The ancient philosophy of the Vedas and Upanishads postu

lates the gradual evolution of the great Cosmic Planes from
Primordial Substance and its involution back again to its
,

primordial state the whole process being ;b eri odi c and kno wn ,

’
as the Days and Nights of Brahman This Primordial .

Substance is the first objecti ve aspect— the possibility of an

1 06 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
ob j ectiv e aspect rather— of that Eternal Noumenon which
,

must ever li e behind and beyond all Obj ectivity beyond all
contrast of subj ect and obj ect of the self and the non -
,

, self ;
because it is neither the one nor the other of these but both , .

The point to note here is that science itself is now demon

,

s tra ti n g and forcing us back upon these fundamental philo

sophical conceptions ; and by disclosing to us the relation

,

which exists between the two lowest Planes of the Cosmos ,

the Physical and the Etheric is enabling us to lay hol d of

,

certain broad principles of correspondence and analogy which

may safely be our guide in reasoning from particulars to
universals Scie nce itself is leading us out of t h e darkness
.

and negation of matter and materialism and the limitations ,

of the Physical Plane and gradually confirming by purely i n

,

d u cti ve methods certain fundamental principles of philosophy

,

which a ppear to be absolutely essential to the mind and

reason if we are to regard the Universe as a Cosmos and not
a Chaos as a Unitary Whole in which no single phenomenon
,

or thing can ever be conceived of as standing by itself or ,

as being a reality in the mere form in which we see it ; but

which the more we examine it the more it expands the more it
is seen in an ever -
, , ,

widening relation and proportion which can ,

stop nowhere S hort of that Infinite Noumenon which the mind

and reason are compell ed to accept as the ultimate background
of all phenomena and of a ll Life and Consciousness
, .

There are several reasons which we shall advance later

on why we S hould postulate other Cosmic Planes lying beyond
the Etheric but let us for the time being confine our atten
tion to this latter and conceive that the Ether is really
,

Pr i mordi a l S u bs ta n ce that it is actually the pr i mal root and

,

source of all objecti ve phenomena There can be no doubt .

that it does stand in that relation to Physical Plane activities ,

as the i mmedi a te source of such ; and whatever Planes may

lie beyond it or more interiorly their action must in the
, ,

first instance be upon the Ether and only thr oug h the Ether ,

upon physical matter .

Now we have already seen that every material body or ,

system of bodies from Solar Systems down to atoms is in

the position of a wound -
, ,

u p system or unit The activity of .

every material body depends either upon energy continually

imparted to it from other bodies or else upon an intrinsic ,

store of its own which must have been im parted to it at some

 INTER -
RELATION OF PLANES 1 07

time or other A lump of coal is a familiar example of an

.

intrinsic store of energy When we have expended that energy

.

by burning the coal we can no longer get any more energy

,

out of the products of combustion unless we wind them up ,

again by some chemical process which implies putting energy

into them The coal itself as we know was wound up ages
.
, ,

ago by the radiant energy of the sun acting upon and locked ,

up in tropical vegetation
, .

But we have also seen that every material body or system ,

of bodies — and not merely the whole material Universe as a

system of bodies but the very atoms of which those bodies
’

are built u p — are in process of running down and that

so not merely must all the energy available on the Physical
,

Plane be turned into activity of the Ether but all matter ,

also must return to its Etheric state .

How then did it issue from that state ; what was the
wound up the atoms and which made eac of
'

p o w e r wh i ch h
them as it were a little coiled spring or a little vortex -
,

, , ring ,

of energy— little in our estimation of size but with an amazing ,

store of internal energy

This question cannot be answered by science The more .

it is considered in the light of physical science merely the ,

more it is seen that matter in association with energy— i n any

form in which we are familiar with these two factors of the
ob j ective universe — is unable to wind itself up The Physical
Plane qud Plane is not a self-
.

, winding clock but one which is

, ,

continually running down and must be wound up by agencies ,

a cti n g in or from a h i gh er Pl a n e .

Nor is the question answered when we merely give a n a me

’
to that Powe r and call it God or anything else or when
, ,

we say that the Mate ri al Universe came into existence by an

’
act of creation Creation out of nothing is one of the
.

things which may be blindly accepted on authority but which ,

is absolutely repugn ant to the mind and reason .

No question such as this can be considered to be answered

except on the basis of something of which we have actual
experience We can only understand the art of creation
.

in so far as we can practise that art ourselves we can only

understand what that formative Power is which builds the
world of forms in so far as we ourselves consciously become
,

that Power At present we exercise that power more or less

.

unconsciously in the building and sustaining of the cosmos

1 08 SCIENTIF IC IDEALISM

of our own bodies ; presently when we have learnt to rule ,

our own microcosm our powers will grow infinitely greater

, ,

and we S hall share in the conscious activities of that Cosmic

Self which to us now in the limited consciousness of the personal
,

self appears to be a transcendental Non-

,
Self .

In the meantime it is a legitimate question whether having ,

discovered by scientific methods the disintegration of matter

i n the phenomen a of radio - activity it may not be possible
,

that we may hereafter discover by like methods the principle

of its formation or integration The question as to whether .

science may legitimately hope to know some if not a ll of the , ,

factors which have been in operation in the evolution of

physical matter out of Etheric Substance would appear to ,

depend largely upon whether that process is already complete

so far as ou r own System is concerned or whether it is still ,

going on .

If we are right in our broad principle of cycl ic periods of

formation and disintegration applicable not merely to indi
,
’
vidual things but to Worlds and Systems and ultimately
‘
, ,

to the whole Material Cosmos then it would appear that so

far as our own System is conc erned we have long S ince passed
the formative stage and are now on the return cycle of
,

involution But it seems more than probable that the

.

Nebul ae which are visible through our telescopes represent

some stage or other in the formative cycle of a new System ,

and it is possible that in the study of these we may ultimately

gather much definite knowledge as to cosmic constructive
processes .

The doctrine of equivalence— rather than that of the

conservation of (physical ) energy— forbids us to conceive
of the energy which is radiated away into S pace as being in
any sense lost in the whole economy of the Cosmos and the
moment we conceive of a series of Cosmic Planes each lower ,

Plane being formed out of the Substance of the next higher

—
one being in fact n o thing more or less than some kind
, ,

o f a li m i ta ti on of the activity of the Substance of that Plane

we can see that in any particular phenomenon or any i n ,

dividual System of Worlds it is not necessary in order that

, ,

the doctrine of equivalence shou ld be valid that there S hould ,

be an absolut e closed cycle of energy or action as between

any two Planes .

It is very unlikely indeed that we should ever be able

 INTER-
RELATION OF PLANES

fl
1 09

to trace such a closed cycle in any System which can come

under our observation even in thousands or millions of years
, .

What we can trace is influx of energy— possibly of matter

,

also— from the Etheric Plane and e f u x back again to that

,

Plane ; but we cannot trace this as a complete cycle of the

same energy — o r even of its equivalent —any more than we
can trace the energy which we receive from the Sun back again
in a complete cycle to that luminary We cannot do this .

even if we suppose the Ether to be the real and ultimate

Primordial Substance and the possibility or probability of
,

being able to do so is the more and more remote as we come

to recognise a still higher Plane out of which the Ether ,

itself is di fferentiated ; and possibly other Planes lying still

nearer to the Eternal Noumenon and still further away ,

from the Plane of physical matter which represents to ,

our consciousness the greatest degree of di fferentiation or

individualisation .

All that we d o know however all that we can recognise

, ,

of natural law shows us more and more completely that the

Cosmos is built up and governed on great Un i vers a l Pri n ci p l es ,

which are Operative mu ta ti s mu ta n di s in the great as in the

, ,

small ; so that we may safely apply to the Whole Cosmos

on principles of correspondence and analogy— processes which
we find in operation in the atom and molecule ; processes which
go on as between Plane and Plane ; and above all processes , ,

which are operative in our own mind and consciousness for

within Ours elf and nowhere else lies the whole Cosmos
, , .

Nothing can ever come out of nothing For the explana .

tion of physical matter we now find it absolutely necessary

to fall back upon a universally di ffused Omnipresent Ether ; ,

which may or may not be Primordial Substance ; which may

or may not in due time be s ci en ti fi ca lly discovered to be still
further resolvable into the Substance of a higher Plane .

And j ust as we are compelled to fall back upon this

higher Plane for an explanation of all purely physical
phenomena so also we shall presently find that we are
,

compelled to do so for the phenomena of Life Thought , ,

Consciousness .

The point to note here is that in thus passing back from

,

Plane to Plane we do not di fferentiate divide or individualise , ,

more and more until we reach a Plane of senseless isolated , ,

discrete dead particles rushing about in space in an

, ,
1 10 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM

a bsolutely fortuitous manner : but on the contrary we , ,

expand synthesise universalise and unify The old theory

, , , .

of matter never got rid of matter as such The ultimate .

particle was still ma teri a l But a thing cannot be explained .

in terms of itself and the ultimate particle theory was S imply

,

an i mfba s s e The new theory dem a teri a li s es matter It may

. .

be welcomed as the first step towards a real solution of the

problem ; but still only a very short step Individua lisa .

tion always arises through li mi ta ti on To resolve all the .

phenomena of the Universe into mere motion of ultimate

discrete particles void even of the principle of attraction
,

and repulsion which our chemical atoms possess is n ot to ,

un ify all phenomena but to limit separate and individualise

, , ,

to the very la st term It is as unthinkable as an explanation

.

of physical phenomena let alone li fe and consciousn ess as, ,

is creation out of nothing It is the very antithesis of all . .

Monism or Monistic Philosophy Even Haeckel the great .

,

champion of materialistic Monism recogn ises this and has , ,

therefore been obliged to endow the two fundamental forms

of substance ponderable matter and ether with s en s a ti on
, ,

a n d wi ll We S hall deal more fully with this however in a

.
, ,

subsequent chapter .

Whatever the Eth er may be it is abundantly C lear that ,

its a cti vi ti es are enormous compared with those of that

i ndividualised form of it which we know as physical matter .

Compare the rate of propagation of sound waves in air

feet per second—with that of light waves in the Et h er
,
" "

1 8 5 000 miles per second Consider the amazing energy .

locked up in each atom of matter as disclosed in the phenomena

-
of Radium and radio activity Consider the millions and .

billions and trillions of vibrations — magnetic electric , ,

luminous — which pass and repass every point of space at

each moment of time in the room in which we sit but of ,

which we are only conscious of a very narrow range— from

395 to 7 6 3 million million per second —which we call Li g h t ,

and which constitutes but a S ingle octave of the gr eat

Diapason .

We see and know the external world as such and such ,

S imply because we a re only conscious through our physical ,

senses of a limited range of vibrations Imagin e what the

, .

U niverse would be in our consciousness if we had sense organs

to res p ond to a ll the vibrations which we kn ow exist and pass ,
 INTER-
RELATION OF PLANES 1 1 1

and repass in the Ether around us or if by other means our

consciousness opened out or expanded into the larger possi
b i li ti es of what we might call a full etheric consciousness
.

That such a larger consciousness is a realisable possibility

for us that in actual fact our life and consciousness is rooted
,

in a higher Plane even as matter and physical phenomena

,

are we have definite evidence .

And as we fall back in consciousness upon that higher

Plane as we get so much nearer to that Noumenon where
,

all is unified in one Infinite Consciousness those li mi ta ti on s

,

in which we have hitherto lived are seen more and more in

their proper relation and proportion and we are amazed that
we could ever call them in their mere physical relations
, ,

the Universe or that we could ever take such limitations

for realities or that we could ever imagine our own Life
and Consciousness our own S elf to be other than One with
, ,

the Infinite and Eternal Self which I S the Universe .

 C H A PTE R V I

PRIMORD I AL
 C HA P T E R V I

PR I MOR D I AL S UB S TA N C E

UP to this point we have been dealing almost exclusively

with the phenomenal universe as it presents itself to our
normal consciousness as an external obj ective reality We
, .

have been dealing with the relation which exists between

things in the external ob j ective world without any considera ,

tion of their relation to consciousness itself ; and we have

endeavoured to follow the discoveries and theories of physical
science in its analysis of this ob j ective side of the universe
, ,

to the furthest possible point to which these theories can

take us .

We have found that all purely physical phenomena can

be resolved into the two factors of matter— or substance
and motion and we have arrived at a very clear and concise
idea of the existence of at least two Cosmic Planes of matter
or substance the lower of which — the Physical— is oh
,
‘

j ect i ve to our normal consciousness whilst t h e higher ,

the Etheric —is not obj ective though it cannot properly be

,

termed subj ective because it is an integral and essential

,

factor in the phenomena of the obj ective physical world .

’
We have termed the Etheric a higher Plane because ,

the matter of the lower Physical Plane is evolved out of the

s u bs ta n ce of the Ether ; which therefore stands in relation to
, ,

the lower Plane as noumenon to phenomena as cause to e ffect , ,

or as substance to matter .

Since the discovery of the absolute dependence of all

physical phenomena on the properties and activities of the
Ether there is a decided tendency on the part of scientific
,

writers to materialise the Ether and even to assert roundly

~

that it i s matter .

Now this is undoubtedly true in a ce rtain sense but only ,

if we very much extend our common use and acceptation of

the term ma tter and use it in a generic sense and it does not
,
u s
1 1 6 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
appear to be advisable to do this in the interests of clear and
definite conceptions of the constitution of the Universe It .

lands us sooner or later in a purely metaphysical definition of

matter and science is supposed to avoid carefully all taint
,

of metaphys i cs That it does not and cannot really do so

.
, ,

however we shall S how later on It is better therefore to

,
.
, ,

restrict the term ma tter to the Physical Plane and use the ,

te rm s u bs ta n ce as a generic one .

’
The term ma tter means literally the producer that out ,

of which anything is made and in this sense anything which

is obj ecti ve to consciousness anything out of which a thing
‘

is ma de is matter B efore the discovery of the Ether th e

, .
,

only substance out of which things were known to be made

was physical matter ; but since we find that physical matter
’
is itself in a certain sense a thing made out of the Ether , ,

this latter might in that sense be called ma tter It might also .

be called matter in the sense that in all probability th i ngs

are formed out of the Ether on its own Plane things quite ,

invisible to us as we shall understand better when we have

,

dealt with motion in relation to consciousness .

At the commencement of Chapter I I we have pointed .

out that if there are such things as s p i ri tu a l bodi es those ,

bodies must in a certain sense h e ma tter i n so far as they ,

are obj ecti ve to consciousness Thus we come to a meta .

physical definition o f matter as that which is obj ective to

consciousness on whatsoever Plane consciousness may be
,

functioning To consciousness acting upon the Etheric Plane

.

in an Etheric body the Ether would undoubtedly be an ,

obj ective reality and as such it would be ma tter W e m a y

, .
'

point out here that the more it is discovered that the Ether
resembles physical matter in very many respects that it is ,

for instance a tomi c or the equivalent of atomic— that is to

, ,

say that it is analysable into discrete particles or portions

,

that being atomic it is also molecular or the equivalent of ,

—
molecular that is to say that the atoms can combine to ,

form more or less complex bodies — the more these and other
properties of the Ether are discovered which make it m ore ,

and more impossible to conceive of it as a S imple homogeneous , ,

undifferentiated substance the nearer we come to a conception

.

o f some further substance somet hing still further back out , ,

of which the Ether itself has been differentiated or derived ;

also the more possible it becomes to conceive of true etheric
 PRIMORD IAL SUBSTANCE 1 1 7

bodies serving as the vehicle or habitat of conscious i n tell i

,

g en ces ; also that we ourselves possess such etheric bodies ,

which serve as the subtle vehicle of consciousness and t h e ,

matrix upon which the physical body is moul ded and built up .

We s h all deal with this however more definitely when we , ,

come to consider the question of abnormal states of conscious

ness and psychic phenomena in general
, .

In the meantim e it appears advisable to l i mit the term

ma tter to that Plane on which we are normally conscious .

Moreover it does not appear to be exactly logical on a purely

,

physical basis to say that Ether is matter We cannot describe .

a root substance in terms of something which is derived from

it We cannot call oxygen oz on e th ough we may call ozone
.
, ,

ox yg en We cannot call Ether ma tter ; though we may call

.
,

matter E th er It appears however more likely at the present

, .
, ,

time that we shall have to call matter el ectri ci ty before we call , ,

it Ether ; the order of limitation or involution of motion

being— Ether Elec tricity Matter
, , .

The Etheric Plane considered as a Plane of consciousness

, ,

is evid ently quite distinct from the Physical Plane We have .

at present no consciousness of etheric obj ects and it will be ,

time enough to call the obj ects on that Plane ma teri a l when
we can sense them as obj ective forms or when we have fallen ,

back upon that sublim i nal or cosmic consciousness which

belongs more particularly to the higher Planes of the
Cosmos .

For the present therefore it appears best to speak of the

, ,

Ether as s u bs ta n ce The term s u bs ta n ce means literally that

.

which sub - stands that which stands under or underlies any

,

thing Equally with the term ma tter i t is that out of which

.

anything is made and in this sense we shall very correctly

,

speak of Ether as being the substance of matter Every .

higher Plane will be a Plane of s u bs ta n ce to the ma tter of

the Plane immediately below it .

It appears now to be a philosophical necessity of thought

that there is some ultimate Substance which is the Root or
Source of all phenomena however many Planes may really ,

exist in the Cosmos or be interposed between our Physical

,

Plane and that ultimate Substance .

We S hall term that ultimate Substance Pri mordi a l ,

S u bs ta n ce .

The present Ethe r of science may or may not be th a t

1 1 8 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM

Primordial Substance ; we may reserve that questi on for

later consideration I n any case it appears to be absolutely
.
,

necessary that we should have some simple unitary concept

of the ultimate and unchangeable ground or basis of all
phenomena and that ground we S hall find in the definition
,

which science at present gives of the Ether Let us now there .

,

fore endeavour to see clearly what is the position of modern

,

sc i ence in this matter and what are the logical deductions

,

which we must make from the principles which science put s

forward as fundamental a n d unchangeable truths .

There are two views which we may take of the ultimate

Substance which lies at the Root of the phenomenal Universe .

The first is the a tomi c V iew the conception that there is after , ,

all an ultimate ma teri a l (extension in space ) atom a hard

, ,

indestructible parti cle irresolvable and indivisible and that

,

all phenomena are caused by motions and impacts of these

ultimate particles We have already su fficiently discussed in
.

Chapter IV the i mp a s s e into which this leads us and as

.
,

it is now very generall y rej ected in favour of the alternative ,

view that of a con ti n u ou s m edi u m we need not discuss it

, ,

further In the words of Sir Oliver Lodge : We c annot go

.

back to mere impact of hard bodies after having allowed

” 1
ourselves a continuous medium .

We have to conceive then of an absolutely continuous , , ,

homogeneous undifferentiated Substance filling all space For

, ,
.

a C lear presentation of this concept we may again quote Sir

Oliver Lodge 2
.

I h ave n o w e n d ea v o u re d to i n t r o d u ce y o u to t h e s i m p l e s t c o n
ca p t i o n o f th e m a te ri a l u n i v e rs e w hi ch h a s y e t o ccu rr ed t o m a n — th e
c on c e pt i o n , t h a t i s , o f o n e u n i v e rs a l s u b s t a n ce , p e r fe c tl y co n ti n u o u s a n d
h o m o g e n eo u s , s a v e for i ts s tr u c t u r al con s ti t u ti on , e x te n d i n g t o t h e
fu r th e s t li m i ts o f s p a ce of wh i ch w e h a v e a n y k n o wl e d g e , e x i s ti n g

e qu a l l y e v e r y wh e re a ll a t r e s t a s a w h o l e , b u t wi th s u ch e n d ow e d

i n tri n s i c m o ti o n a s e n a b l e s i t t o tr a n s mi t t h e u n d u l a ti on s w h i ch we
c a l l li g h t ; o t h e r
p or ti on s i n a s ti ll m or e s p ec i a l s ta t e o f ro t a ti o n a l
m o ti on -i n v o r ti ce s o r s o m e th in g e u i v a l e n t— a n d d i ff e r en ti a te d p e r
q
m a ne n t l y fro m t h e r e s t o f t h e m e d i u m b y r e a s on o f th i s m o ti on .

T h e s e w hi r li n g p o r ti o n s m a i n d i r e c tl y co n s ti t u t e w h a t w e c a l l

m
y
m a t t e r ; t h ei r m o ti o n gi v e s t h e m ri g i d i ty a n d o f th e o u r b Od i e s a n d
,

a ll o th e r m a t e ri a l b od i e s w i th w h i c h w e a re a c u a i n t e d m a q
y b e b ui l t u p .

O n e co n ti n u ou s s ub s t a n ce fi l li n g a ll S p a c e wh i ch c a n vi b ra t e
a s li g h t w h i ch u n d er c e r t a i n u n kn o wn con d i ti on s c a n b e m o d i fi ed or
, ,

a n a l y s e d i n to w h i ch ca n c o n s ti t u te
p os i ti v e a n d n e g a ti v e e l e c t ri ci ty

M oder n Vi ew Of El ectri ci ty , 3r d e d . r evi s e d ,

p.
38 5 .
P 38.6 0
 P RIMORD IAL SUBSTA NCE 1 1 9

m a t te r ; and can t r a n s m i t, b y co n ti n u i ty and n ot b y i m p a c t, e v er y

a c ti o n and r e a c ti o n of w h i c h m a t te r i s ca p a b l e . Th i s i s t h e m o d ern
”
v i ew o f t h e E th e r a nd i ts fu n c ti o n s .

This is doubtless the modern view of the Ether in ,

so far as this Ether may stand for Primordial Substance ,

the root substance of the Universe But modern views are .

very apt to be considerably modified in the course of ten or

twenty years And b y a cu ri o us paradox the more modern they
.
, ,

become th e more ancient they become they fall mor e and more
into line with certain fundamental principles which are to be
found in the most ancient of philosophies We venture to .

suggest that one of the modifications to which this modern

view of the Ether will be subj ected will be the discovery that ,

the Ether of science is only on e remove from the more complex

di fferentiation of physical matter ; and that the true universal
substance must be looked for on still higher Planes lying
beyon d the Etheric The quotation we have given however
.
, ,

is an excellent presentation of the fundamental principle

or concept of the unity of all obfecti ve phenomena in one
ultimate Substance which is thus the N oum en on of all phe
,

n om e n a But S O far as we have now taken it it leaves out

.
,

of account the phenomena of life and consciousness ; phe

momena which are really more f u ndamental than those of
matter and force and we shall have to endeavour to include
these also in our concept of Primordial or Absolute Sub
stance .

The Unity of the Universe in one Absolute Principle ,

which regarded ob j ect i vely is Matter or Phenomenon and

, , ,

subj ectively is Life and Consciousness — such is the concept

with which we have now to deal and which must form the ,

foundation of all our science of all our philosophy and of all , ,

our religion In that one Principle all extremes meet It

i s the keynote the fundamental under-
. .
,

,
tone of all that vast
S y mphony which we call N a tu re It sustains all the har .

monies and resolves all the discords All phenomena are .

simply harmonies or over- tones of that one fundamental note .

We must disclaim at this point all intention of i n volv

ing our readers in the mazy intricacies of formal or academic
metaphysics It is our belief that these fundamental prin
.

c i p les can be presented without any reference to the i nn um er

a ble and mutually destructive systems Of philosophy or

religion s o- called which have obtained more or less authority
,
1 20 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM

at various times We believe that the principles we are now

.

advancing will be found to be more or less common to all

the great world - religions when questions of detail of the , ,

h ow a n d the why over which strife and contention has

,

principally arisen have been eliminated ,

.

We shall therefore make no attempt to inquire into

, ,

the exact significance or validity of the concept of an

Absolute To do so would be to write a history of philosophy
. .

We must be satisfied with the fact that the terms Absolute

and Infinite stand for that final Unity which though a , ,

necessity of thought must necessarily be incomprehensible

,

to our present lim ited consciousness However little we .

may be able to explain why it is so the fact remains that ,

Absolutism in some form or other is the distant point of

sight to which all lines of thought c on verg e a li k e in science , _ ,

in philosophy and in religion The absence of that point of

, .

sight in our mental picture of the Universe and a failure ,

to relate all lines of thought thereto makes it like a C hi nese ,

picture devoid of all perspective and of proper relation and

,

proportion .

The Absolute is the — a t present — unknown but not ,

necessarily the unknowable Unknowable to our mere .

personal consciousness to anything which is limited or ,

conditioned perhaps I T is and ever must be To know I T

, .

we must realise our oneness with I T and to do that we must

throw off the limitations of mere individual life .

And why should we not realise that on en es s which we

can and do already postulate as a necessary intellectual
concept To postulate that we shall n ever know I T shall
.
,

never realise our oneness with I T we must postulate some ,

arbitrary limit to that evolutionary process which has

led us up through the vast strife and effort of the past ,

from the lowliest forms of consciousness even from the ,

apparent unconsciousness of matter itself to our present

powers and apprehension of our real illimitable nature in
its oneness with the Whole C osmos The illimitable past is .

our pledge and guarantee of an equally illimitable future .

We shall C laim that future as our own in precisely the same

te rms as we claim the past .

When we have apprehended what it is which changes ,

and what it is which is unchangeable then perchance we ,

shall find that past present and future are also ON E

, , .
 P RIMORD IAL SUBSTANCE 1 21

Science offers us the concept of an Absolute as M a tter

S u bs ta n ce forming the substratum of motion ; and as such
, ,

the basis of all phenomena ; that out of which all things ‘

are made .

Philosophy o ffers us this concept as that of one Unitary

C onsciousness i n which all phenomena arise and inhere
,
.

Religion— i n the highest and best sense — deals with this

concept as that of One Divine Life in which we live and move ,

an d have our being and to know which — not as intellectual

knowledge merely but as a conscious realisation of identity
,

therewith— is Life Eternal .

It is not so much the bare concept of an Absolute as the ,

attempt to define I T to give I T qualities and attributes which

, ,

is the subj ect - matter of contention as between one system

of truth and another It is not the mere assertion that .

I T i s but the assertion that I T is this that or the other— to

, , ,

the exclusion of its opposite— which leads to controversy

and strife .

In philosophy the d i fference between one system and

‘

another is mainly in the way in which the d u ality of Subj ect

and Obj ect — which is the empi rical fact of our present
experience— is conceived of as being synthesised in the U nity
of Absoluteness .

It is extremely difficult to find a convenient term for

this Ultimate Principle All words are merely symbols .

representing certain concepts If we call this Absolute .

Principle God we find the term too theological and we

, ,

are obliged to re j ect much which has hitherto been associated

with this term There is no virtue in giving I T a name such
.
,

as J ehovah or Brahman Although these two are practically

, .

the same they conj ure up very di fferent ideas in the mind
,

of the J ew the Christian and the Hindu respectively Further

, ,
.
,

J ehovah and Brahman are neither of them the Absolute

God as is well known to the initiated Jew and the
,

philosophical Hindu The A lh i m of the first C hapter of .

Genesis is an earlier and superior Power to the j eh ova h of

subsequent chapters whilst the learned Kabalist has the A i n
S op h th e No -
n
thing the N a m el es s — as the Absolute Principle
,
.

The H indu again has Pa ra b ra h m — beyond Brahman

, ,

as the Absolute Brahman Himself as the p ers on a l Creator , ,

being only relatively eternal and immortal i e only for the , . .

,

p eri od of a certain cycle of evolution .

1 22 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM

We shall therefore simply use the term Absolute or

, ,

Noumenon to express this Unitary Root Principle which I S

the Universe both Subj ective and Obj ective
,
.

If we call this Absolute Principle Universal or Primordial ,

S u bs ta n ce we are apt to have a far too material idea of I T in

,

our mind as if I T could exist as an independent Reality apart

,

from Life and Consciousness ; this idea arising from our

’
common conception of matter as being dead .

Strictly speaking Primordial Substance is only the objecti ve

,

aspect of the One Absolute Noumenon the s u bjecti ve aspect ,

being Consciousness which of course can never be an object

, .

Nevertheless since we must conceive of Consciousness as

,

inhering in s omethi n g we may term that something Primordial

Substance in the sense of that which sub -
,

,
stands both subj ect
and obj ect .

With the philosophical and religious aspect of this duality

we S hall deal in subsequent chapters ; at present we must
round off our scientific concept of Primordial Substance and ,

understand C learly some of the logical deductions which result

therefrom .

We may note in the first place that Primordial Substance

, ,

Itself— as scientifically d efi n e d— can have none of the charac

t eri s ti cs or qualities which we usually ascribe to matter even ,

in the remotest physical sense ; and therefore whatever it , ,

actually i s it certainly is n ot matter

, .

Matter is essentially di screte discontinuous in space , ,

atomic Primordial Substance is homogeneous and continu ous

I n space . It fill s all space We are told by physicists that
.

the fundamental characteristic of matter is mass or inertia .

Pr i mordial Substance p er s e can have neither of these for ,

it is incompressible inextensible and frictionless mass

, ,

or inertia being only secondary or many times removed ,

e ffects resulting from certain forms of its motion .

We are told by metaphysicians that the fundamental

characteristic of matter is extension in space But Primordial .

Substance has no parts which can present the appearance

of extension in space Being absolutely continuous and
.
‘

h omogeneous filling all S pace it has absolute extension in

, ,

space and absolute extension in S pace is no extension at

,

all Extension in space is the essential characteristic of an

.

’
obj ect of a
, thing A perception of extension in space im plies
.

some kind of limitation it implies a boundary to the thing

,
 PRIMORDIAL SUBSTANCE 1 23

perceived B ut an ob j ect which occupies all S pace has no

.

limitation and no boundary ; it is no object at all There .

is nothing with which to compare it unless indeed we can ,

conceive of more than one absolute or of more than one ,

thing occupying absolutely the same space .

It would thus appear that we have to define Primordial

Substance rather by what it is n ot than by what it is We .

have to assign to it what we might call negative qualities

“

It is impossible to give to it any positive qualities if we consider

it merely as Substance forming the substratum of motion .

Looked at in that light only as a mere hypothetical medium

,

out of or in which phe nomena arise merely by di fferences

, ,

of motion its very essence is the privation or negation of all

,

qu alities For the moment a quality makes its appearance

.
, ,

we have contrast and di fferentiation we have the commence ,

ment of phenomena we have that which by definition,

Primordial Substance is n ot Primordial Substance is not .

itself phenomena but the R oot of phenomena Phenomena

, .

arise in it by differences of Motion .

From this it follows in the second place that Primordial

, ,

Substance itself is immutable and unchangeable It is .

absolutely the same at every point of space — a n d etern a lly

rema i n s s o .

We must understand clearly that Primordial Substance

does not become the matter of any of the lower Planes .

Primordial Substance being incompressible and inextensible ,

can be neither differentiated nor d en s i fi e d ; there can never

be more of it at one poin t of space than at another .

Matter is conceived by modern science to be a whirl or

vortex in and of this homogeneous continuous perfect , ,

medium But we must carefully note that such a whirl or

.

vortex could not be a direct obj ect of perception in any

physical sense for the reasons we have already pointed out
,

( p. We may understand this better however if we , ,

consider that when we set up vortex -

,
rings in air or water ,

we cannot perceive them unless we associate them with

something which has some characteristics which are di fferent
from the medium itself in which they are formed Thus we
may mak ea vortex -
.

ring in water with a little coloured liquid ,

or in air with a little smoke ; but o nly under such conditions

do they become perceptible obj ects .

I t foll ows from this th a t the commo n e s t fa ct of our

1 24 SC I ENTIFIC IDEALISM

empirical knowledge of matter the fact of density is the purest , ,

illus ion so far as we attribute it to substance itself Primordial .

Substance cannot be d en s ifi e d it occupies all S pace equall y

“

and at all times Density like mass and all other ch a ra cter
.
, ,

i s ti cs of matter considered obj ectively is a mode of motion , ,

a n d not a mode of substance Nevertheless there may be .

,

considered to be a real external or S pace validity in the percep

tion of density such reality consistin g i n the greater or less
-
,

p roximity of the vortex rings Thus s ol i d matter though .

,

not re a ll y more solid a s s u bs tan ce than anyt hing else yet

consists of a closer combination of vortex -
,

rings .

The densest metal the rarest gas the solid obj ects we
, ,

touch and handle the air we breathe the impalpable Ether

,

itself and the still more impalpable matter out of which

,

our thoughts are formed— all are equa lly substantial or ,

equally unsubstantial ; for a ll alike a re this one immutable ,

unchangeable Substance All those di fferences and contrasts .

which go to make up the infinite variety of the external

phenomenal universe are di fferences and contrasts of motion
,

only ; distinguished as such and assigned their value and ,

qualities by that underlying Prin ciple which we call Con

,

s ci o u s n es s We shall deal with this more full y in our next

.

chapter .

Let us C learly understand however that there is no , ,

ill usion in any fa ct of consciousness The illusion lies not .

,

in the fact but in our interpretation of the fact ; in our

,

giving to the fact a false relation or proportion There is .

no doubt whatever for example that people do see ghosts

, ,

yet although apparently obj ective and even material such an

, ,

appearance might be a pure ill usion so far as its physical or

apparently material nature was concerned We may see a .

figure in a looking —glass and possibly— not knowing the gl as s,

to be there— we may take it for a real obj ect located in space

in front of us There must have been a real obj ect somewhere
.
,

otherwise we should not have seen the reflection The .

illusion does not li e in the obj ect but in the location which ,

we give to it in space —o r consciousness .

Matter is an illusion in j ust this sense There is no doubt .

that we do see matter and we are compell ed to use the ,

common conventions of language if we would speak in

intelli gible terms to our fellows Nevertheless matter is no .
,

more real or no less real a s s ubs ta n ce than the ghost or the

, ,
 fl
re e ction in the looking -
PRIMORDIAL SUBSTANCE

glass What we really sense is a

di fferent order of motion of one and the same Substance
There is a reality behind all these appearances but not a
.

,
1 25

ti me and S pace reality such as we commonly ascribe to them .

T his is not metaphysics it is science ; and by thus ,

postulating an absolute Substance at the root of all phenomena ,

science itself S hows us the way to the highest form of Idealism .

Science discloses to us more certainly than anything else

the false reality of the mere appearance of things Nothing .

can take us further into the realms of transcendentalism ,

nothing can show us more clearly that things are n ot what they
seem than this fundamental concept of Primordial Substance
, .

Realism as to Idealism that t h i ngs _ _ _

a re what they seem ; and it has been the wont of scientific

writers especially of the materi alisti c school to sco ff at all

, ,

Idealism and to base reality upon t he mere empiri cal facts

,
‘ ’

o f our present c o nsciousness of our common experience and , ,

to sneer at all metaphys ical c oncepts Nothing howev er .

, ,

can be more metaphysical nothing can the ,

physical beyond the reach of all physica l analysis or definition

,

than Primordial Substance We shall see this more clearly .

in our next chapter wher e we shall consider its relation to

,

life and consciousness .

Intermediate between the crude Realism of Materialism

a nd the purest form of Idealism there is a point O fvi ew which ,

wa s termed by Herbert Spencer Tra n s fi g u re d Realism . .

In Pri n ci p les of Ps y ch ology vol ii p 49 4 (3rd we read , . . .

Th e r e a li s m we a re co m m i t t e d t o i s o n e w h i ch s i mp ly as s er ts

ob e c ti v e e x i s t e n c e a s
j s ep a r a te f ro m , and i n d ep e n d e n t o f, s ub e c t i v e
j
e x i s t e n ce . B ut i t firm s
af n e i th e r th a t a n y on e m od e of th i s o b j e c ti v e

r e a li ty is in r e a li ty t h a t w hi ch it s ee m s , n o r t h a t th e c o n n ec ti o n s a m on g

i ts m o d e s a r e o b j e c t i v e l y w h a t t h e y s ee m . Th u s i t s ta n d s wi d el y
d i s ti n g u i s h e d fro m C r u d e ea l i s m R .

It a ffi rms in fact that the ob jecti y e world d oes exis t as

,
“

, m _ _ _
_

’
a reali ty t h at it is not a pure creation of mind or exists
, ,

only as an i dea in mind On the other h and it recognises .

,

that th emind has a very important shar ein the making of

that ob j ective world what it a p p ea rs to be As an inter .

mediate v i ew between Crude Realism and pure Idealism ,

this might perhaps be as well termed M odi fi ed I dea li s m as

Tra n s fi g ure d Realism .

To suppo se that we can completely know any thing

1 26 SCIENTIFIC IDEALI SM

short of absoluteness is manifestly absurd for it presupposes

that a point can be reached where th e thing stand s by itself ,

complete in itself with no cause but itself and without any

, ,

further relation to anything else .

’
But this is precisely Spinoza s definition of S u bs ta nce
and we cannot conceive of two or more such Substances or ,

absolutenesses I n the Universe .

a thing in a certain —limited relation and pro

m 4 a .

portion and we then call i t

, If—we could
- 4 0

see it in its eth eri c relations and proportions — which we know

w - ‘ fi

’
‘
thing Any particular thing can in fact only find its
.
, ,

complete explanation in the Whole ; and it is only of that

Whole— the Infinite or Absolute —that complete and unrelated
self—existence can be postulated .

But if th is be so i LXVe rgever really see and km a thin g

, _ ,
’

b ut onl y some limited aspect or relation we can understand

clearly tha t it is not our kn owledge or p erce p tion which has
,
_ ,

adapted itself to the th i n g T wh i eh js l n oul d ed upon or arises

fi u m

’
from the nature of the thing as a thing as sc i en tific Realists
would have us belie ve-but on the contrary it is the thi ng "
,

, ,

which has ada p ted itself in our m ind to our limited powers
, ,

of percep t io n .

It is only one step from this position to that of a pure

subj ective Idealism ; to the concept that things are the
product of the mind or consciousness and have no real valid ,

existe nce of their own outside of consciousness .

There is only one thing to be known in the Universe

’
the Infin ite or Absolute But in itself T HA T is no thing .
, ,
.

It is seen and known in all things in an infini te universe of ,

—
phenomena o r rather It sees and knows I ts elj thus , .

Primordial Substance from the point of view of physical ,

science only i s the hypothetical substratum of motion in

, ,

so far as we are unable to conceive of motion apart from

something which moves The present scientific category of .

motion however is a somewhat limited one It appears to

be confined to vortex -
, , .

rings whirls knots or strains in the , , ,

Ether undulations and vibrations with possibly Faraday

’
tubes or line s of force thrown in as something some
,
‘

what different from any of these We are not concerned .

now however with the detailed motions of Primordial

, ,

Substance which give ri se in our consciousness to the varied ‘

 PR I MOR D IAL S U BSTANCE 1 27

sensations of light colour sound matter etc We are con

, , , , .

ce m e d in the first instance with fundamental principles ,

and the logical deductions which we must make from those

principles which science now offers to us .

W e may accept for the time being and in order to grasp ,

those principles as clearly as possible the somewhat crude ,

image which the scientific imagination con j ures up of physical

matter ; and we may represent it to ourselves as consisting
of more or less complicated aggregates or systems of vortex
rings of Ether the physical atom being built up of some
,

simpler aggregate to which the name of corp u s cl e or electr on

is now given this corpuscle having as we have already seen , ,

replaced the old indestructible atom as the ultimate or

smallest k no wn unit of ma s s .

Apart altogether from the question as to what particular

kind or form of motion of the Ether these corpuscles may
be the principle which we have to grasp is simply this that
,

there are certain etheric units or atoms probably themselves ,

of a very complex nature out of which physical matter has

,

been evolved by aggregation or c ombination and into which ,

physical matter is being slowly reinvolved so that in course ,

of time it is possible that there may be no physical universe

at all.

We must carefully bear in mind that this combination of

etheric atoms to form a physical atom is in no case a densi
fi ca t i on of the Ether ; it is simply a combination into a .

system of motion It is a curious thing that mathematical

.

calculations go to show that the transparent impalpable

Ether in which we live and move all unconsciously has a
, ,

d ensity which is im mensely greater than that of any known

” 1
substance .

The combina tion of etheric atoms which goes to form any

physical atom is essentially one of motion Every individual .

constituent of the atom is in intense orbital or vibratory

motion The unitary etheric atoms or corpuscles are held
.

together in their orbits into on e system by some unifying force

which has not yet been discovered but which is supposed ,

to be of the nature of a positive charge of electricity The

, .

corpuscles themselves consist of a definite charge of n ega ti ve

electricity and as we have no knowledge of the one kind of
electricity ever existing without its exact equivalent quantity
1
J J . . T h om s on , El ectri ci ty a nd M a tter p 5 1 , . .
1 28 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
’
of the other kind or sign we have to conceive that some,

where within the atom there exists a n equal charge or number ,

of units of fios i ti ve electricity corresponding to the number

of un its of n ega ti ve electricity ex i sting as corpuscles or
electrons Whatever this unifying force may be however
.
, ,

we find that the constituent particles of the physical atom

are held together as one system of motion within certain ,

limits or bounds which constitutes the e ffective area or

,

sphere of influence of the atom W hen for any reason the .

attractive force which holds the system together is partially

or wholly destroyed we have the break - ,
u p of the system or ,

physical atom as is seen in the phenomenon of Radium

, .

Now we have to note that it is not merely the constituent

etheric atoms or corpuscles which are thus liber ated but that ,

their liberation involves the liberation of m oti on of an enor ,

mous amount of en ergy The motion of the etheric atoms is

.

no longer limited to the confines of the physical atom but ,

becomes a free motion in space which as we have already seen , , ,

in some cases approaches the velocity of light itself .

We may regard the physic a l atom then as an aggregate of

vortex -
, ,

rings simply for the sake of obtaining some defin ite

,

idea of the p ri n ci p l e involved— the particular form of motion

’
not affecting the general principle that all matter on ,

whatever Plane is not a d en s i fi ca ti on of Primordial Sub

,

stance but only a more or less complex aggregate of some

,

simpler form of motion Thus if we regard physical matter

.

as t h e m os t complicated aggregate— i n other words as the ,

lowest Plane of the Cosmos — we shall have to conceive that

these aggregates of vortex - rings become less and less complex
as we pass from the lower Planes to the higher so that we shall
finally have a simple vortex -
,

ring as the ultimate or primordial

atom Some such ultimate atom is indeed now mooted by
.
, ,

s ci en c e t o take the place of the old ultimate indivisible particle ;

,

and at the present time it seems to be regarded as a s i n e gn d

n on t hat this ultimate vortex - ring should be eternal and
indestructible in its nature for the simple reason that motion
,

must apparently be conserved in some kind of ul timate form ,

otherwise what becomes of the doctrine of the conservation

of energy ?
We h ave already seen that when the physical atom is ,

broken up the free corpuscles or etheric atoms possess

,

motions which are incomparably more rapid than those .

 PRIMO RD IAL S UB STANCE 1 29

of the physical atoms into which they were previously

aggregated ; and we thus learn that it is the essence of the
matter of a lower Plane that it c onsists of or is character ,

i s ed by a li mi ta ti on of motion Conversely as we pass to

,
.

’
,

a higher Plane we obtain conditions o i motion which

are almost immeasurably greater in their freedom from
limitations than those which obtain on the lower Plane .

As an illustration of what this involves we may ta k e an

example of wave motion If we throw a stone into a poo l
.

of water we can watch the undulations on the surface of the

water gradually spreading out in concentric circles After .

several seconds we shall have a series of such circles form

ing a distinct ob j ect on the surface of the pool an ob j ect which
is continually growing larger and larger as the wave motion

fl
travels outwards and onwards Still it ta k es a considerable
.
,

time for such a series of waves or ripples to travel say 1 00 , ,

feet from the centre of disturbance .

Now let us take an analogous case of etheric disturbance .

Instead of our stone thrown into a poo l we will take a a s h

light which we will suppose to last exactly one second We
, .

wi ll also suppose an observer on the Etheric Plane who can

fl
see the light waves in the same way in which we can see the
ripples on the water ; although the light waves will of course , ,

travel outwards in all directions and not merely on a plane

fl
,

surface such as that of our pond Thus the etheric obj ect
produced by the a s h -
.

light would be a sphere of waves The

moment the flash -
.

light commences these waves begin to ,

travel outwards at the rate of miles per second so

that at the end of one second when we suppose our a s h -
, li ght
to cease the first waves would be
,
miles away but the ,

last waves would j ust be starting from the centre of the dis
t u rb a n ce Thus the phenomenon which would be presented
.

to our im aginary observer on the Etheric Plane would be an

ob j ect consisting of a series of waves or ripples miles
in diameter Like our ripples on the surface of the pool
.
,

our etheric waves continue to travel outwards At the end .

of the second second the first waves would be miles

away from the centre and the last waves would be
,

miles away so that the ob j ect would now be a concentric

,

sh e ll of waves miles thick wi th a total diameter of

,

miles and a hollow interior

,
miles in diameter .

We need not follow it from s econd to second nor even ,

9
1 28 SCIENTI F IC IDEALISM
’
of the other kind or sign we have to conceive tha t some
,

where within the atom there exists a n equal charge or number ,

of un its of p os i ti ve electricity corresponding to the number

of units of n ega ti ve electricity existing as corpuscles or
electrons Whatever this unifying force may be however
.
‘

, ,

we find that the constituent particles of the physical atom

are held together as one system of motion within certain ,

limits or bounds which constitutes the e ffective area or

,

sphere of influence of the atom When for any reason the .

attractive force which holds the system together is partially

or wholly destroyed we have the break - , u p of the system or ,

physical atom as is seen in the phenomenon of Radium

, .

Now we have to note that it is not merely the constituent

etheric atoms or corpuscles which are thus liber ated but that ,

their liberation involves the liberation of m oti on of an enor ,

mous amount of en ergy The motion of the etheric atoms is

.

no longer limited to the confines of the physical atom but ,

becomes a free motion in space which as we have already seen , , ,

in some cases approaches the velocity of light itself .

We may regard the physical atom then as an aggregate of , ,

vortex — rings simply for the sake of obtaining some defin ite
,

r i ci l e —
idea of the p n p involved the particular form of motion
’
not affecting the general principle that all matter on ,

whatever Plane is not a d en s i fi ca ti on of Primordial Sub

,

stance but only a more or less complex aggregate of some

,

simpler form of motion Thus if we regard physical matter

.

as t h e m os t complicated aggregate — i n other words as the ,

lowest Plane of the Cosmos — we shall have to conceive that

-
these aggregates of vortex rings becom e less and less complex
a s we pass from the lower Planes to the higher so that we shall ,

fin al ly have a simple vortex - ring as the ultimate or primordial

atom Some such ultimate atom is indeed now mooted by
; , ,

s ci en ce t 0 take the place of the old ultimate indivisible particle ;

,

and at the present time it seems to be regarded as a s i n e qn d

n on that this ultimate vortex - ring should be etern al and
indestructible in its nature for the simple reason that motion
,

must apparently be conserved in some kind of ultimate form ,

otherwise what becomes of the doctrine of the conservation

of energy ?
We have already see n that when the physical atom is ,

broken up the free corpuscles or etheric atoms possess

,

motions which are incomparably more rapid than those

 PRIMO RD IAL S U BSTANCE 1 29

of the physical atoms into which they were previously

aggregated ; and we thus learn that it is the essence of the
matter of a lower Plane that it consists of or is character ,

ised by a li mi ta ti on of motion Conversely as we pass to

, .

’
,

a higher Plane we obtain conditions oi motion which

are almost immeasurably greater in their freedom from
limitations than those which obtain on the lower Plane .

As an illustration o f what this involves we may ta k e an

example of wave motion If we thro w a stone into a pool
.

of water we can watch the undulations on the surface of the

water gradually spreading out in concentric circles After .

several seconds we shall have a series of such circles form

ing a distinct obj ect on the surface of the pool : an obj ect which
is continually growing larger and larger as the wave motion

fl
travels outwards and onwards Still it takes a considerable
.
,

time for such a series of waves or ripples to travel say 1 00 , ,

fee t from the centre of disturbance .

Now let us take an analogous case of etheric disturbance .

Instead of our stone thrown i nto a pool we will ta k e a a s h

light which we will suppose to last exactly one second We
, .

wi ll also suppose an observer on the Etheric Plane who can

fl
see the light waves in the same way in which we can see the

fl
ripples on the water ; although the light waves will of course , ,

travel outwards in all directions and not merely on a plane

fl
,

surface such as that of our pond Thus the etheric obj ect
produced by the a s h -
.

light would be a sphere of waves The ‘

moment the a s h -
.

light commences these waves begin to ,

travel outwards at the rate of miles per second so

that at the end of one second when we suppose our a s h -
,

, light
to cease the first waves would be 1 8
,
miles away but the ,

last waves would j ust be starting from the centre of the dis
tu rb a n ce Thus the phenomenon which would be presented
.

to our imaginary observer on the Etheric Plane would be an

obj ect consisting of a series of waves or ripples miles
in diameter Like our ripples on the surface of the pool
.
,

our etheric waves continue to travel outwards At the end .

of the second second the first waves would be miles

away from the centre and the last waves would be
,

miles away so that the ob j ect would now be a concentric

,

shell of waves miles thick wi th a total diameter of,

miles and a hollow interior

,
miles in diameter .

We need not follow it from s econd to second nor even ,

9
1 30 SCIENTI F IC IDEALISM
from year to year Those who wish to stretch their imagina
.

’
tion to any extent may ask themselves what this obj ect
would be at the end of one year at the end of ahundred years
, ,

or of the thousands of years which science tell s us are required

for light to reach us from some of the distant stars .

But in t r uth this is not a matter of imagination — i t is

sober scientific fact It is not merely the light of our Sun
.
,

and of countless other Suns in space which is thus travelling ,

out in infinite circles at every moment of time into infinite

space — all these infinite circles crossing and recrossing each
other yet each preserving its individual characteristic — but
,

at every moment of time the countless billions of atoms

which go to form any particular obj ect of physical matter
the pen I hold the book you read every single obj ect which
we see or feel —fla re sendin g out at every mo ment these electro
, ,

magnetic disturbances of the Ether which travel out and out ,

into spac e with — s o far as science can tell— unending motion .

Were it not that they are doing so we could neither see nor ,

feel them nor sense them i n any way ; for it is only b y and
,

through thes e etheric motions that mat ter possesses for us

its characteristic qualities .

But the question as to whether all these etheric waves

and ripples do really travel out into space un endingly and ,

without any diminution whatever in their energy i s one ,

which cannot be considered as closed and which cannot really ,

be shelved even though at present it is impossible to prove

,

anything to the contrary by actual physical demonstration .

The ripples on our pool die down gradually their motion ,

is converted into heat into the very fo rm of etheric activity

, ,

indeed which we are considering Do our light and heat

,
.

waves also die down are they i n their turn converted into
,

some more subtle form of energy on some Plane higher than

the Etheric ? All analogy would seem to point to such a
conclusion It is i mpossible for us to conceive of them as
.

tra velling out into space eternally Such a conception is .

not merely fatal to the modern doctrine of the conservation

of energy as applicable to the wh ol e Universe — i n which motion
o r energy mu s t necessarily work in a cl os ed cycle — but it is

fatal to any Un i ta ry concep t of the Univ erse at all Such .

a Unitary concept can only complete itself in Absoluteness .

Little a s we can understand Absoluteness it is still a definite ,

and positive idea whereas that of I n fi n i tu d e is a mere negativ e

,
 PRIMORDIAL S UB S TANCE 1 31

one implying the absence of limitation We may resolve .

'

m otion into Absolute Motion but we ca n n o t l ea ve it open , ,

as it were to an infinite j ourney unrelated to anything else in

, ,

the Universe .

The s olution therefore which we here suggest is that of

, ,

conversion in space into a higher form of energy on a Plane or

Planes lying beyond the Etheric It is quite understandable .

in view of the almost infinite extension of phenomena on the

Etheric Plane of which we have j ust given an example— that
,

we should be absolutely unable to detect any such conversion

— oi light for example
,
— into any higher form of activity
within the limits of space to which we are confined by our
physical senses Light may very well travel for thousands
.

of years without any dim i nution which we could possibly

detect although every single undulation might in reality be
,

giving up something of its energy at every moment to a higher

Plane To those who are aware of the extremely subtle nature
.

of the forces and forms of etheric activity with which we now

deal experimentally in the phenomena of radio - activi t y ; of
the almost i n fi n i tes i m a lly small quantities of matter which
can now be detected by means of the electroscope ; of the
minute yet constant disintegration of matter of the physical ,

atom which goes on in radio -

,
active substances and probably ,

in all matter so that although we know t h e process to be going

,

on and even in a certain way are able to measure it quanti

,

t a t i vely yet we are absolutely unable to detect any diminution

,

in the mass or weight of the substance which is thus d i s i n teg

rating— those who are familiar with these facts will have
little di fficulty in accepting the proposition that there must
ce rtainly be finer forces in nature which as yet lie a b s ol
u te l y beyond even the furthest stretch of our imagination .

Radium has taught us that if nothing else , .

We must dismiss from our minds all conventional ideas

of the great and the small when we are dealing with such
questi ons That which to us is of infinite extent the limits
.
,

and confines of our own vast universe is but the boundary of ,

a single atom i n the Infinite Whole .

But the principle which we deduce from these considera

tions is clear and unmistakable Every rise from one Plane .

to another is a throwing -o ff of limitations — limitations of

space limitations of time limitations of motion of matter
, , , ,

of energy ; and we might add of consciousness On each

, , .
1 32 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM

hig her Plane these are transcended more and more because at ,

every remove we come nearer and nearer to that fundamental

Unity in which all limitations finall y disappear in Absolute
ness The bound motion of any one Plane becomes free motion
.

on the next higher Plane and appropriates to itself as it were

, , ,

vast expanses of space The process cannot end anywhere .

except in Absoluteness The ultimate motion of Primordial

.

Substance — when all individual or differentiated forms of

m otion have been resolved back into T H AT— is Absolute
Motion as li ttle understandable by us as Absolute Substance ,

yet as absolutely necessary as a mental concept .

We must note that i f— as a concession to our conventional

idea of tim e and space as realities — we postulate that in the
great rhythmic process of evolution and involution which
constitutes the phenomenal universe or the great world ,

process Absolute Motion becomes -i n consciousness— limited

,

motion we must still reserve the idea that it is only a portion ,

s o to speak which thus manifests as phenomena because

, , ,

as we have already pointed out (p it is only a portion .

of the substance of any higher Plane which becomes the

’
‘
matter of the next lower Plane Thus every Plane has .

its own special activities which are infinitely greater than

those of the lower Plane ; the activities of any lower Plane
bein g as it were only an a cci den t an i nci dent a happening
, , , , ,

in the history of the higher Plane .

With the further concept that Absolute Motion never

really becomes limited j ust as Absolute Substance never
,

becomes differentiated but remains unchangeable a n d eternal

-
,

we shal l not at this point trouble our readers .

If we consider physical matter to be a complex of vortex

’
rings which when liberated from each other s influence are
, ,

found to be less complex systems constituting what may be

considered as true etheric atoms but still of a complex nature ,

and if again we suppose these to be further resolvable into

, ,

simpler atoms on a still higher Plane and so on we shall at

last reach a sin gle sim ple vor tex -
,

ring of Primordial Substance

—the ultimate atom of the whol e Universe The activity the .
,

motion of that primordial atom must be a l mos t absolute

, .

Absolute motion of a body is the presence of that body at

every point of space at every moment of time We have seen .

that the motion of a corpuscle within the limits of an atom is

almost analogous to such motion and therefore in extending , ,
 PRIMORDIAL S UB S TANCE 1 33

the idea to the primordial atom we are only applying to the

infinitely great what we apprehend in the infinitely small .

The real atom that which cannot be divided the Monad

, , ,

the ON E i s the Absolute Primordial Substance

, .

Whether we regard the primordial atom— the first form

of limited motion whatever that form may be in reality— as
,

immutable and indestructible as scientists seem in cli ned to

,

postulate ; or whether we adopt the more ph i losophical and

logical view that that also— being p h en omen a l— has its period
,

of obj ective existence followed by a period of sub j ective

existenc e —that is to say that it is as a time and space phe
, ,

n om e n on,
like everything else in time and space p eri odi c in ,

its manifestations — whichever of these views we may adopt the ,

prin ciple which we are now enunciating remains una ffected ;

that principle being the purely scientific one : namely that ,

mot i on is conserved ; and that all Cosmic processes being cy cli c ,

in their nature in accordance with the fi rmly established

,

principle of evolution — moti on mn s t retn rn to i ts s ource .

Bearing in mind the dogmatic assertions as to the inde

s tr u ct ib i li t
y of the physical atom which were in vogue not
ten years ago we must regard with suspicion any attempts
,

merely to throw that dogma further back upon some other

time and S pace a tom But in any case we are in the concept
.
,

of an ultimate primordial ato m only one remove from ,

Absoluteness Let us suppose the primordial atom itself to

.

break up — we are then in the reg ion of Absolute Motion ,

Absolute Substance Absolute Consciousness ,

.

It is not our intention here to deal with the validity or

otherwise of any of the scientific theories which are at present
current as to the particular mode or form of motion which
constitutes any particular phenomenon The present guesses .

as to the nature and constitution of th e Ether are admittedly

crude and unsatisfactory Any attempt to deal with it on .

the basis of physical and mathematical principles which are

applicable to our present Plane of consciousness appears to ,

land us in a veritable i mp a s s e and a series of mutually ,

destructive propositions How for example can the Ether be

.
, ,

dens er than any k ind of physical matter and yet be absolutely ,

unsubstantial to us How can it be s tra i n ed if it is in com

pressible and inextensible P If it has n on e of the properties
of physical matter what can we possibly conceive it to be
,

Whenever we try to deal with it on the basis of some physical

1 34

,
SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
analogy to impute to it some properties — ui di ty rigidity
elasticity e tc — such as we are familiar with in physical
,

states of matter we are inevitably led by one phenomenon

,
fl , ,

or another to the conclusion that whatever else it may be , ,

it cannot be so and so .

About thirty years ago Helmholtz investigated mathe

m a ti ca lly the properties of vortical motions in a hypothetical
perfect medium or fluid and he showed among Other things
that a vortex - r i ng once set up in such a medium— which among
other n ega ti ve qualities would have to be considered as friction
less— would be permanent and could not in any way be
,

modified or transformed On the other hand there is no

.
,

known way in which such rings could be formed at all in a ‘

frictionless medium ; nor can we understand how such a ring

could act upon the surrounding medium to set up a es or
undulations On the supposition that it could do so it
.
,

would have to lose some of its energy and in course of t ime ,

i t s motion would be destroyed j ust as a smoke ring loses

,

its motion by friction with the air and as every atom of ,

matter is probably losing its internal motion by gradual

dissipation of electro - magnetic energy .

We are therefore in the dilemma that either the primordial

, ,

atom cannot give up any of its motion —i n which case it is use

less as a producer of phenomena — or else in giving up some of its
motion for that purpose it inevitably determines its own d i s i n
t eg ra ti on unless supplied with energy from an external source
, .

It is of course possible to assume that the energy which

, ,

is apparently dissipated in space is utilised on the highest

Plane of all for the r e- energising of these primordial atoms .

The di fficulty is precisely in conceiving of any medium as

being capable of forming the basis of these phenomena and ,
’
at the same time as bein g perfect and frictionless .

We leave out of account the alternative hypothesis of an

extra - “
cosmic Power operating in the beginning to wind up
the Universe and which might presumably step in at any
,

time to give it another wind — because we are now dealing

entirely with scientific concepts and it is the fundamental
,

axiom of science that the Universe is self- cont a ined eternal , ,

and indestructible in its two factors of Substance and Motion .

It is also the ambition of science to know the relations and

correlations of these two factors from top to bottom of the
Universe .
 PRIMORDIAL S U BSTANCE 1 35

Now it is our endeavour here to utilise these fundamental

scientific concepts in their logical extension to the phenomena
of life and consciousness and it is not necessary for that
,

purpose tha t we should examine the validity or otherwise

of current scientific theories as to h ow phenomena are brought
about What we must do is to accept those theories
.

admittedly crude and inadequate — as the best which are

available in order to give us a clear intellectual perception
of certain fundamental principles which — as the best statement
we ca n get of the nature of the Universe and of the relation
'

o f our own individual

"

life thereto — we must either formulate

"
thu s to ourselves or accept truth at the hands of some
,

authoritative system of revelation or inspiration .

If the Universe be such a unity as we conceive it to be ,

the principles which are applicable to its parts will be

applicable to the whole Every atom is a mirror of the
.

whole .

Neither is it necessary that we should know wha t Primordial

Substance is in order that we should fully perceive that some
,

such ultimate Substance must exist ; any more than it is

necessary for example that we S hould k now wh a t the Ether
, ,

is or what part it plays in every material phenomenon in

, ,

order to understand clearly that there must be an Ether ,

and that it must have moti on of some kind or other We .

might conceivably be unable to form any notion whatsoever

of its nature and properties and yet clearly apprehend that
,

such a medium must and does exist

The vortex -
.

ring theory of matter may possibly be as far

away from the truth as the old corp uscular theory of light
but at least it conveys to us s ome ideas which not merely ,

help to explain indivi dual phenomena but which enable ,

us to lay hold of certain fundamental principles which we

hope to be able to S how are applicable to life and conscious
ness as well as to phenomena of matter and force
, .

However little also we may be able to understand what

, ,

the real nature of the Absolute Noumenon may be we have ,

at least a clear apprehension of the necessary existence of

some such ultimate Principle : one aspect of which will be
obj ective— matter and force or substance and motion— and
,

the other aspect s u bjecti ve— Conscious Being .

In studying the obj ective or phenomenal aspect of this

Absolute Principle the highest concept we can at present
,
1 36 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM

form— working on the lines of purely inductive science — is

that of a perfect continuous medium filli ng all Space That
.

bein g so it follows as a matter of course that all phenomena

,

are simply certain forms of motion in and of that medium .

It is for science to discover what these particular motions

are in any particular case whatever they may be does not
a ffect the general principle .

At present the simplest idea which science can present

to us of an object in that universal medium is that of a simple
vortex -
,

ring and we may therefore work upon that idea as

, ,

the best one available to ill ustrate the principles which we

wish to enforce and which may be found to be true even
though the vortex -
, ,

ring theory sho uld go the way of so many

other scientific theories .

We may now proceed to consider the bearing of the concept

of Primordial Substance upon the question of Life and
Consciousness .
C H A PTE R V I I

CONSCIO U SNESS
 N o l e s s i n s cr u t a b l e i s th i s com p l ex con s ci ou s n es s w hi ch h as s l owl y

e vol v e d ou t of i n fa n t i n e v a cu i t y — con s ci ou s n es s wh i ch , in o th er s h a p es , is
m a n i fe s t e d b y a n i m a te b ei n g s a t l a r g e— con s ci o u s n e s s w h i ch , d u ri n g th e
d e v e l op m en t o f e v er y cr ea t u r e ,
m a ke s i ts a p p e ar a n ce ou t of wh a t s e em s

u n con s ci o u s m a t t er ; s u g g e s ti n g th e t h ou g h t th a t con s ci ou s n e s s in so me
r u di m en t ar y for m i s o m n i res en t
p .
— HE R B E R T S PE N C E R , A u tobi ogr a p hy .
 C H A PT E R V I I

C ON S C I O US N E S S

IN M od ern V i ews by Sir O liver Lodge ( p

o f E l ecti ci ty , .

we are asked to Imagine that we live immersed in an

,

in fin ite ocean of incompressible and inexpansible all-

permeating
perfect li quid as fish live in the sea
,
and then the question
is asked How can we become cognizant of its existence
,

This infinite ocean is of course the Ether of S cience , ,

or We ma y here take it to be Primordial Substance : S ince

science knows of no Substance beyond or on a higher Plane ,

than the Ether .

Sir Oliver than proceeds to tell us that we cannot become

cognisant of it by its weight for we can rem ove it from no ,
”
p ortion of space in order to try whether it has weight .

We are told however that there are four ways in which

, ,
.

we may conceivably recognise its existence They are as .

follows
1 . B y b ei n g t o p u m p i t o u t o f on e e l a s ti c b a g i n to a n o th e r
ab le

n o t o u t of o n e b u ck e t i n t o a n o th e r, —i f y o u li v e d a t t h e b o tto m o f t h e
s ea y ou wo u ld n ev e r th i n k a b ou t fi l li n g or e m p ty i n g b u ck e ts , th e
i d ea wou l d b e a b s u r d — b u t y ou co u l d fi l l or e m p t y e l a s ti c b a g s , a n d
c o ul d n o ti ce th e s tra i n p h e n o m e n a e x h i b i t e d b y th e b a g s , a n d th ei r
”
t en d e n cy to b u rs t wh en o v er fu ll .

2 . B y wi n d s or c u r re n t s ; b y w a t ch i n g th e e ffe c t o f m o v i n g
m a s s es of th e fl ui di t ows as fl a l o n g p i p e s o r th ro u g h s p o n g y b o d i e s ,

a n d b y th e e ff e c t s o f i ts i n e r ti a a n d m o m e n t u m

3 B y m a ki n g v or ti c es a n d w h i rl s i n t h e u i d , a n d b y ob s erv i n g
. fl
th e m u tu a l a c ti o n s o f th e s e v or ti ce s fl th e i r a t tr a c ti o n s a n d r ep u l s i o n s .

“
4 B y s e t ti n g u p u n d u l a ti o n s i n t h e m e d i u m
. i e , b y th e p h e . .

no m en a wh i ch i n or d i n a r y m ed i a e x ci t e i n u s , th ro u g h o u r e a rs , t h e
’
s e n s a ti o n cal l e d s ou n d .

Sir Oli ver Lodge then proceeds to develop these methods

“

in their application to electrical phenomena as depending

upon the properties of the Ether With these phenomena .

we are not now concerned we must carry the matter very ,

I 39
1 40 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM

much further and ask ourselves n o t merely how we might

,

conceivably become cognisant of such an hypothetical medium

in its action and interaction wi th physical matter — and
granting the existence of our present material bodies and
senses — but how we can be conscious of any ob j ective phe
n om e n a whatsoever in such a medium seeing that our ,

material bodies and all other material things which we are

,

supposed to employ in detecting its presence and properties

—our pumps and elastic bags our pipes and ,

spongy bodies -
are all made out of the substance of this
same medium and seeing also that this medium bein g i n
compressible and inexpansible all such objecti ve phenomena ,

are due simply to moti on in and of this same perfect liquid ,

and not to any condensation solidification or d en s i fi ca ti on , ,

Of it ;

Without therefore in any way detracting from the value

, ,
’
of Sir Oliver s analogies in the particular use which he makes
of them as applicable to the phenomena of electricity we ,

may proceed to point out where they help us a n d where they

fail us in their application to the root problem of consciousness
itself for by doing so we shall be able to clear the ground for
an understanding of the direct issue which lies before us .

Each of these methods then presupposes the existence , ,

of our physical bodies and of matter out of which we can

,

construct our instruments of observation s—o u r pumps elastic ,

”
bags e tc — and which is somewhat di fferent from the
,

surrounding medium the nature of which we are endeavouring

,

to understand .

Let us now take methods Nos 1 and 2 but drop the .

,

assumption that such matter already exists ; retaining

merely the assumption that we have some kind of bodies
and senses which enable us in fact to exist as fish live in
”
the sea ; and that we have nothing but this sea or perfect ,

liquid surrounding us It would be very doubtful indeed

, .

whether in such case we could have any cognisance of the

'

medium itself ; whether we S hould be really con s ci ou s of it “

It is an open question whether fish are in any sense conscious

of the medium in which they live — or possibly we may say
that they are so consci ous of it as to be unconscious of it .

Possibly we are so conscious of the Ether that we fail to

recognise the fact Now so far as our pumps elastic bags
.
, , ,

etc are concerned how on earth — or in the sea — are we going

.
,
 CONSCIO U SNESS 1 41

to construct them out of the sea water itself ? To talk

about doing so would appear to be as absurd as to talk
about fi lling and emptying buckets at the bottom of the
sea.

In method No 3 we are told that we may make vortices

.

and whirls in the fluid and observe the mutual action of ,

these vortices their attractions and repulsions

, We may .

overlook the little diffi culty that there is no conceivable way

in which we could make such vortices or whirls in a perfect
liquid that is to say one in which there is no friction and
, ,

we must also pass over the di fficulty to which we have re

ferred on page 1 2 3 that such vortices could not be percept
,

ible ob j ects at all in the ordinary sense inasmuch as we

, ,

could not distinguish them in any way from the surrounding

medium in and of which they are formed though we might ,

conceivably be aware of them by a sense of touch .

Let us grant however that we are able to set up such

, ,

v ortices or whirls and also that we are able as stated in

, ,

method No 4 to set up undulations in the medium

.
, If we .

ma k e these suppositions — without as yet considering the

question of the relation of our physical bodies to the medium ,

and supposing that we possess our present physical senses

we can then see that we might be able to create so me sort of
a n ob j ective universe by motion only .

For if we may conceivably set up those kinds of un d ula

tion s which in ordinary media excite in us through our ears
the s en s a ti on called sound we may also conceivably set up
those particular kinds of undulations which excite in us
through our eyes the s en s a ti on of light and we may
— —
further method No 3 set up vortices or whirls which
.

will give us the s en s a ti on of matter (mass or inertia ) through

a sense of touch ; and conceivably also a sensation of taste
or smell .

This brings us right down to the root of the whole matter .

For let us suppose that our vortices or whirls a re the parti

on lar form of motion in our perfect medium which we call
’
matter : then it is conceivable that in conj unction with
the undulations which give us the s en s a ti on of light these ,

undulations might be so modified as to give us the s en s a ti on

of a material world : namely the perception of external ,

ob j ects differing from each other in various respects such ,

as density colour etc

, , .
1 42 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
Now that is precisely the explanation of the real facts of
the case of the real nature of the external obj ective world
, ,

so far as science can at present give it on the basis of the ,

existence of One Primordial Substance Certain modes of .

motion of Primordial Substance which we call m a tter modify ,

certain other modes of motion which we call l i ght and as ,

the result we s ee a world of matter and form .

These vortices or whirls also o ffer to our sense of touch

a sensation of resistance ; i e they give us the im pression . .
,

of force and we thus ascribe to them the qualities or pro

,

er t i e s of mass or inertia
p .

We can now see clearly that in so far as all these different

kinds of motion— vortices whirls vibrations und ul ations
, , , ,

e t c — are equally motion in and of Primordial Substance

none of them have in reality a s u bs ta n ti a l existence any more

than the others Matter is not really more substantial than
.

light nor is the Ether less substantial than physical matter .

All are of one Substance which is incompressible i n ex, ,

p a n s ib l e and,
unchangeable .

So far as this goes there is no reason why undulations

’
should not be obj ective matter and vortices or whirls ,
‘

phenomena of light or sound instead of vi ce vers a In fact , .

’
we see that matter is simply that form of motion of Prim
ordial Substance to which consciousness assigns an obj ective
value together with certain secon dary values which we
,

call qu a li ti es such as mas s inertia hardness softness etc

, , , , , .

To other beings to other forms or modes of conscious

,

ness matter might be and in deed probably is quite other

, , ,

than what it is to us ; whilst that which to us is invisible

and subj ective is to them plainly obj ective .

The s en s a ti on of matter is as purely subj ective as the

s en s a ti on of light or sound In the case of light we have
.

different wave - lengths or rates of vibration of which con ,

s ci o u s n es s takes note through our physical organ of sight .

But why should one wave - length be red and another blu e ?
The external phenomenon the correlative of the sensation
, ,

is in each case the same in qua li ty and di ffers only in qua n ti ty , .

As motion of a medium it is neither red nor blue Wh a t .

pos sible p hy s i ca l explanation is there why one shoul d be

red and the other blue simply because they di ffer in wave
,

length a n d rate of vibration ? It is consciousness and con ,

s ci ou s n es s alone which determines this We may trace back .

 CONSCIO U SNESS 1 43

a ll the correlations of matter a nd force from the source of

ligh t to the last atom of the cells of our brain : we shall not
then be one S hade nearer an explanation as to why these
vibrations and atomic or molecular movements should pro
, ,

duce the s en s a ti on of light and colour ; or why di fferent rates

of vibration should in consciousness be di fferent colours— or
, ,

any colour at all .

But what we need to realise clearly is that this is not ,

merely true of light and sound it is true of ma tter als o In

, .

each and every case we are dealing with something which

as mere motion of Primordial Substance — is qu a n ti ta ti vely
and not qu a li ta ti vely di fferent All the varied kinds of
.

matter of which we are cognisant — and an infinite variety

of others of which we are not cognisant — are only vari ed
motions of Primordial Substance which consciousness inter
p r e t s in its own terms .

There may b e— there is nothing scientifically absurd

or illogical in the Supposition— other Intelligences other ,

modes of Consciousness than ours other Beings in the uni ,

verse to whom certain modes of motion of Primordial Substance

which are utterly unknown to us constitute a world of
ma tter an obj ective universe as clear and definite to such
, ,

Beings as ours is to us .

There may be there probably are Beings in the Universe

, ,

— Gods if you will Cosmic Intelligences — to whom the great

,

Cosmic Proc esses th e birth of Worlds and Systems the

, ,

activities and motions of Suns and Planets the great cos mic ,
’

forces which call forth our obj ective univers e from the vast
depths of Primordial Substance are analogous to — what to us
are— the activities of those material bodies in and through
which our limited personal consciousness now functions .

Up to this point we have assumed — i n trying to understand

how we might conceivably take cognisance o f this ocean of
Primordial Substance in which we live and out of which all ,

things are made — that we are already in possession of some

kind of body somewhat di fferent from this medium and of ,

our present physical senses ; but we must now drop this

assumption and endeavour to understand how such bodi es
,

can be conscious at all seeing that they also or any bodies

, ,

whatsoever which we or any other Intelligences may possess ,

on th i s or any other Plane of the Cosmos are themselves ,

l

made out of this same Universal Substance or Medium and ,

1 44 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM

are nothing more or less than highl y compli cated aggregations

of these same vortices whirls un dulations and vi brations
, , , .

The physical material ear the nerve fibres which carry

,

the vibrations of sound from the ear to the brain cells these ,

ul timate brain cell s themselves the last lin k which we are

,
‘

able to trace in the physical chain of cause and e ffect : are

all made out of this same perfect incompressible and i n ex
a n s ib l e Medium ; whose modes of motion are as infinite in
p
variety as the inexhaustible phenomena of the Cosmos Itself .

Is it then merely these vortices and wh i rls —when they

, ,

come together in that partic ul ar complex which is the physical

organ of hearin g and the brain cells connected therewith
which are con s ci ou s of sound ; or is it Primordial Substance
Itself in a ll or any of its complex motions which is conscious
Is that consciousness which h ea rs which indeed we call we
, ,

annihilated as soon as this particular complex is broken up

or damaged ; or is it only that we cease to hear through
our ears Wh y shoul d one complex of motion of Primordial
Substance be conscious and not another
,
I S consciousness ,

in fact a time phenomenon merely ; arisin g by a process of

,

evolution and entering in as a totally new factor at a cert ain

,

point in the cosmic process ; or does it like Primor d ial Sub ,

stance and Motion exist ete rnal ly

,

Now we cann ot conceive of abstract consciousness apart

from something which i s conscious any more than we can ,

conceive of abstract motion apart from something which

moves ; and it appears to be precisely this di fficulty which
meets us when we try to conceive of any survival of con
s ci ou s n es s after the disintegration of the physical organism ,

in which we see plainly that consciousness does inhere at the

present time The reason for this is that we have no adequate
.

conception of any body existin g on another Plane In fact .

,

science finds it hard enough to form a mental image of what

may be the particular forms of motion on the Etheric Plane
associated wi th such phenomena as -li ght electricity etc , ,
.
,

without going into any question as to the possible forms of

life and consciousness on that Plane Nevertheless we see .
,

clearly that the Substance of that Plane — or of any possible

higher Plane — being all on e with the Substance of our present
Plane of consciousness : it is j ust as possible for bodi es and a ,

whole obj ective uni v erse to exist for an infinite variety of

,

conscious entities or m on ads on other Planes even as we find ,

 CONSCIO U SNESS 1 45

on this particular Plane : which is only limited to us as a Plane , ,

b e cause of the limited range of our physical senses through

which our consciousness for the time being is functioning .

We shall have to consider the question of individual forms

of consciousness however more fu lly in a subsequent chapter
, ,

at present we must confine our attention to consciousness

itself in its relation to Primordial Substance .

We start with the empirical fact that states of consciousness

do exist or inhere in certain more or le ss complex combinations
of those whirls or vortices which we call matter and we must
endeavour to keep our minds steadily on the fundamental
scientific concept at which we have already arrived that a ll ,

forms of matter however aggreg ated complex or organised

, , ,

they m a y be are nothing more or less than forms of motion

,

in and of Primordial Substance There is no distinction in .

this respect between inorganic and organic matter ; between

s o- called dead or s o- ca lled living matter .

Living matter is simply an d matter a suffi ciently complex

, ,

aggregate of dead matter to enable certain phenomena

which we empirically associate With li fe and consciousness
to manifest in or through that organism The more complex .

it becomes the more it is organised the better it is able to

, ,

manifest these phenomena In this respect it is no di fferent

.
'

from a complex machine which is able to perform a variety

,

of functions which are impossible in a simpler one What .

ever may be the transcendental nature o f the Monad or Ego ,

its activity on the Physical Plane must obviously depend

upon the nature and complexity of the organism which is
its representative vehicle or instrum ent on that Plane
, ,
.

There is no doubt as to the teachings of modern science

on this point Considered a s a mech a n i s m the most highly
.
,

organised physical body— our own to wit — is on the S ame ,

level not merely as the lowest as the amoeba or the speck ,

of protoplasm but as the chemical molecule and the atom

,

itself All physiological functioning is in the first instance —for

.

science —a question of physics and chemistry The idea of a .

vital force has gone the way of phlogiston and all other indi
vidual i mponderable forces The processes which go on in a
.

living body are j ust as much physical and chemical as those

which go on in s o- called dead matter J ust as there is no lin e .

of demarcation between the animal and the vegetable kingdom

—i t being impossible to say of some of the lowest organisms
1 0
 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM

whether they sho uld be C lassified with the one or wi th the ~

other—s o there is no line of demarcation between living

matter and dead matter B oth an d substance are equall y .
, ,
’ ’
dead or equally alive
, The question here is not one of
.

k i n d but simply one of d eg ree

,
.

On page 3 1 we have referred to the large number of

organic substances which are now made by purely chemical
processes and chemists now look forward confidently to the
,

time when protoplasm the lowest fo rm of livin g matter

,
‘

will also be buil t up by a synthetic laboratory process .

There are however still many who deny the possibility

, ,

of this and adhere to the old axiom omn e vi vum ex vi vo It

, , .

is not safe however to dogmatise as to what may or may not

, ,

be accom p li shed in the future and if we can find some ground

for a higher concept of life than that it only arises as a b y
product s o to speak of a more or less complex chemism we
, , ,

may look forward with complacency to the tim e— i f ever it

does arrive— when living organisms of the lowest type may
possibly be created or synthesised in the laboratory .
_

We may point out however that it is a very far cry from

, ,

protozoa to man it is a j ourney involvin g the whole process

of evolution on this Globe— and a great deal more besides ,

which science has not yet taken into account .

In thus carrying the line of evolution one step further back

,
,

in passing from the lowest form of living matter to that ‘

which is a p p a rently dead we are only making a logical con

, ,

s i stent and philosophical deduction from the universal

,

principles at whi ch we have already arrived The fundamental .

principle of the unity of the universe forbids us to conceive

of any discrete or essentially disconnected planes or phases
of phenomena The principle of evolution forbids us also to
.

conceive of any gaps in the natural process Nature does .

nothing by leaps and bo unds ; transition is always S low ,

imperceptible continuous , .

These principles have obtained co mplete recogniti on as

the very antithesis of the old creational ideas of what has ,
”
sometimes been described as the theology of gaps We
”

may point out however that not so ve ry long ago there was
, ,

a science of gaps as well as a theolog y of gaps that science

of gaps being represented by the idea that physical matter
and Ether are two absolutely discrete things that physical ,

matter always is and always has been physical matter and ,

 CONSCIO U SNESS 1 47

noth i ng else ; and that Ether never was and never wi l l be

anyt hing but Ether Even with those scientists who have
.

accepted the evolution of physical matter from the Ether we ,

”
fancy there is still a quite su fficient number of gaps in
their association of the Ether with the still higher Planes of
Mind and Consciousne s s or with that highest Plane where the
essential unity of ALL-Substance Motion Life Conscious
,

ness— must be the one ever -

, , ,

present reality .

But although we must logically carry our line of evolution

right through the whole world process without a break ,

from the highest to the lowest it does not follow that we can , ,

with our limited powers of observation trace that line in all ,

its extent much less imitate the process in some or any of

,

its innum erable stages The transmutation of metals is no

.

longer a theoretical hypothesis it is actually being a ccom ,

p li s h e d by Radium Yet modern science

. cannot as yet
imitate th enatural process and is indeed very loth to acknow , ,

ledge that i t may possibly have been done by the Alchemists ,

in spite of all that those philosophers have written about it .

The gradual evolution of organic life from inorganic matter is a

natural and logical inference : yet u p to the present time the
old dictum omn e vi vum ex vi vo still holds good in the narrow
, ,

sense in which it has hitherto been used .

Many e ffects have been observed from tim e to time in

inorganic matter which simulate the motions of low forms of
life but they are not the real thing Small pieces of camphor
,
.

dropped on the surface of water move about in a remarkable

manner A little gamboge rubbed up in water and viewed
.

through a microscope is seen to have motions which look

,

very much like those of animalculae Some instructive re .

searches have been made by Professor J a g a d i s h Chandra

Bose M A D S c of Calcutta and published in book form
under the title of R es p ons e i n th e Li vi ng a nd N on-
. . . .
, , , ,

Li vi ng .

What is known as the phenomenon of fa ti gu e in meta ls

has long been observed but among other thin gs Professor ,

Bose finds that metals exhibit a susceptibility to p oi s on s in ,

a manner analogous to the behaviour of living organ isms ;

and the effect of the poison — non - response — may even be
counteracted by the due administration of an antidote .

Mr J Butler Burke of the Cavendish laboratory Cam

. .
, ,

bridge has published an account of some experiments with

,

Radium and sterilise d bouillon which appear to border very ,

1 48 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
nearly on the production of apparently living matter More .

rec ently still Dr Leduc of Nantes has obtained certain growths

,
.

which have the appearance of definite cells able to a certain ,

extent to reproduce themselves There is no reason to think

,
.
,

however that in any of these phenomena the problem has

,

really been solved or that anything approaching to what we

,

recognise as life in the lowest organisms with which we are

acquainted has really been produced .

Let us suppose at once however that protoplasm may at , ,

some future t i rn e be produced in the laboratory by a purely

'

chemical process if we have already accepted the principle of

continuity our position will be un a ffected when that result
,

has been actually accomplished Neither will the dictum .

that a ll life comes from life be in the least a ffected The .

problem of life will be j ust exactly what it is now it will only ,

be thrown one step further back for those who have confounded
the p ri n ci p l e of life with the organism in or through which it
manifests on this part i cular physical Plane of consciousness .

This step we have a lready taken In definitely proving that .

there is a natural continuity of orga ni s m we S hall not even ,

h ave touched the real problem of the nature of life itself nor
‘

shall we in the s li g h es t degree upset the principle that all

life must arise in some prior form of life j ust as all motion must ,

arise or be traced bac k to some prior motion Living matter .

is not Li fe Living matter has almost certainly evolved

.

out of dead matter —these being merely comparative terms of

our perceptions But life itself— out of what has th a t evolved
.

We might as well say that motion has evolved out of rest as ,

’
say that life has evolved out of anything which is dead .

Motion of a particular body an atom for example has doubt , ,

less evolved : but it is nevertheless a fundamental scientific

axiom that it must be traced back to some prior motion .

Motion makes its appearance — on the Physical Plane — i rom h

prior forms of motion on other Planes Li fe a n d m oti on ca n .

be trea ted on exa ctly th e s a me terms .

Having
arrived at the conclusion that all matter whether ,
’
dead or alive is simply motion of Primordial Subst a nce :
,

what kind of motion it may be does not a ffect the principle

of continuity The conservation of motion is a S ci en ti fi c
. .

axiom although it has not been and cannot be proved We

have seen in our chapter on the Inter -
.
, , ,

relation of Planes that

radiant energy is the transfer of energy from the Physical
 CONSCIOUSNESS 1 49

to the Ethe ric Plane and that there it is apparently lost in

,

S pace without any chance of recovery .

The conservation of life rests upon exactly the same

principle as the conservation of energy ; and possibly if
science knew how to look for life on the Etheric Plane the ,

continuity would be somewhat more apparent than it is at

present .

But in each case — motion and life— we must go right

back to Prim ordial Substance before we can fo rmulate a
universal principle We have done so in the case of motion
.
,

let us now do so in the case of life and consciousness .

In order to get a Clear mental picture we have decided

'

that we will conceive of the primordial atom— the fir st form

of motion in and of Primordial Substance— as a simple vortex
ring o r whirl and of all the lower
,
more involved
’
Planes of matter right down to the lowest or Physical
‘
,

Plane as being more or less complex aggregations or systems

,

of these primordial atoms The particular form which these .

systems assume in any particular case does not in the le a st

a ffect the main principle It is for science to discover what
.

are the particular forms of motion connected with any

particular phenomenon .

Now the question may be put : can any complex of these

primordial atoms exhibit any characteristics which are
di fferent in ki n d from anything possessed by the primordial
atom itself and as such inherent in Prim ordial Substance
, , ,

or must it not be that the di fference is one of degree and not ,

of kind
It may be indeed that the di fference of degree is so great
, ,

as to appear to be a di fference of kind It may be also that .

a di fference of complexity enables certain qualities inherent

in Substance itself to become manifest which were not '

possible in a less complex form ; nevertheless the position ,

of all scientists and all biologists and chemists who tell us

, ,

that all living matter has evolved out of dead matter

‘
,

or that protoplasm is only an exceedingly complex molecule ,

and that life is a series of fermentations is precisely this :

that it is a question of d egree and not of ki n d .

We S hall take these scientists at their word ; we shall

accept the fundamental pri nciple that whatever is manifested
’
in any complex of atoms or matter on any Plane whatsoever , ,

is only a question of degree and not of kind ; though the

1 50 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
degree may be so great as to appear to us to be altogether
of a di fferent kind All ma tter bei n g Pri mordi a l S u bs ta nce
.
,

n oth i n g be ma n i fes ted i n i t whi ch d oes

ca n n ot bel ong to tha t
R oot Pri n ci el e i n a n a bs olu te d egree .

Accepting then this fundamental prin ciple and applying

, , ,

it to consciousness we find that the primary d i ffi cul ty — like

,

that of motion— is not one of degree but of kind Scientists , .

have no difficulty in accepting the fundamental principle

that motion is i nherent in Pr i mordial Substance and that ,

it is indestructible and eternal while at the same time they

recognise that any particular phenomenon is simply a matter
of quantity or degree of motion And in regard to con .

s ci ou s n es s it is not a question as to whether more or less

,

complicated organisms — i n which term we must now include

physical molecules and atoms— can exhibit more or less
consciousness any more than they can exhibit more or less
,

motion We have the fact before us that they do so The

. .

real question is : how can any organism whatsoever from ,

the sim plest to the most complex from the primordial atom ,

to man himself exhibit a ny motion or a ny consciousness at

,

all unless both of these are inherent in and inseparable from

,

that Root Principle which I S the Universe and which we at ,

present term Primordial Substance

In order to S im plify the question let us reduce our idea ,

of consciousness to the S implest possible terms and deal ,

with it merely as awareness Let us then fix our attention

on a simple primor di al atom on a S imple vortex -
.

ring and
, ,

as k ourselves how can such an atom be a wa re of the presence

or contact of other atoms of something external to itself ?
,

It comes into collision with another atom let us say and its , ,

motion is thereby modified ; how is that modification of

motion translated into con s ci ou s n es s ? Can we conceive in
any way how that modification of motion can be in that
atom a s en s a ti on ? But if we cannot conceive of this—o i
at least a rudimentary form or degree of consciousness as
inherent i n that atom — how can we possibly conceive that a '

mere aggregation of such atoms or vortex - rings can give rise

to more awareness to more sensation ? Even Haeckel as
, ,

already remarked has perceived the incongruity of attribut i ng

,

to a complex of atoms anything which is different in kind

from that which the atoms themselves possess and he therefore ,

endows his atoms with a rudimentary form of sensation

 CONSCIOUSNESS 1 51

or will . This does not however help us in the least with

, ,

the ultimate and final question When we push it right .

back to our primordial atom we have still to ask how can

, ,

th a t be conscious even in the most rudimentary degree ?

,

If the primordial whirl is merely motion of dea d Substance ,

no possible complex or aggregation of it can ever make a

living body much less a living soul— unless indeed we postulate
,

that life is something wholly independent of Substance :

which is at present outside of our hypothesis Motion of .

unconscious Substance can never give rise to consciousness .

No number of dead dogs will ever make a living one No .

number of fermentations will ever make a livin g s oul ,

though they may make a ve ry active carcass .

But consciousness must inhere in something ; we can no

more conceive of consciousness apart from something which
i s conscious than we can conceive of motion apart from
something which moves : In this respect consciousness and
motion are on exactly the same terms Let us treat the .

question so and see how it works out

To take motion fi rs t-let us ask what alternatives we
, .

have as to the origin of motion or its relation to Primordial

,

Substance .

We may advance three propositions .

( )
a Motion is inherent or innate in Primordial Substance .

It is the na tur e of Primordial Substance to have motion and ,

such motion is eternal and indestructible .

(b) Primordial Substance is capable of initiating its own

motions .

()
0 There is some power outside or beyond Primordial
Substance which can act upon it and cause motion .

Hypothesis (c) we shall at once rej ect It is only throwing .

the questio n one step further back and is dualistic not , ,

monistic .

Hypothesis ( b) can neither be a ffirmed nor re j ected .

Possibly there may be a sense in which Primordial Substance

does initiate its own motions This would be so in any case
.

“
in which we might legitimately use the phrase in the
beginning In so far as absolute motion is in its phenomenal
.
,

aspect only relative motion — but in its absolute aspect is no

,

motion at a ll— we might say that when phenomena arise ,

that which appears to us under the form of limited or

phenomenal motion is originated by Primordial Substance .
1 52 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM

On the other hand we must re j ect such a statement from the

,

point of view of the absolute conservation of motion .

There remains hypothesis (a ) which is certainly the one

,

most i n line with science and philosophy In acc ordance .

wi th this we should define Primordial Substance as a n active

moving Principle whose n a tu re it is to have moti on
, .

This would explain to u S fully and completely why all

matter is associated with a definite quantity of motion or .

energy All matter i s Primordial Substance and it is the

.
,

essence of that Substance to have motion Without such .

motion ther e could be no phenomena no obj ective world , .

All individual phenomena -are — qu d phenomena — simply

d egrees or modes of motion That which s u.b-s ta n d s motion ,

that which is the e fficient ca u s e of the whole phenomenal

Universe of motion must Itself possess the principle or
,

attribute of motion in an absolute degree .

Let us now treat consciousness on the same lines We .

shall again have three possible propositions .

( )
a Consciousnes s is inherent or innate in Primordial
Substance It is the n a ture of Primordial Substance to be
.

conscious and such consciousness is eternal and indestructible

, .

( ) Primordial Substance may initiate consciousness gba ri

b
p a s s u with an initiation of its own motions .

(c) There is a Power outside and beyond Primordial

Substance which can endow or create conscio usness in the
forms of motion which it also ca u s es .

Hypothesis (0) we S hall rej ect for consciousness on exactly

the same grounds as we have rej ected it for motion If we .

postulate such a Power in either case we have the question ,

of the relation of Primordia l Substance itself to that Power

its creation or otherwise— still un so lved We have a duality .

of ultimate Principles instead of a Unity .

Hypothesis ( b) can be treated in exactly the same way

as its corresponding one for motion Absolute Consciousness .

is unconsciousness but when the Absolute appears under the

,

guise of the relative consci ousness in varied forms may appear

,

to be initiated .

Hypothesis ( a ) we must accept as the only one which will

harm onise with the scientific and philosophical pri nciples
already advanced Primordial Substance is an active Con
.

scious Principle it is the n a ture of Primo rdial Substance to

be conscious Strictly speaking the nature of the One Ab s ol
.
,
 CONSCIOUSNESS 1 53

ute Noumenon is neither consciousness nor unconsciousness ,

neither subj e ct nor obj ect ; but since consciousness as Subj ect ,

and Primordial Substance as Obj ect rise together and are , ,

complementary or reciprocal— Primordial Substance being

that in or t h rough which consciousness is manifested— we
may consider it as being itself a Conscious Principle Con .

s ci ous n es s and Prim ordial Substance in their ultimate analysis

are indistinguishable from Absoluteness Itself for the absolute ,

motion of Primordial Substance as such is also absolute ,

consciousness .

Primordial Substance we must therefore now treat not , ,

merely as the substrate of motion but also as the substrate ,

of consciousness Combining our definition of it in terms of

.

motion with our definition in terms of consciousness we find ,

that : Primordial Substance is an Active Living Moving

Conscious Principle It is the Root of all that has appeared
.
,

or does appear or can appear as Phenomena

, .

It is perhaps natural to think of the term S u bs ta n ce

rather from a material than from a metaphysical poin t of
view ; and indeed we have been gradually working our way
, ,

up to it from an analysis of physical matter and phenomena .

But Primordial Substance Itself clearly cannot be matter ,

for matter is only a form of motion therein We must not .

lose S ight of the fact that the term S u bs ta n ce means S i mply

that which sub - stands or stands under It is the root or .

substrate of phenomena rather than phenomena itself .

Seeing that Consciousness and Phenomenon or Subj ect and ,

Obj ect arise toget h er as motion of Primordial Substance

, ,

and are mutually interdependent or correlative : Primordial

Substance may be considered to be that which sub - stands
Consciousness as well as Matter In this sense it is not .

distinguishable from the Absolute Noumenon Itself ; indeed

it has been used as a term for the Absolute by some p h i los o
p h ers
. There is no obj ection to this if the purely philosophical
or metaphysical meaning of the term is kept in view but t here ,

is always a d anger of this being lost S ight of in the more

material meaning of the term Such indeed is the case in .
, ,
’
Haeckel s use of it to which we shall presently have to refer
,
.

We have seen that the disintegration of the physical atom

liberates an enormous amount of energy or motion and we ,

have further seen in our last chapter that if we think of this

, ,

process as continued right back to Primordial Substance we ,

1 54 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM

may conceive of a number of ultimate S imple vortex - rings

as constituting the matter or atoms of the highest Plane ,

each atom havin g alm ost absolute motion As having almos t .

absolute motion they will also have almost absolute con

,

s ci o u s n es s
. If we conceive finally of these atoms themselves
breaking up we S hall then have nothing left but absolute
,

motion and absolute consciousness .

There is no difficulty whatever and apart from all meta ,

physical speculation i n thus conceiving of Consciousness

,

and Phenomena as arising simultaneously in M oti on of Prim

ordial Substance ; and it gives us the C lue to the fact that
not merely does all matter all ob j ective phenomena involve , ,

motion but that it also involves some form of life and con
,

s ci ou s n es s — a conclusion at which science now appears to be

in a fair way of arriving .

Every form of motion then of Primordial Substance , ,

’
may be regarded on the one hand as an obj ect as a thing , ,

on whatever Plane it may exist ; and on the other hand

it is a defi nite form of consciousness : it corresponds in con
s ci ous n es s to a definite i dea A thought is ce rtam a .

thing on its own Plane as a definite motion of Primordial

,

Substance ; and on the highest or Spiritual Plane in the ,

Archetypal World things may well be pure Ideas even

, ,

as old Plato taught .

Primordial Substance considered as the substrate of Motion

, ,

is an infinite ocean of Motion ; considered as the substrate

of Consciousness it is an infinite ocean of Consciousness
, .

We cannot impute consciousness to one part of it or to one ,

form of motion and not to another Forms of motion being

, .

necessarily li mi ted may and do disclose limited forms of con

,

s ci ou s n es s ; but all consciousness in whatever form owes , ,

its existence like motion to the inherent inalienable nature

, ,

of Primordial Substance Itself .

In all cases therefore where we can recogn ise conscious

, ,

ness as inhering in any particular form of matter —as

well as in all cases where as yet we do not recogn ise i t— there
will be a complete parallelism between the obj ective form
and the subj ective consciousness and though we are a very - ‘

long way from knowing what the particular forms of motion

involved in an atom or a brain cell really are it is commonly ,

acknowledged that wherever consciousness is recognised as

located in such cells such a parallelism does exist ; indeed
,
 CONSCIO U SNESS 1 55
.

the whole argument for Materialism is supposed to be founded

upon this fact .

Consciousness in its relation to Matter or Substance

, ,

must in fact be either a b ext a or a b i ntra I f the former

r
, .
,

then we have only arrived at a dualistic conception of the

U niverse If the latter then we must adopt in the fullest
.
,

and completest manner the great Truth which Herbert

Spencer appears to have intuitively sensed in his later years
though never completely grasped in an intellectual manner
—that Consciousness like Motion is Omnipresent
, . It
cannot however be omnipresent ,
in some rudimentary
form . The Causeless Cause of Motion is not a form of Motion
rudimentary or otherwise So also the Causeless Cause
.

oi
'

Consciousness is not a form of Consciousness but Con

,

s ci ou s n es s itself .

B ut the view we are now advancing breaks down com

p l e t el y the barrier between Materia li sm and Idealism ; and
this position we must now proceed to consider somewhat
more in detai l .
C H APT E R VI I I

V IDEALISM
 ’
I t i s wor th an y a m oun t o f tr ou b l e to kn ow by on e s o wn kn ow
l ed g e t h e g r e a t t ru th t h a t t h e h on e s t and ri g or o u s foll owi n g up of th e
’
a r g u m en t s w hi ch l e a d us to m a t eri a li s m i n evi ta b l y c a rr i e s us

it .
—T H H U XL E Y
. . .
 C HA P T E R V I I I

M ATE R I ALI S M v . I D E A LI S M

E XTRE ME S meet If we can really see in what way

.

they meet we S hall be enabled to hold ourselves in that

balanced position which is essential to all real sanity which ,

consists fundamentally in viewing things in their proper

relation and proportion and which is denied to the man
,

who can only see one extreme .

Eve ry statement of truth is necessarily made from a parti

cul a r point of view In a universe where everything depends
.

for its very existence upon some particular relation to some

’
thing else where a thing is only known by its relations
’
to other things there is necessarily a limitation many
, ,

limitations implied in any state ment whatsoever as to the

,
’
n a tur e of that thing In any s tatement of truth there
.
,

fore i t is necessary to understand the limitations implied

,

in the particular point of V iew from which any particular

statement I S made .

We may be perfectly j ustified indeed in the common , ,

use of language in saying that a thing i s so and so when

, ,

we really know that we are only talking of its appearance .

We say that the sky is blue whereas in fact there is no such

,
’
thing as a sky at all ; and if there were the blueness ,

would not be in the sky but in our consciousness Physical

, .

science is able to make definite statements which are per

fe ctly true as statements of the way in which certain
.

phenomena are apprehended by us in our normal states of

consciousness In doing this science mu st and can ignore
.
,

the larger question as to the validity of those phenomena as

phenomena extern a l to consciousness It takes no account of .

”
any Critique of Pure Reason of any question as to the real
,

nature of those fires en ta ti on s in consciousness which constitute

for us the sole criterion of the existence of an external world ,

apparently independent of consciousness itself .

1 59
 '
I t i s w or th an y a m ou n t o f trou b l e t o kn ow by on e s o wn kn ow
l e d g e t h e g r e a t t ru th t h a t t h e h on e s t and ri g or o u s foll owi n g up of th e
’
a r g u m en t s w h i ch lea d us to m a teri a l i s m i n evi ta b l y ca rr i e s us b e y on d
it .
-
T . H H U XL E Y
. .
 C HA P T E R V I I I

M ATE R I ALI S M v . I D E ALI S M

E XTRE ME S meet If we can really see in what way

.

they meet we S hall be enabled to hold ourselves in that

balanced position which is essential to all real sanity which ,

consists fundamentally in viewing things in their proper

relation and proportion and which is denied to the man
,

who can only see one extreme .

E ve ry statement of truth is necessarily made from a parti

cul a r point of view In a universe where everything depends
.

for its very existence upon some particular relation to some

’
thing else where a thing is only known by its relations
,
’
to other things there is necessarily a limitation many
‘
, ,

limitations i mplied in any statement whatsoever as to the

,
’
n a ture of that thing In any statement of truth there
.
,

fore i t is necessary to understand the limitations implied

,

in the particular p oint of view from which any particular

statement I S made .

We may be perfectly j ustified indeed in the common , ,

use of language in saying that a thing i s so and so when

, ,

we really know that we are only talking of its appearance .

We say that the sky is blue whereas in fact there is no such

,
’
thing as a sky at all ; and if there were the blueness ,

would not be in the sky but in our consciousness Physical

, .

science is able to make definite statements which are per

fectly true as statements of the way in which certain
phenomena are apprehended by us in our normal states of
consciousness In doing this science must and can ignore
.
,

the larger question as to the validity of those phenomena as

phenomena extern a l to consciousness It takes no account of .

”
any Critique of Pure Reason of any question as to the real
,

nature of those fires enta ti on s in consciousness which constitute

for us the sole criterion of the existence of an external world ,

apparently independent of consciousness itself .

1 59
1 60 SCIENTI F IC IDEALISM

Science is in fact within its own province essentially

, , ,

R ea li s ti c ; and when this is clearly understood it is seen that

n o amount of Idealism can destroy the legitimate Realism of

science ; nor can any amount of Realism destroy the leg i ti

mate Idealism of a deeper and wider inquiry into the funda
mental nature of the relation between Subj ect and Obj ect .

Idealism in practical life must descend to Realism :

otherwise it breeds a strange disease of imagination and
language Realism attempting to become metaphysical to
.
,
’
explain consciousness in terms of matter and force o er ,

leaps itself and falls on the other (S ide) .

Such an a t tempt is usually termed Materialism ; and

it is necessary before we proceed to the more constructive
,

part of the scientific concrete or empirical Idealism which

, , ,

we are here endeavouring to elucidate that we should clear ,

the ground by considering the alternative position of scientific

Realism or Materialism .

The part which Life and Consciousness —i ndividual and

collective — plays in the great Cosmic Drama may be con
s i d er e d mainly in three w a ys each of which is in strong
,

cont rast with the others .

The first of these is Realism or Materialism the second

is Supern aturalism and the third is Idealism .

These three correspond broadly to three distinct stages

in the life of the individual and of the Race In the fi rs t .

or earliest st a ge the mere appearance of things is accepted

as a reality Things are to the individual S imply what they
.

appear to be It is the stage of the chil dhood of the Race

.

and the individual The fact that a few of the ablest scientists
.

have been professed Materi alists does not al t er the general

principle that the acceptance of the external worl d a t its
, _ _

own valuation so to S peak comes firs t in the order of the

“

, ,

evolutionary history both of the Race an d of the individual .

The fundamental proposition of Materia lism is that the ,

p r es en ta ti on which we have i n consciousness of an external

world is true ; things are mainly what they seem Matter .

and force as we know them — as apparently constituting a

definite universe altogether independent of any cognising
consciousness — are the only R ea li ty ; and all phenomena ,

including consciousness itself are explicable by them , .

Li fe a n d Consciousness in this view have no re lation to

the Cosmic Process as a whole That process is a purely .
 MATERIALISM V . IDEALISM 1 61

mechanical one and Life and Consciousness are ca us ed or

, ,

produced by mere mechanical motions of matter or Sub

,

stance They result on ly from certain more or less complex

.

combinations of atoms and molecul es Matter in its ultimate .

analysis is what it appears to us to be i e something pos s essing , . .

,

mass or inertia and extension in space Life and Consciousness

, .

are only incidents in the aggregation of matter which we call

our Earth and possibly of other G lobes in space— provided
,

the condit i ons of temperature etc are suitable i e a p p rox i ,

.
, , . .
,

mate to our own When our Globe fina lly falls into the Sun
.
,
’
or freezes out by reason of the ces s ation of the Sun s heat
that is S imply an end of the vast process which has evolved
M a n out of primitive protoplasm primordial slime or cosmic
s ta r f-
, ,

dust The process has no meaning ; it subserves no

.

cosmic purpose it had no desi gn to commence with and it ,

’
leads nowhere Such is the Ma teri a li s t s bald bare theory
.
l , .

Th e second theory the second stage in man s evolving

’
,

mentality and outlook on the universe a round him and his ,

u nderstanding of his relation thereto : I S that of S uper

naturalism .

It arises in the dawning conviction of the individual that

things a re not altogeth er what they seem and that they ,

are inadequate in their mere appearance to explain their

own existence A Power is therefore sought for who co uld
.

make the u niverse ; and that Power is naturally in the first ,

instanc e merely a magnified human being The growing self

, .

consc
— i ousnes s of the individual the intuitive feeling of ,

SO meth i n g higher and nob ler in his own n ature than what
is expressed in the mere physical man gives rise to all the ,

varied forms of religion expressive of a moral obligation,

towards this supernatural Power or Deity To Su per .

n aturalism therefore belongs all dualistic and theistic doctrines

, ,

and systems It is essentially a theory which postulates a

.

s p i ri tu a l order of things outside and independent of the

,

mater i al world ; ope rating in th e material world certainly ,

but still doing so as somethin g essentially other than the

material world doing so in fact by the will of a D i vine Being
, ,

the Cosmic Process having no necessary relation as a Process , ,

to the N a ture of that Being .

Thirdly we have that view of Life a n d Consciousness

, ,

and the relation of the Cosmi c Process thereto which may ,

be broadly termed Idealism but which is hardly su fficiently ,

1 1
1 62 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
expressed by that word in its scholastic sense though it must
be held to include all those forms of idealistic philosophy
which postulate that Consciousness is the Reality and that
-
,

Matter has only as it were a pseudo reali ty as a product or

, ,

process of Consciousness .

But the Ide a lism which we wo ul d here elucidate includes

very much more than is usuall y un derstood by that term
i n a philosophical sense It include s as we shall hope to
.
,

S how in a subsequent chapter the highest form and expression,

of a religion of experience .

It is the view which definitely i n d en ti fi es Life and Con

s c i ou s n es s wi th the Cosmic Process in the sense that that ,

Process is essentially t h e expression of a Unitary Principle

‘

whose Nature or B ei n g is to express Itself in such a Process .

Thus the Universe exists for and because of Life and

Consciousness which are universal Principles and determining
,

Causes .

It does n ot follow however that Consciousness and

, ,

Matter are related as cause and effect in the sense in which

we commonly employ these terms ; for Consciousness and
Matter may be two aspects of one and the same thing ,

S imultaneously arising and simultaneously existing But Life .

a nd Consciousness are certainly ca u s es in this sense that ,

without them there could be no Cosmic Process at all .

Thus I dealism I s the direc t antithesis o f Materialism which ,

postulates that the Cosmic Process exi sts al together inde

pendently of any Principle havi ng in Itself as its innate or ,

in herent nature that which wells up in our own nature as

,

Consciousness .

Idealis m arises in the understand i ng and conviction that

things are n ot what they seem ; and also that the Power
which lies behind the mere appearance of things is not
ou ts i d e of those things but inherent or innate in them
, that
they are not mere arbitrary creations of that Power but a ,

necessary and inevitable expression of Its very Natur e and

Being .

An d with the understanding of this comes also the under

standing that our own individual life and consciousness ,

like all else in the Universe must necessarily be rooted in the

,

larger Life and Consciousness of that Eternal Power which

I S the Universe .

Extremes meet What then is the meeting -

. ground of
, ,
 MATERIALISM V . IDEALISM 1 63

the two extremes of Idealism and Materialism It is found

in the fundamental concept of an Absolute Primordial Sub
stance or Noumenon wh i ch we have endeavoured to elucidate ,

in the last chapter ; in the concept that Consciousness like ,

Motion is innate or inherent in such Substance that in fact

, , , ,

this Motion is on the one hand Consciousness or Subj ect and on ,

the other hand Matter or Obj ect the one being the comple
ment or correlative of the other .

No abstract metaphysical concept is involved in this

idea ; it is one which may be grasped and understood by
every one It is based upon our common experience and
.

language and supported by certain fundamental scientific

,

principles .

Motion must inhere in s ometh i n g and so must Conscious ,

ness We simply cannot conceive of either Motion or Con

.

s ci ou s n es s without some substantial basis or substrate ;

wit h out something which moves and something which ,

is conscious It is only when we begin to enquire into the

.

ultimate nature of that Something a n d endeavour to formulate ,

the particular way in which the Cosmic Process arises therein ,

or is related thereto that we come into the difficult and intricate

,

region o f formal or academic philosophy and metaphysics .

We have no intentio n in this volume of entering therein ,

or of inquiring into the how and the why of Primal Causes .

We desire rather to present the highest achievement of

philosophy the noblest ideal which has e ver been reached
,

by Man as to his real intrinsic nature — the oneness that is , ,

of his o wn life and consciousness with that Divine Principle

which is the Life and Consciousness of ALL— i n such terms as
'

to be understandable without any special philosophic or

scientific training ; to present a working hypothesis based ,

upon scientific principles which S hall enable those who have ,

perhaps as yet only d i mly perceived this great Truth to advance ,

boldly towards a practical realisation of it in their own life

and consciousn ess .

C onsciousness in any form in which we can know or under

,

stand it is essentially a relation of Subj ect and Obj ect of a

, ,

knower and that which is known Consciousness in order to

»

. .
,

know itself in order to rea li s e itself requires as it were to

, ,

pro j ect itself outwards in an external form We all desire that .

our ideals S hall become realities ; that that which is internal

and subj ective which exists as part of our inner nature as
, ,
1 64 S CI ENTF I C IDEALISM

feeling or desire S hall b ecrne reali sed as some external fact

,

in our life either here 0 hereafter We are not satisfied

,
.

with a vague S hadowy s ojecti ve ideal ; it must needs be

, ,

placed before us in an obj et ive form .

These ideas or ideals a i surely part of o ur s elf inasmuch ,

as they are not merely par t i the contents of our consciousness ,

but are ruling and d ete rrmin g forces in our whole life and
conduct .

Now this external world f form— this obj ect world in which
thoughts and ideas become hings — we have found at root to ‘

consist of forms of m oti on n and of Primordial Substance ;

and in so far as we call th i te x t ern a l world a world of m a tter ,

we see that the last and fia l definition of matter must be

that aspect of Primordial S b s t a n ce which is objecti ve to Con
s c i o us n es s to the thinking s tin g Subj ect
, , .

What now of that S u b jct itself of that s omethi n g which ,

i s conscious Do we need t go b eyond Primordial Substance

in order to find it wh e th e we are Materiali sts or whether
,

we are Idealists
The Materialist certa i n lyd oes not go beyond it because ,

his fundamental propositio i s precisely that it is matter

itself which is conscious ; tht the Whole phenomena of life
consciousness thought emti on etc —are in their last
, , , .
,

analysis motion of materia atoms : chemical and physical

,

changes in organic s ub s t a n cs Organ i sms brain cells etc .

, , .
,

can think and reason a b Ot their own existence and the ,

existence of obj ects other than themselves Their own .

motions constitute their ow c onsciousness .

Now so long as physical ra tter was considered to be some

,

thing s u i g en eri s so long as i twa s considered to be i n d es tru ct

ible as physical matter th e rtc o u ld be no meetin g-
,

, ground for
Materialism and Idealism h t the question assumes a very .

different aspect as soon as we aa li s e that matter is resolvable

into an eternal Root Pri n ci p l or S u bs ta n ce which certainly is
n ot physical matter nor a n y I i n g which possesses any of the
,

qualities which we ascribe to h y s i ca l matter ; that it has in ,

fact j ust as much right to be C LlC d Spirit as to be called Matter

,

— physical matter being only a ert a i n form in which Conscious

ness apprehends this u n i vers a h n ch a n g e a b l e Substance When .

this i s understood it i s s ee that i n postulating that it

,

" —
is matter itself i e Pri m rd i a l Substance — which thinks
.
,

and is conscious Ma teri al i s n i s contending for exactly the

,
 MATERIALISM V . I iEALI S M 1 65

same thing as Idealism it contends h a t is to say that Prim , ,

ordial Substance is Sub j ect as well a O b ject .

What then is the relation betwen Primordial Substance

, ,

considered as Subj ect and the s a m eS ub s t a n ce considered as

,

Ob j ect ? What can it be but that f the Universal Subj ect , ,

the Universal Self obj ecti vi s i n g I ts e : rea li s i n g the contents

’ ’

of Its own Nature I t S own Con s ou s n es s in an external

, ,

manner as a world of matter an form ? And what is

p ostulated thus as the action 0 the Universal Subj ect
or Self is precisely what we find 1 every individual self
the ever- present des ire to express itsel f in outward form ,

the desire to r ea li s e its own n a t u I to make an i dea into

a th i ng .

But besides this outgoing en erv this centrifugal force , ,

there is also possibly in the Univers : Self as in the in d ividual ,

self an ingo i ng or centripetal form It is j ust possible that

,

in the highest as in the lowest the i is a n eg a ti on in external

things as well as an a ffi rm ation i l l l i fe is a question and .

answer It is the great question what am I ? continually

.

as k e d continually answered in an o l cti ve external worl d : but

,
e

j ust as continually negated almost soon as it is answered ;

negated that is by a much lrg er and more complete
, ,

a ffi rmation .

Always the answer is : I am I n this and not that ; I am

something more ; and still more gain And so life seeks .

ever for more life and c on s ci ous ns s for more consciousness

, ,

and one ideal fades to give place 3 another— until we have

learnt to recognise shadow from substance until we have ,

finally realised that subj ect and b ject are on e Of this i .

,

however we must treat more fuy in our later chapte rs ;

,

it concerns the reli gious aspect o t he question ; but at this

point it may a fford us a hint as to 1 e eternal ceaseless activity
of Primordial Substance con s i d e d as both Subj ect and '

Ob j ect considered as the Etern a Self eternally realising I tS

,

own Nature ; an eternal a ffi rm a on of Itself in the great

Cosmic Process : an eternal n eg a t n by the individual selves i

of their separate or individual na rre .

Now this process whether on S i d e r e d obj ectively or

~
,

subj ectively is es sentially M oti or It is at the present day

,

an undisputed scientific fact tha ; very act of consciousness : ,

so far as it is associated with m y physical organism is ,

accompanied by definite change of structure of a physical

1 64 SCIEN TIFIC IDEALISM

feeling or desire shall become realised as some external fact

,

in our life either here or hereafter We are not sat i sfied

,
.

with a vague shadowy subj ective ideal ; it must needs be

, ,

placed before us in an obj ective form .

These ideas or ideals are su rely part of our s elf inasmuch ,

as they are not merely part of the contents of our consciousness ,

but are ruling and determining forces in our whole life and
conduct .

Now this external world of form— this ob j ect world in which

thoughts and ideas become things — we have found at root to
consist of forms of motion in and of Primordi al Substance ;
and in so far as we call this external world a world of m a tter ,

we see that the last and final de fi nition of matter must be

that aspect of Primordial Substance which is objecti ve to Con
s ci o u s n es s to the thinking acting Subj ect
, , .

What now of that Subj ect itself of that s omethi n g which ,

i s conscious Do we need to go beyond Primordial Substance

in order to find it whether we are Materialists or whether
,

we are Idealists
The Materialist certainly does not go beyond it because ,

his fundamental proposition is precisely that it is matter

itself whi ch is conscious ; that the whole phenomena of life
consciousness thought emotion etc —are in their last
, , , .
,

analysis motion of material atoms : chemical and physical

,

C hanges in organic substan ces Organisms brain cell s etc .

, , .
,

can think and reason about their own existence and the ,

existence of obj ects other than themselves Their own .

motions constitute their own c onsciousness .

Now so long as physical matter was considered to be some

,

thing s u i g en eri s so long a s it was considered to be i n d es tru ct

i b le as physical matter there could be no meeting-
,

ground for
,

Materialism and Idealism But the question assum es a very .

di fferent aspect as soon as we realise that matter is resolvable

into an eternal Root Principle or S u bs ta n ce which certainly is
n ot physical matter nor anything which possesses any of the
,

qualities which we ascribe to physical matter ; that it has in ,

fact j ust as much right to be called Spirit as to be called Matter

,

—physical matter being only a certain form in which Conscious

ness apprehends this universal unchangeable Substance When .

this i s understood it is seen that i n postulating that it

,

is matter itself— i e Primordial S ubstance — which thinks

‘
. .
,

and i s conscious Materialism is contending for exactly the

.
,
 MATERIALISM V . IDEALISM 65

sa me thing as Idealism it contends that is to say that Prim , ,

ordial Substance is Subj ect as well as Obj ect .

Wh at then is the relation between Primordial Substance

, ,

considered as Subj ect and the same Substance considered as

,

Obj ect ? What can it be but that of the Universal Subj ect, ,

the Universal Self objecti vi s i n g Itself : rea li s i n g the contents

,

of Its o wn Nature Its own Consciousness in an external

, ,

manner as a world of matter and form ? And what is

postulated thus as the action of the Universal Subj ect
or Se l f is precisely what we find in every individual self
the ever- present desire to express itsel f in outward form ,

the desire to rea li s e its own nature to make an i d ea into ,

a th i ng .

But besides this outgoing energy this centrifugal force , ,

there is also possibly in the Universal Self as in the in d ividual ,

self an ingoing or centripetal force It is j ust possible that

, .

in the highest as in the lowest there is a neg a ti on in external

things as well as an a ffi rmation All life is a question and .

answer It is the great question what am I ? continually

.
,

aske d continually answered in an obj ective external worl d : but

,

j ust as continually negated almost a soon as it is answered ;

negated that is by a much larger and more complete
, ,

a ffi rmation .

Always the answer is : I am not this and not that ; I am

something more ; and still more again And so life seeks .

ever for more life and consciousness for more consciousness

, ,

and one ideal fades to give place to another— until we have

learnt to recognise shadow from substance until we have ,

finally realised that subj ect and obj ect are on e Of this .
,

however we must treat more fully in our later C hapte rs ;

,

it concerns the religious aspect of the question but at this

point i t may a fford us a hint as to the eternal ceaseless activity
of Primordial Substance considered as both Subj ect and
Obj ect considered as the Eternal Self eternally realising Its
,

own Nature ; an eternal a ffirmation of Itself in the great

Cosmic Process : an eternal negation by the individual selves
of their sepa rate or individual nature .

Now this process whether considered obj ectively or,

subj ectively is essentially M oti on It is at the present day

,
.

an undisputed scientific fact that every act of consciousness ,

so far as it is associated with any physical organism is ,

accompanied by definite changes of structure of a physical

1 66 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
and Chemical nature in that organism In other words .
,

there is a complete p a ra ll eli s m between C hanges of states of

matter and changes of states of consciousness .

This fact was formerly supposed to be conclusive for the

Materialistic position but it is now seen to mean j ust as much
,

for Ideali sm as it does for Materialism As a matter of fact .

,

whatever the ultimate nature of Matter might be conceived

to be Materialism s tul ti fi es itself in its own primary post ul ate
,
.

For if Matter— or Substance — i s the conscious thinking

Subj ect which we are seeking then it certainly i s n ot what
,

Materialism conceives it to be namely a dead in ert some , ,

thin g only moved by mechanical forces In postulating that .

Matter i s conscious Materialism cuts away the ground from

,

beneath its own feet Matter or Substance cannot be at

.
, ,

one and the same time both dead and alive neither if it is ,

a Unity can it be dead or alive in p a rts

, .

Wherever we recognise consciousness then as i n h erI n g I n , ,

any physical form of matter in any organism we find a , ,

complete parallelism of motion and consciousness ; we find

that moti on is in fact obj ectively what we call physical and
, ,

chemical changes in matter whilst sub j ectively it is con

,

s ci ous n es s . There a re however a large number of phenomena

,

in what is commonly called dead matter in inorganic ,

substances and in the Operation of cosmic forces with which

, ,

we do not associate any form of consciousness The con .

s ci o u s n es s in an atom like the motion is too small for us to

, ,

recognise the consciousness associated with t h e great Cosmic

Processes is too vast Nevertheless each requires in its
.

own degree and kind some measure of that which is th e

inherent nature of Primordial Substance Itself of whose
'
,

activity i t is a part .

Consciousness also is essentiall y a change of state a flux ,

or moti on in the conscious Subj ect Even t h e most abstract .

form of consciousness of which we can conceive a pure emotion , ,

necessitates in our thought an activity of some k ind in the

Subj ect The parallelism between the changes of states of
.

matter —the Obj ect —and those changes of states in th e

Sub j ect which constitutes consciousness being admitted ,

we see quite C learly that any particular motion of Primordial

Substance is at one and the same time Consciousness when
considered sub j ectively— from the point of view of the Subj ect
or Se lf— and Matter when considered obj ectively— from
 MATERIALISM V . IDEALISM 1 67

the point of view of another Sub j ect or of the same Sub j ect ,

contemp lating its own changes of state .

Even when I think of my own thoughts though these ,

are not ob j ective to my physical senses they are still my ,

’
thoughts and not me and are therefore something which , ,

stands in relation to me as obj ect to sub j ect .

’
Take now any living organism that is to say any
‘

, ,

complex of matter in which we infer consciousness The .

inference of the existence of consciousness in that organism

is made from the existence of certain spontaneous motions
response to stim ul us locomotion assimilation reproduction
, , , ,

etc We have no direct knowledge of any consciousness in

.

that organism : that is to say we have no direct participation

in the consciousness of that organism it is to us a not -
,

self , , .

We attribute consciousness to it as an inference from what

we know of our own states and corresponding actions We .

can really know nothing outside of our own states of con

,

s ci ous n es s Even the existence of that organism as something

.

really external to ourselves cannot be proved : it is only by a

convention of language that we speak of it as a not - self .

Our use of this convention is dependent upon the limitation

which we ordinarily ascribe to the individual self .

Such an external obj ect or organism must in fact e ffect , ,

certain changes in our state of consciousness by way of

various correlations of energy— light sound e tc — and finally , , , ,

certain physical and chemical changes in the grey matter

of our brain before we can be a wa re of it at all What we
are really aw
.
,

are of however is the change in our own sub

, ,

j ec t i v e s elf and we refer this C hange by inference only and by

l i mi ta ti on to another sub j ect— a not -
, ,

self
In making our observations upon another organism -say
.
,

another brain— we regard that brain as object only ; and as ,

such the motions which we are able to trace therein are for
,

us merely physical and chemical changes of the grey matter

of which it is constituted ; whereas for the Subj ect within ,

or behind that brain these same motions constitute its changes

,

in states of consciousness We must be careful to note . ,

however that these physical changes are not the whole of

,

the motions involved in those changes No motion or change .

whatsoever in physical matter can take place without

corresponding motions and changes on the Etheric Plane ;
nor ca n these take place without corresponding changes and
1 68 SCIENTIFI C IDEALISM
motions on a still higher Plane ; and so on right up to the ,

highest or Spiritual Plane What this involves we shall

.
,

endeavour to elucidate more clearly in a Subsequent C hapter .

If that other brain be supposed to turn its attention to

us then that which to us is consciou s ness or involves in our
, ,

Subj ect a change in its state of consciousness will be for the ,

other or alien consciousness merely motion of matter : from

which it will probably infer a conscious subj ect existing in or
behind that obj ective state of matter which we call our brain .

So far the position is perfectly C lear and we are in agree ,

ment with every fact which Materialism or physical science , ,

or physiological psychology can bring forward Indeed we .

are prepared to accept very much more than has yet been
discovered or proved ; such for instance as the S pontaneous
, ,

generation of living organisms from inorganic matter We .

are prepared to accept this and very much more simply

, ,

because we push the facts which we already have before

us to their logical conclusion and postulate that though
,

there is certainly a distinction between living and dead

org a n i s ms there is no distinction between living and dead
,

ma tter .Al l matter i s Primordial Substance and as such it ,

is in every individual fo rm of motion the activity of a Living

, ,

Principle and is conscious in its o wn proper degree and kind

, , .

Primordial Substance is Universal Sub j ect as well as

Universal Obj ect and as such It is not merely the Root and
, ,

Source of every individual form of consciousness which we

may at pr esent be capable of recognising but It is an Infinite ,

Consciousness from which no part of the manifested Cosmos

can ever be separated in Reality .

We infer in others only what we know in ourselves When .

we have le arnt to identify ourselves with something more

than mere sense impressions and surface consciousness ,

something more than mere physical and chemical Changes

of matter ; when we have learnt to identify ourselves with
those higher forms of motion of Primordial Substance which
constitute the matter of the higher Planes and the vehicle ,

’
of our o wn deeper subconscious or subliminal self then
, ,

wi ll open out to us in obj ective form that larger universe

which at present enters only vaguely into our consciousness
as if coming fr om wi thi n as subj ective and not obj ective
,
.

But we have also to learn that what now appears to come

from without is in rea lity also wi thi n Nothing can be
, .
 MATERIALISM V . IDEALISM 1 69

obj ectivised by consciousness which does not first of all exist

in c onsciousness in the transcendental Subj ect And if at
, .

present this appears to be untrue as regards our individual

consciousness it is only so because we have not yet learnt
,

the true range and extent o f the real Self Those who are .

familiar with the important results which have been obtained

in recent years by a scientific study of certain abnormal
phenomena of consciousness of the certainty which now ,

"
obtains that our normal consciousne s s is but a very small
fraction of our real conscious self : will have no diffi culty in
understanding what is here advanced The only question .

really is how deep is this subconscious or subliminal self ,

The answer which we here give is that it is as deep as the ,

Infinite Itself ; that the self in Man is One with the Infinite
Self ; that his consciousness opens out by natural continuity
on the Etheric Plane and beyond even to that highest Plane
,

of Absolute Consciousness wh ere ALL is known as an Eternal

No w .

What hinders then that at present we are S hut out from

, ,

this larger consciousness ? It is the province of Religion

to answer that question to tell us how to rebecome in con
,

s ci o u s n es s that from which we have never in reality been

separated a n d such religion must be a religion of experience

demonstrable to and by each individual-i n other words i t
,

must be s ci en ti fi c .

But as our consciousness thus expands we shall be able

to recognise other consciousnesses other Intelligences in , ,

’
forms of matter and cosmic processes where at present
‘

, ,

we only recognise blind mechanical forces which have no ,

S ignificance for us save as mere physical or C hemical changes

of matter or mechanical movements of cosmic bodies

,
.

This expansion of consciousness constitute s for the

i ndividual its evolu ti on The next step for ourselves is fore
.

shadowed in those abnormal phenomena to which we have

j ust referred and with which we S hall deal more fully in a
,

subsequent ch apter It has sometimes been described as the

.

possession of a Perhaps this may

be an admissible term in comparison with our present limita
tions possibly it is cosmic so far as our own par ticular Globe
is concerned or we might even stretch it to our Solar System .

But beyond are larger Systems Systems within Systems ; and ,

before us are Z E On S o f— what ? Shall we describe it as

1 70 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM

anything else than a process of infinite Self- Realisation for

what 1 5 the Cosmic Process if it be not the Infin ite Reali sation
of the Infinite Self
To disclose the natur e and co nditions of this individual
expansion or evolution is in its deepest and widest aspect
, ,

the province of Religion ; but Religion unsupported by science

or philosophy leads to strange forms of fanaticism credulity ‘

self-
, ,

deception and error We must not allow ourselves to

, .

soar to tran s cendental regions without first of a ll laying a

firm foundation in what we already know Truth is not .

attained by cutting ourselves adrift from experience but by ,

.

recogn ising the l imitations of experience All experience is .

true in its proper relation to the wh ole it is never true or

,

complete in itself In passing on to higher regions to a

.
,

fuller and deeper consciousness we S hall not abandon our ,

past experiences but transmute and illumine them with a

,

higher kn owledge .

It is not any s up ern a tu ra l world which we S hall enter in

any larger consciousness to which we shall ever attain but ,

one which is not merely a natural continuation of that in

which we are at present obj ectively conscious b ut which ,

interpe netrates and reacts with that world at every point

in space and at every moment of time one to which indeed
, , ,

our real Self our Higher Self already belongs ; from which
, ,

it has never been separated di d we but know and realise ,

this fundamental Truth that All Things exist in the Self

,
.

To know and realise this to know that all Powers in ,

Heaven or in Earth are ours by birthright as Sons of God ,

is the legitimate goal of all our e fforts of a ll our evolution ,

.

For evolution is essentially expansion of life It is the .

individual life ever becoming more and more at one with

that Infinite Life which lives and moves in ALL This is .

the golden thread of Truth which runs through all the great
World- Religions often obscured and lost indeed in man - made , ,

doctrines of heavens and hells by priestcraft and superstition

,

-
but none the less always to be found in the pure original
teachings To know an d to realise it is to know and to realise
.

”
eternal life .

But to do this we must identify ours el ves with that which

is ete rnal with that Li fe which expresses Itself in all forms
, ,

which moves and acts in ALL We cannot do this so long .

as we identify ourselves with a physical organis m only wit h ,

 MATERIALISM V . IDEALISM 1 71

a form which changes from moment to moment The Self .

with which we must identify ourselves is none other than

the Changeless Eternal Self Only in that Self which is the
.

inmost centre in us all can we see Truth fully revealed :

because in se eing everything from that point of V iew we see
everything in its proper relation and proportion as parts of
the One Great Whole .

Extremes meet I S it not now abundantly clear that

.

on the basis of one Absolute Principle or Primordial Substance, ,

which I S the U niverse — and in which that which we call m oti on

is on the one side Consciousness and on the other S ide Matter
,

it is all one whether we say with the Materialist that without

Matter there can be no Consciousness or with the Idealist ,

that without Consciousness there can be no Matter ?

This is however by no means all that appears in the
, ,

intimate relation of thes e two extremes Strangely enough .

we find direct confirmation of almost all the views which we

have now advanced in a well- known work by a German
Scientist of the highest reputation but professedly written
,

for the purpose of upholding the Materialistic position though

the author prefers to call his Materialism Monistic Philo
”
sophy .

We refer to the work of Professor Ernst Haeckel D a s

Welt-
,

R d th s el which has had a very large circulation in an

,

English s i xpenny edition under the title of Th e R i ddl e of th e

Un i vers e Some extracts and a brief criticism of that work
.

will serve admirably to elucidate several points in the f unda

mental concept of Primordial Substance and will pave the ,

way for the more constructive part of the Idealism which

we wish to present .

We S hall devote our next Chapter to Haeckel therefore ,

but in the meanwhile we wish to remark that the arguments

of Materialism may possibly be valid as against Supernatural
ism but not as against a Scientific Idealism which accepts
,

every fact which Materialism educes and which carries the ,

deductions from those facts to their logical conclusion .

With Supernaturalism we have no intention of dealing .

It has no real standing in science or philosophy n otwithstanding ,

that it bulks so largely in the religious history of the world .

Its ground is authority and tradition not experiment and ,

reason and it is the latter only with which we are here con
cerned Yet we must not overlook the fact that even Super
.
 the nature and C OHl t l l S of thi s individual
’

To disclose
evolution is in its ( 1 p e st a n d wi des t as pect
expansion or ,
,

the province of Religion but R e li g i unsup p o rted by science

leads to strange form > f fanaticism credu l ity
or philosophy , ,

attained by cutting ourselves adrift r m e x p e rience but by ,

the limitations of e x p e r u ce All e x pe rience is

recogn ising .

true in its proper relation to th e u l

,
it is never true or v

complete in itself In passing n .

higher regions to a
o 1 ,

full er and deeper consciousness u h a ll n o t abandon our

.

past experiences but transmut e a n i llu min e them with a

,

higher knowledge .

It is not any s up ern a tura l wo rl d l ich we shall enter in .

any larger consciousness to which h a ll e ver attain but s ,

one which is not merely a natur l a n t i n u a t i o n h

of t at i n

which we are at present ob ject i u c n s ci o us but which '

a ,

interpenetrates and reacts with t h rl d at every po nt

' i
.. o

in space and at eve ry moment of t i x n e to which i ndeed o , ,

,

our real Self our Higher Self a lrvzr b longs ; from which
,
,
' e

it has never been separated did l l t k n ow and re lis a e

‘

-
,

this fundamental Truth that All Thi ,

xis t i n the Se lfs c .

To know and realise this t k w t hat a ll Powers in

,
o

H eaven or in Earth are ours b v b i r t l 1 as Sons of God .

.

is the legitimate goal of all our t li I a ll our evolution

‘
t
.

For evolution is essentia ll y e x p a n n f life It is the o .

individual life ever becoming m n m l more at one with u

that Infinite Life which liv e s a n d in A L L This

1 is .

the golden thread of Truth which n m ug all the gre t

h a

World- Religions often obscured aud i t i n de e d in man made - ,

doctrines of heavens and hells by pri t and superstition

-
1 .

but none the less always to be fou l the pure original 1 1

teachings To know and to reali s it I know and to

.
e
realise
”
eternal life .

But to do this we must identify s w i t h that which

0

I s eternal with that Life which e xpr

,
I t self in all form " 1

which moves and acts in ALL We do this so long

-
.

as we identify ourselves with a p h y s J g a n is m only

'

W i th "
,
 MATE -
I ALI S M V . IDEALISM 1 71

a form which C han gs from moment to moment The Self

'

with which we m u identify ourselves is none other than

c

the Changeless E terrl Self Only in that Self which is the

.

inmost centre in u a ll can we see Truth fully revealed :

‘

because in seeing e r y th i n g from that point of view we see

‘

everything in its p I oer relation and proportion as parts of

the One Great Wh o .

"
Extremes mee Is it not now abundantly Clear that
on the basis of one A solu te Principle or Primordial Substance , ,

which I S the Un i verz— and in which that which we call moti on

is on the one side Corci ou s n es s and on the other S ide Matter
,

it is all one wh eth ef ve say with the Materialist that without

Matter there can I: no Consciousness or with the Idealist ,

that without Con s o us n es s there can be no Matter ?

This is h oweve by no means all that appears in the
,

intimate relation c thes e two extremes Strangely enough .

we find direct con fi n a t i on of almost all the views which we

have now advanc e in a well- known work by a German
Scientist of the h i a es t reputation but professedly written ,

for the purpose of u nold i n g the Materialistic position though

the author prefers 0 call his Materialism Monistic Philo
”
S ophy .

We refer to tl work of Professor Ernst Haecke l D a s ,

Wel t- R d th s el wh i c has had a very large C irculation in an

,

English s i xpenny aition under the title of Th e R i ddle of th e

Un i vers e .Some etra cts and a brief criticism of that work
will serve a d m i ra h to elucidate several points in the funda
r

mental concept 0 Primordial Substance and will pave the ,

way for the mor constructive part of the Idealism which

we wish to presen
We S hall devo our next chapter to Haeckel therefore
z
,

but in the m ea n u i le we wish to remark that the arguments

of Materialism me possibly be valid as against Supernatural
ism but not as ea i n s t a Scientific Idealism which accepts
,

every fact which I a t eri a li s m educes and which carries the ,

deductions from t ose facts to their logical conclusion .

With Supern e I ra li s m we have no intention of dealing .

It has no real s ta n rn g in science or p hilosophy n otwithstanding ,

that it bulks so rg ely in the religious history of the world .

I tS ground is a n i or i ty and tradition not experiment and ,

reason and it is he latter only with which we are here con

cerned Yet we I n s t not overlook the fact tha t even Super
.
1 7 2 SCIENTI F IC IDEALISM

definitions For if we l i mit the term n u ra l to that

and .

physical order of which we are now ob jec ti r lv conscious

:

-
.

then there is undoubtedly a s p natural g I on of the

u er
=

Universe ; if we limit the operation of n a tm l l a w to the

phenomena of physical matter and force on th e n d ers ta n di n g
,

that physical matter is something s u i g ener z : then there

is undoubtedly a s up er- natural order of p h eom en a But .

such limitations have long S ince been rej ected v all rational
thinkers Science has been gradually p us h i g back the
.

assumed line of demarcation between the n a rra l and the

so -
called supernatural : whilst monistic p h i l os o nv has never

recognised such a line at all .

1 With the d efinite discovery of the disintegra n of matter i ,

the last pretext for any such artificial line 1 finally dis .

appeared for it is the common or vulgar con cep on of matte r

as essentially different from spirit which lies at e root of all ‘

supernaturalism From the supernatural point view Spirit

. ,

and Matter are antagon i stic from the point of e w of either i

Science or Idealism they are two aspects of t One Root e

Principle or Primordial Substance The Un rers e being .

a Unity being essentially continuous hom r n eou s co

, , ,

ordinated and correlated in all its m a n i fes ta t i c s and a cti vi

,

ties — as manifestations and activities of this OI Changeless

Princi ple — is n a tura l in each and all of its immite phases
and expressions .

—
All points of view are true within their own i m i ta t i on s
and it is necessary that we should clearly un e rs ta n d the
limitations of the materialistic point of vi ew : s in g that it
claims to be based upon scientific facts which e ourselves
accept and because it is only by C learly un d er i n d i n g the
,
'

l imitations of Realism—Qwh i ch is at the root of all l a te ri a li s ti c

thinking— that we can adequately and ra ti on a i ' transcend
those limitations and allow ourselves to soar i n t t h e serene
,

and inspiring atmosphere of pure Idealism .

The materialism of intellectual negation i e rh a p s as s

necessary a stage in the mental unfolding of t h individual

subj ect or Ego at some p oint or other of its e v0 1 t i n as is
,
n ,

the materialism o f its desires and pursuits i n its tta c h m en t

to a li fe of sense only from which we have all to i r ourselves r
.
.

True advance i s often made by way of running into 1 6 e xtreme

of negation in or d er that we may negate our o w negatio n
, .
 MATERIALISM V . IDEALISM 1 73

When we a ve proved by experience that negation leads

nowhere t en we come to see that the Universe is not a
negation b t an a fii rma ti on The turning-
,

point in the life of

.

the prodi l son is the extreme point of hi s outgoing in the

negative ( rection In many ways and repeatedly do we all
.

play the j rt of the prodigal son Strange that we can only .

know the g h t when we have experienced the wrong that we

.

can only h ow the good when we have experienced the evil ;

that we ca only be free when we have been in bondage that
we must - ll in order to rise Strange that the Divine Spirit .

Itself m t : descend into matter or incarnation in order to

realise I t 4 ) wn Nature .

And it my now have learnt the lesson of sin and su ffering

if p erch a ce they hold them s elves to be better than their
, ,

fellows l : them remember that it is because they have learnt

the lesso themselves in the bitter past in ages of human ,

evolution i n g gone by in which they themselves played the part ,

which o t ers are only now playing ; that perchance even in

their la s fi n ca rn a ti on they were themselves such a poor and
degraded m e as now they shrink from with self- righteous
scorn It ch individual must tread the same path of evolution
.
'

the vi a ol oros a the way of the cross The drama of the

,
.

divine i n ern a ti on and crucifixion is not any isolated historical

event b r it is the drama of the whole Human Race
The eg a t i on s into which we run are our stepping -
.
,

stones
to furth and deeper a ffirmations Experience is in the long
‘

run the uly teacher But at the same time we require for .

the intel ct and reason a working hypothesis as to the nature

of our t n g which will enable us to advance de fin itely and
,

boldly o the basis of o ur present experiences into regions

, ,

where vs can dimly perceive that life a nd consciousness must

expand a fulness and completeness which is denied to us
in mere h y s i ca l conditions .

All a vance into the unknown is made by way of ex p eri

ment en eri ence and hypothesis It is the scientific method
, ,
.

it is als the method of evolution as exemplified in our own

life -
h i s t ry But th e essential of any hypothesis is not merely
.

that it J all adequately explain kno wn facts but also that ,

it S hall ffer scope for further advance .

Life essentially expansion It is ess entially an a ffi rma .

tion 11 : a negation To get more life and still more is the

,
. , ,

char a c i s t i c of every form of life from the smallest monad

‘

,
1 7 2 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM

naturalism may be said to be true within its own limitations

,

and definitions For if we limit the term n a tu ra l to that

.

physical order of which we are now obj ectively conscious

then there is undoubtedly a s up er- natural region of the
Universe ; if we limit the operation of n a tu ra l l a w to the
phenomena of physical matter and force on the understanding ,

that physical matter is something s u i g en eri s : then there

is undoubtedly a s up er- natural order of phenomena But .

such limitations have long since been rej ected by all rational
thinkers Science has been gradually pushing back the
.

assumed line of demarcation bet ween the natural and the

s o-called supernatural : whilst monistic philosophy has never
recogn ised such a line at all .

With the d efinite discovery of the disintegration of matter ,

the last pretext for any such a rtificial line has finally dis
appeared for it is the co mmon or vulgar conception of matter
as essentially different from S pirit which lies at the root of all
supernaturalism From the supernatural point of view S p irit
. ,

and Matter are antagon i stic from the point of view of e ither
Science or Idealism they are two aspects of the One Root
Principle or Primordial Substance The Universe being .

a Unity being essentially continuous homogeneous co

, , ,

ordinated and correlated in all its manifestations a n d a cti vi

,

ties — as manifestations and activities of this One Changeless

Principle — is n a tura l in each and all of its infinite phases
and expressions .

All points of view are true— within their own limitations ;

and it is necessary that we S hould Clearly understand the
limitations of the materialistic point of V iew : seeing that it
claims to be based upon scientific facts which we ourselves
accept and because it is only by C learly un derstanding the
,

l imitations of Realism—Q wh i ch is at the root of all materialistic

thinking -that we can adequately and rationall y transcend
those limitations and allow ourselves to soar into the serene
,

and inspiring atmosphere of pure Idealism .

The materialism of intell ectual negation is perhaps as

necessary a stage in the mental unfolding of the individual
subj ect or Ego at some p oint or other of its evolution as is
, ,

the m aterialism o f its desires and p ursuits in its attachment

to a life of sense only from which we have all to free ourselves .

Tru e advance is often made by way of running into the extreme

of negation in order that we may negate our o wn negation
, .
 MATERIALISM V . IDEALISM 1 73

When we have proved by experience that negation leads

nowhere then we come to see that the Universe is not a
negation but an a fi rma ti on The turning-
,

point in the life of

.

the prodigal son is the extreme point of hi s outgoing in the

negative direction In many ways and repeatedly do we a ll
.

play the part of the prodigal son Strange that we can only .

kn ow the right when we have experienced the wrong that we

can only know the good when we have experienced the evil ;
that we can only be free when we have been in bondage that
we must fall in order to rise Strange that the Divine Spirit .

Itself must descend into matter or incarnation in order to

realise Its Own Nature .

And if any now have learnt the lesson of sin and su ffering
i f perchance they hold them s elves to be better than their
, ,

fell ows let them rem ember that it is because they have learnt
the lesson themselves in the bitter past in ages of human ,

evolution long gone by in which they themselves played the part ,

which others are only now playing ; that perchance even in

their last incarnation th ey were themselves such a poor and
~

degr aded one as now they S hrink from with self- righteous
scorn Each individual m ust tread the same path of evolution
.
,

the vi a d ol oros a the way of the cross The drama of the

, .

divine incarnation and crucifixion is not any isolated historical

event but it is the drama of the whole Human Race
The negations into which we run are our stepping -
.
,

stones
to further and deeper a ffi rmations Experience is in the long .

run the only teacher But at the same time we require for
.

t h e intell ect and reason a working hypothesis as to the nature

of our being which will enable us to advance definitely and
,

boldly on the basis of our present experiences into regions

, ,

where we can dimly perceive that life a nd consciousness must

expand to a fulness and completeness which is denied to us
in mere physical conditions .

All advance into the unknown is made by way of ex p eri

ment experience and hypothesis It is the scientific method
, ,
.

it is also the method of evolution as exemplified in our own

life -history But th e essential of any hypothesis is not merely
.

that it shall adequately explain known facts but also that ,

it shall o ffer scope for further advance .

Life is essentially expansion It is essentially an a ffi rma .

tion not a negation To get more life and still more is the
,
.
, ,

characteristic of every form of life from the smallest m o n a d ,

1 74
SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM

to Man him self and who S hall say how much beyond
,
This
is manifested in that struggle for existence which science
places as the main spring of all organic evolution .

But on the lines of Materialism this struggle has no ra i s on

d etr e either in its ince p tion or its consummation
,
It o ffers .

nothing finally either to the individual to the Race or to , ,

the Cosmic Process considered as a whole The struggle of .

the individual according to this theory is S imply to result in

, ,

another individual totally alien to the last but possibly a

, ,

little better able to carry on the same struggle For what .

p
urpose — for what l a t
s i n g purpose ? None whatever is the ,

answer which Materialism gives The World commenced .

devoid of organic life ; it will finish devoid of life The .

harvest of all our vast pain and su ffering is reap ed by none

’
and nowhere It is all a devi l s dance of irr esponsible atoms
.
.

There are some who profess to believe this but perhaps ,

very few who really do so It is absolutely contradicted by .

the whole instinct of Humanity striving after a larger and ,

fuller life than this world can give It is contradicted by .

that ethical and moral sense which — as Huxley has so clearly

S hown in his essay on Evolution and Ethics —steps in at
a certain point to oppose and supersede the law which governs
the earlier stages of evolution the law of the survival of the ,

physically fittest .

The religious in stinct in man is as strong nay stronger than , ,

any other instinct ; stron ger than any which can make for
the survival of the fittest All history testifies to it That
. .

instinct demands a rational explanation and a legitimate

goal It is the intuition of a reality of our inner nature not
.
,

yet brought into obj ectivity in the gradually unfolding con

s ci ou s n es s of the individual subj ect or Ego .

Supernaturalism is the first resort of an unin formed re

l i g i ou s instinct Scientific Materialism may possibly be the
.

intellectual resort of a temporary loss of the religious instinct .

Wh at we need then is a working hypothesis which S hall be

, ,

in harmony with all that we know of the laws of nature and ,

which S hall at one and the same time admit of a deeper know
ledge o f those laws and also of a natural expansion of the
,

individual subj ect on lines instinctively felt to be possible and

true In other words such an hypothesis must at one and
.
,

the same time satis fy the demands of a definite scientific

kn owledge and of the deepest religious instinct
, .
 MATERIALISM V . I DEALISM 1 75

The fundamental ground of such an hypothesis must be

the essential identity of the individual with the universal :

the essential oneness of his inner subj ective nature with the
U niversal Subj ect as well as the oneness of his obj ective
,

nature with the phenomenal world .

The hypothesis which best fulfils this co n dition is u n

doubtedl y that of One Primordial Substance Principle or , ,

Noumenon in which that which we call moti on is on its sub

, ,

j e c t i v e side Consciousness and on its obj ective side Matter

, , , .

Consciousness as Subj ect and Matter as O b j ect are con

, ,

c e i ve d of as arising together in the Infinite and Eternal Being

—or B e - ness — o f that One Absolute Principle which I S the
Universe .

How or why this is so we S hall leave for formal or S peculative

Philosophy or Metaphysics to determine Our interest in it .

is not a S peculative but a practical one It is of no value to us

, .

merely as a metaphysical proposition but only in its immediate ,

application to our own individual life and evolution We .

a re not concerned here with any theories as to the ultimate

nature of Being of which we can know nothing save what we
find in the contents of our own nature We can only solve .

that problem as we ourselves attain more and more to that

fulness of life which lies in front of us as the nat ural result
of our evolution as we ourselves become— i n consciousness
that which we are d e fa cto .

True knowledge is not of something outside and beyond

us but of our own nature and powers It is more than
,
.

probable that in our most exalted and inspired moments we

can only reach to a dim recognition of the real nature of our
true Self the maj estic glory of that fulness of life to which we
may lay claim and to which we shall assuredly attain
,
.

Our working hypothesis then is that glorious truth which

, ,

has been proclaimed in all ages to those who had ears to hear
th e Di vi n e N a ture of M a n It enables us to advance boldly
.

with the ful lest confidence into that region where a u th ori ta
tive religion raises the bogey of Supernaturalism and orthodox ,

science for the most part denies us any entrance at all .

When we know Ours elves we S hall know the Universe ;

when we have conquered Ours el ves we S hall have conquered
the Universe .
 C HA PTE R I X

SCIENTIFI C MATE RIALISM — DR W HAT

 We h ol d Wi th G o e th e , th a t m a t ter ca n n o t ex i s t a n d b e o p er a ti ve
‘

wi th ou t s p i ri t , n or s p i ri t wi th ou t m a t t er
’
W e a d h ere fi rm l y t o t h e p u r e
.

un e q ui voca l Mon i s m of S p i n oz a : m a t t er or i n fi n i t el y ex t e n d e d s u b s t a n ce
, ,

and S p i ri t ( or E n er g y ) , or s en s i ti v e a n d th in k i n g s u b s t a n ce , ar e t h e tw o fu n d a
m en ta l a t tri b u t e s , or ri n ci p a l ro er t i e s , o f th e -
a ll e m b r a cin g di vi n e e s s en ce
p p p
”—
of t h e w orld , th e u n i v ers a l s u b s t a n ce . HAE C KE L Th e R i d dle of th e Un i vers e
, .
1

1
p . 8 . Th e q u o t a ti on s i n t h e fol l owi n g ch a p ter a re fr om t h e f ou r t h
i m p r es s i on of th e s i x p en n y e di ti on of Th e R i d dl e Un i ver s e
of th e .

1 78
 C HA P T E R I X

S C I E N TI FI C MATE RI A LI S M— OR W HAT ?

CA N it be possible that these words of Haeckel are the words

of a M a teri d li s t of the same man who also writes that there
,

is neither God nor design nor free will in the Universe

, In ,

t he se words we have in fact an expression of as pure a , ,

formof Idealism as any we might wish to present If we

. .

were ignorant of any further expressions of opinion on the

part of the author we should certainly not set him down
,

as a Realist or an Atheist .

And what shall we say of Goethe and Spinoza whose ,

Opinions he thus endorses ? We certainly cannot class their

philosophy with either the realism pes s imism or crass , ,
’
negation which we shall presently find in Haeckel s Monistic
”
Philosophy .

Here is another quotation in support of the one which

we have placed at the head of this chapter and which on the
face of it discloses Haeckel as a would -
,

b e Idealist

Th e fi r s t th i n k er to i n tr o d u ce th e p u rel y m o n i s ti c co n cep ti o n o f
s u b s ta n c e i n to s c i e n ce a n d a p p r e ci a t e i t s p r o fo u n d i m p o r t a n ce w a s t h e

g rea t p hi l o s o p h e r B a r u ch S p i n o a ( 1 6 3 2 z
I n h i s s t a tel y p a n
th e i s ti c s y s t em t h e n o ti o n o f t h e worl d ( t h e u n i v e r s e , or t h e cos m os )
-
i s i d e n ti ca l wi t h t h e a ll p e r v a d i n g n o ti o n o f God i t i s a t on e a n d th e
s ame ti m e t h e p u r e s t a n d m o s t r a ti o n a l M on i s m a n d th e c l e a r e s t a n d
m os t a b s tra c t M on oth ei s m Th i s u n i v e r s a l s u b s t a n c e , t hi s
. d i vi n e
’
n a t u re of t h e w or ld , s h o ws us t w o d i ffe re n t a s p ec t s of i ts b ei n g , or
' ‘

t wo f un d a m e n t a l a t t ri b u t e s — m a t t e r ( i n fi n i t el y ex ten d ed s ub s t a n ce )
a nd -s p i ri t ( t h e a ll e m b-r a ci n g e n e rg y of th ou g h t) . A l l th e ch a n g e s

w hi ch h a ve s i n ce c o e m o ver t h e i d ea o f s u b s t a n ce a re r e d u ce d , o n a

l og i c al a n a l y s i s , t o t h i s s u p re m eth o u g h t o f S p i n o z ’
wi th G o et h e I
a s

t a k e i t t o b e th e l of ti es t, p ro fo u n d es t , a n d t ru e s t t h o u g h t o f a l l a g e s .

E v e ry s i n g l e ob j e c t i n th e w or ld w h i ch co m e s wi thi n th e s p h e re o f o u r
z
c o g n i a n c e , a ll i n d i v i d u a l fo r m s o f e x i s te n c e , a r e b u t s p e ci a l t r a n s i t o ry

form s — a cci d en ts , o r m od es — o i s u b s t a n c e Th e s e m o d es a re m a t e ri a l
.

t hi n g s wh e n we r e g a rd t h e m un d e r th e a t tri b u te o f ex ten s i on ( o r o cc u
a t i o n o f s a ce b u t fo rc e s o r i d e a s wh en w e co n s i d e r t h em u n d e r
p p
I 79
 1 80 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
th e a t tri b u te o f th oug h t ( or
‘
e n e rg y To th i s p r ofo u n d t h o u g h t o f
S p ino z a our p
fi e d M o n i s m r e t u rn s
u ri a f te r a l a p s e o f t w o h u n d r e d

yeai s ; for us t o o m a tter ( S p a ce fi lli n g

, ,
s ub s ta n ce ) a n d e n e rgy ( m o vi n g
for ce ) a re b u t two i n s ep a ra b l e a t tri b u t es of th e o n e u n d e rl y i n g s u b

s ta n ce (p .

Wh at could be more eminently satisfactory than this

in support of the fundamental principles which we have
endeavoured to elucidate in our previous chapters ? With
the exception of a little shu ffling of the terms in the last
sentence of the paragraph to which we shall presently refer , ,

we can accept it almost verba ti m .

But can it be possible that this is from the pen of the

same Haeckel who writes as follows P
Th e d evel op m en t o f th e u n i ve rs e i s a m o n i s ti c m e ch a n i ca l p r o c es s ,
in wh i ch w e d i s co v e r n o a i m or p u rp os e wh a t ev e r w h a t w e ca ll d es i g n
in t h e o rg a n i c w orl d i s a s p e ci a l res u l t o f b i ol o gi ca l a g e n ci es n ei t h e r

in t h e e v ol u ti o n o f t h e h ea v e n l y b o d i es n or i n t ha t o f t h e c r u s t o f o u r
ea r th d o we fi n d a ny tra ce o f a co n tro lli n g p u rp os e —a l l i s th e r e s u lt o f

ch a n ce (p .

S i n ce i m p a r ti a l s tu d y o f th e e vo l u ti on o f th e world t e a ch e s u s
t h a t th e re i s n o d e fi n i t e ai m a n d n o s p e ci a l p u rp os e t o b e t ra ce d i n i t ,
t h ere s ee m s t o b e n o a l ter n a ti v e b u t to l e a ve e v e ry th i n g t o b li n d
ch a n ce (p .

O u r m o n i s ti c vi ew , th a t th e g rea t co s m i c l a w a p p li e s th ro u g h o u t
th e wh o l e o f n a t u r e , i s o f t h e h i g h e s t m o m e n t F o r i t n o t o n l y i n v ol v e s ,
.

on i ts p os i ti v e s i d e , t h e e s s en ti a l u n i ty o f t h e c os m o s and th e ca u s a l

c o n n e c ti o n o f a l l p h e n o m e n a th a t co m e wi th i n o u r co g n i za but i t
n ce ,

a ls o , in a ti v e w a y , m a r k s th e
n ega hi g h e s t i n t e ll e c t u a l p r o g r es s , i n
t h a t i t d e fi ni t ely rul es o u t t h e th re e c e n tr a l d og m a s of m e ta p h y s i cs
G od , fre ed om , a n d i m m or t a li ty . In a s s i g ni n g m e ch a n i ca l ca u s es t o
p h e n o m e n a e v e r y wh e r e , t h e l a w o f s ub s t a n c e c o m e s i n t o li n e wi th th e

u n i ve rs a l la w o f c a u s a li ty (p
- -
.

Th e p ecu li a r ch emi co p h y s i ca l p rop er ti es of carb o n e s p eci a lly t h e

fl u i d i t y a n d f a ci l i ty o f d e co m p o s i ti o n o f t h e m os t e l a b o r a t e a l b u m i n oi d

c o m p o n e n t s o f ca rb o n — a r e t h e s o l e a n d t h e m e ch a ni ca l c a u s es o f
th e s p e ci fic p h en o m en a of m ov e m en t , w h i ch d i s ti n g u i s h o rg a n i c

fr o m i n o rg a n i c s u b s t a n ce s , and wh i c h w e c a ll li fe , i n t h e us u a l s en s e
o f th e w or d (p .

Th e p e cu l i a r p h e n o m e n a o f co n s ci ou s n e s s m us t b e re d u c e d
to t h e p h e n o m e n a o f p h y s i c s a n d ch e m i s tr y (p .

Many more quotations of a similar import could be given ,

but these will serve to show the contrast between what we

may call Haec k el No I the I dealist and Haeckel No 2 th e
.
, , .
,

Materialist The one o ffers us the purely metaphysical concept

.
 SCIENTIFIC MATERIALISM— OR W HAT 1 81

aspects of the one Substance the other offers us a mechanical

universe and a mechanical consciousness .

What is the explanation of this dual personality Haeck e l

No I is a would -
. b e metaphysician an idealist and even a ,

religionist He continually speaks of the soul of spirit

of the Ego and the Non -
.
, ,
”
, Ego of the all- embracing ,

“
divine essence of the world of destiny ( which surely ,

”
implies design ) of the ethical craving of our nature and
, ,

of our monistic religion .

Haeckel No 2 on the other hand is a materialist pure

.
, ,

and simple ; one with whom life and consciousness are

mechanically caused He denies the existence of a Subj ect
.

or Ego denies the immortality of the soul denies indeed the

, ,

existence of any soul at all except as a physiological ,

abstraction like assimilation or generation (p He .

denies the existence of God or any kind of Divinity denies ,

the existence of design in the universe and attributes every ,

”
thing to blind chance .

Haeckel No I is either sadly at variance with Haeckel

.

No 2 or else he is using the above terms in a very di fferent

.
,

sense from that which they commonly connote When he .

speaks for instance of the all-

,
embracing divine essence of
,

the world the universal substance (p

,
does he really .

mean the same as Haeckel No 2 who says that the develop .

,

ment of the universe is a monistic mechanical process in ,

”
which we discover no aim or purpose whatever And if
he does mean the s ame thing by what right does he speak ,

of such a process as di vi n e or as originating in a divine ,

essence or substance
The term di vi n e means specifi cally that which belongs
to or proceeds from God But Haeckel No 2 denies the
, . .

ex i stence of God Are We then to conclude that Haeckel

.

No I does not deny Hi s existence ; or in the alternative

. , ,

that he is guilty of a grave misuse of language

Shall we look upon this s i ngular contradiction of language
’
as a case of double personality now so well recognised ,

as an abnormal psychic phenomena in some individuals ;

or shall we regard it as a clear indication that even the would
be Materiali st cannot get away from purely metaphysical
’
abstractions and spiritual ideas when his own premises
are pushed far enough 9
We shall leave t his for our reade rs to decide for we ar e ,
1 82 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
’
now only concerned wi th a criticism of Haeckel s work in
so far as it throws a very considerable light upon certain
principles which it is the obj ect of the present work to
elucidate .

We find then in the first place that Haeckel starts with

, , ,

the fundamental concept of one ultimate Universal Substance ,

and he enunciates what he calls the la w of s ubstance

as a thesis which is capable of explaining the whole universe
from top to bottom— with the exception of the nature of
Substance itself The exception we may note here is some
.

what important though Haeckel himself tells us that we need

,

not t rouble about it We shall give the quotation presently

. .

“
The following is his enunciation "of the law of sub
stance
Th e s u p r e m e a n d a ll -
p e rva d i n g l a w Of n a tu re , th e t r u e a n d o n l y
c os m o l og i ca l l a w , i s i n m y o p i n i o n t h e l a w of s u bs ta n ce i t s d i s co v e r y
, ,

a n d e s t a b li s h m e n t i s t h e g r e a t e s t i n t e l l e c t u a l t ri u m p h o f t h e n i n e t e e n t h

c e n t u r y i n th e s e n s e t h a t a ll o th e r k n o wn l a w s o f n a t u r e a r e s u b or d i n a t e
,

to i t U n d e r t h e n a m e o f l a w o f s u b s t a n c e w e e m b ra c e t w o s u p r e m e
‘
.

l a w s o f d i ffe r e n t o ri g i n a n d a g e — t h e o l d e r i s t h e c h e m i c a l l a w o f t h e
’
‘
co n s e rv a ti o n of m a tt e r , and th e y o u n g e r i s t h e p h y s i ca l l a w o f t h e
c o n s e r v a ti o n o f e n e r
gy (p .
7

With regard to the first of these laws he t ells us that

A t th e p r e s e n t d a y t h e s ci e n ti s t , wh o i s o c c up i e d fro m o n e en d of
t h e y e a r t o th e o t h e r w i t h t h e s t u d
y o f n a tu ra l p h e n o m e n a , i s s o
fi r m l y c o n v i n c e d o f t h e a b s o l u t e c o n s t a n cy o f m a t t e r t h a t h e i s no
l o n g er ab le t o i m a g i n e th e of t hi n g s
c on tr a ry s ta te (p .

Observe that Haeckel here uses the te rm matter not ,

s u bs ta n ce and from other remarks we understand that he

,

holds that substance in its form of physical matter is , ,

I ndestructible It is diffi cult however to say for certain

.
, ,

whether he means this in the a bove quotation If he does .

,

it is of course invalidated by the discovery of Radium .

If it be urged however that the law of the conservation of

, ,

matter still holds good because a t the furthest we can only

“

, , ,

say that it is resolvable into etheric matter we reply that ,

i n the first place it has yet to be shown that Ether is matter

,

I n any sense of the term in which we can understand it We .

have already shown in Chapter VI that we may call matter .

,

E th er but we cannot call Ether m a tter

, And if it be further .
,

urg ed that at a ll e vents it is s u bs ta nce a n d as such i s s t ill ,

 SCIENTIFIC MATERIALISM— OR W HAT 7’ I S3

conserved : we can only say that there is no discovery in

the fun damental thesis th a t whatever matter may be in its
ultimate state as s u bs ta n ce that substance can never absolutely
,

disappear into nothingness (though it may disappear into no

thing - ness according to our present apprehension of
,

With the conservation of energy we have already dealt

in Chapters IV and V As meaning the conservation of
. .

mech a n i ca l or dyn amic energy — the invariable product of

—
mass and velocity we already know that it is not true .

As applicable to anything but some limited or conservative

system of matter it is unproved : for we have no means of
,

proving that the heat radiated into space as etheric activity ,

is conserved And i t again it means the general proposition

.
, ,

that when energy disappears i n one form it must still exist ,

somewhere or other in the univers e in some equi va l en t : we

,

can only say a gain that this is not a discovery but a ,

n ecessity of thought and reason .

And yet Haeckel claims that this law of substance

settles the three transcendental problems (I ) the nature ,

of matter and force (2 ) the origin o f motion (3) the origin

of simple sensation and conscious ness (p .

If these are transcendental problems they are essentially,

problems which can n ot be solved by any such generalisations

“
as the conservation of matter and force ; for this law of
substance is not a statement of what matter and force are ,

but only of the mode in which our consciousness is able to

apprehend certain of their phases and interactions .

It cannot be too clearly understood that all the s o- called

laws of nature —which are sometimes stated as if they were
a sufficient explanation of all phenomena a n d even as if ,

they were t h emselves some kind of ca u s e— are in reality nothin g

more or less than statements of certain known actions and
i nteractions within a certain limited range of phenomena .

They explain nothing beyond this : that given a certain ,

set of conditions certain results will inevitably follow The

,
.

belief in natural law is simply the belief that like results

follow from like causes or in other words and more broadly
, , ,

the universe is go verned by law and not by caprice .

How much d oes the law of substance tell us of the

n a tu r e of matter by telling us that it is conserved How
much does it tell us of the ori gi n of motion by telling us that
“
the sum of force which is at work in infinite space and
1 84 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
produces all phenomena is unchangeable ( p H o,
w .

much does it tell us of the ori gi n of simple sensation and

consciousness Absolutely nothing at a ll .

The n ature of matter — that is j ust what we want to

know We trace it back to Primordial Substance and how
. ,

much do we know of the nature of th a t when we have postu

lated that it is something which can never be destroyed
The origin of motion —how much we should like to
know that "Again we trace it back to the innate motion
of that something which we c a ll Primordial Substance How .

much do we know of the n a ture of that Substance when we

have postulated that motion in or of that Substance is
indestructible and eternal ? If such be the case then it ,

has never been ori gi n a ted at a ll save in connection with some ,

particular individual time phenomenon .

And what is motion itself ? Motion involves the two

abstract principles of time and space Anyth i ng which .

moves does so from one point of space to another and takes ,

“
a certain amount of tim e to do so Does the law of .

substance explain to us what time and space are

’
But what is Haeckel s own idea of this S u bs ta nce of which ,

he is able to enunciate the supreme the true and only ‘

cosmological law Here is his answer

On ly on e co m p r eh e n s i v e ri d d l e of t h e u n i v e rs e n o w re m ai n s
t h e p rob l e m o f s ub s ta n ce . W e g ra n t a t o n ce t h a t t h e i n n er m os t
ch a r a c t e r o f na tur e is j us t as li t tl e u n d ers too d b y us as i t wa s b y
An a x i m a n d er a n d E m p e d o cl es y e a rs a g o , b y S p i n o a a n d z
N e w to n 2 00 y e a rs a g o, a n d b y
.
K a n t a n d G o e th e 1 00 y e a rs a g o .

W e mus t e v en g r a n t t h a t t h i s e s s e n ce o f s u b s t a n ce b eco m es m o r e
m y s te ri o u s a n d e n i g m a ti c t h e d e e p e r w e p e n e t ra t e i n t o t h e k n o wl e d g e
of i ts a t tri b u tes ,m a t te r a n d e n e rg y , a n d t h e m or e th o r o u g h l y w e s tu d
y
i ts co u n tl e s s p h en o m e n a l for m s and t h ei r e v ol u ti o n . We do not k n ow
th e thi n g i n i ts el f th a t li es b ehi n d th es e k n ow a b l e p h e n o m en a But .

’
w h y t ro u b l e t h i s e ni g m a ti c
a b ou t th i n g i n i t s e l f wh e n w e h a ve n o
m e a n s o f i n v e s ti g a ti n g i t , wh en we d o n o t e v e n cl e a r l y k n ow wh e th e r
it e x i s ts o r n o t P (p .

On ly on e And if it is not
co mp reh en s i ve ri dd l e

comprehensive of the transcendental problems which he

”
has already settled by his law of substance of what ,

in the name of common sense is it supposed to be com

prehensive
Is it really possible that Haeckel or any one else can , ,

believe that any problem whatsoev er can be settled by

 SCIENTIFIC MATERIALISM —OR W HAT 1 85

referring it back to some hypothetical substance of which

we have in the end to confess that we do not even clearly
know whether it exists or not
And how we might ask further is it possible to postulate
, ,

“
of such an u n k n owa bl e any la w whatsoever : much less the
true and only cosmological law When he says that we ,

do not even clearly know whether it exists or not does he ,

mean that we do not even clearly know whether the universe

really exists or not Or does he mean that we do not clearly
know whether the universe is a manifestation of that
substance or possibly of something else ? Strange
,

confession indeed from one who has already explained the

, ,

universe from top to bottom and settled every transcend ,

“
ental question by his law of substance And can it .

be possible that this is the same Haeckel who so absolutely

endorses the loftiest profoundest and truest thought of all , ,

ages of Spinoza
We may leave it to our readers to decide whether this
final negation of a ll that Th e Ri ddl e of th e Un i vers e is
written to prove : the concluding words of the whole book ,

that after all h e d oes n ot k n ow what he has all along so con

fi d en tly a ffi rm e d — belongs to Haeckel the Idealist or to Haeckel ,

the Realist or perchance to another Haeckel altogether .

We may remark however before passing on to consider

, ,

the dual aspect of this Primordial Substance as presented

by the two Haeckels respectively that the failure to apply ,

the law of substance to transcendental problems — which

are essentially problems of meta - physics and not of physics ,

— i n no way detracts from the value of the main ideas therein

embodied as scientific generalisations At the time of their .

inception i ndeed they marked an enormous advance upon

, ,

previous ideas as to the correlations and transformations of

’
matter and force and might justly be regarded in Haeckel s
, ,

o wn words as one of the greatest intellectual triumphs of

,

the nineteenth century .

’
We must now proceed to examine Haeckel s idea of the
nature of the two fundamental a ttri butes of Primordial
Substance that is to say the nature of that duality which
, ,

is the essential of all phenomena .

S u b s t a n ce wi th i ts t wo a t tr i b u t e s ( m a t te r and e n e rg y ) , fi ll s
i n fi n i te s p a ce , a n d is in m o ti o n
e te r n a l (p .

M a t te r , or i n fi n i t el y e x te n d e d s ub s t a n ce , and S p i ri t ( or E n e r gy ) ,
1 84 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM

produces all phenomena is unchangeable ( p ,

H ow .

much does it tell us of the ori gi n of simple sensation and

consciousness Absolutely nothing at all .

” —
The nature of matter that is j ust what we want to
know We trace it back to Primordial Substance and how
. ,

much do we know of the nature of tha t when we have postu

lated that it is something which can never be destroyed
The origin of motion —how much we should like to
know that "Again we trace it back to the innate motion
of that something which we call Primordial Substance How
‘

much do we know of the n a ture of that Substance when we

have postulated that motion in or of that Substance is
indestructible and eternal ? If such be the case then it ,

has never been ori gi n a ted at all save in connection with some ,

particular individual time phenomenon .

And what is motion itself ? Motion involves the two

abstract principles of time and space Anything which .

moves does so from one point o f space to another and takes ,

“
a certain amount of time to do so Does the law of .

substance explain to us what time and space are ?

’
But what is Haeckel s own idea of this S u bs ta n ce of which ,

he is able to enunciate the supreme the true and only ‘

cosmological law Here is his answer

On l y o n e co m p r eh e n s i v e ri d d l e of th e u n i ver s e n o w re mai ns
th e p rob l e m o f s u b s ta n c e . We g ra n t a t o n ce t h a t t h e i n n er m os t
ch a r a c te r o f n a tu r e is j us t as l i t tl e u n d e r s t oo d b y u s a s i t wa s b y
An a x i m a n d er a n d E m p e d o cl e s y e a rs a g o , b y S p i n o a a n d z
N e w to n 2 00 y ea r s a go, a nd b y Kan t a n d G o e th e 1 00 y e a rs a g o .

W e m u s t e v e n g r a n t t h a t t h i s e s s e n c e o f s ub s t a n c e b e c o m e s m o r e
m y s t e ri o u s a n d e n i g m a ti c th e d e e p e r w e p e n e t r a t e i n t o t h e k n owl e d g e
o f i ts a t tr i b u te s , m a tte r a n d e n e r g y , a n d t h e m o r e t h oro u g h l y w e s tu d y

i ts p h en o m e n a l fo rm s a n d t h ei r e v ol u ti o n
c ou n t l e s s W e d o n o t k n ow
.

th e thi n g i n i ts el f t h a t li es b ehi n d t h es e k n ow a b l e p h e n o m e n a But .

’
w h y t r o u b l e a b o u t t h i s e n i g m a ti c t h i n g i n i t s e l f w h e n w e h a v e n o
m e a n s o f i n v e s ti g a ti n g i t , wh en we d o n o t ev en cl ea rl y k n ow wh e th e r
i t e x i s ts o r n o t P ( p I .

On ly on e co And if it is not
mp reh en s i ve ri ddl e

comprehensive of the transcendental problems which he

”
has already settled by his law of substance of what ,
.

in the name of common sense is it supposed to be com

prehensive
Is it really possible that Haeckel or any one else can , ,

believe that any problem whatsoev er can be settled by

 SCIENTIFIC MATERIALISM—OR W HAT 1 85

referring it back to some hypothetical substance of which

we have in the end to confess that we do not even clearly
know whether it exists or not
And how we might ask further is it possible to postulate
, ,

of such an u n kn owa bl e any la w whatsoever : much less the

true and only cosmological law
"
When he says that we ,

do not even clearly know whether it exists or not does he ,

mean that we do not even clearly know whether the universe

really exists or not Or does he mean that we do not clearly
know whether the un iverse is a manifestation of that
substance or possibly of something else ? Strange
,

confession indeed from one who has already explained the

, ,

universe from top to bottom and settled every transcend ,

ental question by his law of substance And can it .

be possible that this is the same Haeckel who so absolutely

endorses the loftiest profoundest and truest thought of all , ,

ages of Spinoza
We may leave it to our readers to decide whether this
final negation of a ll that Th e Ri ddle of th e Un i vers e is
written to prove : the concluding words of the whole book ,

that after all h e d oes n ot k n ow what he has all along so con

fi d en tl y a ffi rm ed — belongs to Haeckel the I d e a li s t or to Haeckel ,

the Realist or perchance to another Haeckel altogether .

We may remark however before passing on to consider , ,

the dual aspect of this Primordial Substance as presented

by the two Haeckels respectively that the failure to apply ,

the law of substance to transcendental problems — which

are essentially problems of meta - physics and not of physics ,

— i n no way detracts from the value of the main ideas therein

embodied as scientific generalisations At the time of their .

inception indeed they marked an enormous advance upon

, ,

previous ideas as to the correlations and transformations of

matter and force and might justly be regarded in Haeckel s
'

, ,

o wn words as one of the greatest intellectual triumphs of

,

the nineteenth century .

’
We must now proceed to examine Haeckel s idea of the
nature of the two fundamental a ttri butes of Primordial
Substance that is to say the nature of that duality which
, ,

is the essential of all phenomena .

S u b s t a n c e w i th i ts two a t tri b u te s ( m a t te r and e n e rg y ) , fi l ls

i n fi n i t e s p a ce , a nd is in m o ti o n
e tern a l (p .

M a t te r , or i n fi n i t el y e x te n d e d s ub s t a n c e , a nd S p i ri t ( or E n erg y ) ,
 1 86 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
o r s e n s i ti v e a n d th i n k i n g s u b s t a n c e , a re t h e t w o fu n d a m e n t a l a t tr i

b u te s , por ri n ci p a l
p r o p er ti e s , d
ofi th e -
a ll e m b ra ci n g
vi n e e s s e n ce o f

t h e w o rl d , t h e u n i v e r s a l s ub s ta n ce (p .

’
Th i s u n i v e r s a l s u b s ta n c e , thi s d i v i n e n a tu re o f th e w or l d , s h o ws
u s tw o d i ff e r e n t a s p e c ts o f i ts b e i n g , o r t w o fu n d a m e n t a l a t tri b u t e s

m a tte r ( i n fi n i te l y ex ten d ed s u b s t a n ce ) a n d s p i ri t ( th e a ll e m b r a ci n g -
e n e rg y o f th ou g h t) . E v e ry s i n g l e ob j ec t i n t h e w or l d whi ch co mes
wi thi n th e s p h e re o f o u r co g n i z
a n c e , a l l i n d i v i d u a l fo r m s o f e x i s t e n ce ,

a re b u t s p e ci a l t ra n s i t o r y f or m s — a cc i d en ts o r m od es — o i s u b s t a n ce .

Th e s e m o d e s a r e m a t eri a l t h i n g s w h en we r e g a r d th e m u n d e r t h e
o cc u p a ti o n o f b u t f or ces o r i d e a s
‘
a ttri b u te o f ex ten s i on ( o r

w h e n we co n s i d e r t h e m u n d e r th e a ttri b u t e o f th ou g h t ( or E n e r gy )
M a t te r ( s p a ce fi l li n g s u b s ta n ce ) a n d en erg y ( m o vi n g for c e ) a re b u t t wo,
i n s ep a ra b l e a t tri b u te s o f th e o n e u n d e r l y i n g s ub s ta n ce (p .

This last quotation is — as we have already seen (p 1 79)

-
.

’
his endorsement of Spinoza s philosophy .

These quotations are in substantial agreement with each

other in so far as they all postulate tha t the universal
substance has two fundamental attributes or principal
properties But what are we to make of the bewi ldering
.

alternatives which are offered to us as to the nature of these

attribute s Let us abstract them from the above quotations ,

place them in tabular form and see how they look , .

TH E U N I V E R S AL S U B S TA N C E

O B J E CTI V E S U B J E CTI V E
M a t t er . E n er gy .

S p i ri t
M a t ter
.

E n e rgy
I n fi ni tel y
.

e x te n d e d s u b s t a n ce .

S e n s i ti v e a nd thi n k i n g s u b s ta n ce .

M a t ter S p i ri t
-
. .

I n fi n i te l y ex ten d ed s ub s t a n ce . Th e a l l e m b ra ci n g e n er gy o f th ou g h t .

M a teri a l th i n g s .
Force s .

I d ea s
E x ten s i on
.

Th o u g h t
Oc cu p a ti on o f s p a ce
.

E n e r gy .

M a t te r . E n er g y .

S p a ce fi lli n g s u b s t a n ce . M ovi n g for ce .

On the obj ective or materi al side there is a fa i rly good

l

agreement among these terms though we must note the ,

purely metaphysical idea of ex ten s i on creeping in But what .

are we to make of the subj ective or spiritual side ? -

Are all
these terms really equivalent and i nterchangeable ? On the
basis of Idealism— possibly ; and if also on the basis of
Mate riali s m that i s to say of a mech a n i ca l V iew of the
, .
,
 SC I ENTIFIC MATERIALISM—OR W HAT ? 1 87

universe then they are the best possible illustration of the

,

paradox that extremes meet which we have endeavoured ,

to illustrate in our last chapter .

For if thought is the all-

“
embracing energy if a n
idea i s the equivalent of energy or moving force ,

as understood mechanically : then the mechanical theory

j oins hands with pure Idealism i n postulating that all things
are moulded by tho ught Thought is consciousness it is .
,

life : and without consciousness and life matter — or

substance— is dead The energy of the universe then is n ot
.

me re mechanical motion of a dead substance it is the all ,

embracing energy of living and conscious substance At .

all events it is perfectly clear from this category that thought ,

is classified as an active moving energising principle ; and

,
'
,

as such it cannot possibly b e ca u s ed by physical and chemical

”
processes for it is itself the cause of these
, .

Th ought be it noted is not here set down as a form of

'

, ,

energy it is energy itself an equivalent term These terms , .

are supposed to be the final analysis of the un iverse as we

know it ; at the next remove they all disappear in the
incognisable unkn owableness of the Universal Substance .

Energy as we have already s e en is essentially moti on

, , ,

of something —and we are here specifically told by one who

,

holds that th e development of the universe is a monistic

mechanical process that that m oti on is th oug ht
, .

But it is not diffi c ul t to detect in this extraordin ary

category of attributes or properties the subtle antagonism ,

between Haeckel No 1 and Haeckel No 2 Observe Haeckel

. . .

No 2 fairly coming in by himself at the top of the list ;

.

’
whereas Haeckel No 1 is represented by Spinoza s purely
.

metaphysical idea that the two attributes are thought and

ex ten s i on or that form or mode of consciousness which gives
,

us th e idea of an extended universe of obj ects external to

the thinking Subj ect and occupying s p a ce
,
.

But the most serious indictment to be brought against

this category from a materialistic or mechanical point of
V iew is this that i f the ultimate substance of the universe
be material — no matter how sublimated that matter may
,

be conceived to b e — no form of matter whatsoever can

,

“
be one of its attributes or properties Matter cannot .

possibly be an attribute of itself .

Elsewhe re Ha ecke l speak s of th e two funda menta l

 1 88 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM

forms of substance ponderable matter and ether (p 7 8 ),

.

a n d in the category already given we have infinitely extended

substance on the one side and sensitive and thinking ,

substance on the other It appears therefore that .

, ,

p onderable matter is the equivalent of infinitely extended

substance — which we know it is not : it being rather the
ether which answers to that definition But the ether is .

d escribed as sensitive and thinking substance something ,

therefore which is evidently very different from ponderable

,

matter .

What we must note here however is that we have two , , ,

different forms of substance — i i not indeed two totally , ,

different substances— predicated as attributes or properties

-
of the universal substance This of course is pure nonsense .
'

Two forms of one substance cannot possibly be attributes

or properties of itself We might as well say at once that .

water and ice are the two fundamental attributes or principal

properties of steam The illustration is apt because Haeckel .
,

’
( No 2.
) endorses Vogt s pyknotic theory of universal
substance and states that ,
Its sole mechanical form of :

activity consists in a tendency to condensation or con t ra c

tion (p .

Truth to tell Haeckel No 1 and Haeckel No 2 play

,
. .

battledore and shuttlecock with this universal or simple

primitive substance in a most remarkable manner ; and
as the question whether this substance is a dead mechanical
thing or the living energy of thought and consciousness is
, ,

the crux of the whole matter we must foll ow up the game ,

a little further .

Haeckel repudiates the old kinetic or atomic theory of

substance the theory that is to say that the ultimate form
, , ,

of universal substanc e consists of a number of exceedingly

minute hard indivisible particles He adopts the continuo us
, , .

substance theory which we have already elucidated in

Chapter VI the theory of one Primordial Substance which
.
,

fills the infinity of space in an unbroken continuity But he .

’
further adopts Vogt s pyknotic theory which he states as ,

follows
Th e s ol e i n h ere n t m e ch ani ca l fo r m o f a c ti v i t y of t hi s s u b s t a n ce
co n s i s ts in t e n d e n cy t o co n d e n s a ti on o r co n t r a c ti on , w h i ch p
a r o d u ce s

i n fi n i t e s i m a l c e n t r e s o f c o n d e n s a ti o n T h e s e m i n u te p a r ts . of th e
uni ver s a l s u b s ta n c e , th e c e n tre s of co nd en s a ti o n , wh i c h m i gh t b e
 SCIENTIFIC MATERIALISM—OR W HAT ? 1 89

ca l l e d p y k n a toms co rr e s p on d i n g e n er a l t o th e u l ti m a te s ep a ra te a to m s
,

of t h e ki n e ti c th e o ry t h ey d i ff e r h o we ve r v e ry c o n s i d e ra b l y i n t h a t
, ,

th ey a r e c re d i t e d wi th s en s a ti on a n d i n cli n a ti o n wi ll m o v e m e n t o f
( or
th e s i m p l es t
fo r m ) , wi th s ou l s , i n a ce r t a i n s e n s e — i n h a r m o n
y w i th
th e o l d t h eory o f E m p e d o c l e s o f th e l ov e a n d h a tr e d o f th e e l e m e n ts
(p 77 )

The con den s ed substance becomes ponderable matter

—physical matter in fact The still uncondensed substance
, .

is ether .

B y t h a t p ro ces s ( con d e n s a ti on ) th e p ri m i ti ve s u b s t a n ce, whi ch i n

q
i ts or i g i n a l s t a t e o f u i es ce n ce h a d th e s a m e m e a n con s i s ten cy thr o ug h
o u t, d i v i d e s o r d i fi e r e n ti a t e s i n t o tw o k in d s Th e ce n tr es of d i s t u rb a n c e ,
.

whi ch p o s i ti v el y e x cee d t h e m e a n co n s i s ten cy i n vi r tu e o f p y k n os i s

o r c o n d e n s a ti o n , fo r m t h e p o n d e ra b l e m a t ter o f b o di e s ; th e fi n er,
i n t er m e di a t e s u b s t a n c e , w hi ch o ccu p i e s t h e s p a ce b e tw ee n t h e m , a n d
n eg a ti vel y fa ll s b el o w t h e m e a n co n s i s t en cy , fo r m s t h e e th e r , or im
p o n d e r a b l e m a tt e r (p .

It thus appe a rs that the original universal substance is

of such a nature that although it is perfectly continuous and
fills all space it can still be con den s ed and not leave a vacuum
,

It also appears that ether is a sti ll more rarefied form of

substance than the universal substance itself "But what
are we to make of the statement that the un iversal substance
is in an original state of quiescence before it commenced
to condense ? We have already seen that Haeckel claims
to have explained the origin of motion by the law of
substance part of which is the proposition that motion is
ceaseless and eternal The present endorsement therefore .
, ,
'
of the p y kn oti c th eory is a flat contradiction of Haeckel s
previous thesis that the universal substance
,
with its two ,

attributes (matt er and energy) fills infinite space a n d i s i n ,

etern a l m oti on This motion runs on through infinite time

.

as an unbroken developm ent with a periodic change from life ,

to death from evolution to devolution (p

, (Q uery : .

how can moti on change from life to death

We must leave these physical and mechanical diffi culties ,

however to the intuition of our readers and pass on to the

, ,

consideration of the li fe problem .

We are not told by Haeckel ( No 2 ) what it is which .

endows the universal substance with its sole inherent

” ”
mechanical fo rm of activity or tendency to condensation ,
.

We might look at our table of attributes and hazard the ,

1 9 0 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM

guess that it is the all- embracing energy of th ought It .

woul d be most satisfactory if we were plainly told so but we ,

are not Indeed since it is a mecha ni ca l form of a ct i vi ty figwe

. ,

cannot connect it with life and consciousness at all in the ,

ordinary use of the term mechanical .

From the context however it appears that it is only

, ,

when the universal substance is condensed and becomes a ,

k tom that it can be credited with sensation and incl ina

py n a ,

tion (or will movement of the simplest form ) For we read .

that The positive ponderable matter th e elemen t wi th th e ,

feel i n g of l i k e or d es i r e is continual
,
l y striving to complete
the process of condensation (p We are not told .
,

however how it comes to acquire this li vi ng characteristic

,

by the mere fact of condensation .

B u t if we turn to our table o f attributes we find sensitive ,

and thinking substance on the op p os i te side to ponderable

matter on the higher or spiritual side We are still further
,
.

mystified when we are told later on that The two funda

mental forms of substance ponderab le matter and ether are , ,

not dead and only moved by extrinsic force but they are
, ,

endowed with sensation and wi ll ( though naturally of the , ,

lowest grade ) they experience an inclination for condensa

tion dislike of a strain they strive after the one and struggle
, ,

against the other (p . Finally we are told (p 8 6 ) .

that the inherent primitive properties of substance — feeling

and inclination — are th e a cti ve ca us es of the primary
division into mass and ether— the e rg on omy of ponderable .

”
and imponderable matter .

So then it appears that both forms of substance are not

dead they are alive ) They both experience an
.

inclination for condensation whereas we have previously ,

been told that it is only the positive ponderable matter

which strives to condense and that the imponderable matter
,

—the ether o ffers a perpetual and equal resist an ce .

Ho w anything can result from such a perpetual and equal

balance of forces whether mechanical or life forces we are
, ,

wholly at a loss to understand .

But if we are to acce p t the dictum that the two funda

mental forms of substance are not dead which Haeckel ,

says is indispensable for a truly monistic V iew of substance ,

and one that covers the whole field of organic a n d inorganic

nature (p 7 8 ) then we have arrived at exactly the poin t
.
 SCIENTIFIC MATERIALISM -
O R W HAT ? 1 91

which we desire as pure Idealists ; we have arrived at the

point that Primordial Substance being not dead i t is a
, ,

living moving active conscious thinking Principle

, , , , .

For observe that the two fundamental forms of substance ,

ponderable matter and ether are— according to Haeckel s

,
’

own theory— Primordial Substance They are both the .

same substance in the one case condensed in the other

, ,

rarefied The absurdity of calling these two forms of the

.

one s ubstance attributes or properties of itself is hereby

clearly apparent .

It will be seen however that we are in substantial

, ,
’
a greement with Haeckel s postulate that the concept of ,

Primordial Substance as b eing not dead is indispensable

”
to a truly monistic V iew of substance ; only we cannot
accept at the same time the postulate of Haeckel No 2 that .
,

the cosmos is a monistic me chanical process The two .

views are fundamentall y and radically opposed to each

other.

The very essence of life is spontaneous or innate motion

motion originatin g from within as distinguished from mechan
,

ical motion — motion produced by the application of external

force We cannot be too clear on this point Mechanical
. .

motion is motion of a machine or mechanism ; and no one

ever credited a machine with sensation and will even ,
”
of the lowest grade or with spontaneous innate motion
, .

We may readily grant that if the universe is simply a per

t u a l motion machine and nothing more then it may be
p e
—
, ,

c alled on the basis of one universal substance — a monistic

mechanical process And we might even further grant that

.

certain parts of that machine — living organisms for example ,

—might have the a pp ea ra n ce of spontaneous motion : an

appearance however wholly illusory if traced right back to
, ,

universal substance .

Such a V iew is apparently that of Haeckel No 2 But if . .

such were the case we should certainly n ot find in our final

analysis that a feeling of like or desire was the ca u s e of the
original motions of the universal substance : for we have
already postulated that that motion is the ca us e of the feeling .

As a matter of fact we could never find a feeli n g at all in any ,

intelligible sense of the term It is impossible to credit a

.

m achine of any kind with likes and dislikes or with sensation ,

and inclination in any degree whatsoever If language is to .

1 90 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM

guess that it is the all- embracing energy of th ought It .

w o ul d be most satisfactory if we were plainly told so but we ,

are not Indeed since it is a mech a ni ca l form of a cti vi ty fiwe

. ,

can not connect it with life and consciousness at al l in the ,

ordinary use of the term mechanical .

From the context however it appears that it is only

, ,

when the universal substance is condensed and becomes a ,

k tom that it can be credited with sensation and inclina

py n a ,

tion (or will movement of the simplest form ) For we read .

that The positive ponderable matter th e element wi th th e ,

feel i n g of l i k e or d es i re is continually
,
striving to complete
the process of condensation ( p We are not told .
,

however how it comes to acquire this l i vi n g characteristic

,

by the mere fact of condensation .

B u t if we turn to our table of attributes we find sensitive ,

and thinking substance on the op p os i te side to ponderable

matter on the higher or spiritual side We are still further
,
.

mystified when we are told later on that The two funda

mental forms of substance ponderab le matter and ether are , ,

not dead and only moved by e xtrinsic force but they are
, ,

endowed with sensation and wi ll ( though naturall y of the , ,

lowest grade ) they experience an inclination for condensa

tion dislike of a strain they strive after the one and struggle
, ,

against the other (p Fin al ly

. we are told (p 8 6) .

that the inherent primitive properties of substance— feeling

and inc lination —are th e a cti ve ca u s es of the primary
division into mass and ether— the -erg on om y of ponderabl e
”
and imponderable matter .

So then it appears that both forms of substance are not

dead they are alive ) They both experience an
.

inclination for condensation whereas we have previously ,

been told that it is only the positive ponderable matter

which strives to condense and that the imponderable matter
,

— the ether o ff ers a perpetual and equal resist a nce .

How anything can result from such a perpetual and equal

balance of forces whether mechanical or life forces we are
, ,

wholly at a loss to understand .

But if we are to accept the dictum that the two funda

mental forms of substance are not dead which Haeckel ,

says is indispensable for a truly monistic V iew of substance ,

and one that covers the whole field of organic a nd inorganic

nature (p 7 8 ) then we have arrived at exactly the point
.
 SCIENTIFIC MATERIALISM—OR W HAT ? 1 91

which we desire as pure Idealists ; we hav e arrived at the

.

point that Primordial Substance being not dead it is a

, ,

living moving active conscious thinking Principle

, , , , .

For observe that the two fundamental forms of substance ,

ponderable matter and ether are— according to Haeckel s

,
’

o wn theory— Primordial Substance They are both the .

same substance in the one case condensed in the other

, ,

rarefied The absurdity of calling these two forms of the

.

one s ubstance attributes or properties of itself is hereby

clearly apparent .

It will be seen however that we are in substantial

, ,
’
agreement with Haeckel s postulate that the concept of ,

Primordial Substance as b eing not dead is indispensable

”
to a truly monistic V iew of substance ; only we cannot
accept at the same time the postulate of Haeckel No 2 that .
,

the cosmos is a monistic mechanical process The two .

views are fundamentally and radically opposed to each

other.

The very essence of life is spontaneous or innate motion

motion originatin g from within as distinguished from mechan
,

ical motion — motion produced by the application of external

force We cannot be too clear on this point Mechanical
. .

motion is motion of a machine or mechanism ; and no one

ever credited a machine with sensation and will even ,
”
of the lowest grade or with spontaneous innate motion
, .

We may readily grant that if the universe is simply a per

e t u a l motion machine and nothing more then it may be
p , ,

c alled — ou the basis of one universal substance — a monistic

me chanical process And we might even further grant that

.

certain parts of that machine— living organisms for example

-might have the a pp ea ra n ce of spontaneous motion : an
,

appearance however wholly illusory if traced right back to

, ,

universal substance .

Such a view is apparently that of Haeckel No 2 But if . .

such were the case we should certainly n ot find in our final

analysis that a feeling of like or desire was the ca u s e of the
original motions of the universal substance : for we have
already postulated that that motion is the ca us e of the feeling .

As a matter of fact we could never find a feeli n g at all in any ,

intelligible sense of the term It is impossible to credit a

.

m achine of any kind with likes and dislikes or with sensation ,

and inclination in any degree whatsoever If language is to .

1 92
SCIENTIFIC IDE ALISM

be used in this way we may as well say at once that the

,

rebound of two billiard balls in collision with each other is

caused by their dislike of collision and then say further that
the collision is the cause of the dislike .

We are specifically told i n connection with the pyknotic

theory that the feeling of like or desire (for condensation )
”
on the part of ponderable matter in conj unction with the ,

feeling of dislike on the part of the negative imponderable

matter is the ca u s e of that ceaseless struggl e between the two
,
”
elements and is the source of all physical pr oces ses
,
.

There is obviously therefore a flat contradiction here

, ,

between the two Haeckels With Haeckel No 2 the whole . .

‘

phenomena of life and consciousness — i n which we m ust

certainly include sensation will inclination desire— are , , ,

mechanically caused ; they are phenomena in physics and

chemistry With Haeckel No 1 on the contrary these
. .
, ,

innate characteristics of life and consciousness are themselves

the ca u s e of these same mechanical movements i e the origi nal , . .
,

process of condensation and the resultan t physical and

chemical changes in matter Thus one asserts to be a ca u s e .

that which the other asserts to be an efiect .

Extremes do n ot meet here it is simply a question of the

proper use of la nguage If a machine can have likes and .

dislikes or sensation and will : then it is n ot a machine — to

,

put the matter in a somewhat Irish form .

Matter or Primordial Substance cannot be at one and the

, ,

”
same time not dead but moved by sensation and will
, , ,

to suit the Idealism of Haeckel No 1 and d ead and moved .

,

only by extrinsic (mechanical) force to suit the Materialism

of Haeckel No 2 . .

From the foregoing it is abundantly evident that if we do

not attribute life and consciousness to Primordial Substance
itself as in herent or innate qualities we must either fall back
, ,

upon something outside or beyond Primordial Substance some ,

thing that is to say which is n ot Primor di al Substance but

which acts upon or through i t -
, , ,

in which case we open the door

to all forms of dualism and supernaturalism or els e we must
'

introduce life and consciousness in a p erfectly arbitrary manner

at some stage or other of the cosmic or evolutionary process .

We are not at all certain which of these alternatives is the real

Haeckel theory indeed we do not think that he is at all clear
himself seeing that at one time or ano ther he asserts all three
, .
 SCIENTIFIC MATERIALISM—O R W HAT ? 1 93

Thus on page 8 he asserts that there are two kinds of

substance infinitely extended substance
,
( matter ) and ,

thinking and sensitive substance (S pirit ) These must be .

two di fferent substances I f language means anything ; because ,

as we have already p om t ed out two di fferent forms of the ,

same substance cannot possibly be attributes or princi p al

properties of itself They may be a s p ects but certainly not
.
,

attributes or properties .

In our table of attributes we find sensitive and thinking

substance on the s p i ri tu a l side where we should certainly,

expect to find it if there is any real distinction between one

kind of substance and another But on page 7 8 we are told
.

that both the two fundamental forms of substance ponderable ,

matter and ether are not dead

, and further that the
positive ponderable matter possesses the feeling of like or
desire (for condensation ) whilst the negative imponderable
,

”
matter experiences the fee ling of dislike Why then .

on page 8 is a distinction made between one form of substance ,

which we are led to infer is n ot sensitive and thinking and ,

another which is so It appears to us that a substance which

experiences like or desire is j ust as much sensitive and
thinking as one which experiences the feeling of dislike .

Is it not abundantly clear that this attempt on the part

of Haeckel to mix up physics and metaphysics is a hopeless
failure We may make our choice between a purely
mechanical universe a universe in which the ultimate Prim
,

ordial Substance is dead a n d certain motions thereof are

,

called li fe movements out of com p liment to their a pp a rently

spontaneous character or a universe in which Life and Con
s ci ou s n es s are true a ttri bu tes of the Absolute Eternal Principle

to which all phenomena must be referred in their ultimate

analysis We cannot have both as Haeckel tries to have
.
, .

The result is merely a hopeless confusion and misuse of

language .

Life and Consciousness in any such Absolute Principle wil l

not be infinitely l es s but infinitely more than anything we
,

can know or experience as such As we approach nearer and .

nearer to that Infinite Source of ALL Consciousness like , ,

motion approximates nearer and nearer to Absoluteness .

There are a large variety of s o-

,

called psychic phenomena

which are proof p ositive of the existence of unfathomed depths
of consciousness within or behind that individual conscious
I 3
1 94
SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
ness which we conventionally speak of as ourselves Men of .

Haeckel s type ignore these phenomena altogether

’
.

We cannot have a Universal or Absolute Principle which

is at one and the same time both dead and alive If it is .

dead no amount of mechanical movement can ever make

,

it alive Seeing indeed that life and consciousness are actual

.

facts of our ex p erience that they have to say the least of , ,

it j ust as much claim to a real existence as matter itself

,

possibl y infinitely more since it is only by them that matter ,

is kno wn at all— i t would seem that we have no choice but

to make these the true attributes of our Absolute Principle ;
not in any stinted degree but in a fulness and completeness ,

o f which even our own consciousness in the most exalted ,

degree of which we have any conception can be but the ,

faintest reflection .

An d if any should think that by some possible word

j uggling the true issue is stil l obscure they may read with ,
’
profit the followi ng words by one who was Haeckel s equal
in his own special province of biology and immeasurably ,

his superior in philosophy and dialectic

N ob o d y , I i m a g i n e , wi l l cr edi t m e wi th a d e s i r e t o li m i t t h e e m p i r e
o f p h y s i c a l s ci e n ce b u t I rea ll y fee l b o u n d t o co n fe s s t h a t a g r e a t m a n y
,

v e ry f a m i li a r a n d a t t h e s a m e ti m e e x t r e m e l y i m p o r t a n t p h e n o m e n a
, ,

q
li e u i t e b ey on d i ts l e gi ti m a t e li mi t s I c a n n o t co n ce i v e fo r e x a m p l e
.
, ,

h o w t h e p h e n o m e n a o f co n s ci o u s n e s s , a s s u ch a n d a p a r t fro m t h e
h i l r o ces s e s b y w hi ch t h e y a r e c a l l e d i n t o e x i s t e n ce , a r e t o b e
p y s ca p
b ro u g h t w i th i n th e b o u n d s o f p h y s i c a l s ci en c e Ta ke th e s i m p l e s t
.

os s i b l e e x a m p l e , t h e fe e li n g o f r e d n e s s Ph y s i c a l s ci e n c e t e ll s u s t h a t
p .

q
i t co m m o n l y a ri s e s a s a co n s e u e n c e o f m ol e c u l a r ch a n g e s p r op a g a t e d
fr o m t h e e y e t o a c e r t a i n p a r t o f t h e s u b s t a n c e o f th e b r a i n , w h e n
v i b r a ti o n s o f t h e l u rn i n i fe r o u s e th er o f a c e r ta i n c h a r a c t er f a ll u p on

th e r e ti n a .
p os e th e p r oc es s o f p h y s i ca l a n a l y s i s p u s h e d s o
Le t us s up

f a r t h a t w e c o u l d V i ew t h e l as t li n k o f th i s c h a i n o f m ol e cu l e s , w a tch
t h ei r m ov e m en ts a s i f t h ey w er e b i l li a r d b a ll s , w e i g h t h e m , m e a s u r e
th e m , an d k n ow a ll th a t i s p h y s i cal ly know a b l e a b o u t t h e m W e ll , .

even i n th a t ca s e , w e s h o u l d b e j u s t a s fa r fr o m b ei n g a b l e t o i n cl u d e
th e r e s u l ti n g p h e n o m e n a o f co n s ci o u s n e s s , t h e feeli n g wi th i n o f red n es s ,

th e b ou n d s o f p h y s i ca l s ci e n c e , a s w e a re a t p r e s e n t
I t w oul d r e m ai n .

a s u n li k e th e p h e n o m e n a w e k n o w u n d e r t h e n a m es o f m a t t e r a n d

m o ti o n a s i t i s n ow I f th e re i s a n y p l a i n t r u th u p on wh i ch I h a v e
.

m a d e i t m y b u s i n es s to i n s i s t ov e r a n d o v e r a g a i n i t i s thi s .

“
I t s ee m s to m e p r e t ty p l a i n t h a t t h e r e i s a t hi r d t hi n g i n th e
u ni v e rs e t o wi t co n s ci o u s n es s w h i ch , i n t h e h a r d n e s s o f m
, , , y h ea r t o r
h e a d I c a n n o t s e e to b e m a t t e r , o r force o r a n y c o n c ei v a b l e m o d ifi ca
, ,

ti on o f ei th er h o w e v e r i n ti m a t el y t h e m a ni fes t a ti o n s o f t h e h e n o m en a
,
p
 SCIENTIFIC MATERIALISM— OR W HAT ? 1 95

of co n s ci o u s n e s s ma y b e wi th t h e p h e n o m e n a k n o w n a s
co n n e c t e d

m a t t er a n d for ce .Th e a rg u m e n ts u s e d b y D es ca r t es a n d B e rk e l e y
t o S h ow th a t o u r cer ta i n k n owl e d g e d o e s n o t e x t en d b ey o n d o u r s t a t e s
o f c o n s ci o u s n e s s a p p e a r t o m e t o b e a s i rr e fr a g i b l e n o w a s t h e y d i d

w h e n I fi r s t b e ca m e a c u a i n t e d wi th th em s o m e h a lf-
q c e n tu r y a g o A ll .

th e m a t e ri a li s ti c w ri te r s I k n o w o f w h o h a v e t ri ed t o b i te t h a t fi l e h a v e
s i mp l y b ro k en th ei r tee th .

A s I h a v e s a i d e l s e wh e re , i f I w e r e fo rc e d t o C h oos e b e tw e e n
”—
M a te ri a li s m and I d e a li s m , I s h ou l d el e c t for th e l a t t e r . T H H XLE
. . U Y ,

S ci en ce a nd M ora l s .
 C H A PT E R X

N OUMENAL THE P HENOMENAL

 We l i ve i n s u cc e s s i o n , i n d i v i s i o n , i n p a r t s i n p a r ti c l e s
, M ea n ti m e
.
,

w i t h i n m a n i s th e . s oul of th e w h ol e t h e w i s e s i l en ce t h e u n i v e r s a l b e a u ty ,
t o w h i ch e ve r y q
p a r t a n d p a r ti c l e i s e u a ll y r e l a t e d th e e t er n a l O N E An d .

t h i s d e e p p o w er i n w h i c h w e e x i s t a n d w h o s e b e a t i t u d e i s a l l a cces s i b l e t o u s
-
, ,

i s n o t o n l y s e lf s u tfi c i n g a n d p e r fec t i n e v e r y h o u r b u t t h e a c t o f s e ei n g a n d
,

t h e th i n g s e e n , t h e s e er a n d th e s p e c t a cl e , th e s u b ec t a n d
j th e ob e c t ,
j a re

o ne .
— E M E R 5 0 N Th e Over -
, S ou l .
 C HA P T E R X

THE NO UME NA L A N D T HE PHE N O M E N A L

T HE RE is a strange reluctance on the part of many noted

scientist s both physicists and biologists to recognise any
, ,

intelligent design in the workings of nature ; a strange

disinclination to admit a purpose and an end in view i n the
great evolutionary process .

Probably this is largely due to the fact that the idea

which has been for so many cent uries presented to the Western
World in the authoritative n ame of Relig i on concerning the ,

nature or character of an Intelligent First Cause has been ,

that of a s up ern a tur a l Deity .

Science does not find anywhere in the operations of

natural law any evidence of supernatural interference and
indeed if the God of the orthodox theologians really is s up er
natural how can He possibly be found in n a tu re where He
,

does not exist

But we shall be told He has crea ted nature and natural
, , ,

laws are Hi s laws Possibly ; but a God who only works

.

in or through natural law is indistinguishable from n a t ure

herself Nature reveals the existence of an e fficient First
.
‘

Cause or Noumenon but cannot possibly reveal a s u p er

1
,

natural cause except by miracle i e by arbitrary interference , . .

,

with a known and otherwise inevitable sequence of cause

and e ffect We do not as yet however kno w enough of the
.
, ,

universe of the laws of matter and force on the higher Planes

,

of Substance to say whether any particular incident is a

,

miracle in this sense or not An event a happening may be .

, ,

very startling to us a n d may even upset all our ideas of the

,

natura l sequence of cause and e ffect and yet be p erfectly ,

1
S tri c tl y s p ea N ou men on i s n ot
kin g ,
i r s t C a us e F
I t i s ra th e r t h e tr u e
.
’

a n d es s en ti a l n a t ur e o f E x i s t en ce or B ei n g a s d i s ti n g u is h ed fr o m Ph e n o m e n o n ;
,

t h e l a t t e r b ei n g t h e i ll u s i v e a n d t r a n s i t or y ti m e a n d s p a ce m o d e s o f m a m
tes t a ti on i n con s ci ou s n es s o f t h e O n e R e a li t y .

: 99
 We li v e i n S u cc e s s i o n , i n d i vi s i on , i n p a r ts , i n p a r ti cl es M e a n ti m e,
.

wi t hi n m a n i s th e s o u l of th e w h ol e t h e w i s e s i l en c e t h e u n i v ers a l b e a u ty ,
t o wh i ch e ve r y q
p a r t a n d p a r ti cl e i s e u a ll y r el a t e d th e e t e r n a l O N E And .

t hi s d e e p p o w er i n w hi ch w e e x i s t a n d w h os e b e a ti t u d e i s a l l a cces s i b l e to u s
, ,

i s n o t o n l y s e lf-
s u ffi ci n g a n d p er fec t i n ev er y h o u r b u t t h e a c t o f s e ei n g a n d
,

th e t hi n g s ee n , t h e s e er a n d th e s p e c t a cl e , th e s ub j ec t and th e ob e c t ,
j a re

on e .
—EME R5 0N , Th e Over S ou l - .
 C HA P T E R X

THE NO UM E NA L AN D T HE PHE N O M E N A L

T HE R E is a strange reluctance on the part of many noted

sc i entists both physicists and biologists to recognise any
'

, ,

intelligent design in the workings of nature ; a strange

disinclination to admit a purpose and an end in V iew in the
great evolutionary process .

Probab ly this is largely due to the fact that the idea

which has been for so many cent uries presented to the Western
World in the authoritative name of Religi on concerning the ,

nature or character of an Intelligent First Cause has been ,

that of a s up ern a tu ra l Deity .

Science does not find anywhere in the operations of

natural law any evidence of supernatural interference and
indeed if the God of the orthodox theologians rea lly is s up er
natural how can He possibly be foun d in n a ture where He
,

does not exist

But we shall be told He has crea ted nature and natural
, , ,

laws are Hi s laws Possibly ; but a God who only works.

i n or through natural law is indistinguishable from nature .

herself Nature reveals the existence of an e fficient First

.

Cause or Noumenon but cannot possibly reveal a s up er

1
,

natural cause except by miracle i e by arbitrary interference , . .

,

with a known and other wise inevitable sequence of cause

and e ffect We do not as yet however know enough of the
.
, ,

universe of the laws of matter and force on the higher Planes

,

of Sub s tance to say whether any particular incident is a

,

miracle in this sense or not An event a happening may be .

, ,

very startling to us a n d may even upset a ll our ideas of the

,

natura l sequence of cause and e ffect and yet be perfectly ,

1
S tri ctl y N ou men on i s n o t
s p ea ki n g ,
ir s t C a u s e F I t i s r a th e r t h e t r u
.
’

a n d es s en ti a l n a t ur e o f E x i s t en ce or B ei n g , a s d i s t i n g u i s h e d fr om Ph e n o m en o n ;

t h e l a tt er b ei n g t h e i ll u s i v e a n d t ra n s i t or y ti m e a n d s p a ce m od e s o f m a m
tes t a t i on i n con s ci ou s n e s s o f th e O n e R e a li t y .

I 99
2 00 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
as an exercise of higher powers than any with which
n a tu ra l

we are as yet familiar .

The one thing which orthodox theologians so commonly i n

sist upon is precisely that the Natural World is n ot the Spiritual
World The natural and the spiritual are indeed in their Vi ew
.
, ,

essentially antagonistic Not merely do we leave the natural

.

behind us when we die and enter the spiritual but the

, ,

natural order must finall y pass utterly away leaving only ,

”
the spiritual for all eternity But if the spiritual has no
.

relation to the natural as cause and effect which may be

known as natural law then its existence can only be known
,

by miracle ; while the existence of an absolute miracle can

never be proved until we know the whole universe from top
to bottom The existence of a miracle can in fact only be
.
, ,

asserted by an arbitrary limitation of the term n a tura l .

Science has no doubt from time to time foolishly asserted

the impossibility of certain phenomena and has thereby itself
,

arbitrarily endeavoured to limit the sphere of the natural ;

but as soon as the phenomena themselves have been recognised
as facts they have been quietly rechristened and included
,

in the reco gn ised sphere of natural law Religion on the .

,

other hand in order to bolster up its supernaturalism has

, ,

simply laid Claim to what is wonderful and unfamiliar as

belonging to its own supernatur al province .

Science does not admit a miracle and j oins hands here

,

with Monism which considers the Universe to be a U nity

, ,

and therefore n a tu ra l in all its aspects or phases .

The question of crea ti on is also one on which science finds

itself uncompromisingly opposed to the orthodox theological
conceptions Nowhere in nature does science find any
.

evidence of anything having ever been crea ted in the theo

logical sense of the term ; whilst the authoritative account
of the method of creation which is accepted by orthodox
religion is diametrically opposed to what science does find
,

to have been the actual order of procedure in the evolution

of our Earth .

Science finds in nature a rigid sequence of cause and e ffect

the fundamental principle which is deduced from what we
do know of nature being that nothing can come into existence
,

without an antecedent cause which — although we may not

,

be able to trace i t —is as n a tura l in its operation as are those

sequences of cause and e ffect which we are able to trace .
 THE NOUMENAL AND THE P HENOMENAL 2 01

Nothing ever comes out of nothing ; nothing ever dis

appears into nothing Everywhere is transformation
.
,

equivalence ,change evolution devolution,

but never ,

creation in the theological presentation of the term

, .

Now there is no question as we have fully indicated in ,

our previous chapters as to the existence of some Absolute

,

U nitary Principle Power or Noumenon at the Root of all

, ,

th a t we know or can include in the term N a tu re but there

is very great question as to whether that Power is in the
slightest degree truly conceived and represented in the
orthodox theological conception thereof .

With that question however we have no concern here

, ,
.

The great conflict between Science and the Church in these

matters is nearly over ; and authoritative Ecclesiasticism is
no lon ger able to hold back the tide of scientific knowledge .

With the loss of the temporal power the most potent weapon ,

of the Church fell from her hand and although denunciation

.

and invective of the grossest kind was freely employed to

discredit the leading scientists during the past century and ,

is even now still used in some quarters yet these also have ,

now lost their sting and powe r to wound .

Only those who have still some authoritative system of

truth to uphold can be afraid of looking at the whole facts
,

of their nature and of the universe in which they live

,
.

It is one thing however to rej ect a theological God and

, , ,

quite another thing to rej ect a Principle of Life Conscious ,

ness Intelli gence at the Root of all the operations of nature

, ,
.

It is one th ing to rej ect a supernatural region or order of ,

the universe distinct from our present order to which these

, ,

are said to belong ; but quite another thing to rej ect a super
physical Plane where possibly they may find a legitimate
,

and n a tu ra l sphere of activity which can perhaps hardly even

be guessed at by our present limited and conditioned know
ledge and consciousness .

Setting aside then all theological controversies we must

, , ,

look at this question from a purely scientific and p hilosophical

point of V iew since it is one of the utmost importance for
,

an understanding of the order of nature and the relation ,

of our own life and consciousness thereto .

Those who cannot recognise any design or any conscious

’
Inte lligence at work in the infinite variety of nature s mar
vellons adaptations and beauty of form and function are ,
2 02 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
of course under no necessity to search for anything bey ond
a mere mechanism We have previously expressed th e .

opinion that the question of design in nature may perhaps

be one of perception rather than of argument ; but there a re _

one or two aspects of this matter which it W lll be useful to

consider here as they bear directly upon the question of the
,

process or method of evolution with which we must now

deal from various points of view .

There is undoubtedly a mech a n i s m in the order of nature

with which we are familiar There appears to us to be a .

rigid se q uence of mech a n i ca l cause and effect and we are ,

fully j ustified in postulating— arguing from particulars to

universals— that however deeply we might penetrate into
what we know as Nature i e an external obj ective phe , . .
, , ,

n om en a l universe we should always find a similar principle

, ,

an invariability of natural law —s o l on g a s we a re d ea li n g

wi th p h en om en a on ly .

The im p ortance of this reservation will appear presently .

From this apparent mechanism of nature it is argued by

the pure Materialist that there is no room anywhere in either ,

the causes or the sequence of p h en om en a for any design ,

'

purpose or inte lligence ; consequently everything in the

, ,

universe our o wn life thought and consciousness included

, , , ,

is governed by a rigid determinism Nothing could possibly .

be other than what it is nor could we possibly act otherwise ,

than as we do There is no free will and — i n t h e sense that

.
,

everything is mechanically determined— there is no chance .

We may take Haeckel as a representative of this c l ass

of Materialistic Determinists and see what he has to say ,

about it .

On page 9 7 of the R i ddl e we read :

S i n c e i m p a r ti a l s tu d y of t h e ev ol u ti o n of th e wo r ld t ea ch e s us

th a t t h e r e i s no d e fi ni t e a i m a n d n o s p e ci a l u rp os e t o b e tr a ce d i n i t ,
p
th e r e s e em s to b e no a l t e r n a ti v e b u t to l ea v e e v e ry thi ng to b li n d
’
ch a n ce .

Th e g en er a l l a w o f c a u s a li ty , t a k e n i n co n j u n c ti o n wi t h th e l a w
o f s u b s t a n c e , t ea ch es us
p h e n o m en on h a s
t h a t e v ery a m ech a n i ca l
cause i n thi s s e n s e t h e r e i s n o s u ch th i n g a s ch a n c e (p .

M ech a n i s m ( i n th e K a n ti a n s e n s e) a l on e ca n g i v e u s a t ru e ex p l a n a
t i o n o f n a t u r a l p h e n o m en a , for i t tr a ce s th e m t o th ei r r ea l e ffi ci e n t
c a u s es , t o b li n d a n d u n co n s ci o u s a en ci es w hi ch a r e d e t er m i n e d i n
g ,

t h ei r a c ti o n o n l y b y th e m a te ri a l c on s ti t u ti on o f th e b o d i es we a re
i n ves ti g a ti n g (p .
 THE NO U MENAL AND THE P HENOMENAL 2 03

In the first of th es e q u o t a ti on s we see all purpose or

design in the universe repudiated ; in the second we fi n d a
mechanical cause asserted for all phenomena ; while in the
—
third well let us see what we really are told in the third
, .

We may read the sentence in this way —the real e ffi cient

causes of natural phenomena are blind and unconscious
agencies which are determined in their action only by natural
phenomena the natural constitution of the bodies we are
investigating
For if this natural constitution of bodies is not itself
a natural phenomenon what is it
,

The whole question is precisely as to what this material

—
constitution of bodies atoms and molecules— reall y is and
therefore when Haeckel asserts that this material constitution
i s the ca u s e of natural phenomena he is simply begging the
,

whole question and moving in a vicious closed circle

, .

This sentence is in fact an excellent example of the i h

, ,

consistency o f statement and d eduction— or rather assertio n

-which permeates the whole of Haeckel s work and vitiates ’
,

fl
the whole argument of the R i ddl e if indeed what is merely
a string of assertions can be called an argument at a ll .

For W hat we are really told in the above quotation is

simply that the real e fficient causes of natural phenomena
,

are agencies which are determined by natural phenomena

in other words the ca u s es are determ i ned in their action
,

by the e ects — a method of putting the cart before the horse ,

or of explaining things in terms of themselves to which we ,

previously had occasion to refer in dealing with his conception

of Universal Substance .

But where i ndeed does this Universal Substance come

, ,

i n at a ll in the sentence we are now considering ? Surely

the real e fficient cause of all natural phenomena must
be this Universal Substance ; and the material constitution
of bodies — which we are now told are determining causes
must be determined or caused by the nature of this Substance .

We have already seen however that Haeckel can tell

, ,

us nothing about the nature of this Substance of that One

Principle which sub -
,

stands phenomena that indeed he does , ,

not really know whether it exists or not Nevertheless that . ,

does not prevent him from asserting that those particular

manifestations of this Substance which we are conscious of
in the form of physical matter and mechanical energy are ,
 S CI E NTI F I C I D EALI S M
l‘
2 04

indestructible and eternal which assertion he call s the law

of substance .

The question still remains is not consciousness a natural

phenomenon If it is not then there must be a super ,

—
natural region to which it belongs which Haeckel denies .

If on the other hand it is a natural phenomena which — ,

,

H aeckel asserts — how is it that its real efficient caus e

is blind and unconscious Nowhere does Haeckel explain
to us this true Rid dl e of the Universe .

Haeckel proceeds to take Kant to task for s tating first of

all that there can be no science without this mechanism
of nature and subsequently asserting that mechanical causes
are inadequate as fi n a l causes .

We rather think however that Haeckel himself has postu

, ,

lated something very near to the S ame thing when he tell s us

that spirit (the all - ”
embracing energy of thought) is one
of the two fundamental attributes of this universal substance ,

this divin e nature of the world .

We are forgetting however that this is Haeckel No 1 who

, , .
,

is constantly trying to rise to metaphysical heights as to the

real e fficient cause of all phenomena and is as constantly ,

dragged back into pure Materialism by Haeckel No 2 . .

If you reall y pay attention to a ll that he says you find that ,

he never really gets away from a Monism of physical matte

his ultimate Substance is never really anything more than an
attenuated gas for he postulates that physical matter is
,

con d en s ed out of it and yet the rest can continue to fill all
space - while as Mr M Ca b e himself says : the sensation
, .
‘

” 1
and will he attributes to atoms are obviously figurative .

’
Haeckel s system professes to be essentially Monistic ,

j ust because of the existence of this Universal S ubstance and

yet we see that not merely at the la st but practically all ,

through his work he repudiates it All phenomena he explains

, .

in terms of phenomena and not in terms of this ultimate Sub ,

stance ; his real e fficient cause is really the m aterial

”
constitution of bodies and from this he never in substance,

departs .

We should not have troubled ourselves here with this

’
analysis of Haeckel s position did it not lead us directly to ,

the point which it is essential for us to understand : t h e

distinction between N oum en on and Phenomenon ’
.

’
1
M Ca b e H d eck el
‘
, s C ri ti cs A n s wer ed , p .
54 .
 THE NO U MENAL AND THE P HENOMENAL 2 05

We see clearly that even Haeckel thorough - going Materi ,

alist and Determinist as he is is forced back occasionally ,

,

in spite of himself to an unknown Noumenon yet nowhere

,

in the R i ddl e does he really acknowledge this Noumenon as

the e ffi cient cause of Phenomenon This must necessa rily .

be so in any materi alistic system which can only move along ,

the illusive horizontal line of cause and e ffect being in fact

no more than a one -
, ,

dimensional system which cannot even ,

enclose a s u p erfi ci es much less a solid The much vaunted .

law of substance is itself only p h en omen on it is h ow we

apprehend the Noumenon and not wh a t that N ou m en on ,

rea lly is .

Materialism is simply the attempt to explain some pheno

mena in terms of others i gnoring a ltogether the main question
,

as to how phenomena can exist in consciousness at a ll or ,

what is the real e fficient cause of consciousness itself ,

by which alone phenomena are known .

If Haeckel analy ses all phenomena into the two terms of

matter a n d motion and refuses to recognise any prime -
, cause
for these in an ultimate Noumenon which as such can be , , ,

neither of them then h i s system is not Monistic but ,

Dualistic A Monism which postulates a merely hypothetical

.

Substance of which we can only say that we do not even

clearly know whether it exists or not is unworthy of the ,

name .

Whatever we may postulate as to the two fundamental

attributes of that a ll- embr acin g divine essence of the
world — to use the words of Haeckel No I — there can be
,
.

no question first of all that if we really do postulate that it has

, ,

attributes we must clearly accept its existence and secondly

, , ,

that it must be the e fficient cause of its two fundamental

attributes or aspects and of all phenomena subj ective as
, ,

well as obj ective .

Now we certainly do postulate this Absolute Noumenon

not as a mere hypothetical somethin g which may or may n ot
exist but as that which in the true sense of the word R ea l i ty
, , ,

is the only thing which really does exist .

Further we fi n d it impossible to postulate that the two

,

fundamental attributes or aspects of that Noumenon are

merely matter and force understood in a physical or mechanical
,

sense The eternal ceaseless moti on (activity ) which in its

.

s ubj ective aspect is Life and Consciousness and in its obj ective ,
2 06 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
aspect the phenomenal world of matter is th e on e p ri ma ry ,

a ttri bute of this eternal N ou m e n on .

We know that consciousness exists j ust as clearly as we

know that phenomena ex i st — perhap s more clearly— and we
can no more dispose of the subj ective or consciousness aspect
o f the One N ou m en on by w hatever name we may call it than
, ,

we can dispose of its phenomenal aspect .

To exist to have l i fe i n a n y real sense of the term is to be

, , ,

a cti ve The
.
more active we are — i n consciousness — the more
really we live .

But further to really exist to have real B ei n g i s to exist

, ,

always eternall y ; and not so as a mere matter of extension

,

in ti me as a mere matter of endlessness but with a qu a li ty of

, ,

life which is measureless f ull free unconditioned exultant

, , , , .

Such a measureless fulness of Active Being beyond all ,

possible human conception is the only a ttri bute we can give

,

to that One Noumenon in whom and by whom and through , ,

whom all things in Heaven above and the Earth beneath

exist In that One Life we participate
. it is our life and
bein g and the life and being of the whole Universe —nay
, ,

did we but know it and real ise it It is Ours elf , .

To attain to a fu ll and complete realisation of our oneness

,

with this Infin ite Li fe to atta i n to a full and complete know

,

ledge of our own nature is the subj ective or consciousness

,

-
S ide of the great obj ective world process of evolution In .

that re al isation we fin ally rise above all ill usions of time and
space into the immeasurable fulness of Eternal Life—the
Eternal Now and Here .

But in the meantime we are largely hampered by physical

Plane conditions and in our normal modes of consciousness
, ,

spirit and matter or consciousness and phenomenon appear

, ,

to be as wide apart as the poles ; whil e phenomena appear

to have a separate existence quite independent of our individual
consciousness or indeed of any form of consciousness whatever
, .

Now it is not difficult to see th a t wh ere c onsciousne s s is

associated with i n di vi du a l forms of motion it may itself ass ume ,

an individual or separated Character The cosmic process .

,

viewed as phenomenon presents to us precisely this aspect of

,

lim itation a ll obj ective forms appear to be separate or discrete .

Nevertheless we are sufficiently advanced in our d i s cri m i

,

nating or reasoning powers to be able to post ul ate the existence

of a fundamental unity underlying th is apparent diversity .
 THE NOUMENAL AND THE P HENOMENAL 2 07

The cosmic process presents itself to our individual con

s ci o u s n es s as a cycle of involution and evolution of
limitation followed by liberation of an outgoing from the One
Noumenon followed by a return thereto The whole process .

must of course in a certain sense be an illusion The

, , .

Noumenon can never becom e other than what I t eternally 1 3 .

We cannot form any conce p tion as to what the nature of

the whole cosmic process must be in the Life or Being of the
One Noum enon .

Wh e th e r I ts wi l l cr e a t e d or w a s m u te ,
Th e M os t H i g h S e er t h a t i s i n h i g h e s t h e a v e n ,
H e k n o ws i t— o r p er ch a n ce e ve n H e kn ows n o t ” 1 .

Nevertheless it is not merely possible even with our ,

present powers to rise far beyond the illusions of the senses

, ,

the mere external appearance and crude realism of what

things s eem to be but we can also gather from the operation
,

of our own subj ective nature a tolerably consistent theory of

the operation of the Universal Self one which at all events , ,

will serve us in the meanwhile as a working hypothesis .

In the contents of our mind we find the activity of a

conscious Subj ect or Ego Under normal conditions we are .

not aware of any direct connection between that subj ective .

activity and any obj ective result our thoughts usually appear
to be wholly subj ective .

But under certain abnormal conditions our thoughts may

become obj ectivised ; they may give rise in consciousness to
the i mpression of an external obj ective appearance A word .

or sentence a person or thing thought of a scene or event may

arise in our memory or from the depths of our sub -
, ,

, conscious
ness and appear as an actual objecti ve reality
,
.

Many names have been given to this fact at di fferent times .

By some it i s call ed cla i rvoy a n ce by others h a ll uci n a ti on , .

Names however are nothing ; the fact is everything The

, ,
.

fact itself is indisputable and is of the profoundest significance , .

I n dreams we have a sim ilar obj e cti vi s a ti on of the contents

of the subj ective self In ordinary d reams the process is.

usually confused and chaotic simply because the ordinary ,

in di vidual has n ot yet learnt to control this phase of his con

scious activity But dreams may be and often are as real as
.
, ,

clear and as distinct as p h a s es in the experience of the indi

,

1
R i g V ed a ( Col eb rooke ) .
2 08 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM

vidual as are those which are associated with his norm al

,

waking consciousness on the physical Plane .

There is every evidence to S how that this ob jecti vi s a ti on

of thought is the normal operation of the mind on its own
Plane and that to consciousness on that Plane thoughts are ,

th i n g s We habitually call up a m en ta l i ma g e of familiar

.

th i ngs ; and i f it is possible for that image under certain ,

abnormal physical conditions to become a thing which is s een

,

obj ecti vely — s o much so that it may be mistaken by the seer

for a real physical obj ect— i t is certainly within the region of
hypothesis that on a higher Plane of consciousness this obj eeti
vi s a t i on may be the normal operation of the conscious self .

'

Nay i t even suggests that what we commonly regard as realities

, ,

t h e physical obj ects which seem so independent of our in di

vidual consciousness are in real i ty as unsubstantial as those
,

creations of the mind which we now class as dreams or

hallucinations .

But if the self the conscious Ego can use the mind for the
, ,

purpose of calling up mental i mages— whether obj ectivised or

not— that s elf must be using the mind as an instrum ent in j ust
the same sense that we use our physical bodies Thought is as .

controllable by the active conscious Ego as is action on the

physi cal Plane .

Thoughts are the activities of the s elf on the mental Plane .

Unfortunately we are not accustomed to exercise the same

control over our thoughts as we are over our actions More .

over we are accustomed to think of the s elf from the lower or

,

physical standpoint rather than from the higher ; to associate

ou r s el ves with our temporary physical form instead of with
,

our permanent Spiritual Ego .

But now let us think of the self as a bove the m ental Plane ,

considered as a Plane of substance let us think of the self as

acting from a still higher Plane upon the substance or matter
of the mental Plane — what then will be the nature of that
action as a ffecting the substance of the mental P lane ? We
may conceive of it as being a direct action upon that substance ,

whereby it is thrown into vi brations or form s which are i m

mediately obj ective to the consciousness of the higher self .

We necessarily speak here still as if substance were some

thing existing independently o i the Self and so far as any
individual self or Ego is concerned such language m a y possibly
be legitimate But we are getting very near now to the One
.
 THE NOUMENAL AND THE P HENOMENAL 2 09

Self the Self of all Selves the One Noumenon and in that
, ,

One Self S u bs ta n ce does not exist as an independent rea lity

to say that it does is to stultify our fundamental position a s
Monists .

Primordial Substance considered as the root of all cosmic

phenomena is S imply the obj ective correla ti ve of the activity ,

life motion Being of the One N o u m en on

, , , .

We may conceive then of the phenomenal Universe as , ,

being the obj ectivised thought of the One Self universally and ,

eternally present in the Absolute Consciousness of that Self

not however as the p r oces s which we know but as a complete
, , ,

whole .

Every individual form of consciousness we may regard as

being in some way a li mi ta ti on of the Self by Itself an entering
into and dwelling in the forms of its own creation
, , .

Do not we ourselves clearly repeat this process by seeking ,

ever to objecti vi s e to make rea l or to r ea li s e as we call it

, , , ,

our desires and ideals

But whilst thus within the compass of our sma ll individ ual
,

lives we repeat or reflect the universal process we must bear

, ,

in mind also th a t we are largely conditioned by a larger cycle

or cycles of evolution related to consciousness or selves or , ,

monads higher than our o w n We belong in the first instance

, .

to Humanity as a whole The individual can never rea lly be .

separated in his evolution from the larger unit while the ,

larger unit is in its turn only part of some still larger whole .

Atoms or Worlds Solar Systems or immeasurable Universes

,

all are bound together by invisible bonds infinitely more r ea l

than the mere outward appearance System within syst e m .

acts and interacts on every Plane of the Cosmos in outer

form apparently separate discrete independent i n inner , ,

nature never so but always ONE with that Infinite B E I NG by

,

whom and in whom and through whom all things whatsoever

, ,

in Heaven above or in Hell below are bro ught forth into

, ,

manifestation .

We have already seen that the modern materialistic method

of studying life and consciousness is to trace them back to
ru d imentary and primitive organisms and there losing sight of , ,

them in the next remove in i n org a n i c matter to finally deny , ,

that they are anything more than complex phenomena of

blind and unconscious agencies and mechanical causes .

Now we must clearly recognise that so far as individual ,

I 4
21 0 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
forms of consciousness associated with physical matter are
concerned we have an evolutionary series rising gradually out
,

—
of rudimentary forms of matter atoms and molec ul es where ,

we are altogether unable to distinguish the characteristics of

l f
i e — u p to the p resent powers of our own mind and conscious

ness a n d possibly beyond

,
.

But why should we conclude therefrom that the conscious

ness which 1 3 omnipresent is in some rudimenta ry form
‘‘

’
to quote Herbert Spencer s words in the paragraph from the
last page of his A u tobi og ra p hy which we give at the com
,

m e n ce m en t of Chapter VII We see clearly that evolution

.

— which is all that inductive science deals with — pre

supposes involution Is then that which i n -
.
,
volves more
,

rudimentary even than those lowest forms with which we

are acquainted ? Is that which is the efii ci en t ca us e of all
phenomena less than the smal lest of all its manifestations
,

Consciousness Herbert Spencer suggests— and his s u gg es

,

tion is of course based upon conclusions arrived at by induc t ive

scientific methods — is omnipresent But forms of physical .

matter are not omnipresent they do not fill all space only ,

a very infinitesi mal portion thereof In what then can this .

omnipresent consciousness inhere ? Obviously only in the

omnipresent Primordial Substance .

And there in that S u bs ta n ce on its own Pl a ne so to speak

, , , ,

is that Omnipresent Consciousness less even than that of a

speck of protoplasm less than nothing ; or is it not rather
,

infinitely m ore than anything which any indivi dual form can
ever manifest a y even though that form be that of Brahman
,

or J ehovah Hims elf the crea ti ve divine potency of this our

,

present cycle of cosmic evolution Beyond Brahman lies

beyond J ehovah the Ain -
.

Pa ra b ra h m Soph .

In ordinary conventional language we might possibly say

that we as human beings possess a mind and consciousness
, ,

a h n os t infinitely removed in degr ee from that of the lowest

rudimentary organisms ; and that we possess this as the

result of an evolutionary proce s s .

But while it is true that a s i n di vi du a ls we may be said to

possess these as the result of an evolutionary process it is ,

obviously not true— on the basis of a Universal Consciousness

—that Consciousness itself has evolved What we shoul d .

say is that an infinite variety of individual forms are able

,

to ma n i fes t th e inherent nature of this Universal Consciousness

 THE NOUMENAL AND THE P HENOMENAL 21 1

in an infinite variety of ways and it would seem only natural

and logical that the continuity or universality of Conscious n ess
should reveal itself on the form or obj ective side not in a ,

number of discontinuous discrete or isolated manifestations , , ,

but in something continuous orderly and progressive such , , ,

as we find in the sequence of organic evolution and which ,

we are compelled to postul ate of the whole Cosmic Process

considered as a cycle of involution and evolution .

Some have supposed that this same vas t Cosmic Process

is evolutionary for the Absolute Itself ; that the Absolute
represents the r es ult of the process This we cannot accept . .

The Absolute cannot become And even so has not the .

,

Absolute already had an Infinity in which to evolve and so ,

to reach an infinite degree of life and consciousness — i n fi n i tely

removed that is to say from any rudimentary form
, ,

This however is simply anthropomorphising the Absolute

,
‘
, ,

by applying to It our present conceptions of ti me .

Granted then the existence of individual forms of con

, ,

s ci ou s n es s as manifestations in varying degr ees of the inherent

,

nature of the One Universal Consciousness how or in what

way shal l we measure the possibilities or limitations of such
individual forms ? Is man in fact the highest individual , ,

form of life and consciousness in the Universe Is man even

—as we commonly k now him— the highest form of life and
consciousness associated with our Earth or evolved in the ,

present order of things

We may answer this question in the words of the late
Thomas Henry Huxley In E s s a y s up on s ome Controverted
.

Q u es ti on s (p 3 6 ) we read as follows
.

L ooki n g m a t t er fro m t h e m os t ri g i dl y s ci e n ti fi c p oi n t o f
at th e
vi e w ,t h e a s s u m p ti o n t h a t a m i d s t t h e m y ri a d s o f w or l d s s ca t t e re d
,

th ro u g h en d l e s s s p a ce , t h e r e c a n b e n o i n t ell i g e n ce a s m u c h g r e a te r
’ ’
t h a n m a n s a s hi s i s g r e a t e r t h a n a b l a c k b ee tl e s n o b ei n g e n d o w e d

wi th p o w e r s o f i n fl uen ci n g th e co u rs e o f n a tu r e a s m u ch g r e a t e r th a n
’
h i s a s h i s i s g re a ter th a n a s n a i l s s e e m s t o m e n o t m e r e l y b a s el es s b u t
, ,

i m p er ti n e n t . W i th o u t
t ep p i n g b ey on d t h e a n a l o g y o f t h a t w hi c h i s
s

k n ow n , i t i s e a s y t o p e o p l e t h e c o s m os wi t h e n ti ti e s , i n a s c e n d i n g s c a l e ,

u n ti l we r e a ch s o m e t h i n g p r a c ti ca ll y i n d i s ti n g u i s h a b l e fr o m o mn i
”
o t e n ce , o m n i p r es e n c e , and o m n i s ci e n c e
p .

If ou r i n t e l li g e n ce can , s om e
m a t te r s , s u re l y r e p ro d u ce t h e
in
s t o f t h o u s a n d s o f y e a rs a g o a n d a n ti ci p a t e th e fu t u r e o f t h o u s a n d s
p a ,

o f y e a rs h e n ce , i t i s c l e a rl y wi th i n t h e li mi ts o f p o s s i b i li ty th a t s o m e

r e a t e r i n t e ll e c t , e v e n o f t h e s a m e o r d e r, m a y b e a b l e to m i rro r th e
g
”
w h ol e p a s t and t h e w h o l e f u t u re .
21 2 SCIENTIFIC IDEALI S M
Shall we form our conclusions then as to th e nature of , ,

this Universal Life and Consciousness by going back to

rudimentary forms or shall we not rather do so by acq u iring
in the first instance a deeper kn owledge of our own nature
and powers by seeing in these even to the highest and fullest
,

which we can possibly imagine of them but a feeble reflection ,

o f that which the One Noumenon must possess as the ej i ci en t

ca u s e of a ll Shall we go back to more feeble beginnings or ,

shall we not rat h er go forward to the infinite possibilities of

the future ?
Our concern indeed is very little with the past and very
, , ,

much with the future The history of t h e past is useful to

.

us only as enabling us to understand this vast process of

evolution through which we as individuals are now passing
as enabling us to claim for our future an achievement com
mensurate with that which the past discloses .

To understand therefore the nature of Life and Conscious

, ,

ness we must not take them in their rudimentary forms we ,

must study them in the largest and fullest possible exp ression
which is open to us If we ourselves can exercise a measure
.

of consciousness a hn os t infinitely removed from that of lower

individual forms it is certain that in that Infinite N ou m en on
, ,

from which we derive our powers consciousness will so much ,

transcend anything which we can at present know or imagine

as practically to cease to be consciousness at all in the sense
in which we at present understand it ; as that which appears
to be the correlative of phenomenon ; as the self or subj ect
in opposition or contrast to the not - self or obj ect In the .

Real Self in the One Noumenon sub j ect and obj ect must
, ,

necessarily be ON E .

If now we bear in mind the great principle that all cycles

of evolution are interrelated that smaller cycles are parts
,

of larger ones and these again of something still more

,

universal— a n apparently infinite series of expansions which ,

nevertheless we find ourselves compell ed to terminate or

unify i n the One Absolute— we shall see that in the first ,

instance the key to our own smaller individual cycle which is

,

represented by one single physical life - period must be looked ,

for in its relation to some larger cycle .

The immediate physical relation is quite obvious We .

are part of Hum anity of a vast cycle of evolution represented

,

at this particular stage by what we now know as Man

 THE NO U MENAL AND THE P HENOMENAL 21 3

represented at an earlier stage by something which stands

in the same relation to Man as we now know him as the
embryo or the germ -
,

cell does to the child which will presently

appear ; represented at a later stage by a divine manhood ,

as yet as little realised by the infant Humanity by Man as ,

we now know him as the infant can realise the powers which
,

wi ll presently be his as a full- grown man .

We are part of Humanity of one great divine cycle of ,

evolution or activity appearing to us from our time and

, ,

space point of view only as an evol u ti on Each indi

, .

vidual life plays its part in that evolution as a whole ;

each individual life - thread must run throughout the whole
of that evolution must be part of the one organic whole :
,

even as our physical organism is built up of lesser lives and ,

these of lesser still but retains its organic wholeness through

,

all the flux of material of atoms and molecules and cells

, , , ,

which go to make up its individuality .

One atom many atoms perhaps billions of atoms or cells

, ,

might conceivably vary their life and conduct to a very large

extent without appreciably a ffecting the body as a whole ;
and so also we may conceive that millions of indivi duals
may vary their conduct within what to them may be very , ,

wide limits and yet not appreciably a ffect the evolutionary

,

course of Humanity as a whole Each individual in any .

,

one incarnation does but play the part of a single atom as it

, ,

were in the great organic Wh olefo f Man made in the image

, ,

and likeness of God .

Neverthel ess each individual even in one single brief

, ,

p yh s i ca l i l i fe -
period must assuredly
,
have s om e share in the
process ;lfjus t as each individual atom of our body accounts
for s ometh i n g in the sum - total of the organic whole .

When we look at the Solar System as a whole to whose ,

larger cycle of evolution our Earth belongs it is further ,

conceivable that indi viduals may do very much as they like

"

without altering in the slightest degree the predestined course

of evolution of that larger System The larger cycles will .

certainly work out their appointed destiny quite independently

of anything which the individual may or can do in any
one lifetime or in many lives ; j ust as we may design and
,

carry out a certain course of action quite inde p endently of

any individual atom molecule or cell of our body Were all
, ,
.

individuals to un ite in one common purpose however there , ,

21 4 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
is no saying what might not be e ffected even on a cosmic ,

scale .

We find here then that the key to the apparent m ech a ni s m

, ,

of nature is a double one In the first place our own individual

.

cycle is so small and our knowledge of the processes of nature

,

—extended as they are over such vast periods of time and ,

e ffecting therein such marvellous transform ations— also so

small and limited that it is impossible for us to recognise
,

the real nature or the direct action of the larger cosmic Power ,

Intelligence Mind Consciousness or Life which must

, , , ,

necessarily be associated therewith as an emanation fr om ,

the One Root Principle from the One Absolute Life and ,

Consciousness .

In the second place we see that the nearer we can come

,

in co n sciousness to the higher Planes of the Cosmos the ,

nearer we approach in thought to the poin t of V iew of the

One Un i ty the more p h en om en a must appear in their true
,

relation and proportion not as something absolutely separate

and distinct from Consciousness but as the natural correlative ,

and complement thereof .

The mind without matter the idea without form of ,

expressi on Consciousness without phenomenon — o r matter

, ,

without mind form of expression without idea phenomenon

without consciousness -
, ,

what co ul d any or either of these

be without the other
All ideas must become materi a lised i n form The artist .
,

the poet the musician the mechanic— what are any of

, ,

these un less they can express themselves in outward vis i ble

form ; un less they can r ea li s e the creative fire which burns
wi thin them
And what is that creative fi re— which bu rns brightest
and intensest in those to whom we ascribe g en i u s — but the
reflection of a divine fire universal as Life itself and pro , ,

d u ct i ve in the One Div ine Mind of all this vast Cosmos as ,

the ex p ression in form of the formless Divi nity Wh at indeed .

, ,

is g en i u s but the ability to bri ng through to this lower Plane

some larger measure of this divin e fire which burns within
each one of us : a y even in divinest degree y et fa i ls to
, ,

penetrate our grosser senses and the clouds of material ideas ,

and desires in which we en wrap o urselves ; even as the

glorious Sun shines ever above yet fa i ls to penetrate a vapour
or smoke -
,

laden atmosphere .
 THE NOUMENAL AND THE P HENOMENAL 21 5

In this necessity for self- expression for self -

,
realisation ,

we touch perchance the great necessity of the Divine Itsel f .

Assuredly there is a necessity which binds God even as it

binds Man —the necessity of Hi s own Nature Assuredly .

”
also Man made in Hi s image must reflect and reproduce
—
this divine necessity h e must realise h i ms elf .

And since he is one with the Divine in fact — though

appare n tly separate as an individual consciousness — this
divine necessity in him assumes a dual aspect As an .

individual he must fill in his share in the great cosmic process ,

he must be bound by the larger necessity of that process by ,

what appears to him to be the i ron laws of nature But .

that process being a divine self- realisation or self-

,
expression ,

and that which expresses itself being necessarily more than

the expression being more than any individual form in which
,

it can express itself even as the artist is more than the picture
,

or the statue and the mechanic more than his machine :

,

so man being in reality one with the divine having within

, ,

him a spark of the divine fire must not merely express in

,

his individual capacity the wi ll of some larger cosmic Power

but must ever realise h i m s elf in larger and diviner degree
,

learning thereby to transcend more and more the cos mi c

forms of expression even as he now transcends those forms
,

which he himself is able to mould with his present knowledge

of the laws of nature .

In that higher realisation of his true nature phenomenon ,

will not cease to exist ; for assuredly phenomenon is part of

the divine necessity the necessity of the divine to realise
,

Itself in obj ective form But in that higher consciousness

.

we must realise that it is the Self which makes phenomenon ,

and not phenomenon which makes the Self we must realise

that Life and Consciousness are the reality not matter and ,

form .

So long as we continue to regard the universe from the

lower or outer material or individual point of view from ,

the standpoint of phenomenon merely we can never attain

to a realisation of the fundamental Unity which we are
intellectually compelled to postulate as lying at the root
of Al l .

’
Down here we exist on a Plane of appearances and
illus i on beca u s e of th e li mi ta ti on s of th e i n di vi d u a l We exist
,
.

on a Plane of apparent separation individualisation , ,

21 6 SCIENTI F IC IDEALISM

mech a n i s m ,and
We e x is t at th e objecti ve pole of
ma tter .

the great ua li ty of subj ect and ob j ec t The a pparent .

necessity odi mi ta ti on of thi s Plan e is o nl y the revers e or ,

o pposite p ol of the absolute free w ill of the P l ane o f Rea lity

,
.

Necessity a d free will like all other p a ir s of opposites meet

, ,

and vanish i the One Absolute Noum enon The es s ence of .

what we k n w as consciousness i s contrast duali ty polarity , , .

Good ca n n o tb e known wi thout e vil nor li ght W i thout dark

fl
,

-
ness ; or rai er let us say that free wi l l can n o t be known
without li m i tti on and the limitati on is what we ca l l evil So
also the Seltze n only be kn own by its op p osite the not -
.
,

s elf

Between hese two poles the i ndivi d ual Eg o —l ik e all

.
,
”

else i n the ul vers e— uct ua t es from li fe to dea th and fro m

, ,

dea t h to life or let us say rather—s ince life is universa l

from s ub jecvi ty to obj ectivity a n d from ob j ecti vity to
,

subj ectivity .

This un i vrs a l cyclic p rinciple of i nvolution a n d evolution ,

which we ar bound to deduce in our gene ralis ations from

particulars tcun i vers als operates in the in divi dual man or
,

Ego i n leadin h im down in to matter or physi cal in carnation

,

not once b u t na n y tim es because of his conn ecti on wi th the

, ,

larger cycle o Hum a n i ty as a whole He must share in the .

whole cycle o e vol uti on of Hum anity considered as a larger

u n i t a r v cycle r which his oi m individual cycle is on y a sma ller
l
part .

And who S itll say to what still larger cosmic cycle the whole
evolution of [um a n i ty belongs ? Our Earth is physica ll y
part of a l a rgr unit— the Solar System— which s i nce the ,

outer p h y s i ca lor phenomenal is only a symbol of the inner

sp r tual or n om e mal must cert a mly be represented i n that
i i
,

i n n er n o u m en a b
y some unitary Cosmic Power some supreme ,

Logos s up rena that is in His own System but subordi nate

nevertheless—a being i n di vi dua l— to the One Absolute
, ,

Noumenon .

Possibly S t h supreme Logos may be regarded as the

p ers on a l God f our System ; the pe rsonal crea tor of that
System ; tho nh still far removed from the One Absolute ,

which can neve be p ers on a l Might we not possibly conceive

.

that even as or own evolution appears

 THE NOUMENAL AN D THE PHF N MENA I .

some in finitely maj estic B eing is evolve d I co m p a rnh le in ,

po wer and glor y I m i m a g i n a b le a n d incom p rhe nsi b l e to o u r

,
e

feeble conceptions of wh a t Lif e a n d B ei n g redy m e a n . .

D eep are the m y steries of Life a n d Con s cms n e s s infini te . .

.

their possibilities — and Life and Con s c i os n es s a re our. .

inalienable poss ession Death is an i m p os sul i ty ; Life can

.

no more be destroyed th a n motion for motio i s the a c tivity ,

of the One Life It is only the pers on a l li m i td self the time

. ,
.

phenomenon which passes a way ; th e re a l elf is immortal

,

a nd eternal .

And even so have phil osopher a n d s a g a and divinely s ,

inspi red men taught in all ages to those who i d ears to hear .

Such has ever been the doctri ne and t ea ch i n o f those whom

we recognise as the great ones of the Earth wh o have seen
Truth with clear eyes the etern a l Truth wi ch lies beyond
the mere appearance of things the Truth t h the self in man e

and the Self of the Universe a r e on e a nd th e sme .

N e v er t h e s p i ri t w a s b orn ; th e S p i r i t s h a ll c e a t o b e n ev e r
"
.

N ev e r w a s ti m e i t w as n o t ; e n d a n d b e g i n n g a r e d r e a m s
B i r thl es s a n d d e a t hl es s a n d ch a n g e les s r e m a i n el t h e s p i ri t fo r
ever

D e a th h a th n ot t ou ch e d i t a t a ll , d ea d t h o d i t h e h o u s e of

it s ee m s

The tr ue law of substance of th a t whh sub - stands all ,

phenomena is not the conservation of p h y c a l m atter and

,

mechanical energy but the conservation of LE and Conscious

,

ness Phenomenon can never be expla i ne d i te rms of itself

.

it requires a Noumenon to explain it .

If we postulate as Haeckel does that u: Noumenon is

, ,

merely a x ms i on and con

tract i on , e are really no

'

nearer to w deal with mere

physical
a s o l on g a s we ,

with an endless
we have not
matter as
m a g i n a b le
y p o th e t i ca l
Substance
face to fac e
21 6 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
mechanism and ma tter We exist at the objecti ve pole of
,
.

the great duali ty of subj ect and obj ect The apparent .

necessity or limitation of this Plane is only the reverse or ,

o p p osite pole of the absolute free will of the Plane of Reality

,
.

Necessity and free will li ke all other pairs of Op posites meet

, ,

and vanish in the One Absolute Noumenon The essence of .

what we know as consciousness i s contrast dual ity polarity , ,

.

Good cannot be known without evil nor light wi thout dark

fl
ness ; or rather let us say that free -
,

wi ll cannot be kn own
without li mitation and the limitation is what we call evi l So
also the Self can only be known by its opposite the not -
.
,

self , .

Between these two poles the individual Ego—like a ll

else in the universe — uctu a t es from life to death and from
, ,

death to life or let us say rather— since life is u niversal

from subj ectivity to ob jecti vi tv and from ob j ectivity to ,

subj ectivity .

This un iversal cyclic principle of involution and evolution ,

which we are bound to deduce in our generalisations from

particulars to un iversals operates in the i ndividual man or
,

Ego i n leading him down into matter or physical incarnation

,

not once but many times because of his connection with the
, ,

larger cycle of Hum anity as a whole He must share in the .

whole cycle of evolution of Humanity considered as a larger

unitary cycle of which his own individual cycle is only a small e r
part .

And who shall say to what still larger cosmic cycle the whole
evolution of Humanity belongs ? Our Earth is physically
part o f a larger unit— the Solar System— which since the ,

outer physical or phenomenal is only a symbol of the in ner

spiritual or noumenal must certainly be represented in that
,

i n n er noumenal by some unitary Cosmic Power some supreme ,

Logos supreme that is in Hi s own System but subordinate

, ,

—
nevertheless as being i n di vi du a l— to the One Absolute
N o u m e n on .

Possibly such supreme Logos may be regarded as the

p ers on a l God of our System ; the personal crea tor of that
System ; though still far removed from the One Absolute ,

which can never be p ers on a l Might we not possibly conceive

.

that even as our own evolution ap pears to compass a greater

and ever greater individual p erfection even so the cosmic ,

p r ocess re p resents the evolution of some such mighty Logos

that out of all this time phenomena and infinite stress and strife ,
 THE NOUMENAL AND THE P HENOMENAL 21 7

some in finitely maj estic Being is evolved incomparable in ,

power and glory unimaginable and incomprehensible to our

,

feeble conceptions of what Life and Being really mean .

2
.
Deep are the m y steries of Life and Consciousness infinite ,

their possibilities — and Life and Consciousness are our

~

inalienable possession Death is an impossibility ; Life can

.

no more be destroyed than motion for motion i s the activity ,

of the One Life It is only the personal limited self the time
.
,

phenomenon which passes away ; the real Self is immortal

,

a nd eternal .

And even so have philosophers and sages and divinely ,

inspi red men taught in all ages to those who had ears to hear .

Such has ever been the doctrine and teaching of those whom
we r e cog n i s e as the great ones of the Earth who have seen
'

Truth with C lear eyes the eternal Truth which lies beyond
the mere appearance of things the Truth that the self in man
and the Self of the Universe a re on e a n d th e s a me .

N ev e r th e s p i ri t w a s b o r n th e s p i ri t s h a ll ce a s e t o b e n e v e r ;
N ev e r w a s t i m e i t w a s n o t ; e n d a n d b e g i n n i n g a r e d r e a m s "
B i r th l e s s a n d d e a th l e s s a n d ch a n g el es s r em a i n e th th e s p i r i t for
e ve r

D e a t h h a th not t o u ch ed i t a t a ll , d e a d th o u g h t h e h o u s e of

i t s ee m s

The tr ue law of substance of that which sub - stands all

,

phenomena is not the conservation of physical matter and

,

mechanical energy but the conservation of Life and Conscious

,

ness Phenomenon can never be explained in terms of itself

.

it requires a N o u m en on to explain it .

If we postulate as Haeckel does that the Noumenon is

, ,

merely a material substance capable of expansion and con ,

traction of condensation and ra refi ca ti on : we are reall y no

,

nearer to a fi n a l ca u s e than we are when we deal with mere

physical phenomena .

However far back we may go in phenomena s o l on g a s we ,

a re d ea li n g wi th p h en om en a on ly we are dealing with an endless

,

chain of appearances the real cause of which we have not ,

touched and cannot touch We may disintegrate matter as

, .

much as we like and split the atom to the last imaginable

,

fraction— though i n truth there is no l a s t— to an hyp othetical

final particle or an equally hypothetical universal Substance
,

so long as we only think of it as ma tter we are still face to face

with the fundamental problem as to the relation of conscious
21 8 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
ness to phenomenon ; of that which perceives to that which
is perceived ; of the self to the not - self .

And so we are forced back upon the Idealistic position ,

that p henomenon is only understood by its complement and

correlative i e Life and Consciousness
,
. .
,
.

We reach this position scientifically by understanding that

the resolution of matter into Primordial Substance is not
merely a di s i n tegra ti on but a dema teri a li s a ti on Matter is
,
.

only m a tter considered as the opposite pole of Spirit Life , ,

or Consciousness .

The physical the material the obj ective the phenomenal

, , , ,

can never be other than s y m boli ca l can never be the thing

in itself .They are the expression and the language the ,

painting the writing the sound the outward and visible sign
, , ,

of the inner crea ti ve p ower ; crea ti ve in that it thus brings

forth in an infinite variety of manifestations the infinite
contents of I TS E L F .

If the mind can surely bring forth and embody in visible

sign and symbo l some i d ea it is because the i dea a lready,

exists in the mind because the thing is already th ere as an i d ea

,

nor can the th i n g— which a s a thi n g as an obj ective form in ,

time and space is cre a te

,
d— ever adequately represent the pure
i dea .

The Universe is the great work of art of the Infinite In

exhaustible S E LF It expresses the infinite contents of that
.

S E LF in an infinite variety of ways ; but never as a th i n g ,

never as p h en omen on can it wholly adequately or com , ,

p l e t e l y express or exhaust the contents of the Infinite Mind

and Consciousness That Mind and Consciousness or rather
.

that LI FE— is the Noumenon the First Cause the Causeless , ,

Cause of a ll that ever has been or ever can be expressed as ,

Phenomenon ALL is eternally T HE R E but in a manner

.
,

utterly beyond the c omprehension of our present conscious

ness limited and conditioned as it is by material ideas and
, ,

time and space perceptions Though we m u s t postulate an.

Absolute Noumenon that Noumenon can only b e expressed

,

by a paradox It is not - . this and not - that ; for it is not

merely this and that but also its opposite It is ALL
, . .

It is as inevi table that the creation bringing forth o r , ,

process of the great Art Production of the Universe should be

mech a n i ca l as it is that there should be a mechanical seq uence
,

’
of cause and e ffect from the painter s brush to the colour e ffect
 THE NOUMENAL AND THE P HENOMENAL 21 9

produced on the canv a s or from the chisel of the sculptor to

,

the form evolved from the marble We see the process and
.
,
“
call it the laws of Nature but those laws are n o t the why ,

they are only the h ow .

The h ow we may study as phenomena in the infinite ,

modes of matter a n d force which appear to consciousness as a

not -self
.

The why we can only understand as we ourselves attain to

one -
realisation of our a t - ness or a t-
,
one -
ment with that Infinite
,

Life which is the Noumenon of A LL .

Attaining to that a t- one -

ment we are no longer man or ,

even super- man but verily something which no pen can

,

describe nor can it even enter into the heart of the lower man
,

to c onceive .

Here and there saint and seer partially attaining to a

realisation of the great mystery of a t-
,

one -
ment have dimly ,

adumbrated its indescribable transformation t ra n s fi g ura ti on , ,

or transmutation .

Nor are we dependent for this on the records of the past .

Such seers are with us to - day .

 C H A PTE R X I

COSMIC EVOL U TION

W h o kn ows t h e s e cre t ? W h o p r ocl a i m e d i t h er e ?
W h e n c e w h en c e
, th i s m a n i fol d cr e a ti on s p r a n g ?
» t h e m s el v e s
:
Th e G o d s g c a m e i l a t er i n t o b ei n g

W h o kn o ws fr om wh en c e th i s g r ea t cr ea ti o n s p ra n g ?

Th a t , w h e n ce a l l t hi s g r e a t cr ea t i on ca m e,

W h e th er I t s wi l l crea t e d or wa s m u te ,

Th e M o s t Hi g h S e er t h a t i s i n hi g h es t h ea v en ,
He kn ow s i t— or p er ch a n c e ev e n H e kn ow s n o t .

R i g V ed a ( CO L E B R O O K E ) .
 C HA P TE R X I

C OS M I C E V OLUTI ON

O F all the brill iant achievements of Science and Philosophy

which have distinguished the nineteenth century as that in
which the light of Truth has once more penetrated and over
come the darkness and ignorance imposed upon the Western
World b y E ccl es i a s t i ca l Authority there is none which surpasses
,

that which has defin itely placed the principle of E voluti on

on a firm foundation of inductive knowledge and made it ,

impossible to regard it otherwise than as one which is universal

in its application .

Every addition to o ur knowledge of Nature goes to show

more and more clearly that Evolution is the natural law ,

the governing principle of all phenomena of every individual ,

thing which manifests itself in the external obj ective world

of time and space .

Commencing with physical matter itself in which we can ,

trace a definite order and sequence in the formation of the

C hemical elements and atoms we pass by a scarcely perceptible
,
’
transition to the lowest forms of life to protoplasm hardly
, ,

more than an exceedingly complex chemical molecule ; and

from thence to lowly f orms of living organisms which are
little more than aggregates of simple cells .

From these a gradually progressive series can be traced

in which the organism increases in complexity and definite ,

parts become specialised for particular functions These .

gradually evolve to the more complicated forms of plants

and animals whilst in the latter kingdom we also find a
,

progressive series at the head of which stands Man whose ,

principal characteristic is an enormously specialised and

developed brain and nervous system the instrume n t on the
,

physical Plane of the conscious thinking Ego .

Man himself exhibits the same evolutionary progression ,

in his physical mental and moral nature from the lowest

, , ,

2 23
2 24 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM

a borigines scarcely more than animals up to such examples

, ,

as P lato and Shakespeare Gautama Buddha and J esus Christ

,
.

But it is not merely the material substance of our Earth ,

and the living organisms belonging specially thereto which ,

fall under this great cyclic law and work out their predestined
,

course in accord a nce therewith .

Looking out into the Cosmos we see that a similar law

must apply to the whole Solar System of which we are a part
and not to the Solar System merely but also to the millions ,

o f Suns and Worlds scattered in Infinite Space ; each and

all System within System work out through countless ages
, ,

those great cyclic changes by which they emerge from the

latency o f Primordial Substance run their appointed courses , ,

and return to T HAT from whence they came The whole Cosmic .

Process in great and in sma ll , is s ummed up in the one word

, ,

E volu ti on .

But what Power is it then which moves throughout this

, ,

process which is latent or in nate in Primordial Substance

,

before It evolves or unfolds ? Evolution shows us that

the ceaseless infinite moti on which lies at the root of all
phenomena is no mere fortuitous heterogeneous clashing of
atoms in space— whether endowed with a rudimentary form
of feeling and desire or not — which might result in one thing
j ust as well as another but more conceivably in n othing but
,

chaos and confusion Not thus does that Infinite Power

.

which lies behind and wi thin the manifested Cosmos reveal

Its intrinsic nature The infinite motion of the Universe is
.

an ordered sequence of unfoldment Every thing which .

‘

appears in the world of phenomena which comes down as , ,

it were and is materialised on this present Plane of our Con

,

s ci ou s n es s must necessarily exist first of all i n s ome form or

,
’
oth er on a higher Plane : even if that form be no form in
any material sense in which we can apprehend it but even ,

such as is the form of a thing in our own mind before we

materialise it in physical matter— t h e form of an I d ea in
the mind of a thinker Everything which appea rs in the
.

phenomenal world works out in smaller or great er cycles a

predestined or designed course .

We need not hesitate to use the word p r edes ti n ed as if

it should imply a fatalism which would be dest ructive of all
intelligent human e ffort Man himself predestines much in
.

the kingdom which he rules the kingdom of his o wn body

, ,
 COSMIC EVOLUTION 2 25

’
where to lesser lives he is verily a god
, , Our physical body .

is a cosmos in itself and millions upon millions o f li ves have

,

their in carnations and cycles of evolution within that body ,

their d es ti ny determined by the thoughts which we think ,

and the actions we design and carry out .

But we cannot escape from the conclusion that every

thing which is designed is also predestined given the unchange ,

ableness of the will of the design er and the necessa ry po wer ,

to accomplish his design The Universe as we kno w it either

.

has or has not been designed ; it either has or has not an

Infinite Intelligence behind it The type the i d ea of every .
,

thing which comes into manifestation either does or does ,

not exist in the latency and potentiality of Primordial

Substance in the universal germ -
, cell from which it s u b s e
quently evolves In the one case there is no room for
.

chance ; in the other case there is no room for evolution .

. Possibly the question of design is not so much one of

.

argument as of perception Those to whom the Universe is .

a dead world Of mocking ghosts those to whom evolution , ,

although an ordered change commences in negation and ,

ends nowhere— to them it is even so and it lies not in the ,

power of every man to open the eyes of the blind neither

does that inner faculty which sees the vi sion beautiful come to
the man who strives not after it It is the fruit of many .
,

many lives a later product of the evolutionary process through

,

which each indivi dual passes .

In our previous chapters in dealing with the phenomena ,

of matter and force we have treated these principally from

,

the obj ective or dynamical point of view and we have seen ,

that inductive science leads us to resolve all the phenomena

of the Universe back to two primal or root factors— Primordial
Substance and Motion .

But we have also seen that besides obj ective phenomena

there is a subj ective something which we call Consciousness ,

and that consciousness being innate in Primordial Substance

we may establish a parallelism bet ween that which is
obj ectively p h en omen on and subj ectively con s ci ou s n es s In
,
.

each case the last analysis of either of these is Motion of

Primordial Substance .

Now consciousness implies li fe Li fe and consciousness .

a r e really one and the same thing in so far as there can be no ,

life without consciousness a n d no consciousness without life

,
.

1 5
 226 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
Nevertheless it is n ecessary to make a distinction between the
,

t wo in connection with the cosmic or evolutionary process ,

because the one is an active principle wh ilst the other is ,

p assive or receptive Li fe is will desire energy

.
; conscious , ,

ness is t hought sensation emotion Life is the outgoing

, ,
.
,

c onstructive formative princi p le

,
consciousness is the
ind ra wing synt h eti c resultive principle : that which as it
, , ,

w ere reaps the fruit of the activity of life which is its own
, ,

a l ter eg o
. Life is the S elf considered as actor ; consciousness
is the same S elf considered as observer .

The cosmic p rocess cons i dered as an obj ective phenomenon, ,

presents to our consciousness in some degree those qualities

a n d aspects which belong to the active or life side of the

Universal Self whilst the subj ective or consciousness aspect

can necessarily be known only as reflected in our own sub
jecti ve nature and consciousness .

Consc i ousness is the inner fact ; life is the outer fact .

Consciousness is the knower and experiencer life is that which

is known and ex p erienced : i e our own activity or the . .
, ,

activity of the One Self from which we a r e n ever really ,

'

sepa r ated either in o u r life or our consciousness .

Having therefore already considered the cosmic process

, ,

from the point of V i ew of matter and force w e must now turn ,

our attention to it from the point of V iew of the Cosmic Life

and Consciousness we must look at it from above instead
’
of from below from within rather than from without
, .

The more we are able to do this the nearer shall we ,

approach to an u nderstanding and appreciation of Truth to

that Inmost Centre in us all where Truth abides in fulness .

For that Inmost Centre I S the One Absolute Reality the ,

Changele ss Eternal Self whose Life and Activity is expressed ,

in all phenomena .

It is o f the utmost importance if we are to take our destiny ,

into our own hands that we should r ealise that all phenomena
, ,
’
ho wever material they may a p p ear -to be to our lower or
sense p ercept i o n s are in reality p henomena of life a n d con
,

s c i ou s n e s s o f di ffere nt deg r ees or kinds ; and that h owever ,

individual sepa r a t e or even antagonistic they may ap p e ar

, ,

to be they must all be de rived from and— i n their ultimate

, ,

analysis — are never other than the activity of the One Self .

Physical matter qu d matter is not usually associated with

, ,

the idea of life I t is customary to s p eak of matter as dea d

. .
 COSMIC EVOLUTION 227

We only speak of it as li vi n g when it exhibits a more or less

org a n i s ed form of structure of which protoplasm is the most
,

elementary example But the scientific distinction at the

.

present time between living matter and dead matter is a very

thin one indeed Every advance of scientific k n owledge tends
.

to break down more and more the distinctions and di fferences

between certain groups or classes of phenomena which were
previously considered to have no relation whatever the one to
the other but to belong to distinct and se p arate portions of
,

creation between which there was a great gulf fixed Every .

advance of science in fact tends to unify more and more the

, ,

’
whole p henomena of cosmic evolution to fill up the gaps in ,

our knowledge of nature .

The hard materialistic idea of matter which regarded the

chemical atom as an inert rigid irreducible minimum of some
, ,

thing possessing mass or inertia has utterly broken down .

Atoms have been shown to be exceedingly complex structures ,

as truly org a n i s ed as p rotoplasm itself or any of the more ,

complex forms of life which we speak of as living organisms .

There is no arbitrary line o f distinction between dead matter

and living matter and we have a lready seen that Idealism
,

j oins hands with Materialism in that larger philosophy which

regards the whole Cosmos as the expression of the activity of “

one Universal Substance .

’
The lowest forms of living matter simply mark the point at
‘

which we with our limited consciousness can recognise a form

, ,

of activity which at all corresponds with that which we know

as our own life activity .

Having postulate d indeed that all matter i s Primordial

, ,

Substance by what possibility can we think of it otherwise

,

than as Living Substance Can one part of Primordial .

Substance deprive another part of its innate Consciousn ess ,

any more than it can de p rive it of that innate m oti on which is

its li fe as p ect In what sense can Primordial Substance
re a lly be dead in its aspect as physical matter on our present
Plane of consciousnesss any more than it is dead and therefore
, ,

motionless on the highest or Spiritual Plane

,

Is it dead because it is apparently spun into atoms a n d

molecules in which— i n their individual fo rm —we are too d ull
to recognise anything but mechanical motion ? Is it dead
because it aggregates into crystals and minerals and rocks , , ,

which we cut and melt and mould and chip at our will and
, , ,
 228 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
pleasure with little thought of the real nature of that which
we manipulate with little enough t hought indeed that we , ,

never do aught else than touch and handle that mysterious

Substance which is the living garment of the One Divine Life
Looked at from above all matter on whatever Plane is
, , ,

never other than the One Substance ; it is the seamless

garment of the One Life Throughout the whole cosmic .

p rocess in ,
great and in small it is the obj ective or, active
aspect of the One Infinite and Eternal Self who I S the Universe .

Cosmic matter presents to us the activity aspect of the

ON E a s motion or energy but it does not manifest the conscious
,

ness aspect on the physical Plane until it becomes organised

’
into certain more or less complex forms of life It might ‘
.

possibly be contended however that the selective capacity

, ,

which undoubtedly exists in physical atoms and whic h ,

amounts to a certain degree of a wa ren es s is the manifestation ,

of a rudimentary form of consciousness ; indeed we have

already seen that Haeckel postulates that to be so Why .

then if all matter is a manifestation of life — and therefore

of consciousness also —does the latter disappear or almost
, , ,

disappear in physical matter

,

The answer is to be found in the first place in the fact that

, ,

matter bein g a cos mi c product the li fe and consciousness ,

associated with it must also be cosmic rather than individual

in any sense in which we can understand individuality The .

individual atoms of matter certainly represent individual

li ves o f a certain order j ust as the individual cells of our own
,

bodies may be regarded as individual units which are how , ,

ever sustained and energised by the larger cosmic life of

,

the whole body while at the same time that larger cosmic
,

life of the body is independent of what may happen to

individual cells or even to large groups of cells So by analogy
, .

w e may conceive of cosmic matter as being evolved and

ene rgised by some vast Cosmic Intelligence whose nature we ,

a re utterly unable at p resent to understand .

I n the second place p hysical m atter considered in i t s

,

individual or atomic a spect represents to our consciousness

the lowest point in the involution of m oti on ; and therefore , ,

also the lowest point in the involution of life and consciousness .

Life is always and essentially motion but it is not always in , ,

i ts individualised forms recognisable as spontaneo us or self

,

originated motion ; and it is only with this latter kin d of

 COSMIC EVOL U TION 2 29

motion that we usually associated the idea of life The more .

any individual form of life is able to initiate its own actions

by self- conscious choice — that is to say the more it exhibits ,

the characteristic of free will— the higher we place it in the

scale of evolution .

If therefore we regard the whole cosmic process from

, ,

the point of view of life and consciousness it presents the ,

appearance of an involution or limitation of these in successive

’
Planes of matter commencing with Primordial Substance
, ,

and gradually individualising itself as it were on each , ,

successive Plane unt i l in physical matter it reaches the

, , ,

lowest point in the descending arc of the cycle .

This involution however is only the first half of the cosmic

, ,

process The second half is evolutionary or devolutionary

.

in its nature From the lowest point in physical matter

.

commences the return or upward half of the cycle and li fe ,

and consciousness gradually emerge from matter or manifest ,

through matter their inherent and essential characteristics

in ever- increasing degree in those various organisms through
which we trace the evolution of life on this globe up to ‘

Man as we know him at the present time .

Let us bear in mind in this connection the great princip l e

of p ola ri ty the dual aspect of the ON E Each pole is the
, .

antithesis of the other At the lower pole life and con .

,

s ci o u s n es s disappear in matter and inertness at the higher

pole life and consciousness are supreme unlimited infinite
, , , ,

free.

We see therefore that the involution of life and con

, ,

s ci o u s n es s i e the first half of the cycle is equivalent to

, . .
, ,

the evolution or formation of matter ; whilst the second or

return half of the cycle being the evolution of life and ,

consciousness should be accompanied by a corresponding

,

involution or devolution of matter .

Let us think back for a moment from physical matter

to Primordial Substance .

We trace the activity of all forms of physical matter to

the activity of etheric substance Certain forms of motion .

of etheric substance— which we may conceive of as more

or less complicated systems or aggregations of vortex - rings
combine together to form the physical atom In doing this . ,

motion becomes i nvolved or limited for the otherwise free

motion of the vortex -
,

rings on the etheric Plane is now confined

2 30 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
wi thin th e limits of the physical atom Physical matter is .

i n reality never anything else than etheric substance ; but

it is that substance or rather a p ortion of that substance
, ,

l i mi ted a n d con d i ti on ed a s to i ts m oti on .

These li m ited and conditioned forms of motion which ,

are now the p hysical atoms are capable of further combina ,

tions among themselves they exhibit certain a ffi nities for ,

each other and by reason of these a ffi nities they combine

,

to form the i nnumerable varieties of substances with which

we are acquainted .

Now let us consider one single C hemical atom of Hydrogen , ,

for example We may conceive of this atom as consisting

.

of a number of vortex - rings of etheri c substance the number

is of no consequence to the principle involved but we may ,

say one hundred .

This atom of Hydrogen then Consisting of one hundred ,

etheric atoms or vortex - rings exhibits certain ex tern a l charac ,

t eri s t i cs it will act and react in certain defin ite ways with
,

other physical ato ms I t has a certain ma s s — in the technical

’
.

sense of the term— a n d it shows certain preferences for com

bination with other physical atoms In so far as it exhibits .

these ex tern a l characte r istics or properties a n d on ly to th a t ,

ex ten t, it is a physical atom I f it exhibited no external .

characteristics whatsoever if it did not res p ond in any wa y ,

to external physical stimuli if it had no m a s s and no chemical ,

a ffi nity it would be non -

, existent on the ph ysical Plane ,

though it might have a very real and substantial exis tence

on the etheric Plane .

The etheric vortex - rings of which the physical atom is

built up do not when in a free state exhibit these character
, , ,

i s ti cs and therefore are non -

, existent to our physical senses .

Our complex of etheric vortex - rings therefore which we , ,

c a ll a Hydrogen atom although never anything else in ,

s u bs ta n ce than the Ether i tself becomes a physical atom by ,

reason of a li mi ta ti on of mot i on ; that limitation resulting

in the exhibition of certain limited characteristics — mass

fl
,

C hemical a ffinity e t c — which constitute what we know as

,

physical matter and in its aggregate the physical Plane

, .

Physical matter as such is only a bundle of conditioned

qualities of etheric substance : j ust as ice is water but water ,

li mi ted or conditioned as to its u i d i c p roperties .

Now let us consider the internal motions of the atom .

 COSMIC EVOLUTION 23 1

It is built up say of one hundred vortex - rings and each of

these vortex -
, , ,

rings in a free state not bound within the

, ,

limits of the physical atom we might consider to be a true ,

etheric a tom But these etheric atoms do not cease to be

.

etheric atoms when they aggregate into a physical atom ,

and their otherwise free motions become confined within the

limits of that atom Doubtless each etheric atom by reason
.

of such limitation is unable to exhibit the same characteristics ,

the sa me ex ter n a l energy on its own Plane as it could when

free b u t still it is none the less an etheric atom j ust as a ,

Hydrog en atom must be considered to be still a Hydrogen

atom ho wever much it may enter into combination with other
,

atoms to form com p ound substances .

The i nter n a l activity of an atom of physical matter we

may thus consider to be in reality an etheric activity On the .

etheric Plan e it would be an external activity while the ,

internal activity o f the etheric atoms would be an external

activity on a still higher Plane The etheric atoms even .
,

though bound within the confines of the physical atom must , ,

therefore be conceived of as acting and reacting in their own

,

proper manner on their own Plane .

In Chapter V we have seen that the life and activities of

.

the p hysical Plane are absolutely dependent upon the activity

of the free Ether ; we are de p endent upon it for a ll the
phenomena of light heat electricity magnetism etc ; and
, , , , .

in all these phenomena it is not the physical atom as such

which acts and interacts with the Ether but the con ,

s t i tu en t etheric atoms which act and interact with the

free Ether .

The physical atom as such only acts and interacts with the
, ,

other p hysical atoms Q u d physical atom it is only a certain

.

limited or conditioned aspect of Ether It is these as p ects .

or qualities only a n d not the real subst a nce wh ich constitute

, ,

its claims to be a physical atom The substance is never other .

than Primordial Substance .

When we consi d er therefore the action and interaction

, ,

of the physical atom with the free Ether we must consider ,

the free Ether as acting upon the constituent etheric atoms ,

and not upon the physical atom as such Let us take an .

illustration A company or battalion of soldiers is composed

.

of a certain number of units In man oeuvres the companies .

,

and batta l ions are moved and combined as units They may .
2 32 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
be led into battle as such but i n the actual fighting it is not
,

the company but the individual men who fight .

Consider for a moment an influx of energy from the etheric

Plane such as we have in the etheric waves or undulations
radiated out into space by the Sun and some of which are ,

kno wn to us in the form of light When this form of et h eric .

activity reaches our Earth it acts upon the constituent e theric

atoms of physical matter and stimulates them in to increased
,

activity ; and that increased i n tern a l activity is then man ifested

on the physical Plane as an increased ex tern a l ac tivity of the
ph y sical atoms and molecules Our company of s oldiers .
,

considered as a company will exhibit increased a ctivity if

,

every i ndividual soldier quickens his pace to the double .

The increased activity of the physical atom s h ows itself

among other things in that form of energy which we know as
’
heat The Sun s rays are themselves neither heat nor light
they are a form of electro -
.

magn etic energy Wh en however .

, ,

they act upon the etheric atoms of which phys i cal matter is
built up they produce various e ffects some of which we call
, ,

heat In the tissues of plants or on a photographic plate they

.
, ,

produce chemical changes in the structure of the eye they

give rise to the sensation of light .

Thus although physical matter is in reality nothing but

,

Ether there is an enormous di ffi cul ty i n forming any conception

,

as to what th e free Ether may be on its own Plane simply ,

because when we have got back to t h e Ether we have alto

gether demateri a lised matter we have stripped it of all those
,

qualities which constitute it as physical matter and we are ,

left with something altogether intangible and immaterial It .

is as if we were to endeavour to speculate on th e nature and

p roperties of a gas wi thout any means of co l lecting it or
con fi nin g it withi n a vessel and with no knowledge of any
‘
,

properties of matter other than those of solids and liquids .

Perhaps it would be hardl y correct to say that physical

matter is absolutely dematerialised when it is resolved back “

into etheric atoms for if the corpuscles which are discovered

through the breaking u p of the Radium atom are true etheric
—
atoms which however we are inclined to doubt— then it is
, ,

at a ll events certain that they still possess the characteristic

of mass or inertia though not in the same way as the physical
,

atom .

But there is every reason to believe that what we know as

 COSMIC EVOLUTION 2 33

the Ether— that is to say that substance which we are able to

,

recognise by reason of its action and interaction with physical

matter— has some definite structure atomic or otherwise In
,
.

other words our knowledge of what we call Ether is not a

,

knowledge of a structureless homogeneous substance but of ,

a highly differentiated one From this we deduce that i n

.

what we know as Ether we have not yet reached the Plane of

Primordial Substance .

Water appears to our physical senses to be absolutely

structureless and it also behaves in general on physical masses
,

of matter as if it were so It is only a closer analysis which

.

reveals to us its molecular and atomic nature In a similar .

manner the Ether considered merely as a medium for the

,

propagation of light waves or undulations — a n idea which we

borrow wholly from the behaviour of physical matter - might
appear to be perfectly homogeneous and structureless We .

a r e coming to a knowledge of certain phenomena however , ,

which no longer admit of such an hypothesis The Ether .

must have some kind of structure .

It is highly probable that when our knowledge of the strue

ture of the Ether is much further advanced it will be recognised
,

that wh a t we now call the Ether is a highly d ifferentiated form

or mode of Substance which can in its turn be resolved into
the Subst a nce of a still higher Plane and it will be useful at
this point to postulate at least two Cosmic Pl a nes beyond
the Etheric although it will probably be a long time before
,

inductive science can definitely experiment with even one such

Plane .

There is however much in Philosophy and Religion which

, ,

demands the existence of these higher Planes and they may ,

be treated in the meantime as subj ective Planes of conscious

ness rather than as obj ective Planes of phenomen a .

The Plane of Substance which lies immediately beyond

the Etheric we may term the M en ta l Pl a n e and the Plane ,

which lies beyond the Mental Plane we may term the S p i r i tu a l

Pl a n e
.

A term which is often used for the Plane of consciousness

next above the Phys i cal is the A s tra l The Astral a n d the
.

Etheric may possibly be two really distinct Planes ; but a s

science is dealing experimentally with the Etheric we shall ,

confine ourselves to the use of that term for the Plane i m m e d i

ately above the Phys i cal Once the p ri n ci p le has been under
.
2 34 SCIENTIFIC IDEALIS M
stood the details may be modified from time to time as new
,

discoveries are made .

Beyond the Spiritual Plane is the Infinite Boundl ess , ,

F orm l es s Ocean of undi fferentiated Primordial Substance ;

which in Itself is ne i ther Spirit nor Matter neither Subj ect ,

nor Obj ect ; for the contrast the opposition the polarity , , ,

the qualities by which either of these and all other p airs of

opposites are kno wn disappear in that One Absolute which is
,

the ALL .

If all physical analogies fail us in our endeavour to under

stand what may be the obj ective nature o f Substance on the
Plane next removed from the Physical i e the Ethe ric ; how ,
. .
,

much more must they fail us in endeavouring to realise what

that as p ect of Substance must be on the Mental and Spiritual
Planes and what may be the p articular forms of motion
,

associated with consciousness on t h e s e higher or more in terior

modes of Substance .

Every remove from the physical Plane makes it more and

more necessary to dematerialise our ideas and conceptions
of all phenomena whatsoever Neither considerations of .

mass nor of energy of time or of space such as w e are familiar

,

’
with down here are valid in any sense on t h e s e higher Planes
, ,

which at present in our normal waking consciousness are

, , ,

related to us in a purely subj ective manner as the all

embracing energy of thought and as purely spiritual inspira ,

tion intuition or vision as the instinct of a divine measure

, ,

of life and consciousness which flows in as it were or w ells up , ,

from the innermost depths of our nature only in rare and

exalted moments .

The Spiritual Plane we may regard as the first differentia

tion in or of Prim ordial Substance hardly di stinguishable ,

perhaps from Primordial Substance Itself—a lmost Absolute

Motion almost Absolute Consciousness It is the first Plane
, .

of l i mi ta ti on the first Plane of form

, .

In so fa r as Consciousness may be said to be individualised

on this highest Plane it is the Plane of the Gods of the Logoi , ,

of the First Born I t is higher than the Plane of Mind

.
,

because it is the Plane o f abstract Ideas rather than of concrete

thought Mind is essentially the formative individualising
.
, ,

discriminating particularising p r inci p le Every thing must

, .

be a thought before it is a t hing it must be se p arated

out by the operation of Mind— b y limitation— from its essentia l
 COSMIC EVOL U TION 2 35

oneness with the ALL ; it must become — i n consciousness

a time and space phe nomenon .

Possibly the Spiritual Plane may be thought of best as

the A rchetypal Plane the Plane of Divine Ideation the
, ,

Plane on which exists the Typ e of everything which after

wards unfolds in time and space as the obj ective phenomenal
universe .

We cannot too clearly realise that the whole cosmic process

of evolution cannot be anything more than the unfolding
of that which already exists in a n Archetypal form on the
, ,

highest Plane of the Cosmos ; even as in the microcosm the

tree already exists in the seed or the man with all his , ,

physically transmitted hereditary qualities in the single

germinal cell The Archetypal Pl an e is the germ -
,

. cell of the
Universe it contains the typ e the Divine Idea of the Universe
,

which is to be .

We can have no possible conception as to any obj ective

forms of Primordial Substance on this highest or Archetypal
’
Plane or even any form of motion
, undulatory or other
wise W e cannot even say what may be the obj ective forms
.

— as motion of Primordial Substance — of the i dea s which

certainly exist as some mode of motion in our own minds .

We do not even know what may be the particular mode of

motion which represents in a particular seed the particular
tree which will evolve therefrom or the particular mode of
motion which exists in the particular germ - cell from which
the particular man and no other will come forth
, , .

From one particular Archetypal or Creative Idea from ,

on e particular Logos the first begott en Son of the Father

-
one particular Universe of all possible Universes eternally
existing in the latency or potentiality of the Absolute comes ,

forth into manifestation Our best analogy here is probably

.

that of the germ —cell There is no reason to su p pose that

.

the evo lution or unfolding of a Cosmos is any di fferent in

principle from the evolution of a single individual ; or that
the evolution of the race or the species is other than a S imilar
process of un foldment : an ordered change which by a , ,

higher Intelligence is surely foreseen and predestined The

,
.

individual does but repeat or reflect the universal and while

the individual may vary within some what wide limits he ,

cannot vary outside the type nor affect in any way the larger
,

C
osmic process .
236 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
We can have no possible conception of any mecha n i ca l
Power which in the beginning can cause forms to arise
in a homogeneous substance Even Haeckel we find obliged .

to postulate will and desire in the primordial atoms or

-
,

" The ea even of a primordial vortex ring

py k n a t o m s. i d
must exist before that form of motion can be manifested ;
it must be thought and wi lled before it can become an objecti ve
fact in consciousness .

But we find within ourselves a conscious living power

which is contin ually seeking to express itself in action of an
outward or material nature and nothing is more natural or ,

logical than that failing any mechanical analogies we should

, ,

postulate as the p ri mu m mobi le of all phenomena a subj ective

Power of which we certainly have warrant knowledge and , ,

analogy in our own nature .

On t h e physical Plane life is seen as a formative principle

org a n i s i n g matter but not ori g inating it The whole range
, .

of the vegetable and animal kingdoms from the lowest forms ,

to the highest shows us the incomparable power of life to

,

work in or through ma t ter and to mould it into forms of ,

infinite variety utility and beauty But if life thus organises

, ,
.

matter fr om wi thi n after it has reached the atomic or molecular

,

state why should it not be the organising principle of the

,

atoms and molecules themselves

Setting aside altogether the s up ern a tu ra l theory that life
and consciousness belong to another order than that which
we know as the n a tu ra l that matter is absolutely dead and
, ,

that therefore life must be somethin g which can only act up on

it we can arrive at no other conclusion from the phenomena ,

with which we are familiar than that life and consciousness

,

are innate or inherent in Substance ; in which case they must

be operative in their pro p er nature on all the Planes of the
Cosmos from the highest to the lowest and therefore in
, , , ,

every atom as well as in every other obj ective thing .

Substance Itself I s the One Life the Monad ; and the ,

whole Universe expresses the nature of that Monad to which , ,

indeed man y names have been given at various times and

, ,

which as the Root of every in di vidual Subj ect as well as

,

every individual Obj ect can never be kno w n or understood

,

as either of these separately but only when— knowing our ,

o wn Self to be truly On e with I t— we learn thereby also the

true nature of the illusive world of ma tter which now appears ,

 COSMIC EVOL U TION 2 37

to be the Not - Self a fleeting phantasmagoria of time and

,

space .

We must regard the Cosmic Process then as an u nfol di ng , , ,

an ob jecti vi s a t i on in time and space of the Idea which exists

eternally together with that of all possible Universes in
, ,

that Infinite Incognisable B e- ness which we call the Absol ute

and so fa r as our present universe is concerned i n an Arche
, ,

typal form on the highest or Spiritual Plane the Plane of the ,

personal creative God or Gods the Logos the Heavenl y Man

, , ,

J ehovah Brahman or in whatever other n a me this con ce p

, ,

tion may be embodied in a n y of the great religions or philo

S ophical syste m s to which it is common .

It must be observed that even this first Plane this primal ,

manifestation of the Eternal Idea is a li mi ta ti on ; it is one

,

possible Universe individualised out of all others .

Let us take a concrete example An expert chess player .

can easily individualise in his own mind one particular game

he can see that game as it were as one complete whole fro m ,

the opening move to the final m ate All possible games o f .

chess really exist already and a higher form of consciousness

,

might even be conceived of as seeing all possible games

simultaneously An expert player can certainly individualise
.

many complete games He may or may not actually mate r ialise

.

any one particular game he may or may not evol ve it down

,

here by playing it with material pieces but it certainly exists

in his own mind it exists as a definite thing on the Mental
,

Plane If he actually plays the game then we shall have a

.
,

process of evolution an unfolding in time and s p ace of that

,

which already exists unrelated to time and s p ace on the higher

Plane Even in playing a game of which he does not see the
.

end he makes a choice at each move of some one out of many

,

possible moves clearly seen in his own mind .

Suppose a particular game of living chess to be played

a game already kno wn from beginning to end by the player
who directs the movements of the living p layers The p layers .

themselves see only the individual moves see only the process ,

o f the game un folding or evolving step by ste p Each player .

is free to a certain extent in his o wn square is free to do ,

many actions without interfering with the cou rse of the game .

So also we as individuals are free within certain li m its but ,

cannot step outside the predestined course of evolution the ,

unfolding of the divine purpose We do many things how .

,
2 38 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM

ever which wi ll not in the slightest degree alter our fate or

,

destiny in that respect .

We may regard the formation of every lower Plane as a

re p etition m u ta ti s m u ta n di s of the original process of creation
, ,

or eman ation It is an individualisation by limitation It

. .

is the particularising in the individual or in many individuals , ,

of particular as p ects o f that which on the highest Plane exists

as O N E as the universal altogether outside of time and space
, ,
.

Time and S pace are modes of consciousness by mean s of which

the universal is known a n d understood as the particular .

So far as the objecti ve aspect of this particularising p rocess

is concerned it appears to us in the first instance as a gradual
,

formation of the great cosmic Planes of matter by a process

of limitation or involution of motion until we come down to ,

the lowest or physical Plane where Primordial Substance is ,

seen under an as p ect which wholly veils or obscur es its i nherent

qualities both of motion and consciousness Thus so far as .
,

the s u bjecti ve aspect of the process is concerned we lose sight ,

also of life and consciousness In physical matter as such we

.

are totally u nable to recognise their action and influence We .

only do so as soon as they produce certain definite org a n i s ms .

We have postulated four great Cosmic Planes the descend ,

ing order being the Spiritual the Mental the Etheric and the , , ,

Physical There are probably others besides these but as

.
,

our obj ect is to systematise as little as possible and rather ,

to enforce and illustrate general principles we believe that ,

this can best be done by enumerating only those Planes

for which we have definite warrant and actual analogies
and experience .

It should be clearly apparent that these Planes are not

separated by any S harp line of division The matter of one .

Plane must be conceived of as shading off as it were by i m , ,

perceptible degrees into the substance of the next higher Plane .

So far as the physical and the etheric Planes are concerned we

find the physical atom breaking up into corpuscles which may ,

or may not be true etheric atoms But in any case we must .

necessarily think o f these corpuscles as being of an exceedingly

complex nature possibly corresponding to solid matter on
,

the etheric Plane The matter of the etheric Plane we must

.

again conceive of as resolva ble into the substance of the

mental Plane into mind s t u ff and this again into that
, ,

of the higher or spiritual Plane Ultimately and all the .

,
 COSMIC EVOLUTION 2 39

time matter —ou whatsoever Plane — is never anything

,

else than Primordial Substance .

The physical and etheric Planes we have already suffi ciently

dealt with in our earlier cha p ters and we must now tu rn our ,

attention for a moment to the ment a l Plane .

Looked at from a bove the mental Plane must be rega rded

a s a more definite individualisation o f the purely ideal or

Archetypal forms of the S piritual Plane It is a further .

descent into matter .

Suppose for example we take the A r chet y pal or divine

, ,

Idea of Man That Archetypal Man is neither one nor many

.

individual men such as we at present know Down here .

we only see men not Man ; we only see men at certain stages
,

of evo l ution as part of a time process But the divine Idea of

,
.

Man the Archetypal Man the Divine Son made in the

, , ,

image of God we cannot consider otherwise than as complete

,

and perfect from the beginning All that humanity has .

been is and will be is included in that one Archetypal Idea

, , , .

But on the next Plane on the mental Plane we may , ,

conceive of Man as individualised into men I t is the Plane .

where the Universal Self becomes individualised into those

Selves or Egos which find a still more limited expression on
the etheric and physical Planes as our own individual person
a l i t i es .

The characteristic of the thinking conscious Self on its

own Plane — the mental— will be an extension of conscious
ness alm ost inconceivable to our limited personal selves and ,

but rarely realised by the normal man Nevertheless there .

,

is ample evidence of the existence o f this cosmic conscious

ness in every one of us did we but know how to come into
,

touch with it to bring it through as it were to our physical

, , ,

state .

The more we study consciousness on its own lines and not ,

as a m ere matter of physics and chemist ry the more we shall ,

come to realise the inner latent powers which lie fo r the

most p art unsuspected in our nature The more these are .

realised the more necessary it becomes to distinguish between

,

the various Planes to which these inner faculties belong in ,

order that we may form a consistent theory which S hall be

harmonious with and form a natural extension of all that
, ,

science can teach us of natural law on the p hysical and eth e ric
Planes .
2 40 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM

Our physical bodies are enso ul ed by each of the higher

Planes in turn To the etheric we owe our physical vitality
.

to the mental we owe our conscious thinking individuali ty .

The mental Plane m a y be regarded as that aspect and activity

of Primordial Substance which we call thought The etheric -
.

is life or V itality in a more physical sense In the lower .

forms of life the activity or vibrations of the mental Plane

,

do not come through or manifest ; the organism is not yet

receptive enough for them In the higher animals we begin
.

to get mentality and in Man mentality develops rapidly

, ,

and the vibrations from the higher or spiritual Plane also

begin to come through .

Our physical bodies are the organisms or vehicles by means

of which the individual Ego whose real habitat is the mental
,

Plane comes into conscious relation with the physical Plane

,
.

Through the various sense organs the Vibration s of the

physical Plane are localised first of a ll in the brain cells ,

where in their last p hy s i ca l an a lysis they are simply chemical

,

and p hysical changes of matter .

But we now know that the problems of physics and

chemistry are no longer mere questions of the combinations
of or available energy of atoms considered as i rreduc i ble
, ,

units h a vm g definite m ass and extension They are questions .

of the i n tern a l structure and nature of the atoms ; they

are questions in their next remove o f the nature of the
, ,

Ether .

We kn ow also that every atom acts a n d reacts with the

free Ether— with the etheric Plane proper— i n every vibration
which it makes ; that every physical and Chemical change
in matter involves a corresponding change or motion on the
e theric Pl a ne The Ether literally ensouls physical matter
.
.

Every physical phenomen on is absolutely dependent upon

the existence and activity of the Ether .

Wh en therefore physical and chemical changes take place

, ,

in ou r brain cells as th e result of a sensory nerv current e

transmitted from some one or other of our sense organs there ,

is a corresponding action on the etheric Plane through every

indivi dual atom of the cells which are concern ed in that
action .

The same prin ciple app lies when we consider the mental
Plane which is still m ore interior in relation to the atom
, .

In its turn it en souls the etheric Plane and a corresponding ,

 COSMIC EVOL U TION 241

e ffect must be produced there by every single vibration or

thrill of the physical atom .

Through all the Pl a n es h o wever many there may be the , .

,

same principle must be true right up to Primordial Substance ,

Itself which is the innermost of the inner as we ll as the

,

outermost Of the outer and in which alone in a n y true sense

, , ,

we live and move and have our being for It is the Soul of ,

all souls the ground and root of all phenomena

, .

Thus every physical a ction or phenomenon has its corres

ponding and s i multa n eou s action on ev ery Plane of the Cosmos .

Not merely must this be so but we are compelled to postulate ,

also t hat On each interior Plane in succession it becomes more

and more u n i vers a l so that on the Plane of Primordial Sub
,

sta nce itself —which however is no Pl a n e— i t loses in absolute

~
, ,

ness all time and space validity .

I strike a bell— the sound is heard instantaneously at

’

"
the ot her end of the universe On the physical Plane that .
,

sound is merely an aerial vibration propagated with a velocity ,

Of feet per second But the molecules of the bell as

.
,

well as the mass of the bell are vibrating and these vibrations
,

give rise to etheric vibrations which are probably propagated

with the velocity O f light 1 8 miles per second s o that the
,

’
sound is heard on the etheric Plane at the end of one second
, , ,

miles away There are some pe ople to whom these

.
‘

V ibrations are actual vision .

On the next Plane— the mental— we shall have tele

pathic velocity and who shall say scientifically what that
is P
Must we not postulate that on the next — the spiritual
Plane — this simultaneous action will a lm os t have reached
absoluteness will practically have lost all time and space
,
“
validity ? Will it not be on that Plane practically every , ,

wh er e at one and the same moment ? We must carefully

guard however against the supposition that this is so simply
, ,

as a matter of accelerated velocity NO number of mere .

multiplications will reach absoluteness These accelerations .

only give us p hy s i ca l a n a logi es — consciousness itself is above

and beyond these .

You say a thing cannot act where it is not says Carlyle ,

with all my heart — only where is it ,

But the physical Pl ane is not the Plane of ca u s es n othing

ever originates there If we trace back any sequence of
.

1 6
24 2 S CI E NTI FI C ID EALIS M
cause and effect far enough we must ine vi tably t race it to
,

some form of energy emanating from a higher Pl a ne This .

of course is necessarily so from our very conception and

definitio n o f Primordi al Substance All phenomena are .

never anything else in reality than phenomena of Primordial

Substance They only become phenomena of a lower
.

Plane when regarded in a l imited manner by a limited form

or mode of consciousness
But the atoms of physical matter a s such -whether in
.

brain cell s or not — do not merely tra n s m i t to the etheric

Plan e and through the etheric to the h i gher Planes some
, ,

equivalent form of motion representative of the motions

which they experience as atoms ; they also r ecei ve impul ses
or vibrations from the higher Planes .

We have dealt wi th the physical aspect of this action

and i nteraction in Chapter V ; what we must note here is .
,

that the s am e principles which apply to the physica l action

and interaction of matter with the Ether apply also to the ,

action and interaction of the Ether wi th the substance of

the mental Plane which li es be y ond it Thought is a definite .

form of energy on its ovm Plane ; it becomes energy Of

another form on the etheric Plane ; and fin ally on the physical , ,

Plane it is able to e n ergise i n livin g organisms when a special

apparatus has been evolved for that purpose .

There are p robably in fin ite forms Of motion or energy

on the etheric Plan e which can fin d no response in physical
matter we certainly know that there are innumerable form s
which find no response in our consciousness as we have no ,

senses to a p preciate them We have no magn etic sense

.
,

no sense of the n a ture of gravity Our sense of that form of .

etheric activity which we call li gh t is very li mited We .

know that rays exist below the red and above the violet end
o f the colour s p ectrum which however we have no means
, , ,

of sensing and which if we had would make the u niverse

, , ,

ap p ear a very di fferent place to what it does now .

The same principle must a p ply to the activities of the

mental Plane All th at we receive from that Plane wi ll be
.

limited and conditioned first of all by the nature of etheric

,

matter and then still further by the inertia of the physical

,

atoms of which our bodies are built up We must consider .

this however in a subsequent chapter on the nature of the

, ,

individual Ego .
 COSMIC EVOL U TION 2 43

In our earlier chapters in dealing with physical and ,

etheric modes of motion we have seen that the Ether h as ,

an eno rmously increased activity as compared with physical

matter The internal activity of the physical atom — which
.

is really etheric activity— is almost inconceivable In the

phenomena of light and other electric or electro -
.

, magnetic
activities we have similarly to deal with magnitudes and
,

velocities incomparably greater than anything which ca n

be seen or understood in mere mass movements of physical
matter .

What th en m us t be the nature of the activities o f Substance

, ,

on the still higher mental Plane ? Thought practically

transcends all limitations We can only underst a nd partially .

what the power of thought may be on its o wn Plane because ,

all that we know of it in our normal waking consciousness

is hampered by the limitations of the etheric and physical
Planes In certain abnormal states of consciousness however
.
, ,

the Ego rises above these limitations and the real nature of ,

the Self on this higher Plane is more nearly understood .

According to the parallelism which we have established

between motion of Primordial Substance considered as object ,

’
or matter and the same motion considered as s u bject or
, ,

consciousness we see that this larger consciousness on the

,

higher Planes falls naturally into place with all physical

analogies S O far as our individual consciousness is concerned
.
,

however it is a r etu rn to the universal

,
Motion —whether .

considered obj ectively or subj ectively— is universal before it

becomes particularised on the various Planes in descending
order If therefore we consider it from the subj ective point
.
, ,

Of view as consciousness the forms Of consciousness associated

,
’
with the formation of the matter of the various Planes
must be of a cos mi c nature rather than anything which we ,

can think of as individual in our understanding of the

term .

’
The formation of matter on an y Plane will precede ‘

the evolution of individual forms of consciousness of that ,

’
which on the physical Plane we term organic life The .

evolution of the p hysical Plane as a whole and of the Worlds ,

and Systems on that Plane is certainly a cosmic process and , ,

—
as such will be associated with what we call from the obj ective
standpoint— natural forces : but which from the subj ective ,

s ta n d p oi n t wi ll be the activity of cosmic forms of life Conscious

, ,
2 44 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
Intelligences altogether beyond the reach of our present
limited consciousness .

Cosmic bodi es are the expression of cosmic forms of Life

and Consciousness Cosmic forces are the activities of Cosmic
.

Intelligences .

Let us take an analogy from our own physical organism .

Every cell in our bodies every molecule and atom— even

,

—
according to Haeckel is a conscious unit and possesses in ,

some degree a s ou l But the forces which play upon the

.

individual li ves of which our bodies are built up are determined

by that larger consciousness that larger unit of life which ,

we call ou rs elves I experience for example a strong emotion

.
, , ,

and my whole body feels the influence Subtle nerve currents .

are set in motion in all the nerve centres the action of the ,

heart is accelerated and the blood flows faster through the

,

whole system The mere physical fact involves some kind

.

of action influence change in countless billions of li ves A

, , , .

blood corpuscle may be conceived of as aware in its own dim

way that it is being hurried along with greater S peed and ,

so far as it is conscious of its environment it would doubtless ,

attribute the ca u s e to something taking place in that imme

diate environment But what can that corpuscle know
.

of that larger consciousness which I call my s elf of the ,

activity thought emotion of that larger consciousness which

, ,

stands in the relation of a cos mi c consciousness to all the

lesser lives of which the physical body— a veritable cosmos
in itself— is built up ? What can those lesser lives know of
the em oti on which I experience of the a ffairs which occupy ,

my larger consciousness : which only descends to consider

that of the lesser li ves when these latter cause me a certain
amount of inconvenience or p ain which may possibly be ,

their prayer to me to do something for them .

Thus the emotion which I experience which may arise ,

in connection with a purely abstract thought is the ca u s e of ,

many physical and chemical changes in the cosmos of my body .

Every thought is a force influencing the body to some extent ,

and the dominant thou g hts of a man will certainly mould his
body to their own expression will attract and build up the ,

matter which most readily responds to their own particular

mode of motion until perhaps the man finds himself the
,

slave instead of the master of his own body .

In the inorganic world the activity of every atom of,

 COSMIC EVOLUTION 2 45

matter is dependent at every moment upon great cosmic

forces flowing in from the higher Planes ; and these cosmic
forces are the li fe a s p ect the activity of Cosmic Intelligences
, , ,

Hierarchies of Creators each focusin g as it were some

, , ,

S pecial aspect of that Divine Thought of the Universe in

which that which appears to us as past present and future is , ,

One Complete Whole .

Strictly S peaking nothing can ever be created

, it can
only be brought out Of subj ectivity into Obj ectivity by a process
Of limitation in time and S pace which latter are not actualities ,

but modes of consciousness This must be true whether we.

apply it to our o wn powers of materialising ideas and thoughts ,

or to those greater Cosmic Powers by and through which

N a tu re works .The whole evolution of Man — Humanity— is
determined by Cosmic Intelligences ; but each individual
man is largely the expression — i n any particular body— O i
an individual s elf determined by innumerable individual past
,

experiences actions desires

, , Each man his prison makes
. .

Everything which we consciously fashion out of matter

on this Plane and very much which we also unconsciously
,

fashion must first O f all exist as a th oug ht in our mind The

, .

’
work of art which the artist creates the design which the ,

craftsman elaborates the commonest article which is ever

,

fashioned of physical matter must exist first of all in the ,

mind of the individual who fashions it .

B ut it is not created even in that mind it is only ,

indivi duali sed there J ust as the individual atom of matter

.

is by reason of its inner nature receptive of etheric activities

, , ,

so the individual mind— which we must consider to be a

unit or mona d on the mental Plane — is by its inner nature , ,

receptive of the Ideas the Types of all possible things existing

,

on the still higher Spiritual or Archetypal Plane The .

individua l mind is as it were the lens by which these Divine

, ,

Ideas which exist eterna lly in the latency of the Absolute ,

or the potentiality of the Logos are focused on the S creen ,

O fi ti m e and space .

i Perhaps a physical analogy may help us to some extent

to grasp this idea In any fully lighted room every Obj ect
.

is clearly visible at whatever point in the space of the room

we may place our eye Or we may prick a pin -. hole in a
card and placing our eye to the hole we find that we can see
,

a certa i n portion of the room no matter where we hold the ,

2 46 SCIENTIFIC IDEALI S M
card This means of course that the rays of light from a ll
the obj ects seen through the pin -
.

hole must simultaneously

pass through that hole and therefore we may say that eve ry
, , ,

obj ect seen is represented by a certain order of etheric activity

in the space of the hole But since no matter where we p lace
.
,

the hole in the S pace of the room we Obtain a picture of the ,

room it follows that every obj ect in the room is represented

,

by a certain order O f etheric activity at every point of S pace

in the room All these light waves cross and recross each
.

other the Ether vibrating with inconceivable rapidity yet

, ,

the picture of every ob j ect at every point of space is clear

and distinct .

In a certain sense then every Obj ect actuall y exists— on the

, ,

etheric Plane— a t every point in the space of th e room and by

allowing the rays which pass through the pin -
,

hole to impinge
on a photographic fil m we can again ma teri a li s e the obj ect in
the form of a photographic picture We have brought into .

obj ectivity in a sp ecial individualised for m something which

exists on another plane at every point of space in the
room .

Conceive then of the Divine Idea of a ll that I S the Obj ective

, ,

Universe existing ete rnally and everywhere in In fin ite Space

, ,

as some— to us utterly i n con cei va b l e m od e of Prim ordial h

Substance Conceive of every indivi dual unit of conscious

.

ness on whatsoever Plane — whether that individual unit or

,

monad be that of a God or an atom — as being something which

is able as it were to gather up and focus some particular
, ,

aspect of that Divin e Idea which existing every where and at ,

all times has in itself no relation whatsoever to time and

,

space -B y this analogy we may possibly form some faint

.

conception of the fundamental principle that all things what

soever which app ear in time and S pace exist eternally and
everywhere on the highest Plane of Prim ordial Substance .

But they certainly do not exist as the things which we see

or of which we are conscious down here These thin gs .

are only limited and individualised aspects— more and more

limited and individualised as we descend from Plane to Plane
of a R ea li ty which exists eternall y in the One In fi nite Divine
Life and Consciousness .

To come more and more into conscious relation with that

I n finite Po wer by realising more and more that it is even that
,

Power Itself whi ch is our own life and conscious nes s our inn er
.

,
 COSMIC EVOLUTION 2 47

and real Self— is to accomplish our own individual evolutionary

course and destiny .

To recapitulate then we may conceive of the Divin e Idea

, ,

of the Cosmos as indi vidualised reflected or focused as it were

, , , ,

first of all as one complete Wh ole in the Consciousness o f that

Power by whatever name It (or He ) may be called who is
, ,

the image of the invisible God the first born of all creation
, .

We may conceive Of a further individualisation of certain

aspects of the ful l complete Divine Idea a breaking - u p of the
,

one Ray in to many : these further individualised forms of

consciousness being great Cosmic Powers by a n d through
whom matter of the various Planes of the Cosmos is formed ,

energised and sustained and the Cosmic Bodies the Suns and
, , ,

Worlds come i nto existence not by a creative act but as the

, ,

nat ural objecti ve expression of the active Idea .

On every Plane in descending order Consciousness wi ll ,

express itself in more and more individuali sed forms the

matter which is the cosmic body or obj ective aspect Of the
g reat Cosmic Powers becoming on each
,
Plane a more and more
limited field for the evolution of individualised forms of con
s ci ous n es s Considered as separate independent units every
.
,

physical atom presents an individual aspect in which both

motion and consciousness reach the furthest point of i n volu ti on .

Matter considered S imply in its two most obvious or common

quali ties of mass and extension does not present to our percep
,

tions any qualities of life or consciousness It is ap parently .

onl y moved by external forces its motion appears to be merely

mechanical .

The distinction between merely mechanical motion and that

of li fe is essentially that in the one case the obj ect is moved only
by ex tern a l forces is only acted u p on and is not itself the actor ;
, ,

whilst in the other case motion is innate and spontaneous it ,

comes from wi th i n But every advance made by science into

.

the microcosm of the atom S hows us that the more we penetrate

into that inner world the more it opens out i nto the macrocosm
Of the Infinite the more we study it the more we find that it ,

”
is not dead and only moved by extrinsic force but that
, ,

it is the expression of an active li vin g Power .

Every atom exists on and acts and reacts with every Plane
, ,

O f the Cosmos simply because in its successive stages of forma

,

tion it i n volves the matter Of each successive Plane Even .

if we materialis e our ideas of this process to such an extent as

2 48 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
-
to imagine t h a t there is some form of simple vortex rin g in ,

three- dimensional space which is the first form or di fferentiation

,

of Primordial Substance and that the matter of the lower ,

‘

Planes is fo rm ed by successive aggrega tions or combinations

of these simple rings we see that these primordial ri n gs how ,

ever much they become involved in the matter of lower Planes ,

always belong in reality to the higher Plane and as such must ,

act and react on that Plan e in their own distinctive manner ,

which would certainly be somethin g quite other than we are

familiar with in physics or chemistry Regarded in their .

obj ective aspect each woul d have almost absolute motion

, ,

sin ce they are o nl y one remove from Primordial Subst a nce

Itself .For the same reason regarded in their consciousness ,

aspect we S ho ul d have to thin k of them as some ki nd of meta

,
’
physical centre Oi consciousness like Leibnitz s Monads so , ,

near to absoluteness as to be practically indistinguishable

therefrom each Monad reflecting the whole Cosmos
, .

Even physically we kn ow that every atom of matter is bound

to every other atom that it attracts eve ry other atom by that
,

mysterious power which we call gravitation On the outer .

Plane of perception things appear to be separate individual ,

ised independent But that is appearance only Every

, . .

single thing however small or however large has invisible

, ,

but actual bonds which unite it with the whole Universe Onl y .

as we see it in that larger rel a tion and proportion can we come

to an understanding of what it really i s Any knowledge less .

than a knowledge of its relation to the Whole is comparative

darkness limitation error and illusion
, , , .

Our fundamental principle of the unity Of the U niverse

necessarily implies this relation of every individual thing to
the Who l e implies that there is nothing discrete disconnected , ,

isolated in the whole Universe There are no gaps ; there

, .

is no natural a n d supernatural no spirit a n d matter The , .

Universe is the garment of God it is without seam ,

woven fro m the top throughout .

If then we fail to recognise the l ife principle working in

, ,

physical matter it is because we have as yet only learnt to

,

associate life with individual forms because we see only the ,

outer form and expression and not the in ner energisin g power ,

an d activity We thus fail to realise that the whole Universe

.

b ei n g the expression of the One Life there must be infinite ,

orms of life on other Planes absolutely unknown to us Cosmic ,

 COSMIC EVOLUTION 2 49

Forms of Life and Consciousness by and through which that

which we call N a tu re ceaselessly manifests the One Divine
activity
.

Until we can understand this indeed we have little chance

, ,

of realising our own inherent divine nature Religion has

.

dogmatised more or less clearly as to what we shall be science

is beginning to teach us what we a re
.

Let us learn then to think cosmicall y and even altogether

, , ,

outside of time and space Only as we learn to do this can we

.

escape from the provincialism of conventional systems and,

the limitations of mere outward appearances and penetrate

,

into that inmost sanctuary where Truth abides in fulness .

 C H A PT E R X I I

OR GAN IC
A m o n s tro u s

As nine
e ft

m o n th s g o
wa s
F or hi m di d h i s h i g h S u n
o f ol d

ame fl t h e Lor d
,

t o th e s h a p i n g an
’
and M a s t er
a n d hi s ri v er b i l l o wi n g

A n d h e fel t hi m s elf i n hi s for c e t o b e n a t u r e s cr o ni n g

i n fa n t ri p e
of

w
E a r th
ra n
,

r a ce

for i t s b i r th ,
,
.

S o many a m i l li on o f a g es h a v e g on e t o t h e m a ki n g o f m a n
He n ow is fi rs t , b ut is h e th e l a s t ? i s h e n o t too b a s e ?
TE N N Y S ON , M a ud .
 C H A P T E R XI I

OR GA N I C E V OL UTI ON

THE general principle of evolution as applied to the Cosmos

and to Man is to be foun d in many philosophies dating back
to the very remotest times .

But during the last century it reappeared in a special form ,

in the e fforts which were made by various scientific investi

gators to trace a definite line of descent of the more highly
evolved species of animals man included from earlier and
, ,

more primitive types back even to the most rudimentary

,

forms of life back even to the very beginnings of life on this

,

globe .

The modern theory of organic evolution probably had its

rise and principal incentive in the early part of last century
in the science of geology which was then j ust beginning to
,

be understood .

The evidence of the fossil remains found in the various ,

geological strata conclusively shows a progressive series of

vegetable and animal forms In the Oldest fossil-
. bearing
strata evidences are found of the existence only of the simplest
or most rudimentary forms of life in what is known as the
secondary or mesozoic strata we come upon the fossil remains
of more highly developed species fishes and reptiles ; while
,

the mammals are only to be found in the more recent or

tertiary strata .

Whilst however the basis and groundwork of a general

, ,

conception of continuity and development was thus found

in geolo gy and paleontology it needed something much more
,

definite to place the principle on a firm scientific foundation ,

the more particularly so as the ground had S O long been

occupied by the old ideas of catastrophic and creational
forces and interferences ; and from the time whe n geology
,

first began to be a science the heaviest artillery which

,

religion — s o-
called— possessed had been brought to bear
253
A m o n s tr o u s

As ni n e
e ft wa s
F or hi m di d h i s h i g h S u n ame
o f o ld

th e
fl t h e Lor d
,

sh ap ing
’
and M a s ter
a n d h i s ri v e r b i ll o wi n g

A n d h e fel t hi m s elf i n hi s force t o b e n a t u r e s cr own i n g

m on th s g o t o an i n fa n t ri p e
of E ar th
ra n ,
,

ra ce

for i t s b i r th ,
.

So m a n y a m i lli on o f a g es h a v e g on e t o t h e m a ki n g o f m a n
He n ow is fi rs t , b ut i s h e th e l a s t ? i s h e n o t t oo b a s e ?
TE N N Y S ON , M a ud .
 CH A P T E R XI I

O R G A N I C E V O L U TI O N

THE general principle of evolution as applied to the Cosmos

and to Man is to be found in many philosophies dating back
to the very remotest times .

But during the last century it reappeared in a special form ,

in the e fforts which were made by various scientific investi

gat ors to trace a definite line of descent of the more highly
ev olved species of animals man included from earlier and
, ,

more primitive types back even to the most rudimentary

,

forms of li fe back even to the very beginnings of life on this

,

globe .

The modern theory of organic evolution probably had its

rise and principal incentive in the early part of last century
in the science of geology which was then j ust beginning to
,

be understood .

The evidence of the fossil remains found in the various ,

geological strata conclusively shows a progressive series of

vegetable and animal forms In the oldest fossil-bearing
.

strata evidences are found of the existence only of the simplest

or most rudimentary forms of life in what is known as the
secondary or mesozoic strata we come upon the fossil remai ns
of more highly developed species fishes and reptiles ; while
,

the mammals are only to be found in the more recent or

tertiary strata .

Whilst however the basis and groundwork of a general

, ,

conception of continuity and development was thus found

in geology and paleontology it needed something much more
,

definite to place the principle on a firm scientific foundation ,

the more p articularly so as the ground had so long been

occupied by the Old ideas of catastrophic and creational
forces and interferences ; and from the time when geology
,

first began to be a science the heaviest artillery which

religion — s o-
,

called— possessed had been brought to bear

9 53
2 54 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
against the theories as to the age and development of the
Earth which were gradually becoming necessities of scientific
,

thought during the early p art of last century .

At the p resent day whe n much which was beyond the

,

wildest S p eculation o f that time has become - commonplace

matter o f fact it is di fficult to realise from what a night of
,

ign orance prej udice and superstition we have so recently

, ,

emerged .

What was more particul arly needed at that time however , ,

to place the evolutionary theory on a firm basis was some ,

definite conception and evidence as to the possible fac t ors

which may have been operative in the gradual d evelopment
and evolution of the innumerable forms of organic li fe a n d
this was furnished in 1 8 5 9 by the epoch -
,

making work of
Charles Darwin on the Ori gi n of S p eci es .

’
Darwin s work was the result of twenty years of close
observation and experiment and the theo ry which he then ,

advanced and which has played such a prominent part in

,

scientific thought during the last fifty years was briefly as ,

follows .

The natural conditions of l ife are such that there is a

fl
constant struggle for existence and in the struggle those who ,

are not su fficiently well equipped or who are not su fficiently ,

in harmony with their environment will be placed at a dis ,

advantage i n comparison with those who are Wh ere there .

is not enough food for a ll the strongest or the ee te s t or

fl
, , ,

the most cunning will have a decided advantage and will ,

thus live longer and p ro p agate their S pecies better than the
, ,

weaker and le ss endowed members of the community who will ,

be kill ed o ff more quickly But S ince the qualities of the parents

.

are transmitted to their o ffspring the strength eetn es s or , , ,

other qualities of those who are best fitted for the struggle for
existence will be handed on and will continually tend towards
,

betterment ; or towards a more perfect correspondence with

environment adaptation to new or changed conditions or in
, ,

general fitness to survive

, .

The principal factor in the evolutionary process was named

by Darwin natural selection but it is p erhaps better under ,

stood under th e term given to it by Herbert Spencer and ,

afterwards adopted by Darwin him self that of survival of ,

the fittest .

We should caref u lly note that the term fittest applies

 O R G AN IC EVOL U TION z 55

in this connection merely to environment and does not mean ,

fitness in any moral sense It does not even necessarily mean .

betterment in t h e sense of new or increased powers It may .

even imply retrogression and it is well known that many ,

species have retrograded whilst others have remained p ra ct i ,

cally unch anged for untold ages Where food is plentiful and .
,

there are few or no enemies to avoid there is no particular ,

natural incentive to an increase of structural or organic powers

or faculties Under such conditions indeed a particular
.
, ,

organism may tend to degrade to a merely parasitic form of

life .

Nevertheless the fundamental conception of evolution is

,

that of progr ess bette r ment the acquisition of new and

, ,

increased powers and faculties ; and we have the fact before

us that in the main natural selection or the survival of
, , ,

the fittest does tend to bring this about and to produce

.

, ,

higher and more p erfectly organised forms of life Darwin .

says
N a t u ra l s e l e c ti o n i s d a i ly a nd h o u r ly s c ru ti n i s i n g , th r o u g h o u t t h e
w orl d , th e s li v a ri a ti o n s r e e c ti n g t h os e th a t
g h te s t j a re b ad, a nd

a d d i n g u p a ll th a t a re g ood S i l e n tly a n d i n s e n s i b l y w o r ki n g , w h e n e v e r
and wh e r e v e r o p p o r tu n i ty o ffe rs , t h e i m p ro v e m e n t o f e a ch o r g a n i c
at

b e i n g i n r e l a ti o n t o i ts o r g a n i c a n d i n or g a ni c c o n d i ti o n s o f li fe .

It is of p rofound significance that this perpetual struggle

for existence which we call evi l is one of the main factors in ,

the production of what we recognise as good in the production ,

of a higher and still higher type both of animals and of man ,

himself .

’
The publication Of Darwin s work was the S ignal for such
an exhibition of the odi u m th eol ogi cu m as had scarcely ever
been witnessed before For forty years the controversy rage d
.
,

and if it is closed to -
day and the doctrine of evolution has ,

won all along the line it is no thanks to those teachers and

,

leaders who S hould be the foremost to welcome truth and

revelation from whatever direction they may come The .

attitude of the Church in this matter was and sti ll is the , ,

direct cause O f the most pronounced forms of atheism and

materialism as well as of a still larger and more insidious crop
,
“

of negation and indi fference .

The general principle of evolution as applicable to man is

no w an es tablished truth No one at all acquainted with the .

facts of the case and the evidence which is now available is

, ,
2 56 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
inclined to dispute that man as we know him to - day is the
product of incalculable ages of evolution There is reall y no
.

question as to the existence of the p roces s the whole question

is as to the ca u s es which lie at the root of the process and the ,

results for the individual or the race which will fi n a llv be

a chieved thereby .

But although the general principle has been firmly estab

h
li s e d the actual steps in the li ne of descent — o r rathe r of
,

ascent— are very far from being known Even th e most recent
.

s t ag es and the question of the exact relation Of man to the

,

anthropoid apes is one which is shrouded in obscurity and

, ,

respecting which the most diverse Views are held .

Nor is it by any means clear that all the mere physical

factors which have been Operative even in the most recent
stages in the evolution of the va rious s p ecies and of man in,

particular have as yet been discovered or are discoverable

,

by biological science as at present understood : any more

than the genesis of the various chemical elements is discover
able without going much further back than mere ph ysical
matter and energy All these questions inevitably resolve
.

themselves first o f all into questions as to the action and

interaction of the physical Plane with the next higher or .

etheric ; and ultimately into purely metaphysical and

, ,

philosophical questions as to the nature of Primordial

Substance .

The modern theory of organic evolution ho wever does , ,

not go be y ond physical facts it is essentially materialistic ,

and seeks to account for the process on purely physical lines .

It seeks to trace an actual physical and historical continuity

from one species to another from the lowest forms of life
,

up to the very highest ; and it seeks for the fa ctors which

are operative in this process in external and mechanical
conditions rather than in inte rnal determining causes
, .

The reaction from the old creational and supernatural

theories has led to the work o f Darwin and other evolutionists
being pressed in the opposite direction for far more than they
are worth It has led very largely to an obscuration of the
.

deeper philosophical issues involved not merely in the question

,

as to the nature of life itself but also as to the mean i ng and

,

S ignificance of evolution considered from the larger point of

view of life and consciousness .

In the first flush of the recognition Of the enormous

 O R G ANIC EVO LU TION 2 57

advance made by Darwin and the enunciation of what is ,

certainly an important factor in the evolutionary process ,

it was assumed that this principle covered far more than

has subsequently been found to be the case ; and some
biologis ts now even assign to the whole Darwinian theory
‘

’
a very subordinate place Darwin s theory of heredity or .

p a n g en es i s is now quite obsolete H e also took for granted .

the fact of va ri a ti on and made no e ffort to explain it

,
.

Variation however or the fact that heredity is not absolute

, ,

in its action but that the progeny of any particular individual

,

exhibit S light divergences is one Of the most important ,

factors in the evolutionary process and one which as we S hall ,

p resently see stands most in need of explanation

,
It is .

evident that if there were no such thing as variation nature ,

would have nothing to s elect from .

In general the theory of natural selection was in the

,

first instance regarded too much as the ca u s e of evolution ,

whereas at most it is only part of the p roces s The principle .

’
of evolution however does not rest upon Darwin s work
, ,

or theories ; nor does it stand or fall with the principle of

natural selection .

The terms n a ture and n a tu ra l are used by many scientists ,

both biologists and physic i sts as if they completely ruled ,

out of court all questions of forces other than those with

which we are at present familiar all questions of intelligences
in the Cosmos higher than that of man himself as we know
him to - day ; or the operation of anything but a purely
mechanical sequence of cause and e ffect .

Thi s is doubtless a survival or rather a direct result of , ,

the arbitrary distinction which has so long prevailed between

the natural and the supernatural Science rightly rej ects .

a ll supernatural agencies but unfortunately in doing so has

gone to the other extreme and rej ected also all super -
,

physical
,

Intelligences .

Agencies operating upon matter from the etheric Plane

are not supernatural agencies but why such agencies S hould
not be conscious Intelligences quite as able to control the ,
’
course of nature by means Of nature s own laws as man
himself it is di fficult to see
, .

Pure inductive s cience necessarily deals only with phe

n om en a with that which can be demonstrated to the
,

senses and fi nding in phenomena an inevitable sequenc e

°

,
2 58 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
of cause and e ffect it rightly and inevitably postulates that
,

cause and effect rule throughout the whole of n a tu re including

now in that term the invisible as well as the visible .

But in doing this science has brought about a singular

,

reversal Of the natural order of things for it has placed the ,

plane of causes at the wrong end of nature i e in physical ,

. .
,

matter and force ; whereas the whole totality of the physical

—
universe is only a derived phenomenon i t is that which is
caused not that which causes
,
.

This singular reversal of the natural order doubtless

arises to a large extent from the fact that science has for
so long a time regarded physical matter the physical atom , ,

as an indestructible entity Cause must lie in the permanent

. ,

not in the impermanent ; but now that the physical a tom

has been resolved into something else we must seek for ,

ca u s es on a higher Plane .

The phenomenon of Radium h as compelled physicists to

fall back upon the etheric Plane as the Plane of ca u s e for a ll
physical phenomena ; but biologists have not yet learnt to _

do so in the case of life and consciousness : the forces which

are conceived to be operative in the evolution of life on this
globe being in the organ i sm itself purely physical and
, ,

chemical ; and outside the organism in the environment the

, , ,
’
blind operation of uninte lligent natural forces .

This singular reversal of the planes of cause and e ffect

is nowhere more clearly in evidence than in the attempt to
S how life and consciousness as efi ects of physical forces ,

instead of the ca u s es thereof What we need to recognise

.

fully in this matter is that so far as the or g a n i s m through

,

which life manifests on the physical Plane in concerned that ,

organism must necessarily conform or be subj ect to the laws

,

of cause and e ffect which are operative on that Plane ; but

the real cause of organi c evolution must j ust as certainly be
referred to a higher Plane as must the real cause of the
,

evolution offlth e chemical elements .

The lowest forms of org anic life have no power whatever

which comes within our cognisance to modify their environ
ment by a conscious act of choice and therefore to influence ,

their own growth AS we rise in the scale however we fin d

.
, ,

i n s ti n ct coming in causing the orga nism to avoid some things

and acquire others necessary for its well -
,

being When we
come to man himself we find a self-
.

conscious power developed

 OR G AN IC EVOL U TION 2 59

which can not merely make an extensive choice of external

conditions but can very largely modify those conditions
, ,

and can direct the growth and evolution O f S pecies Of plants

and animals in certain directions which n a tu re left to herself , ,

would probably never have designed —as for example all , ,

the fancy varieties of plants and domestic animals — and

can largely control n a tu ra l forces and adapt them to the ,

needs of the individual or the race .

Now in doing this no one Supposes for a moment that

man does anything which is supe rnatural or does anything ,

else than work wi th nature by means of her own laws He .

may alter a n a tu ra l sequence of cause and e ffect i e the , .

sequence which would have taken place had he not interfered

but in doing this he does not alter a S ingle natural law he ,

does not break up any sequence of cause and e ffect or introduce ,

any new order of things On the physical Plane there will

.

still be traceable a definite order or sequence of cause and

e ffect though not the sequence which would have resulted
,

had nature been left to herself .

u s on the physical Plane in that sensible region to

i g
s T h ,

which scientists confine their Observations there is always a ,

definite sequence of even ts of one event Operating apparently

,

as the ca u s e of the next ; and this whether the course of

nature is or is not interfered with by any guiding or directing
power of lesser or greater degree than that which we know
and possess within ourselves — the power of life thought , ,

consciousness .

Why then should some deny that there can be any such
thing as an intelligent guiding power in the evolution of
the race on the ground that the introduction of such a power
,

must be supernatural ? It may be as n a tu ra l on the larger

cosmic scale as our own intelligence is in directing on a small
scale the evolution Of new varieties of plants or animals .

But what is usually lost sight of is that this evident and ,

visible sequence of cause and e ffect in even ts is only a surface

appearance is only a horizontal line which be it extended ever
, ,

S O far can never give us a p ri m e ca u s e a Noumenon for all

, ,

phenomena We must look in another direction for this

.

Noumenon in that direction which we have previously termed

,

the vertical line of direct connection with the Noumenon .

It is the line which goes i n wa rds .

Let us take a concrete example as applied to biology The .

2 60 SCIENTIFI C IDEALISM
egg of a bird requires a certain amount of heat applied for a
certain length of time in order to hatch it The heat may be .

suppli ed by the mothe r bird or it may be purely artificial heat ,

applied in an incubator At the end of a certain time a bird

.

of a certain species is hatched out .

Now what was the cause of the bird being hatched At

first hand we should of course say the heat applied to the egg , .

I n so far as the bird could not have been hatched without

that heat we are of course quite right Yet the reply is .

obviously a verv superficial one for it deals only with what ,

we might call the accident of the envi ronment .

If we ask why heat should cause the bird to hatch or why ,

that particular bird should ap p ear and not one of another ,

S pecies we have not merely to state some of the other causes

,

which are at work in the m a tter but we have to look for those ,

causes in another direction altogether ; we have to look for

them in the inner nature of that force which we call heat ,

and also in the inner nature of the egg itself i n the i nner
-
,

nature of that S ingle germ —cell from which the bird really
originates and which— s o far as anything which we can detect
is concerned cannot be distinguished from the germ -
,

— cell
of thousands of ot h er S pecies Of birds .

Now if we ask a modern biologist what are the causes or

,

factors which are Operative in the evolution of species and ,

of man in particula r from the simplest protozoa or the most

, ,

elementary form of living matter of which we have any

knowledge i e protoplasm he replies natural selection
,
. .
, , ,

sexual sele ction heredity and variation

, , .

Natural selection or survival of the fittest in so far as it

, ,

is S imply the pressure of external circumstances belongs to ,

our horizontal line of cause and e ffect to the accident of ,

environment .

Sexual selection involves the consideration of the some

what complicated factors which induce the males or females
of any particular S pecies man incl uded to prefer certain types
, ,

of form or character rather than others Its influence in the .

animal kingdom is shown in a larg e variety of attractive

features which the male usually possesses : the mane of the
lion the magnificent plumage which many cock -
, birds assume ,

such as the tail of the peacock or in some characteristic sound ,

which the male can make such as the crow of the cock or the , ,

song of the lark There are however many other factors

.
, ,
 ORGAN IC EVOLUTION 261

bes i des mere attractiveness included under the general te rm

’
sexual selection and biologists are by no means agreed as
,

to the importance or operation of these factors The matter .

is of course very much more complicated when we come to

consider the case of man yet even here certain broad lines
of action have been observed .

We are not concerned now however with an analysis of , ,

these but only to point out that this factor taken as a whole
,

must be classed with that Of natural selection as belonging to

the external sequence of cause and e ffect .

But the other two factors which modern biologists allow

us — those of variation and heredity —Q Iea d us directly into the
region of i n n er causes for they lead us immediately into an
,

inquiry as to the nature of that mysterious g erm - cell in which

every physical form of life commences its individual existence

on this Plane .

M a n i s d ev el o p e d fr o m a n o v u l e , a b o u t I 2 5 th o f a n i n ch i n d i a m e t e r,
whi ch d i ff er s i n n o r e s p e c t fr om t h e o v u l es o f o th e r a n i m a l s Th e .

e m b r y o i ts e l f a t a v e ry e a rl y p e ri o d ca n h a r d l y b e d i s ti n g u i s h e d fro m

t h a t o f o th e r m e m b ers o f th e v e r t eb ra t e ki n g d om ( D a rwi n , D es cen

o f M an , ch a p .

Th e h u m a n ov u m , li k e t h a t o f a l l o th e r a n i m a l s , is a s i n g l e c e ll ,

a nd t hi s ti n y g l ob u l a r e g g -
c e ll ( a b o u t th e 1 2 0 t h o f a n i n c h i n d i a m e ter )

h as j u s t th e s a m e c h a r a c te ri s ti c a p p e a r a n c e a s th a t of a ll o th er vi vi
p a ro u s or g a n i s m s ( H a e ck el . R i d dl e, p .

What then is the i n tern a l difference in this minute i n

, ,

dividual cell barely visible to the naked eye but which

, ,

inevitably develops into an animal of a certain species : a

dog a calf a monkey or a man according to the species
, , , ,

from which it proceeds ; and not merely so but faithfully ,

rep roduces certain characteristic features of its parents or

more remote ancestors
The origin of the earliest primordial forms of life on this
Earth — or as it is S O O ften erroneously termed the origin of
, ,

life — is buried in the impenetrable past of untold millions of

years Nevertheless there can be little doubt as to what these
.
,

primordial forms were like for we have them with us to d ay ,

and— most S ignificant fact of all— every individual form of

life to -day must commence its life - history in some such simple
organism — i n a S ingle cell .

If there is any di ffi culty in believing that the physical form

of man can h a ve evolved throughout countless ages from
 SCIENTI F IC I UE A L IS

-
.

-
repr es e nt e d t w d b y the s i ngle
t forms of l ife —
the very lowes
i f we h a ve this
as the n us o r .

vertebrate ki ngdom ,
l tv ( s h es and
es t h a t o f t h x
resembl . ,
e

The next stage h l m ent of the

m r d
“

l k e b v t e r
;
i t i cul a r v a
thi s stage p s a r
in l Cl os e yl
irculatory s vs t e m g n e

arteries a n d C
fishes M o re o v r i
resembles that of h
. ,

grooves on the S ide of th e nec k o f t e n e t

to the gi lls Of fishes .

-l ft t
t u:
whi ch h a ve no mea n i n g e x cq
o th er vert
e
gi ll c e s,
m b
LI I
s ti l l p r e s e rv ed i n t h e e t) 0 1

a n ces to rs ,
a re

b r a t es . Th ey d i s a p p e a r af t e r a t i m e

Passin g through stages m o re r 1 o

amphibia and o t h e r r e p t i l c
t ive of the
are pr r ved
th e characteri s t ics n o t es e ,

dis pp r d a re t i
clefts subsequently
,
a ea a n ,
,

interm e di ate — the embr y o b e g in s t o a

is ti c fo rm of a m ammal a n d t h a t o f t
,
.
 O R GAN IC EVOL U TION 2 63

specie s he arms and legs in the first stages of their d evelop

‘

ment a re i ro d u ced in the same mann er as the fins Of fishes ,

the feet reptiles and mammals and the wings and feet of ,

birds : s nwi n g clearly that a ll these variations have some

common rigin .

The nm a n embryo at a certain stage has a true tail ,

ex t en d i n considera b ly beyond the rudimentary legs : show

’
ing that I an s ancestors at some time or another certainly
had tail In the later stages the human embryo is hardly
to be d :i n g ui s h ed from that of an ape It is quite in .

“
the late stages of development says Huxley that the , ,

young hman being presents marked differences from the

yo ung The convolutions of the brain in a human
f oetus a t h e end of seven months reach ab out the same stage
of d evel om en t as in a baboon when adult .

But I a n does not altogether throw off the traces of his

descent hen he becomes adult
‘

There are certain rudi .

mentary rg a n s which are of no service to him and are even ,

very d e tI m en t a l but which still survive as remnants from

,

his rem t e ancestors .

One I the best kn own of these is the vermi form a pp en di x ,

which is blind pouch attached to a portion Of the alimentary

canal ad is a remnant derived from some lower mammalian
,

ancestor ) f herbivorous habits Some thousands of opera .

tions ar performed every year for the relief of inflammation

caused V food lodging in this pouch In the orang this .

a p p e n d ee is long and convolute .

Man ) os s es s es the decided rudiments of a tail ; he has

various I u s cles by which a twitching of the skin can be pro
d u ce d n t necessary for him but quite necessary for lower
, ,

animals Cases are known in which these rudimentary

muscles an be used for drawing back the ears .

Dar t u says The ears of the chimpanzee and orang are

curious " like those of man and I am assured by the keepers
,

in the oological Gardens that these animals never move

or erec -hem ; so that they are in an equally rudimentary
‘

”
conditi o as far as function is concerned as in man
. There , .

are m a v other rudimentary characteristics too numerous

to men an here .

We : 3 then that in the development of the human embryo

, ,

from tl simple germinal cell representative of the lowest

.
,

and ea r es t appear a n ce of what we k now as l i fe on this Glo b e ,

2 62 SCIENTIF I C IDEALISM
the very lowest forms of life— represented to d ay by the S ingle
unice llular protozoa such as the infusoria— we have this
undeniable fact before us that h e d oes s o to-
,

da y ,
.

i But the science of emb ryology teaches us much more than

that single fact It S hows us in the development of the
.

human embryo a number of successive stages Of evolution

which are a r eca fbi tul a ti on of the successive stages which man
has taken in that long upward j ourney from the primordial
protozoa .

It is not diffi c ul t to trace the ma i n outline of this evolution

ary development The S ingle germinal cell grows and divides
into two four eight sixteen thirty -
.

, ,
two s i milar cells ; this
, ,

stage be i ng called the m orul a stage and it corresponds

general ly to the lower forms of life known as the multicellular
protozoa or metazoa A little later the inner ce l ls of this
m oru la —o r mulberry -
.

l ike mass — liquefy the outer cells con ,

dense into two membranes and the embryo now resembles ,

some of the lower forms of aquatic life Presently there is .

a marked change ; a little rod of tissue forms indicati ng the ,

line which will presently be the spinal column and the embryo ,

now resembles some of those forms of life such as the amphi ,

oxus or lancelet which lie at the very commencement of the

,

vertebrate kingdom the animals with a backbone , .

The next stage res embles that of the vertebrate fishes and ,

this stage is particularly marked by the development of the

arteries an d circulatory system in general which closely ,

resembles that of fishes Moreover there are well - marked .

,

grooves on the S ide of the neck of the embryo corre s ponding

to the gills of fishes .

-
Th e gi ll cl e f ts a p p e a r o n ei th e r s i d e of t h e f o r e g u t ; t h e y a re -
th e o p e n i n g s o f t h e g u ll e t , th ro u g h w h i ch , i n o u r p ri mi ti v e fi s h -
a n c e s t ors ,

t h e w a t e r w hi ch had e n ter e d a t t h e m o u th for b r ea th i n g p u rp o s es

m a d e i ts ex i t a t th e s i d es of th e h e a d By a t e n a ceo u s h e r e d i ty t h e s e
- -
.

g i ll c l e f ts ,
w hi ch h a ve no m ea ni n g e x c ep t for ou r fi s h li k e a q u a ti c
a n ce s to rs , a re s ti l l p r e s e r ve d i n th e e m b ry o o f m an a n d a ll o t h e r v e r t e

b r a tes . Th e y d i s a p p e a r a f t er a ti m e ( H a eck el , R i d d l e, p .

Passing through stages more or less clearly representa

tive of the amphibia and other reptiles— stages in which
the characteristics are not preserved but like the gill , ,

clefts subsequently disappear and are therefore clearly only

, , , ,

intermediate— the embryo begins to assume the character

is ti c form of a mammal and th a t Of the higher vertebrate ,
 OR GAN IC EVOLUTION 2 63

species The arms and legs in the first stages of their d evelop
.

ment are produced in the same manner as the fins of fishes ,

the feet of reptiles and mammals and the wings and feet of ,

birds : showing clearly that all these variations have some

common origin .

The human embryo at a certain stage has a true tail ,

extending considerably beyond the rudimentary legs : show

’
ing that man s ancestors at some time or another certainly
had tails In the later stages the human embryo is hardly
.

“
to be distinguished from that of an ape It is quite in .

“
the later stages of development says Huxley that the , ,

young human being presents marked di fferences from the

”
young ape The convolutions of the brain in a human
.

foet us at the end of seven months reach about the same stage
of development as in a baboon when adult .

But man does not altogether throw o ff the traces of his

descent when he becomes adult There are certain rudi .

mentary organs which are of no service to him and are even ,

very detrimental but which still survive as remnants from

,

his remote ancestors .

One of the best known of these is the vermi form a p p en di x ,

which is a blind pouch attached to a portion of the alimentary

canal and is a remnant derived from some lower mammalian
,

ancestor of herbivorous habits Some thousands of opera .

tions are performed every year for the relief of inflammation

caused by food lodging in this pouch In the orang this .

appendage is long and convolute .

Man posses s es the decided rudiments of a tail ; he has

various muscles by which a twitching of the skin can be pro
d u ce d not necessary for him but quite necessary for lower
, ,

animals .Cases are known in which these rudimentary

muscles can be used for drawing back the ears .

Darwin says The ears Of the chimpanzee and orang are

curiously like those of man and I am assured by the keepers
,

in the Z oological Gardens that these animals never move

or erect them ; so that they are in an equall y rudimentary
”
condition as far as function is conce rn ed as in man
, There , .

are many other rudimentary characteristics too numerous

to mention here .

We see then that in the development of the human embryo

, ,

from the simple germinal cell representative of the lowest ,

and earliest appearance of what we know as l i fe on this Glo b e ,

2 64 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
nature in a very short space of time an evolu
r eca p i tu l a tes

t i on a ry process each stage of which in its prim ary inception

, , ,

must have taken i ncalculable ages to accomplish .

Let us suppose that the period required is one hundred

million years as commonly demanded by biologists The
,
.

h uman embryo requires only nine months to recapitulate

the evolutionary process and the ratio of this to one hundred
,

million years is as I to In other words ,

nature now produces each individual human being in one

I 3 3 Ooo oooth
,
part of the time which has been taken
,

to evolve the human race Even if we add to this the

post -
.

natal period required to reach a d ul ts h i p — say twenty

years in all— the time is still only one 5 000 000th of that , ,

expended in the evolution of the race up to its present

point .

Now it is characteristic of a ll that we know of natural

processes or of our own capabilities and powers that what
, ,

has been do ne once can be done more easily a second time ,

and what has been done a million times or a practically ,

infinite number of times can be done with infinitely greater

,

fa cility than for the first time Nowhere is this more clearly or
more beautifull y illustrated than in the pre - natal-or indeed
.

we might also add in the post -

, ,

natal— life of the human being

, .

In our growth and development from childhood to maturity ,

every fac ulty we possess everything which we now do so ,

easily and even unconsciously is the result of ages and ages of ,

past effort in which by S low and imperceptible stages t h e

,

fa cul ty has been acquired by the organism Do not forget how . .

,

ever that faculty e ecedes org a nism The organism is only the
,
.

expression of the faculty Does any one really imagine that

.

the fa cu lty of S ight can reside in dead atoms and molecules

But the question immediately arises : in what does this
experience or faculty inhere ; what preserves it and hands
it on through countless generations and from one form of
, ,

her ?
Observe that there is an actual physical continuity stretch
ing back to the remot est past for every individual existing
to -day All forms of life with which we are familiar at the
.

present time from p rotoplasm to man him s elf are derived

, ,

from previous forms of life Omn e vi vu m ex vi vo The indi

vidual commences his existence as a single germ -
. .

cell but
that germ -
,

cell is de rived from the p arents who in their turn

.

,
 ORGAN IC EVOLUTION 26 5

must trace their individual life back to a single cell derived

from others ; and so back and still further back from the
, ,

human to the animal kingdom ; and back and back again ,

through all those stages in the evolution of the race which

are now outlined for us in the pre - natal development of the
embryo
What then is it in that mysterious germ -
.

, ,
cell which not
merely reproduces the more proximate characteristics of our
immediate ancestors but which also contains the epitome of
,

all those countless stages of evolution which have gone to

the making of each individual what he is to d ay
It is b y n o means our intention here to enter into the mighty
controversy which has raged and which still rages round this
,

question among the representatives of the modern science of

biology Nevertheless and in order to understand its philo
.
,

so p hical impo rt and as a preliminary step towards a wider

,

and deeper V iew than has yet been reached by modern biology ,

we must endeavour to outline briefly the principal theories .

The biology of to - day like everything else which forms

,

part of what is now known as s ci en ce attempts to explain

,

the development of the germ — cell on purely physical lines ;

it a ttempts to state all physiological processes in terms of
physics and chemistry Now we cannot too cle arly realise
.

that whatever may be behind the mere physical mechanism

of life that mechanism i n s o fa r a s i t i s p hy s i ca l must conform
, , ,

to the physical laws of matter and energy Life processes are

.

necessarily physical and chemical processes on th e p hy s i ca l

Pl a n e .

But when we have taken the mechanism to pieces down ,

to the very last atom what shall we have discovered Of li fe

,

or con s ci ou s n es s Shall we even have discovered what form

of energy it is which makes the mechanism work any more ,

than a man ignorant of the power of steam could discover the

motive - power of a steam engine by taking it to pieces or than
we can discover the real motive - power of a watch by the same
process ? We g e t back to the main - spring : but what gives
that spring its elasticity ? In each and every case we find
ourselves face to face with the inquiry as to the inner nature
of the mighty atom itself : an inquiry which immediately
opens out to us the whole vast possibilities of the etheric
Plane It is through th e a tom that the higher Plane operates
.

upon the lower .

 2 66 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
Let us now see how this applies to the question as to the
nature of the germ - cell ; first of all as to its physical con
s t i t u t i on ; and then further as to the forces which must lie
, ,

behind or within its mere atomic mechanism .

To begin with we may assume that there is some S pecific

difference in structure between one germ -
,

ce ll and another ,

whereby one produces say a dog another a rabbit another , , ,

a monkey and another a man not to mention all the S pecific

,

differe n ces between one indivi dual and another .

Moreover since by heredity certain organs or parts of the

,

body can be modified without change of the other parts it ,

appears tolerably evident that there must be contained in

the germ - cell some specific units which determine the function
Of each separate part .

These units were first postulated by Herbert Spencer in

his Pri n ci p les of B i ol ogy and were called by him p hys i ologi ca l
,

u n i ts . They were supposed by him to be the minimum unit ,

so to speak of specialised vital structure ; but as such to be

, , ,

still immensely complex considered as chemical structures .

They have since been called by many names by different

biologists but are perhaps best known now under the name
,

of d etermi n a n ts given to them by Weismann to whose brilliant

, ,

theory of heredity we shall presently refer .

M y d e t er m i n a n ts g ro u p s o f d e t er m i n a n ts ,
and s a y s W ei s m a n n ,

a r e s i mp l y th os e l i vi n g p a r ts of th e g erm wh os e p res en ce d etermi n es th e

a p ea r a n ce of a d efin i te org a n of a d e n i te ch a ra cter i n th e cou r s e of

p fi
n orm a l evol u ti on I n thi s fo r m th ey a p p e a r t o m e t o b e a n a b s ol u t e l y
.

n ece s s a r
y a n d u n a v oi d a b l e i n fe r e n ce fro m t h e fa c t s Th e r e m u s t b e
.

c o n ta i n e d i n t h e g e r m , p a r ts t h a t co n s ti t u t e th e r e a s o n wh
y s u ch o th er
p a r ts a r e for m e d ( Germi n a l S el ecti on , p .

A m i s crocop i c examination of a germ - cell cannot of course

penetrate as far as these determinants which are therefore , , ,

purely hypothetical The minute germ - cell 1 2 0th of an

.
,

inch in diameter is seen under the microscope to consist of

a kind of granular semi -
,

solid substance which is in fact

, ,

p rotop la s m the p hysical basis of life This protoplasm

, .
,

however is not the real germinal part of the cell but serves
, ,

rather as a nutritive in the early stages of fru c ti fi ca ti on .

The real germinal part of the cell is a minute S peck

called the n u cl eu s and when this is stained with an appro
p ri a t e dye it e t b i ts a net -
work of fine interlacing fibres ,

k nown a s the chroma ti n of the nu cleu s In the first sta g e .

 OR G AN IC EVOLUTION 2 67

of fructi fi ca ti on this ch roma ti n breaks up into a number of

separate rod - like bodies known as ch romos omes These .

ch r om os om es may be seen by the aid of a very powerful

microscope and after treatment with suitable dyes to contain
, ,

a number of still smaller bodies called mi cros omes which are ,

the small est bodies it is possible to detect and which might ,

therefore be about 1 00 000th of an inch in diameter Weis ,

.

mann assumes however that each of these consists of still

, ,

smaller bodies which are his d etermi n a n ts and he postulates

, ,

that these determinants are built up of still smaller units ,

which he calls bi op h ores and which therefore rather than , , ,

the determinants might perhaps be said to correspond to

,

’
Herbert Spencer s p hy s i ol ogi ca l un i ts .

By comparison with the size of molecules which we have

given in Chapter I I I it will be seen that even in these small .
,

bodies we may have an almost unimaginable number of

-
atoms or molecul es If we assume that a compound molecule.

may be about 1 5 0 000 000th of an inch in diameter we see

, , ,

that there wo ul d be 5 00 in the length of 1 00 000th of an inch ,

s oo x 5 00 2 5 0 ooo in such an a rea ; and

=
, in a
s ol i d cu b e AS no two molecules however actually touch
'

.
, ,

each other we must probably reduce this number very

considerably but stil l the number contained in a m
,

, i cr os om e ,

and the actual physical conditions which may prevail

therein are quite beyond our powers of imagination Out
, .

of this veritable mi crocos mos each individual man emerges ,

into the Obj ectivity of that larger world which consti

t u t es his physical Plane existence for a brief space of
‘

time .

We see then that if we stretch our imagination back to

, ,

the living bi op h ores we have reached a sort of hypothetical

,

atom of life and it has even been mooted that this ultimate
,

living unit may be identical in nature in all living organisms

j ust as there is probably an ultimate physical unit of matter
which is identical in all the chemical elements In the .

living organism however this ultimate unit must still be an

, ,

exceedingly complex chemical molecule and must leave room ,

for an almost infinite variety of i n tern a l characteristics and

in the ultimate chemical unit also we must consider that
i d en ti ty can only have a relative meaning and cannot apply ,

to i n tern a l charac teristics but only to external behaviour ,

in a limited range of phenomena No two a to ms can ever .

2 68 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
be considered to be absolutely alike any more than any two ,

leaves of a tree .

,
If however we p ostulate any such ultimate atom of
,

l i vi n g matter as the bi op h ore is supposed to be ; if we

p ostulate that anything less than that any less complex ,

system of physical atoms and molecules is n ot living : we ,

are face to face with a very serious philosophical difficulty .

Observe that this ultimate unit Of life is admittedly

hypothetical It is far more hypothetical than the chemical
.

atoms themselves for these— whatever they may really be

, ,

or whatever lesser units they may be resolvable into —can

be manipulated and combined in definite proportions a nd
with calculable results .

It is far otherwise with the hypothetical life units and

moreover if we say that there is a certain minimum of
,

material a certain minimum complex of chemical elements

,

at which life begi n s we are begging the whole question as

,

to what life really is ; for no one can tell us what are the
properties or characteristics of this hypothetical unit of livi ng
matter which can j ustify us in calling it li vi n g whereas if ,
’
we remove a S ingle molecule it is immediately dead .

Further than this by postulating such an hypothetical

,

unit we immediately establish a gap between living and non

living matter : between matter which is sensitive and
thinking —to use Haeckel s terms — and matter which is
” ’

absolutely inert and dead and we certainly cannot postulate

that the mere addition of a single chemical molecule will
make a number of molecules sensitive and thinking
which were not S O before .

Ho w then S hall we bridge this gap for bridged it u n ,

doubtedly must be if we are to adhere to our fundamental

thesis that the Universe is a Unity that the same principles ,

Operate in the microcosm as in the macrocosm

Haeckel as we have already seen in Chapter IX has

, .
,

boldly attem p ted to bridge the gul f by postulating that all

matter is alive ; but his presentation of this thesis is neither
consistent nor logical and he reduces li fe to a mere figure of
,

speech Life according to him has its roots not in something

.
,

immeasurably greater than any of its finite manifestations ,

“
but in a mere inclination for condensation a dislike of ,

strain inherent in the primitive world - stu ff Mr M Ca b e . .

‘
,

Haeckel s translator and apolo g ist tells us ind eed— as we

’
, ,
 ORGAN IC EVOL U TIO N 2 69

have already seen (p 2 04) — that the sensation and will he

.

attributes to atoms are obviously fig ura ti ve and merely ,

reminders of his doctrine of the unity of all force or S pirit .

With this doctrine of unity we are completely in accord ;

but for us it points in the direction of an Infinite Life and
Consciousn ess towards which the whole creation moves ,

towards which we as individuals are evolving and which is ,

certainly i n vol ved in what we know as physical matter other ,

wise i t co u ld never manifest therein in the slightest degree ,

whatever might be the amount of complexity of the physical

organism .

There can be no doubt that there is a growing tendency

to break down the arbitrary distinction between living ‘

and dead matter There is a growing tendency to accept

.

a bi og en es i s the evolution of organic out of inorganic matter

, .

But there is no reason why that principle even if definitely ,

established as an actual demonstrable fact S hould upset ,

our most lofty ideals as to the dignity of human life the ,

powers which we know we already possess or the glorious ,

future which lies in front of each indivi d ual in the further

unfolding of his nature The fact of a bi og en es i s if once
.
,

established would not degrade but rather it would infinitely

, ,

extend the meaning of the term li fe It would establish .

the universality of life and make it coexistent with motion

, .

When that is established we shall find it clearly understood,

that life cannot evol ve any more than force energy motion , , ,

substance call it what you will— the p ri mum mobi l e of the

,

universe— for Life i s that p ri m um mobi l e ; and what ete rnally

IS i s complete full absolute
, , , .

But the particular individualised manifestations of this

Unitary Power— those phenomenal aspects of that Power
which we commonly term the Universe — do evolve ; or at
all events they have the appearance in our consciousness
of an ordered sequence in time and space .

Haeckel and the allied school of materialistic thinkers

, ,

tell us that life is only a form of manifestation of that same

energy which we know in a m ech a n i ca l manner as all the
’
di fferent varieties of forces And why not ? That makes
‘
.

no di fference to our conception of life only we S hould turn ,

the statement round the other way and say that mechanical ,

force energy or motion is merely one manner in which we

, , ,

apprehend the p ri mum mobi l e which is Li fe . .

2 70 S CI E NI F I C
‘

IDEALISM
Returning now to or germ - cell we find that there is
,

neither a philosophical or a logical reason why we S hould

postulate an ultimate ui t of life ; there is no reason why
we S hould stop at the bi p h ores ; we must go right back to
the atom itself— and ey on d — i n order to fin d that li fe
ri n ci p l e which moves ad works in A LL ; in the atom as
p
well as in the S peck of In t op l a s m in the mineral as well as
in the vegetable the a n i ml or the h um an
, ,
t a
1

That this One Life b ould S how varying degrees and

aspects of its infinite n a me in the infinite variety of forms
which constitute the p h enmen a l world is merely an empirical
,

fact of our present con s cms n es s nor can we in any possible

way conceive that a singe atom or molecule shoul d exhibit
any more of the nature f that One Infin ite Principle than
j ust so much as makes an atom or a molecule It is an .

atom or a molecule— to a r con s ci ou s n es s — j ust because our

consciousness only a p p reen ds its nature in precisely such
a li mi ted manner Ha v we not already seen that even a
.

physical analysis of the mm opens out into Infinity ;i tg

Science may analyse te germ - cell down to its last atom :
it will still be face to fac with the problem of life thought , ,

consciousness It would >e no greater mystery no greater

.
,

wonder than it is at p remt did we find the physical body

of each individual m a n evlvm g out of a single atom instead ,

of from a minute germ - cel Nay for anything we know there

l , ,

may be in that germ - c e ne S ingle atom which determines

the characteristics of th individual which is presently to
appear in the— to u s — l a rer world of time and space ; for
every single atom in v i rt e of its oneness in s u bs ta n ce with
,

that Infinite Life which ns ouls the whole Universe both ,

seen and unseen is c a p a le of mirroring the whole past

,

and the whole future .

Now it is pre cisely th i sp ower of mirroring of recapitula

,

tion Of memory which is t la puzzle in any purely materi alistic

, ,

theory or explanation Of t e evolution of the plant or animal

from the germinal cell amethi n g in th a t cell possesses a
.

memory is able to
, i tl a t e the p a st ; and not merely so ,

facility and apparently

,

ses which in their

of years of ceaseless

physical
 O RGAN IC E V OLU I O N
‘

27 1 .

Plane in biological matters and wh i c fi oo k s for the explana

,

tion of all physiological processes in he region of physics

and chemistry is compelled to p os t ulte that this s ometh i n g
,

must be of a physical nature ; it met be an atom ” : or a

molecule or a biophore or some la rer lor smaller or more
, , ,

or less complex unit of physical matt e

But if this living sensitive and t hi k i ng unit of physical
matter possesses this marvellous p owr of reca p i tulation it ,

must have either itself individually assed through all the

previous experiences which it now rero d uces or e ls e there ,

must be a direct physical co n ti n u i t of some kind righ t ,

back through all the vast past of th evolutionary process ,

by means of which the a cc um u la t i nge Xp e ri e n ceS are h a n ded

on from germ - cell to germ - cell .

But how is this continuity p os s i he i f the mother g e rm

cell is formed out of totally new mt te r absor b ed as food
by the parent ? It is precisely tls diffic ul ty whic h led -
Weismann to enunciate his celebrated teo ry of the i mmortali ty
of the germ - plasm Briefly stated this theory postulates
.

that when the parent germ - cell beins to di fferentiate i n

the formation of the new individua some portio n of i t is
exclusively reserved for the form a t m o f the reproductive
cells of the new individual and that t us t h e germ - ,
cells which
this new individual when it rea c h esma t u ri ty is ca p able o f
, ,

throwing o ff are directly derived m from the b ody of the ,

-
,

n ew individual but
,
from the o m i n a l paren t ger m cell .

There is thus a continuity a dirce line of lineage of t h e

germ -
,

cell s quite distinct from the bd i e s of the i n d i viduals

to whom these germ -
,

cells give ris e a d to which th ey belong ,

for the time being and whic h thus oly serve as i t were a s
, , ,

a temporary habitat or shelter fo r his directly co n tinuous

-
line of descent from germ cell to g n cell e - .

In some of the lower animals ti s c ontinuity has been

actually observed but in the high animals and in plants
,
'

it cannot be recognised because t i n e w reproductive Cells

~
,

can only be observed when the i di vid u a l has reached a

considerable maturity .

[B N
‘

o t wi th s ta n d i n g the highly y p o t h e t i ca l nature of

’
Weismann s theory it found man y enthusiastic s upporters
, ,

perhaps more particularly on a cco ut of its being a distinct

advance on the older or Da rwi n i a theory of p a ngen es i s
— -
, ,
,

which supposed that something S e gemmule u re p re

t
2 70 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
Return ing now to our germ - cell we find that there is ,

neither a phil osophical nor a logical reason why we S hould

postulate an ultimate unit of li fe ; there is no reason why
we should stop at the bi op h ores ; we must go right back to
the atom itself— and beyond— i n order to find that li fe
ri n ci p l e which moves and works in A LL ; in the atom as
p
well as in the speck of protoplasm ; in the mineral as well as
in the vegetable the animal or the human form h a s 2: ; g e
, ,
.
1

That this One Life should S how varying d egrees and

aspects of its infinite nature in the in fin ite variety of forms
which constitute the phenomenal world is merely an empirical ,

fact of our present consciousness nor can we in any possible

way conceive that a single atom or molecule S houl d exhibit
any more of the nature of that One Infinite Principle than
j ust so much as makes it a n atom or a molecule It is an .

atom or a molecule— to ou r con s ci ou s n es s — j ust because our

consciousness only apprehends its nature in precisely S li C h
a li mi ted manner Have we not alr eady seen that even a
.

physical analysis of the atom opens out into Infinity fig ) 1

Science may analyse the germ -

.

cell down to its last atom :

it will still be face to face with the problem of life thought , ,

consciousness It wo ul d be no greater mystery no greater

.
,

wonder than it is at present did we find the physical body

,

of each individual man evolving out of a single atom instead ,

of from a minute germ - cell Nay for anything we know there

.
, ,

may be in that germ - cell one single atom which determines

the characteristics of the individual which is presently to
appear in the— to us — larger world of time and space ; for
every S ingle atom in virtue of its oneness in s u bs ta n ce with
,

that Infin ite Life which ensouls the whole Universe both ,

seen and unseen is capable of mirrorin g the whole past

,

and the whole future .

Now it is pre cisely this power of mirroring of recapitula ,

tion of m emory which is the puzzle in any purely materialistic

, ,

theory or explanation of the evolution O f the plant or animal

from the germinal cell S omethi n g in th a t cell possesses a
.

memory is able to reca pitulate the p a st ; and not merely so

, ,

but is able to repeat with infin ite facility and apparently ,

automatical ly and unconsciously processes which in their ,

primal inception have necessitated millions of years of ceaseless

effort and strife .

Modern science which does not go beyond the physical

,
 OR G AN IC EVOL U TION 27 1 .

Plane in biological matters and which looks for the explana ,

tion of all physiological processes in the region of physics

and chemistry is compelled to postulate that this s ometh i n g
,

"
must be of a physical nature ; it m ust be an or a
molecule or a biophore or some larger or smaller or more
, , ,

or less complex unit of physical matter .

But if this living S ensitive and thinking unit of physical

matter possesses this marvellous power of recapitulation it ,

must have either itself individually passed through all the

previous experiences which it now reproduces or else there ,

must be a direct physical continuity of some kind right ,

back through a ll the vast past of the evolutionary process ,

by means of which the accumulating experiences are h a n ded

on from germ - cell to ge rm - cell .

But how is this continuity possible if the mother germ

cell is formed out of totally n ew m a t ter absorbed as food __

by the parent ? It is precisely this difficulty which led

.

Weismann to enunciate his celebrated theory of the immortality

of the germ — plasm Briefly stated this theory postulates
.
,

that when the parent germ - cell begins to di fferentiate in

the formation of the new individual some portion of it is ,

exclusively reserved for the formation of the reproductive

cell s of the new individual and that thus the germ - , cells which
this new individual when it reaches maturity is capable of
, ,

throwing Off are directly derived not from the body Of the
, ,

new individual but from the original parent germ —

, cell .

There is thus a continuity a direct line of lineage of the

germ -
,

ce ll s quite distinct from the bodies of the individuals

to whom these germ -
,

ce lls give rise and to which they belong ,

for the time being and which thus only serve as it were as
, , ,

a temporary habitat or shelter for this directly continuous

line of descent from germ - ce l l to germ -
ce l l .

In some of the lower animals this continuity has been

actually observed but in the higher animals and in plants
,

it cannot be recognised because the new reproductive Cells

,

can only be observed when the individual has reached a

considerable maturity .

Notwithstanding the highly hypothetical nature of

’
Weismann s theory it found many enthusiastic supporters
,
.
,

perhaps more particularly on acco unt of its being a distinct

advance on the older or Darwinian theory of p a ng en es i s
which supposed that something— some gemmule —
, , ,

rep re
272 SCIENTI F IC IDEALISM
’
s en t a ti ve of every cell in the parent s body found its way
into every germ - cell It is difficult in the first instance to
.

imagine how this could be effected in the constant flux of

’
cells in the parent s body ; and in the second place it would
not account for r eca p i tu la ti on for the mem ory of al l the past
,

history of the race which must certainly inh ere in something

,
.

There are many phenomena on the other hand which , ,

’
appear to be directly antagonistic to Weismann s theory ,

chief among these being that in most of the higher forms of

plant -
,

life there are tissues belonging to the individual body

Of the plant and not forming any part of the special repro
,

d u ct i ve apparatus ,
which are , nevertheless capable of ,

repro ducing a similar plant Further there are facts of .

,

regeneration and repair as when a lobster grows a new claw

,
~
.

In all cases of propagation by cuttings of plants roots are ,

formed out of the tissue of what was previously the stem

of the plant . These and similar facts have led to the
formulating of another theory of heredity by Hertwig This , .

further theory supposes that every cell Of the parent body

contains germin al matter for every p a rt of the body so that ,

it may virtually become a ge rm —cell if call ed upon by speci al

conditions to perform that function or some part of that ,

function .

We are not concerned here with the great controversy

which still goes on around these conflicting theories indeed
we are not really concerned with any purely ma teri a li s ti c
explanation of the great facts of life and consciousness N 0 .

one has recognised more clearly than Weismann that his Own
theory is of necessity only an e ffort to form a mental image ,

or construct of that which is unknown and unfamiliar

, ,

from that which is k nown and familiar Some kind of .

mental image is certainly necessary if any advance is to be

made at all and the function of a working hypothesis is j ust
,

as much to enable us to advance as to form a cOmp l ete ,

explanation of all the known facts and factors I S any one .

presumptuous enough to believe Weismann asks we can , ,

infer from our slight knowledge of the chemical constitution

of the germ of a trout and a sa lmon the real cau s e Of the
’ ’
one s becoming a trout and of the other s becoming a salmon
( Ger m i n a l S el ecti on p , And .
a gain : As if a n y living
being C ould have the temerity even so much as to guess at
the a ctua l ultimate phenomena in evolution and heredity "
 ORGAN IC EVOL U TION 2 73

The whole question is a matter of symbols only j ust as it ,

’ ’ ’
is in the matter of forces atoms
‘
ether und ulations
, , ,

etc the only di fference being that in biology we stumble

much earlier upon the unknown than in physics (Germi n a l
S el ecti on p , .

If heredity were absolutely constant in its action if the ,

o ffspring always faithfully resembled the parent there could ,

be no such thing as evolution But amongst the progeny .

of any particular individual there are always more or less

well- marked va ri a ti on s which are more and more in evidence
,

the higher we ascend in the scale of evolution and it is upon

“
these va ri a ti on s that natural selection operates in the
evolution of species and of the race Natural selection is .

the selection of favourable variations and these favourable ,

variations are transmitted and perpetuated by heredity .

But when we come to inquire into the causes or physical

conditions of variations we are face to face with a problem
,

which is even more diffi cult and intricate than that of heredity
itself Heredity and variation are really part of the same
.

problem that of the nature of the germ -

,
cell ; nevertheless
variation can to a certain extent be treated separately and , ,

indeed there has probably been more controversy as to the

,

origin of variations than there has been concerning the nature

and operation of heredity considered merely as the trans
mission Of characteristics already in evidence The whole .

question is a very complicated one and we can only indicate ,

one or two factors which bear upon the philosophical principles

we are endeavouring to elucidate .

Variations might conceivably arise owing to the trans

mission of acquired characteristics Every individual in the .

cours e of his life changes more or less for many reasons due ,

for the most part however to pressure of environment ; and

, ,

it is conceivable that such modifications both of physical

and mental characteristics S hould a ffect the germ -
,

, cells which
give rise to the progeny of that individual ; indeed at first ,

S ight it might seem only natural that such should be the case .

Yet strange to say this is one of the questions respecting

, ,

which the gr eatest divergence of opinion exists among leading

biologists Darwin fully accepted the transmission of acquired
.

characteristics but it has been absolutely denied by Weismann

,

and his school At the present time the controversy is still

.

open the balance of the evidence probably showing that the

,

1 8
 S CI E NTI F I C TD EALI S M
‘

2 74

influence of acquired characteristics if transmission takes ,

place at all is certainly by n o means the principal factor in

,

the production of variations or even an important one , .

What then are the causes wh i ch a r e operative in the

, ,

—
production of variations variations which be it noted , ,

are not so much haphazard differences of colour or size or

shape Of p articular individuals of the same S pecies but which ,

lead steadily towards a definite alteration of the type towards ,

the production Of an animal tot ally unlike its ancestors in

exterior appearance internal construction and in the part
, ,

which it plays in the general scheme or economy of nature ?

Take for example the evolution of the horse from a fi ve
, ,

toed animal somewhat resembling a small fox whose fossil ,

remains have been found in the lower Eocene strata in New

Mexico I n Yale University may be seen a continuous series
. ,

o f fossil remains connecting this

,
t i p p us with the horse
of the present day and presenting a gradual transformation
,

of the bony frame : a g radual transformation of four out of

the five fingers or toes which in some form or other are typical
, , ,

of all the vertebrates of the reptiles and birds as well as of

,

the higher animals and man .

An examination of these fossil remains shows four of the

toes of the original ancestor of the horse gradually retirin g
from use as it were In the Miocene rocks are found the
,
.

remains of the Miohippus having three complete toes , ,

and higher up the leg the rudimentary remains of a fourth ,

corresponding to our little finger These remains are also .

found in Europe and are called the An ch i th eri um

, .

Still more recently in the Pliocen e rocks are to be found

, ,

the remains of the Protohippus or Hipparion which , ,

has one large digit now beginning to resemble the lower

-
,

part of the leg O the present day horse and two small er
f ,

digits higher up the leg In the higher Pliocene rocks are .

to be found the remains of the Pliohippus which are only ,

slightly different from those of the horse as we know him

to d ay and in which the rudim ents of the two extra digits
"
,

are still to be found Thus the knee of the horse represents ,

and is evolved from the typical wrist of the vertebrates

, ,

whilst the lower part of the leg is S imply one overgrown finger
or toe of which the hoof is the claw or nail This is one of
th e best -
.
,

attested cases of evolution and one which is O ften ,

q uoted as absolute pro of of the general principle .

 OR G ANIC EVOL U TI ON 75

But when we come to consider the details of the process ,

we are confronted with a problem of the deepest import .

We see that there must have been an incalculable number of

variations a ll ten di ng i n th e s a me d i recti on The variations
.

in the countless individuals of any on e generation as compared

with those immediately precedi n g them must have been
very slight and we have to account not merely for the fact
,

that such slight variations can occur— we can study these

S light variations in the individuals of any species to d ay

but that they should p ers i s t i n a d efi n i te di recti on resulting ,

in the evolution of an animal so highly useful to a still more

highly evolved species the human race
,
.

Further than this it is tolerably certain that the particular

,

variation in the direction of this radical change of species or

type could not have been the only variation In any one .

generation there must have been innumerable other variations

not in the direct line of change we are considering but these , ,

by some process of selection appear to have been rej ected .

We have then in the first place the problem as to how

, ,

the variations arise at all ; and in the second place the question ,

as to what it is which selects .

Was the horse in view at the commencement of the process ,

or did the horse resul t from the mere blind chance that the
S light variations in certain individuals of any one generation

were advantageous to those individuals in the struggle for

existence The theory of natural selection assumes this
latter to be the case ; it assum es that certain variations gain
the ascendancy because they are more useful to th e i n di vi du a l .

But we are met here with the di fficulty that in any series ,

of variations leading to a definite transformation such as that ,

of the horse : not merely the initial variation but every step
,

O f the progressive variations from one generation to another ,

must have been so slight that it is impossible to assert that

such a slight variation would be of any service to the i n di vi du a l
in the natural struggle for existence .

We may take as another example of this the protective

colouring of the wings o f certain butterflies which imitate
the foliage upon which the insect is accustomed to alight In .

certain S pecies this colouring exactly resembles a particular

leaf ; it shows not me rely the general colour of the leaf ,

but also a definite midrib and branch ribs In some cases

this veining is partly on the hind-
.

wing and partly on the fore

2 76 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
wing : the continuation from the one wing to the other fitting
e xactly where the wings overlap each other when the butterfly

is reposing but not other wise

,
.

Now we can see plainly how such markings when fully ,

developed are a protection against enemies making it difficult

, ,

to discern the insect when not in flight but what we cannot

see is in what way the first start of these variations can
have been of any advantage to the individual in the struggle
for existence when for instance only a single spot appeared
, ,

of what was subsequently— who shall say through how many

ages —evolved into a definite imitation of the midrib Of a
certain leaf .

It is not merely a question as to how the first spot or

subsequent spots appeared but as to how those in the right
,

d irection to form the midrib were s el ected in preference to

others : when a promi s cuous spot would at this stage appear , ,

to be quite as much advantage to the individual as a definitely

located one .

It is I n fact impossible to conceive that such definite

, ,

results as these could have been obtained by a mere survival

of the fittest among an almost incalculable number of merely
a cci d en ta l variations of variations that is determined by the , ,

mere accident of environment The inc redi bility of this is .

immensely increased when we consider that in a case like ,

that of the horse it is not merely one part or one organ which
,

is undergoing this directive variation but a number of parts ,

and organs simultaneously a ll tending to the same end

, .

These considerations have led to a very general recognition

of the fact that d efi n i tely di rected evolution cannot be accoun ted
for b y m ere natural selection ; and has even led some naturalists
to rej ect natural selection altogether as a factor in the evolution
of species .

The conflicting theories to which the foregoing and i n n um er

able other facts have given rise cannot be considered here but ,

taken broadly they may be said to tend in one direction

, ,

that of looking for the missing factors in some internal condition

or process operating in the germ - cell in other words to ,

intern al rather than to external causes .

One of the most interesting and best known theories in

this connection is that of Weismann who supposes that there ,

is a natural selection going on in the germ -

'

cell itself among the ,

determinants Of that cell This may be and probably is

.
, ,
 ORGAN IC EVOL U TION 2 77

very largely true ; but so far as any real explanation of the

’
root of the matter is concerned Weismann s theory is merely
,

— —
a transference of natural selection blessed word from an
e xternal region where to a certain extent we may observe

its operation to an arcane region where it is who lly impossible

,

to follow it But Weismann himself as we have already seen

.
, ,

distinctly repudiates any idea Of penetrating to the real

ca u s es of either heredity or variation .

There is un doubtedly something in the particular germ

cell which represents the particular variation of the particular
individual about to be produced must we not also say that
in that mysterious i n wa rd n es s — which ends nowhere short of
absoluteness— there is undoubtedly something which represents
not merely the particular stage which the S pecies has reached
at that particular time ; not merely a ll stages through which the

fl
particul ar species has passed to reach its present development
but als o all stages through which it S hall pass in what to us is
the futu re the de fin ite line of variations which will be followed
up in order to produce transformations not as yet materialised
on the physical Plane but undoubtedly seen and known on
,

those higher Planes where a ll ca u s es are to be found before

they become e ects on the lower Plane because any rea l cause ,

is on e wi th i ts fi ect
e .

If it is le g itimate to postulate hypothetical physiological

”
units or determinants may it not be legitimate to stretch
,

our scientific imagination yet a little further to a region ,

behind or within the mere physical atom and find there a ,

germ from which the species and the race unfolds as surely
and inevitably as the individual
Is not all evolution in fact the unfolding of that which
, ,

a lrea d
y ex i s ts : somewhere somehow in that One Noumenon
, ,

which ori gi n a tes all things which come forth into time and
space
The infinitely small reflects the infinitely great To be .

consistent we must boldly apply to universals every principle

,

which we find operatin g in particulars We are not real .

Monists un less we do so We have fail ed to grasp the essential

.

Unity of the Universe if we have failed to see that that Unity

is something infin itely more than a mere uniformity of sub
stance , or universality of motion Out of Primordial .

Substance is evolved the next lower Plane ; out Of that one ,

still lower appears in due time ; out of that again appears ,

2 78 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
let us say the Etheric ; and in due course from the Ethe ric
,

appears the Physical But the unfolding of all these Pla nes
.

is j ust as inevitably contained in that Primordial Substance as

is the unfolding of the individual from the individual germ
cell Primordial Substance is the U niversal germ -
. cell
the Primordial Substance of any one particular Universe
that is to say— and every physical germ -
,

ce ll i s in its inmost ,

nature that Primordial Substance ; not be it observed a

, , ,

p o rt i on of that Substance but that Subst a nce itself : for that

,

Substance is a M on a d it is One and indivisible There can

,
.

be no portion of a true Monad .

Every atom Opens out into in fi nity every atom contains

the whole Universe ; for every atom i s Pri mordial Substance ,

and P rimordial Substance is a Monad Thus we may and .

,

must if we are really consistent Monists extend the theory ,

of Hertwig far beyond any mere physical cell Every cell .

’
in th e parent s body says Hertwig contains germinal matter
, ,

for every part of the body so that it may virtually become

a germ -
,

cell if called upon by S pecial conditions to perform

that function or some part of that function
, .

Every atom we S hall say being in its inmost nature

, ,

nothing more or less than Primordial Substance contains ,

germinal matter for the whole universe so that it may ,

not merely virtually become a universe if called upon by special

conditions to perform that function but it never i s anything ,

less than a universe than th e universe could we but perceive

, ,

it truly i n a ll i ts rel a ti on s a n d p rop orti on s .

-
We are Idea lists not Realists We have clearly perceived
, .

that things are n ot what they seem ; that time and space are
not realities but modes of consciousness ; that they are the
,

h ow we see things and not wh a t things are

, .

And we cannot reall y be Monists unless we are also Ideal

i s ts . Our One Absolute Principle — call It God or Substance , ,

or what you will— can never be anything more than a mere

figure of speech unless we can pierce through the time and
S pace elements of our consciousness and unify them as well as , ,

the mere matter a n d force elements For the unity which we .

really requi re to r ealise the only unity which can be of any

,

practical service to us in that deeper struggle for existence

which is the struggle to realise our real nature the struggle ,

to exist not as mere physical beings not by bread alone but

, , ,

verily in that larger life and consciousness which shall fina l ly

 OR GANI C EVO LUTIO N 2 79

transcen d all illusion : is the unity of our own life and con
s ci ou s n es s with that Infinite Life and Consciousness which

exists in ALL and which is beyond all time and space con
,

S iderations .

To realise that larger Li fe and Consciousness as none

other than Ours elves must assuredly be the end and goal of our
,

Evolution .
C H A PT E R X I I I
 Th u s we h a v e g i v e n t o m a n a p e d i g r e e of p ro di gi ou s b u t n o t
, , i t m ay
be sai d o f n ob l e
, q
u a li t y Th e w orl d i t h a s
. . o f t en b e en r e m a r ke d , ap p e ar s
as i f i t h a d l on g b e e n p rep a ri n g f or t h e a d v e n t of m a n ; a n d t h i s i n o n e
s en s e i s s tri c t l
y t r u e for h e o w e s h i s b i r th t o a l on g li n e o f p r og e ni t or s
,
If .

a n y s i n g l e li n k i n t hi s ch ai n h a d n ev er e x i s t e d m a n w ou l d n o t h a v e b e en
,

e x a c tl
y wh a t h e n ow is . U n l es s w e wi lfu ll y c l os e o u r e y e s w e m a y wi th
. ,

ou r p r es en t kn owl e d g e , a p p r o x i m a t e l y r e co g n i s e o u r p a r e n t a g e n or n ee d
we fe el a s h a m e d o f i t
”—
R
D A W I N , D es cen t
. o f M an .
 C HA P T E R X I I I

T HE E V OL UTI ON O F MA N

THE evolution of Man so far as that evolution is a mere

,

phys i cal or organic process is part of the general process of

,

evolution with which we have been dealing in Ou r last chapter .

Man appears as the latest and furthest result of that vast

process of organic growth and development which apparently
commenced untold and unrealisable ages ago in some prim ,

ordial form of protoplasm .

Protoplasm is the basis of all living tissue If we take .

some such tissue from a plant or animal and examine it under ,

the microscope we find that it is built up of cells and that

, ,

these cells are for the most part c omposed of a semi -

transparent ,

greyish substance looking something like a thin j elly That

, .

is protoplasm the basis of all living organis ms

Examined with a high -
.
,

p ower microscope protoplasm ,

appears to be more or less granular in structure and certain ,

movemen ts indicative of what we cal l li fe can be observed .

Briefly stated these movements are the equivalent of

,

most if not of all the processes which go on in higher organisms

, .

They include prop ulsion response to stim uli sensitiveness

‘

, , ,

feeding reproduction respiration excretion growth con

, , , , ,

ductibility etc , .

Protoplasm can hardly be said to be a definite orga ni s m

it is rather the organic basis of all organisms and however ,

p rimitive or however complex the organism may be whether

it be a S ingle -
, ,

celled Am oeba or Infusoria or whether it be ,

‘

the brain of the most highly developed man ( or woman ) the

activity of the whole organism is ultimately dependent upon
the activity of each individual cell and the activity of the cell ,

is dependent upon the activity of the p rotop l a s m of which it

is composed .

Protoplasm may almost be said to stand in the same

relation to the organic forms which it serves to build or which ,

2 83
284 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
evolve out of it as Primordial Substance does to the whole
,

universe of forms which are one in Substance and dependen t ,

upon that Substance at every moment for a ll their activities ,

but yet are infinitely varied in structure and function and

power to express the indwelli ng Li fe .

But even protoplasm is not the real physical commencement

of the process of evolu tion of organic forms on this Globe ,

though it is the point at which science— a t the present time

commences to recognise the action Of li fe Protoplasm is .

only one step further in the evolutionary process than what

we know as i n orga n i c matter It is not the point where a
.

tota lly new principle called li fe steps in nor even the point ,

at which life begins to manifest new acti vities or qualities .

Physically speaking protoplasm may be regarded as Only

,

a very complex molecule .

But Life itself must be universal The fact that it can .

manifest in or through matter at all gives us only two alter ,

natives as to its connection therewith (a ) All matter is dea d ,

and life is a principle in itself which acts u p on matter but is ,

not inherent in it or (b) life is in herent in matter qu d s u b ,

s ta n ce
. In the former case we have in the universe an eternal
duality we have to account for the existence of two totall y
,

different and distinct things either one of which may and

, ,

by this hypothesis does exist quite independently of the other

, .

This is the basis and contention of all dualism theism or , ,

supernaturali sm In the latter case which is the position

.
,

and contention of a ll Monism there is only One Principle or

,

Substance at the Root of a ll sub j ective as well as a ll ob j ective

activity ; and life and matter or consciousness and matter, ,

are two aspects of that One Root Principle .

On this latter basis Life must be universal The fact

, .

that it can ma n i fes t in or through matter at all shows that ,

it must be inherent in Primordial Substance of which physical ,

matter is only one mode or aspect .

We cannot ascribe to one portion of Primordial Substance

a quality or attribute which is not possessed by another
portion All that we can really say is th at in Our limited
.
,

knowledge or consciousness one portion may a p p ea r —as

,

phenomenon— to manifest in greater or l esser degree the

inherent essential nature of Primordial Substance itself .

In reality Primor d ial Subst ance is On e that is our

fundamental position as Monists -and this appearance of
 THE EVOLUTION OF MAN 2 85

separation is in our individual consciousness and not in ,

Reality.

Could we but see a single a tom in its entirety we should ,

see the whole Universe .

The evolution of physical matter precedes the evolution

of protoplasm even as the evolution of protoplasm precedes
,

that of the lowest forms Of life and these again precede the
higher forms wi th present -
,

,
day Man as the last result .

We must now endeavour to look at this evolutionary

process in its widest possible aspect we must endeavour to
determine how and in what sense the evolution of Man is
the inevitable result of the process ; and further what the , ,

continuation of that process into the illimitable future may

be legitimately considered to have in store for the individual
and for the Race .

When the chicken evolves from the egg or the individual

man from a minute ovum or germ -
,

cell there is an ordered ,

sequence of unfolding a sequence which a s we have already ,

seen is a marvell ous recapitulation of stages previously

,

passed through in the history of the species and of the race .

Modern biologists and embryologists have no doubt

whatever that there is some definite structure within the
germ - cell which determines this predestined course of unfold
ment ; and all their efforts are at present confined to the
.

problem as to the nature a n d structure of the p hy s i ca l con

s ti t u en ts of the germ -
cell or germ -
plasm .

The Ol d theory as to the contents of the germ - cell was

that known as the preformation theory which represented ,

that the complete body was alread y contained in the ovum

in such a minute form however that it could not be detected
, , .

On this supposition therefore the development of the

, ,

individual was not what would now be understood as an

evolution b u t was in reality nothing more than a growth
, ,

a stage o n ly a little further back from the growth Of the

child to the adult .

This theory is now completely discredited Something

physical undoubtedly exists in the germ -
.

cell which inevitably

brings forth an individual of a certain species an individual
with certain hereditary physical characteristics ; but that
s om ethi n g is in form and constitution quite other than that
, ,

which subsequently evolves from it even as the moth is ,

utterly different from the caterpillar .

286 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
The question which we S hall have to ask is simply this
how far are we j ustified in applying this principl e which we ,

find thus operating in particular phenomena to universals ? ,

Ho w far is the whole evolution of Man — and not of Man only ,

but of everythin g which app ears in the world of phenomena

an evolu ti on or ordered change which could as certainly
, ,

be foreseen by a h igher Intellig ence than ours as we can

’
foresee that a chicken and not a duck will evolve from a hen s
egg
The answer to this question must be largely determined
by our conc eption of the nature of the Absolute Substance
or Noumenon which lies at the root of a ll phenomen a but
we may remark that the whole tendency of our advancement
in knowledge both scie n tific and philosophical is to apply
, ,

more and more to universals the principles which we find

to be operative in particular pheno mena Science does not
.

hesitate to do this i n the case of such wide generalisations

as that of the indestructibili ty of matter —or substance
and the conservation of energy and also in connection with
,

the general principle of evolution as a cycli c change operating

throughout the whole phenomenal Universe .

We must endeavour therefore to apply the same principle

, ,

of correspondence and analogy to Life and Consciousness :

of which Phenomenon is only the obj ective expression or
symb ol .

The position we have now reached is this that physical

forms of matter —atoms and molecules — have evolved out of
etheric substance ; that physical matter having reached
a certain stage of cooling and condensation orga n i c forms ,

of the most primitive kind begi n to appear ; and that the

process which we conventionally term the evolution of
life has then definitely commenced this process graduall y
resulting in the innumerable forms of the vegetable anim al , ,

and hum an kingdoms as we have them to d ay .

But we have learn t that Life itself does not really evolve ,

any more than moti on ; it is only form appearance phe

, ,

n om e n o n which prese nts to our consciousness this flux

of motion or flow and ebb from sub j ectivity to obj ectivity
, ,

and back again to subj ectivity — i n one word this ever ,

becomi n g .

We have seen also that Life and Consci ousness are

certainly not p roducts of phenomena rather they are them
 THE EVOL U TION “
OF MAN 2 87

selves the cause of phenomena It is common to speak of

.

t h e evolution of organic forms as if they were the ca u s e of

life : whereas organic evolution can only be a p roces s of life .

We may study and understand the process to a large extent

merely as phenomenon or as mechanism and it is the business
of science— as that term is understood to -
,

day— to do this .

But to understand the process in any real sense in any ,

s en s e t h a t is related to our own life and consciousness in

'

any sense which can give it a real connection with ou rs elves

as actors in the great drama— as actors not merely in one ,

S hort S pan of physical l ife but a s actors playing their

part from beginnin g to end of the play—we must consider
,

phenomenon as something much more than as a mere

mechanism which may possibly go on with or without us ;
we must in fact consider the relation which must necessarily
subsist bet w
, ,

een our own individual selves and that Universal

Sel f which I S the great Drama .

Whatever may be the apparent se p arateness of any

individual phenomenon or any individual li fe we know
, ,

su ffi cient to state that nothing individual can really be

separate from the One Self which is the Root Of ALL That .

which appears to us to be separate individual discrete is , , ,

merely a form which in our consci ousness comes int o existence

,

and goes Ou t again ; a form of motion or matter considered

obj ectively a phase of the One Life considered subj ectively .

If we take the obj ective process as a reflection or mani

fes ta t i on of the subj ective process then the mere physical fact
,

that a ll ma tter of any lower Plane is evolved out of the

s ubs ta n ce of the n ext higher Plane and also that all energy
,

on any Plane comes by influx from the next higher Plane ,

enables us to understand very largely the principles which

must also govern the involution of Life and Consciousness .

All life must n eces s a ri lv come from a higher P l ane ; but

so far as the form which it may possess on that higher Plane
is concerned we know nothing in the scientific sense in
,

which we do actuall y know the forms which life assumes on

the physical Plane .

Doubtless at a later stage of our evolution we shall be

able to know and understand the forms of life on th e higher
Planes as clearly as we now do those on the physical Plane
,

indeed we are not altogether without information on the

,

sub j ect at the present time through the exercise of abnormal

,
2 88 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM

facul ties in certain individuals— t hough such information

can only be accepted with great reserve failing any unanimity ,

on the part of the seers or an ythi ng approaching scientific

,

methods of investigation .

In accordance with the principle of cycles by which every ,

i ndividual cycle must be part of some larger whole : we

must not merely refer back the evolution of the individual
man to the greater cycle of the evolution Of the whole of
Humanity but also this latter cycle t0 s om eth i n g still greater
\
, ,

in the sense of being more cosmic a nd nearer to the One ,

N ou m en on in which a ll cycles disappear

,
.

Being more cosmic in this sense it must also belong to a

higher Plane The physical evolution of Man must in fact
.
, ,

be only a small portion of a larger li fe cycle which must have ,

its immediate cause on a higher Plane Th e li fe must in fact .

, ,

have individu al ised itself so to speak on the higher Plane

, ,

in the process of emanation from the One Noumenon ; it

must be traced down through all the Planes until it reaches
the physical and on the return half of the complete cycle
, ,

it must gradually merge its smaller individual cycles

on the lower Planes into the larger ones on the higher or
cosmic Planes ; till finally all are merged once more in the
incognisable Absolute .

Every individual man then— individual on higher Planes

,

as well as on the physical— forms part of the great evolutionary

process which has MA N THE D I V I N E as both its cause and
its obj ective or result And though the actual visible influence
.

of each individual is so i n fin i t es i m a lly small in comparison

with the whole that we might even conceive of millions of
,

individuals going out of physical existence without any

marked result yet we must here — as in a ll Nature s processes
,
’

—consider that the Whole is builded of atoms : that every

form which Nature fashions out of physical matter is fashioned
atom b v atom so that even the infinitely great appears as if
,

it were something which is attained by infinite increments

o f the infinitely small .

In the processes of Nature do we not indeed see that , ,

the individual ap p arently counts for nothing ; that millions

are ruthlessly destroyed or swept hither and thither like
,

dead leaves in the autumn wind whither they will not ,

But although the individual un it thus appear s to us to

be of such small import as compared with some la rger part
 THE EVOL U TION OF MAN 2 89

of the infinite Whole yet we may safely a ffirm that however ,

insignificant that unit may appear to be when seen only in

that small relation and proportion which makes i t— to u s
such a narrow and limited thing it is in reality a necessary ,

part of the integral Whole and were one S ingle atom really
to go out of existence the whole Universe would vanish ,

with it Have we not indeed already seen that every atom

. , ,

is not merely a universe but th e Universe that traced back

, ,

to its inmost nature and seen in a ll its relations and propor

,

tions it expands to Infinity

,
.

The form changes disappears from our ken ; but that

,

which is the ca u s e of the form rem a ins Cause and effect .

,

so fa r as they appear to us to be a s equ en ce are only the same ,

abid i ng Root Principle seen in di fferent aspects .

Every physical form has a commencement in ti me and ,

’
an end in ti me ; and if we would look for the ra i s on d étre of
its appearance we must look on the next higher Plane ; if
we would look for the sustaining power of its present existence

fl
we must also look on the next higher Plane ; if we would
look for the r es ults of its physical existence we must again
look for them on that higher Plane into whose s u bs ta n ce all
physical forms must sooner or later be resolved Al l things .

come into existence by ef ux from the next higher Plane they

are a lready th ere on that Plane as what we call ca us e before
, , ,

they become efiects on the lower Plane Yet in reality the .

lower Plane is only the higher seen or known in some limited ,

manner Every thing which hap pens on the lower Plane

.
,

happens also in some manner on a ll the higher Planes but

it is not the physical happening which is the ca us e of the
higher happenings nor even vi ce vers a ; there is only one
,

happening seen and known by the limited mind and con

,

s ci o u s n es s in many ways .

On the physical Pla ne we have the phenomenon of a series

O f organic forms O f l ife commencing with primitive structures
,

which are hardly distinguish a ble from inorganic molecules ,

and which indeed we have already seen there is every reason

, , ,

to believe have in fact evolved out of what we conventionally

call dea d matter We may in fact regard the evolution of
.
, ,

organic forms as one continuous process with the evolution

of matter itself ; the former evolution being a preparation
’
for the latter The rai s on d etre of the whole process must
.

be apprehended as existing in some cosmic form of Life and

I 9
2
9 0 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
Consciousness which is the No umenon of this particul ar Cycle
of evolution ; and which as such must exist on a higher , ,

Plane There is no meaning whatever in the mere evolution

.

of matter in any of its stages apart from a perm anent ,

Principle of Life and Consciousness which lives and experiences ,

or expresses itself in or by phenomenon .

This defin ite cycle of physical evolution eventuates in

man as we know him t o day and we might briefly tab u late ,

the b road distinctive stages from Protoplasm to Man as

follows
M AN
M A M M A LS
B I RD S
R E PTI L ES

A M PH I B I A N S
F I S HE S
IN V
E R TE B R AT E S

M E TA Z O A
M U L TI C E L L U L A R PR OTO Z O A
U N I C E L L U L A R PR OT O Z OA
PR OTOPLA S M

If then we take man as we find him to - day he appears

to have descended—or rather ascended —from the very lowe s t
, , ,

forms of life and even from the mineral kingdom through

, ,

the vegetable and animal to which indeed physically he still

, , ,

belongs being classified as a p la cen ta l ma mma l Physically

,
.
,

man to d ay is only a higher animal characterised principally ,

by his increased brain development .

This physical line of descent or evolution is something

as Darwin remarks in the quotation we have given at the
,

commencement of this chapter— oi which we need feel no S hame .

We need feel no more shame of this whole process than we do

of the fact that each individual to - day has commenced his
existence as a single germ - cell and has recapitulated in the , ,

nine months which go to the S haping an infant ripe for its

”
birth the stages through which the who l e race has passed
, .

But now we must ask this bein g so at what po int in the

, ,

process did man rea lly commence At what point can we

say this was a ma n while his parents or progenit ors were
, ,

only animals
It is of course as impos s ible to answer that question as it
, ,

is to say of any particular human emb ryo at what point in its

recapitulation it ab a ndons the merely a n i ma l s ta g e a n d beco mes
 THE EVOLUTION OF MAN 291

human ; one stage S hades o ff by imperceptible degrees into

the other In V iew however of the wider and deeper aspect of
.
, ,

the question which we must now present it is not important ,

that this question S hould be answered nor do we need to look

for any missing link between the ape and man .

If we here apply the principle of correspondence and

analogy -which we believe to be the key to all the operations
of Natur e — we fi n d a solution of the problem which renders of
quite secondary importance most of the great controversial
questions which are so disturbing to many minds We S hall .

even place man and the animals in exactly the reverse relation
ship to that which is commonly accepted If the premises .

which we may now advance are admitted we S hall see that ,

man has not descended from the animals but on the contrary , , ,

the animals have descended from man .

The principl e of correspondence and analogy which we

mus t here apply is this : that what the ge rm - cell is to the
whole series of changes which eventuate in the individual
man so is the primitive protoplasm to that larger series of
,

change s which eventuate in physical man as we have h i m

to - day
-
.

Individual man to day does actually evolve from a proto

plasmic germ - cell Given the necessary conditions Of environ
.

ment the particul ar individual mu s t inevitably evolve from

,

that cell ; and what we must now see in the larger process of
the evolution of Humanity is simply this : that Ma n ( Humanity )
— a definite predestined Humanity — h a d to evol ve from the
primitive protoplasm as inevitably as the ind ividual from
his own particular germ - cel l
D O not let us be afraid here of the time -
.

element Do not .

’
let us imagine that because the process of man s evolution is
S pread out over millions and billions of years that therefore ,

it is governed by any di fferent principles th an the evolution

of the individual There is only O N E L I FE working i n all ;
.

and to that O N E L I F E there is no gre at and no small either in ,

time or in S pace .

Our fundamental premise is that Man (Humanity) is a

,

Un i t Our root principle indeed is that the whole Universe

.
, ,

is a Un i t But wi thin that larger Unit we may and do dis

.

t i n g u i s h smaller un its — units apparently separated from the

larger or ON E U N I T by time and space considerations .

Such a lesser unit is Humanity separate in appearance ,

2 90 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
Consciousness which is the N oum en on of this particular cycle
of evolution ; and which as such must exist on a higher
, ,

Plane There is no meaning whatever in the mere evolution

.

Of matter in any of its sta ges apart from a perm anent ,

Principle of Life and Consciousness which lives and experiences ,

or expresses itself in or by phenomenon .

This definite cycle of physical evolution eventuates i n

man as we know him to - day and we might briefly tab ulate
,

the broad distinctive stages from Protoplasm to Man as

.

follows
MA N
M A M MA LS
B I RD S
RE PTI L ES

A M PH I B I A N S
F I S HE S
IN V
E R TE B RATE S

M E TA Z O A
M U L TI C E L L U L A R PR OTO Z O A
U N I C E L L U L A R PR OT OZ O A
PR OTO PLA S M

If then we take man as we find him to d ay he app ea rs

, , ,

to have descended— o r rather ascended— from the very lowes t

forms of li fe and even from the mineral kingdom throug h
, ,

the vegetable a n d animal to which indeed physically he still

, , ,

belongs being classified as a p l a cen ta l ma mma l Physically

man to -
.
, ,

day is only a higher animal characterised principally ,

by his i ncreased brain development .

This physical line of descent or evolution is something

as Darwin remarks in the quotation we have given at the
,

C ommencement of this chapter — o f which we need feel no S hame .

We need feel no more shame of this whole process than we do

of the fact that each individual to - day has commenced his
existence as a single germ - cell and has recapitulated in the
, ,

nine months which go to the shaping an infant ripe for its

birth the stages through which the who l e race h a s passed
, .

But now we must ask this being so at what point in the

, ,

process did man really commence At wha t point can we

say this wa s a ma n while his parents or progenitors were
, ,

only animals
I t is of course as impos s ible to answer that question as it
, ,

is to say of any particular human embryo at what p oint in its

recapitulation it aban dons the merely a n i ma l s ta g e a n d be comes
 THE EVOLUTION OF MAN 291

human ; one stage S hades o ff by imperceptible degrees into

the other In V iew however of the wider and deeper aspect of
.
, ,

the question which we must now present it is not important ,

that this question should be answered nor do we need to look

for any missing link between the ape and man .

If we here apply the principle of correspondence and

analogy —which we believe to be the key to all the operations
of Nature — we find a solution of the problem which renders of
quite secondary importance most of the great controversial
questions which are so disturbing to many minds We shall .

even place man and the animals in exactly the reverse relation
ship to that which is commonly accepted If the premises .

which we may now advance a re admitted we S h a ll see that ,

m a n has not descended fr om the animals but on the contrary , , ,

the animals have descended from man .

The principle of correspondence and analogy which we

must here apply is this : that what the g erm - cell is to the
whole series of changes which eventuate in the individual
man so is the primitive protoplasm to that larger series of
,

change s which eventuate in physical man as we have h i m

to - day
Individual man to -
.

day does actually evolve from a proto

plasm ic germ - ‘

cell Given the necessary conditions Of environ

.

ment the particul ar individual mu s t inevitably evolve from

,

that cell ; and what we must now see in the larger process of
the evolution of Humanity is simply this : that Man ( Humanity )
—a definite predestined Humanity— h a d to evol ve from the
primitive protoplasm as inevitably as the ind ividual from
his own particular germ - cell
Do not let us be afraid here of the time -
.

element Do not .

’
let us imagine that because the process of man s evolution is
S pread out over millions and billions of years that therefore ,

it is governed by any di fferent principles than the evolution

of the individual There is only ONE L I FE working i n all ;
.

and to that ON E L I F E there is no great and no small either in ,

time or in space .

Our fundamental premise is that Man (Humanity) is a ,

Un i t Our root principle indeed is that the whole Universe

. , ,

is a Un i t But within that larger U nit we may and do dis

.

ti n g ui s h —
smaller units units apparently separated from the
larger or ON E U N I T by time and S pace considerations .

Such a lesser unit is Humanity separate in appearance

.

,
 2 92 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
though not in reality ; and our second premise is that the ,

whole evolution of li fe on this Globe has for its obj ect the
evolution of Man .

Man was in V iew at the commencement of the process ;

Man— not as we know him now but possibly as something so
,

glorious that we have hardly dared as yet to lift our eyes and
our aspirations and endeavours to such an ideal— even such
a MA N such a Race of Men is the consummation and the goal ;
, ,

in V iew from the very beginning and therefore complete and

,

perfect from the beginnin g in the Divine Idea in which ,

I D E A there is no past and no future .

Let u S now bear in mind two facts which we have already ,

considered in Chapter XI I We have seen in the first place

.
, ,

that the developme nt of the individual man from the ovum

or germ - cell is a r eca p i tula ti on Of the whole physical process
of evolution from the ve ry lowest or protoplasmic stage
, , ,

thr ough a ll the representative types of the animal kingdom .

We have also seen that there is a direct physical line of descent

from germ - cell to germ - cell In other words one line of
.
,

descent at least from some primordial form of protoplasm

has resulted in man as we have him to -
, ,

day .

Consider now for a moment that man might have been

the only sur vi ving species of animal that the various species
which formed the intermediate stages might have died o ff
one by one as they gave place to the hi gher forms so that no ,

co llateral descendants would have been left In that case we .

should have clearly had one di rect line of descent for man
and we should have been compelled to regard the animal
stage as solely preparatory for man himself We S houl d .
,

in fact have had one parent stem as it were of the

, , ,

evolutionary hereditary tree of man without any collateral ,

branches .

A little consideration will now S how that such a parent stem

must in fact have existed quite apart from any considera
, , ,

tions as to the lin e of descent Of the various species of animals

which are with us to - day .

But biologists tell us that the real intermediate species

’
which formed this parent stem of man s ancestral tree h a ve
di ed ofi ; the animals as we have them to - day being very
much modified descendants in collateral branches of these
intermediate species belongin g to the parent stem .

Man for example though so nearly related to the apes

, , ,
 THE EVOL U TION O F MAN 2 93

is not descended from them but from some common ancestor ,

the apes having only survived as a collateral branch .

Now let us conside r for a moment in the second place , ,

that there does exist such a thing as defi n i tely di rected evol u
ti on ; such an evolution for example as we have already
, ,

considered in the case of the horse and which we have found ,

it impossible to conceive of as a mere result of natural

s election .

Let us extend th i s principle to the whole physical evolution

of man and see in that a d efi n i tely di rected evoluti on e ffecting
, ,

a gradual development and transformation from the original

protoplasm — o r even from the atom and molecule — to present
day man .

The energising li fe principle behind that definitely directed

evolution would be operative in the primitive protoplasm
a n d e a rl i e r— and would produce present -
'

day man as inevitably

as the principle of li fe operative in the protoplasm of the germ
cell produces the individual man of to - day
But if the pre -
.

n a tal evolution of the individual is recapitula

tory of the evolutionary stages of the Race ; and if we call
the human embryo h u ma n even in its earliest or protoplasmic
, ,

stage— and indeed make laws to protect it as such — why should

, ,
’
we not call the whole parent stem of man s evolution Hu ma n at
all its stages right back to the pr imordial protoplasm
,
The
distinctive stage at which the h u ma n emerges must in fact be
entirely artificial and conventional for it is M a n who is
evolving all the time in the preformations of the race j ust as
,

much as in the preformations of the individual .

’
But if we thus enlarge our conception of man s origin and
descent if we call him ma n not merely when he reaches the
stage at which we are now acquainted with him — and which ,

perchance may appear very a n i ma l in the course of a million

,

years or s o— but throughout the whole process from the v ery ,

earliest forms of protoplasm : then we see that we must re

verse the commonly accepted evolutionary relationship of
man and the animals For M a n being thus the parent stem
.
,

of the Tree of Life it is the animals which have evolved from

,

Man an d not Man from the animals

, .

The present animals are in fact collateral descendants , ,

from the intermediate types which in their definitely directed ,

’
evolution formed the direct line or parent stem of Man s
, , ,

d es cent.
2 94 SCIENTI F IC IDEALISM
Man h a d to evolve to his present point as inevitably ,

as the embryo must reach a certain stage in a certain time .

And as inevitably as the embryo must follow a certain pre

destined course up to the period of birth so also must ,

Man evolve along certain lines in the fulfilment of his

destiny .

If we could see the whole line of his evolution ; if we

could see what he h a s to be as well as what he has been ;
,

the stages through which he has still to pass as well ,

as the stages through which he has already passed : how

S hould we j udge him in his present condition how S hould ,

we place him as he is now in relation to the whole

, ,

process
Is Man as yet S O very much beyond the mere animal ?
In his physical evolution he certainly is not There may .

b e — we had almost said there certa i nly are— strange develop

,

ments yet in store for his physical b ody such developments ,

indeed that our descendants some millions of years hence may

,

possibly be searching for ou r fossil remains in order to find .

”
the missing link .

Physically man at the present stage is a placental mammal

,

but what will he be in the course of a few more million

years
Let us add these future stages to our tabulated series on
page 2 9 0 and write them X
, Y Z Let us also
writ e the whole series as the evolution of MA N ; each s tage
representing MA N at a certain stage of embryonic develop
ment even as it does the individual
, .

In order to symbolise this we might furth er enclose the

,

whole in an ellipse — the symbol of an egg —this symbol being

a most ancient and S ignificant one used to indicate the fact ,

of transformation or transmutation of s u bs ta n ce through the

action of the indwelling informing li fe It may be a pplied .

cosmically to the whole of Primordial Substance considered

“ ”
as the world egg the world substance or egg of Brahman
, , ,

which by di fferentiation and transmutation becomes the

, ,

manifested phenomenal Universe It may be applied to a .

Nebula out o f the S u bs ta n ce of which a Solar System is

,

presently evolved I t may be applied to a Planet to an

.
,

indi vidual organism or to a S ingle atom— subj ectively the

, ,

One Life ever at work wi thi n obj ectiv ely a transmutation ,

or evolution of outer body and form .

 THE EVOL U TION OF MAN 2 95

We may then write our serie s thus condensing it some,

what

,In and out of this great matrix of ma tter which we call

, ,

the physical Plane MA N is slowly evolving— to be born

,

presently into a larger cos mi c life and consciousness of the ,

nature of which we are not without information nor even ,

wi thout actual present —day experience .

Let non e think that in this process he can as an individual

, ,

leave Humanity behind ; that one S hort incarnation will

_

s uffice for his own embryonic development in the matrix

O f matter ; or that he can separate himself from the Race
to enj oy a bliss unending on a spiritual Plane which has
’
no real connection with the great process of Man s evolution .

Each individual is assuredly part o f the whole process

.

from begi n n i n g to en d Hi s individual life indeed is only a

.
, ,

limited aspect of that Life which at root is ON E and his true

i n di vi dua li ty can indeed never be found so long as he clings
, ,

t o what he now— i n ignorance of his real nature — under

stand s by that term .

If we are to take MA N as anything larger and nobler than

the beasts that perish then we must take him as an
,

evolution on higher Planes than the physical We must in .

,
 fl
2 96 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM

fact take him as having within himself correspondences and

,

a i n i t i es with all the Planes of the Universe .

Life has been defined as correspondence with environ

ment Have we not ample evidence in the powers of mind
.

and spirit which we already possess that we are actually in ,

touch with an environment which is infinitely more than

that of our mere physical surroundings — a y even to the ,

Infinite Itself
It is even that Infinite to which we now press forward ,

’
the inner intuition of which arises in man s heart in many and
varied ways expressed in science philosophy , and religion
, ,
.

We press forward to a realisation in consciousness of a region

at present invisible inaudible intangible to our embryo con
, ,

s ci ou s n es s but as certainly existent and as scientifically ,

demonstrable as is the existen ce of the intangible Ether

,
.

Nothing less than the whole Universe is our environ

ment ; nothing less than correspondence with all that the
Universe contains can satisfy that inner impellin g p ower
whose outer mode and symbol is the evolution of body and
form : whose inner nature is realised only in o u r own life
and consciousness
Creat i ng and re-
.

creating Itself in time and space the ,

One Life mirrors forth Its inalienable and inexhaustible

nature All that lives in consciousness reflects in its conscious
.

life that One Life as certain ly as its body and fo rm is built

,

of the One Substance which in its ultimate nature is the , ,

mysterious garment and veil of the ON E R E AL I TY .

Desire e ffort strife for powers not yet attained— perhaps

, ,

even seemingly unattain able— such is the motive power

behind a ll evolution But did Nature ever cheat this strivi ng
.

with a vain ideal Can it reall y ever enter into the thought
of man to attain the unattainable The ideal may possibly
be beyond the reach of the individual in one short life but ,

is it really beyond his reach in the illimitable future

In considering the causes which work in evolution let ,

us not forget that fa culty precedes organism Organism .

mo ul ds itself in response to the inner thought desire and , ,

’
will Every thing must be i dea l b efore it can become real
. .

No organ of sight co ul d ever have been evolved unless the

f a cu l ty was fi rst there — the power of seeing the strivin g to ,

see .

I S it the eye which sees Is it the evolution Of the org a n

 THE EVOLUTION OF MAN 2 97

of S ight or is it not rather the fact that we have the power

,

to see— a power which we are gradually learning how to use

in ever larger and larger measure — which is the real funda
mental fact ? Psychical research S hows us that we can see
without the aid of the physical organ .

A certain measure of infinite fa cti l ty resides in each indi

vidual— expresses itself through each unit of consciousness .

It is this which each individual uses with greater or less e ffect , ,

and in most cases for what he considers to be i n di vi du a lly

desirable . Place your ideal where you will presently it
will be realised It will take substance and form and become
.
,

your -environment and your fate .

In view of the foregoing we might legitimately ou t line

’
some little part of the process of Man s evolution in the imme
diate future bearing in mind in doing so that the key must ,

be a p s ych ologi ca l rather than a physiological one The outer .

’
is only the expression of the inner and the real causes of Man s ,

evolution lie in the inner garnered experiences not in the ,

”
outer natural selection .

We find then in the first place that a very large portion

, ,

O f the activities of the individual have in the course of evol a ,

tion sunk below the normal plane or level of consciousness

, ,

and occupy now what is very generally referre d to as a

s u bl i mi n a l region All the automatic functions of the body
.

come under this designation They are assuredly part of the .

s elf but we do not need to exercise any conscious control

,

over them Normally if we are in good health our body

mainly looks after itself Heart -
.
, ,

beat respiration digestion

.
, , ,

assimilation and repair of tissue do not require our conscious

attention though th ey mu s t h a ve d on e s o on ce long ages ago
, , ,

when the organism was str i ving to acquire these powers .

From this lower subconscious region we rise to our

normal level of awareness to those activities Of the s elf which ,

we commonly control in our daily life .

Above this again we have that regio n of s up ra li mi n a l

consciousne s s — S O mistakenly termed supernatural— towards
which we are now striving and the powers and possibilities
'

of which we dimly perceive : j ust as the s elf at one time only

dimly perceived the possibilities of powers which are now our
natural possession .

Here then we have apparently three stages or levels of

, ,

consciousness In our partial a n d limited method of viewing

.
 2 98 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
them they commonly appear to be distinct and separate we
do not regard them as parts of a Wh oleness They represent .

in consciousn ess the same kind of division or distinction which

we make in matter between the various Planes For example .
,

we distinguish clearly between physical matter and Ether .

Ph y s i ca l m a t t er occupies the present field of our Obj ective

'

consciousness whereas Ether does not Yet they are one

, .

s u bs ta n ce
,
and act and interact with ea ch other in every
single physical phenomenon The apparent separateness lies
.

merely in our individual consciousness .

But our individual consciousness and the plane or level ,

of that consciousness is continually shifting its ground as the

,

result of evolution It is continually assimilating as it were

.
, ,

more and more of the s up r a li mi n a l region and passing on ,

to the s u bli mi n a l more and more of its garnered experiences

— to be mate rialised as organism and dealt with instinctively,

and automatically .

In course of time this process must inevitably result in

’
the natural occupying the field which is now commonly
’
ascribed to the supernatural It m II s t result in the first
.
,

place in the shifting of our normal consciousness and activities

,

to that region which we are now partially beginning to realise

and understand in connection with psychical r esearch Ulti .

mately it must be carried far beyond this to a r egion which ,

would be more appropriately termed spiritual— a region even

now open to our consciousness but only touched or understood
, ,

in its n a tura l connection with the Whole by a very few , .

To that region men now for the most pa rt look up for

divine guidance and Offer thereto strange prayers for i n terces
sion and help But when Man is full -
,

. bo rn into the powers

of his own divine nature he will no more think of doing this
,
’
than he does now in connectio n with the natural powers
he has already attained .

That higher region is as much a part Of himself— because

a part of the One Self— as is the lower which he has already
conquered To enter in and pervade and energise and
.
, , ,

move this physical material body to raise a fin ger to lift an ,

arm to take a s i ngle step is as great a m i ra cl e as any power

, ,

which we m a y hereafter posses s of telepathically comm u n i ca t

ing with our fellow - men or of p roj ecting the etheric -
,
double
to th e r em o tes t parts of this Earth or Solar System .

But as our conscious n ess and powers thus open out and
 THE EVOL U TION OF MAN 299

evolve to more and more complete correspondence with the

subtle environment of the higher Planes of Primordial Sub
stance : all that normally requires our constant care and
attention at the present time will gradually sink into the
subconscious region and be done automatically at the
s ugg es ti on of the higher -
,

self .

In this aspect we have definite information and experience

of the possibilities which lie in front of us in connection with
the phenomena of hypnotic suggestion and auto -
,

suggestion .

Take for example a well known fact in hypnotic s ugg es

, ,

tion . If while in the hypnotic state it is suggested to a

, ,

subj ect that at a certain time next day a certain act S hould be
p e r fOrm e d : that act will be performed automatical l y even ,

tho ugh the subj ect is then in his normal state of consciousness .

When therefore we have learnt the nature of our higher

, ,

powers when the normal consciousness of t h e self is function

ing almost wholly on those Planes which are at present alm ost
'

entirely subj ective to u s it will be possible for us to suggest

t o our lower— namely
,
our pres ent normal consciousness
, ,

which wi ll then be s u bli mi n a l— a certain line of action and

fl
,

that action will then be carried out automaticall y and without ,

any further attention on our part Should we for example .

, ,

want to go to any place the mere suggestion to the body ,

that it should go there will be su fficient j us t a s it is now ,

s u i ci en t in hypnotic suggestion : and we sha l l not need to

direc t consciously each step of the way as we do now This .

auto - sugge s tion may be som ewhat analogous to our present

action on taking food We take the food and suggest to the
.

body—-
,

though the sug gestion itself in this case is now almost

r

unconscious — that it shoul d be assimilated : and this is then

done in a healthy bo dy without any further trouble
, , .

Any real thought about such a S imple matter as this of

automatic digestion or any of the other automatic processes
,

which go on in our present bodies will disclose the fact that ,

what we can and do accomplish so easily now is as marvellous

as anything which could ever h a p p en in the course of evolution ,

or which we could possibly picture as to our future powers .

The marvel the eternal miracle does no t lie in the d egree of

, ,

the fact but i n th e fa ct i ts elf— the great fact of Li fe with all

, ,

that it means of thought consciousness idea emotion and , , , ,

— above all— crea ti ve p ower : the power to express I ts elf in

Ob j ective form to eternally rep rod u ce Itself
, .
3 00 SC IENTIFIC IDEALISM
In this way then all our present normal a ctivities now
, , ,

associated physiologically with the substance of our brain ,

may in course of time become purely automatic ; while the

consciousness of the man himself has been raised to a power
which we S hould now regard almost as a divine prerogative .

Physiologically certain changes of bodily structure must

,

follow this evolution or expansion of consciousness What .

exactly those will be it is impossible to say ; but al most

,

certainly there must not merely be great changes in brai n

structure but also an enormous development of the sympathetic
,

syst em to which the automatic control will be gradually

,

handed over : many of the present ganglia becoming the

equivalent of the present brain Profound modifications .

will also probably take place in the matter of sexual repro

duction .

When this shall have resulted there will doubtless still ,

remain for the higher - self a field for illimitable choice and
action but so far as this lower world is concerned the divine ,

will— the n a tu ra l la w— will be done on earth even as it is done ,

in heaven— automatically unconsciously freely j oyously

with no more hes itancy or conflict than the heart -
, , , ,

beat of a
healthy body .

’
The key to Man s evolution is his one n ess i n inner nature
as well as in outer form with that Great R E ALI TY which I S the
Universe .

Whatever may now be our conventional ideas as to the

nature of Man derived only from what we know of him on
,

the physical Plane at the present st a ge of his existence as

one hardly yet emerged from the mere physical struggle for
existence of the earlier stages of his great cyclic progress as
one only j ust commencing to realise his higher mental and
S piritual nature ; or in rare cases as one who has attained
, ,

to sublime heights of conquest over matter and the illusions

of the senses : we are compelled in V iew of the deeper principles
,

we have j ust been considering to postulate that Man lays ,

C laim to his future heritage of divinest powers and i m m ea s u r

able fulness o f life etern al by virtue of this same evo l utionary

,

process by whi ch h e has reached his presen t p owers ; this

S ame cos mi c process in which he must play his part fro m

beginning to end ; a n d which traced back to its source or, ,

forward to its goal can only be accounted for in the One

,

Divine Life which lives and moves in ALL .

 THE EVOLUTION OF MAN 30 1

Men are not MA N ; yet even so ea ch individual m ust

,

become not merely a man but MA N MA N was is and will

, .
, ,

ever be di vi n e ; even though for the time he may p la y the

part Of the prodigal son And although the rea son for h i s
.

”
fall into matter is now hidden from us most assuredly
,

that als o mus t be a necessity of his divine nat ure

.

The fall of Adam im plies and ca rries with it i nevitably

the resurrection of Christ ; for as we have borne the image
”
of the earthy we S hall also bear the im a ge of the heavenly
,

or as Plotinus of old wrote

, Surely before this descent into
generation we exi sted in the intell igible world ; being oth er
men than now we are and some of us Gods ; clear so uls
,

immixed with all existence ; parts of the Intell igible not,

severed thence ; nor are we severed even now (E n n ea d es .

vi 4
. .
3 00 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM

In this way then a ll our present normal activities now

, , ,

associated physiologically with the substance of our brain ,

may in course of time become purely automatic ; while the

consciousness of the man himself has been raised to a power
which we S hould now regard a lmost as a divine prerogative .

Physiologically certain changes of bo d ily structure must

,

follow this evolution or expansion Of consciousness What .

exactly those will be it is impossible to say ; but almost

,

certainly there must not merely be great changes in brain

structure but also an enormous development of the sympathetic
,

system to which the automatic control wi ll be gradually

,

handed over : many of the present ganglia becoming the

equivalent Of the present brain Profound modifications .

will also probably take place in the matter of sexual repro

duction .

When this shall have resulted ther e will doubtless still

remain for the higher -
,

self a field for illimitable choice and

action but S O far as this lower world is concerned the di vine ,

will— the n a tu ra l la w— wi ll be done on earth even as it is done ,

in heaven—automatically unconsciously freely j oyously

with no more hes itancy or conflict than the heart -
, , , ,

beat of a
healthy body .

’
The key to Man s evolution is his oneness in inner nature
as well as in outer form with that Great R E ALI TY which Is the
Universe .

Whatever may now be our conventional ideas as to the

nature of Man derived only from what we know of him on
,

the physical Plane at the present stage of his existence ; a s

one hardly yet emerged from the mere physical struggle for
existence of the earlier stages of his great cyclic progress as
one only j ust commencing to realise his higher mental and
S piritual nature ; or in rare cases as one who has attained
, ,

to sublime heights of conquest over matter and the i ll usions

of the senses : we are compell ed in view of the deeper principles
,

we have j ust been considering to postulate that Man lays ,

claim to his future heritage Of divinest powers and i m m ea s u r

able fulness o f life eternal by virtue of this same evolutionary
,

process by whi ch he has reached his present powers ; this

same cos mi c process in which he must play his part from
beginning to end ; and which traced back to its source or , ,

forward to its goal can only be accounted for in the One

,

Divine Life which lives and moves in ALL .

 THE EVOLUTION OF MAN 3 01

Men are not MA N ; yet even so each individual must

,

become not merely a man but MA N MA N was is and will

, .
, ,

ever be di vi n e ; even though for the time he may play the

part of the prodi gal son And although the reason for his
.

”
fall into matter is now hidden from us most assuredly
,

that als o must be a necessity of his divine nature .

The fall of Adam implies and carries with it inevitably

the resurrection of Christ ; for as we have borne the image
of the earthy we S hall also bear the image of the heavenly
,

or as Plotinus of old wrote

, Surely before this descent into
generation we existed in the intelligible world ; being oth er
men than now we are and some Of us Gods ; clear souls
.
,

immix ed with all existence ; parts of the Intelligible not ,

severed thence ; nor are we severed even now (E n n ea des .

vi .
4 .
3 00 SCIENTIF IC IDEALISM

In this way then a ll our present normal activities now

, , ,

associated physiologically with the substance of our brain ,

may in course of time become purely automatic ; while the

consciousness of the man himself has been raised to a power
which we should now regard alm ost as a divine prerogative .

Physiologically certain changes of bodi ly structure must

,

follow this evolution or expansion of consciousness What .

exactly those will be it is impossible to say ; but almost

,

certainly there must not merely be great changes in brain

structure but also an enormous development of the sympathetic
,

system to which the automatic control wi ll be gradually

,

handed over : many of the present ganglia becoming the

equivalent of the present brain Profound modifications .

will also probably take place in t h e matter of sexual repro

d uction .

When this S hall have resulted there will doubtless still

remain for the higher -
,

self a field for ill imitable choice and

action but so far as this lower world is concern ed the divine ,

will the n a tu ra l la w— wi ll be done on earth even as it is done

— ,

in heaven—automatically un consciously freely j oyously

with no more hes itancy or conflict than the heart -
, , , ,

beat of a
healthy body .

’
The key to Man s evolution is his oneness in inner nature
as well as in outer form wi th that Great R E A LI TY which I S the
Universe .

Wh atever may now be our conventional ideas as to the

nature of Man derived only from what we know of him on
,

the physical Plane at the present stage Of his existence as

one hardly yet emerged from the mere physical struggle for
existence of the earlier stages of his great cyclic progress as
one only j ust commencing to realise his higher mental and
spiritual nature ; or in rare cases as one who has attained
, ,

to sublime heights of conquest over matter and the illusions

of the senses : we are compe ll ed in V iew of the deeper principles,

we have j ust been considering to postul ate that Man lays ,

claim to his future heritage of divinest powers and i m m ea s u r

able fulness of life eternal by virtue O f this same evolutionary
,

process by whi ch he has reached his present powers ; this

same cos mi c process i n which he must play his part from
'

beginning to end ; and which traced back to its source or , ,

forward to its goal can only be accounted for in the One

,

Divine Life which lives and moves in ALL .

 THE EVOLUTION O F MAN 301

Men are not MA N ; yet even so each individual must

,

become not merely a man but MA N MA N was is and wi ll

, .
, ,

ever be di vi ne ; even though for the time he may play the

part of the prodigal son And although the reason for his
.

”
fall into matter is now hidden from us most assuredly
,

that also must be a necessity of his divine nature .

The fall of Adam implies and carries with it inevitably

the resurrection of Christ ; for as we have borne the image
of the earthy we shall also bear the image of the heavenly
,

or as Plotinus of old wrote

, Surely before this descent into
generation we existed in the intelligible world ; being other
men than now we are and some of us Gods ; clear souls
,

immix ed with all existence ; parts of the Intelligible not ,

severed thence ; nor are we severed even now (E n n ea des .

vi .
4 .
C H A PTE R X I V

IND IVID U A L
 C HA P T E R X I V

THE E V OL UTI ON O F T HE I ND I V I D UA L

IF a man die shall he live again

,

Such is the supreme question which man has been asking

in all ages and still asks ; has been asking and answering
,

again and again the question to which the whole of history

’
discloses the ineradicable response in man s own heart and
conscience— the d ecisive answer Y E S ,
.

Yet many have doubted and questioned and even

despaired and denied Many have demanded p roof and have
.
,

not obtained it ; others have not demanded proof yet proof ,

has been given them abundantly .

Some are satisfied with a traditional faith or belief with a ,

reputed historical fact that one rose from the dead To .

others this is wholl y inadequate not merely as being un ,

provable tradition but also on the very basis claimed for it

,

as being a unique or supernatural occurrence and as such , , ,

wholly valueless as an explanation of the n a tu ra l la w of

a ll human life in its relation to the spiritual world .

Our task here however is not to analyse historical evi

, ,

dence nor even to consider the adequateness or otherwise of

,
’
the many historical forms which the belief in man s immortality
has assumed in various ages In each age in each race in .
, ,

each individual the question is asked and answered in its own

,

s pecial manner according to the kn owledge available

, .

What we have now to do therefore is to answer the question

, ,

in terms of the fundamental principles which in our previous ,

chapters we have endeavoured to elucidate and establish on a

sound s c1 en ti fi c and philosophical basis to answer the question
in terms of universal principles applied to the individual or
particular
If man lives again— or rather if he never dies -h e does S O
.

in Vi rtue of and in harmony with cos mi c l a w ; in harmony

W i th principles which our ever -
, ,

increasing knowledge S hows us

20
3 06 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM

to be constant continuous uniform ; and Operative in the

, ,

microcosm as well as in the macrocosm .

If man be immortal he must be so because of his own

,

inalienable nature and no historical event can in the slightest

degree determine or e ffect his immortality Historical events .

’
are not the ca u s e of man s destiny ; they are the fulfilment
thereof .

Our first and fundamental principle is that of the Unity

of the Universe ; the principle that the whole Universe
unseen as well as seen— is the expression the activity the
’

, ,

Li fe of One Infinite B E I N G .

Life and Consciousness therefore are eternal and i n d es truct

, ,

ible The outward and visible symbol of the existence of this

.

Eternal Noumenon is Substance and Motion The inner .

witness is Life and Consciousness Itself of which we all ,

partake .

But though Life itself cannot perish yet percha nce that ,

which we know as the individual may do s o— merged as it

were when the form disintegrates in the Infinite O cean O f
‘

, ,

Life .

If indeed the law of cycles be such that sooner or l ater the

, ,

whole phenomenal universe must van i sh merged once more in ,

the Absoluteness of Primordial Substance out of which it is

di fferentiated if all the hosts of heaven S hall be dissolved ,

and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll ; and

their host S hall fade away —then indeed must that which we , ,

now know as the individual self also vanish merged in that

One Self from which it is in reality never separated For .

assuredl y the individual self is only a time phenomenon it

is the One Self seen or known partially and incompletely .

But though the ultimate consummation of the great cosmic

process which we name evolu ti on would appear to be a far
distant event in the history of the individual man and even ,

of the history of the whole race— or still more so of the Solar

System— yet n one the less we must clearly realise that this
great cosmic process only exists for or i n the individual con
s c i ou s n e s s it only exists in those li mi ta ti on s which constitute
the individual In reality there is no time process but only
.
,

an eternal Her e and Now ; S O near to us that we might as it ,

were stretch out our hand and grasp it and make it our own
—
, ,

s o near and yet so far

And when th e individual has grasped it behold "

.
,

he is ,
 THE EVOL U TION OF THE INDIVIDUAL 3 07

no longer an individual for he has dropped the limitations

which make him such ; he has lost himself yet found ,

Himself for he now knows his true Self to be none other than
,

the One Self .

While however we need to keep in V iew continually this

, ,

fundamental unitary principle ; while we are compelled to

postulate an Absolute Noumenon as the true basis of all
life and consciousness as well as of all phenomena ; and
,

while this principle must thus be the centre and focus of all
science of all philosophy and of all religion we must also
, ,

formulate our knowledge in terms -oi our present limited or

individual consciousness and deal with the evolutionary ,

process in relation thereto as if it were a concrete reality .

For us as individuals there does exist an evolutionary

process and between ourselves and the final consummation
of that process lie ages of phenomenal existence in which ,

smaller cycles must run their course and disappear merged in ,

the larger ones to which they are more immediately related

whi lst these latter must in turn be absorbed in something
still more cosmic or universal The physical Plane must be .

redissolved in the etheric ; the etheric in the mental ; the

mental in the spiritual till all that is indiv i dual and pheno
menal is once more merged in the one Absolute from which ,

as time phenomenon — i t originally emanated and to which ,

it must therefore inevitably return .

The larger cycle then to which the individual human

, ,
.

being belongs or is more immediately related is that of

, ,

Humanity as a whole ; a cycle which we have already found

it necessary to consider even from an organic point of view
, ,

as constituting s omething u n i ta ry ; a definitely directed

evolution producin g M a n from some primordial form of
Substance .

But the outer phenomenon is only the hieroglyph or

symbol of the inner Noumenon ; and it is that Noumenon ,

the Spiritual or Divine Man which we must consider as the ,

energising vitalising principle at the root of the whole cyclic

,

process which constitutes the evolution of Man an evolution

which however must be an i n volu ti on a descent into matter
, , , ,

or phenomenon before it becomes an evolu ti on ; and which

, ,

as such must be operative on the higher Planes before it

,

becomes materialised on the physical .

We may postulate therefore one unitary Principle or

, ,
3 08 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM

Noum enon of Life and Consciousness constituting Man a n d ,

’
standing in the same relation to the whole cycle of Man s
e vol u t I on as the one Absolute N oum en on does to the whole
,

Cosmic Process Cosmicall y this un itary Being or Logos

.
,

will be the in forming or energising Principle in the whole

evolution of our Earth It is the vitalising principle within
.

-
the cosmic germ cell of matter or substan ce which— as we
have already seen in our last chapter— produces the race of
Man through lower organic forms as inevitably as the i n
dividual man emerges from the individual germ - cell .

It is necessary that we S hould clearly define and under

stand this distinction between Man and men ; between the
inner spi ritual Principle which is One and the outer mani ,

fes t a ti on which is m a n y if we would un ders tand much which

,

is other wi se dark and mystical in many ancient scriptures

and teachings .

Thus i n terms of Christian ( esote ric ) doctrine this unitary ,

”
Principle or Logos is the Divine Son the Cos mi c Christ
, , ,

of St Pa ul who is the image of the invisible God the fi rs t

.
, ,

bo rn o f all creation ; for in him were all things created in ,

the heavens and upon the earth things visible and things ,
”
invisible a n d i n h i m a ll th i n g s con s i s t (hold together )
( Col i. . All things were made by (through ) him ; and .

without him was not anything made that hath been made .

In him was life a nd th e l i fe wa s th e l i gh t of m en (J ohn i .

In the same way therefore that the One Universal Nou

, ,

menon appears to us - to break up or individualise into an

infinite variety of forms which go to make up the phenomenal
Universe while at the same time we are compelled to postulate
,

that this is not so in rea l ity that the Noumenon always is ,

and always must be ONE : so we must conceive that this

Divine Being which is MA N manifests itself phenomenally ,

as an involutionary and evolutionary process ; repeating

or reflecting thereby the universal process and being thus ,

the image of the in visible (incogn isable ) God the ever

concealed Absolute Noumenon .

On the highest S pi ritual Plane then that which do w n ,

here becomes m en is MA N the Divine Son , , and the

relation of individual men of ours el ves to this supreme Logos, , ,

wi ll be precisely that which we S hould postulate in any scientific

or philosophical concept of the relation of the partic ul ar to
th e universal In consciousness there is an appearance Of
.
 THE EVOLUTION OF THE INDIVID U AL 3 09

separation of time and space phenomena ; in reality there

,

is no such separation ; it is the One Life which operates in

All
.

All great teachers from the very earliest ages have con
, ,
’
s i s t en t ly taught this doctrine ; have taught that man s true

life is derived from and one with the larger Cosmic Life
, ,

whatever n a me may be given to that great cosmic fact .

Th ey have al so taught that this true inner indestructible

li fe can only be realised by the individual in proportion as
he abandons all attachment by hope fear or desire to , , , ,

outer temporary or phenomenal forms .

But we may now ask how— i f all individual life and con
s ci o u s n es s is in reality the One Life and Consciousness —we ,

and all other individual forms have lost the realisation of ,

this oneness ; how in fact consciousness as such can ever

, , ,

lose its essential and inhere nt o neness ; how we apparently

see infinite d egrees of consciousness ; and how we ourselves
may even doubt whether our life and consciousness will survive
the disintegration of the outward physical form
In answering these questions — or rather in endeavouring
to form some dim concept of the nature of limitation or
nescience —we must bear in mind in the first instance that , ,

what we know as consciousness is a h ow and not a wh a t , .

Consciousness implies a relationship of subj ect and obj ect .

Without the complementary Obj ect there can be no such

thing as consciousness as we understand it ; Absolute con
s ci ous n es s is unconsciousness .

Consciousness then together with its correlati ve phe

, ,

n o m e n on , is h ow the One Noumenon is known ; or kn ows

I ts elf
. In Itself and by I tself this One Noumenon is i ncog
n i s a b l e and unknowable That I S obvious because a thing
.
,

is kno wn only by its opposite or by relation and contrast ;,

but in the Absolute there is neither opposite nor contrast .

But in a certain sense ; an infinite On e necessitates an

,

infinite ma ny . To be infinitely known or cognised the ,

infinite Subj ect demands an infinite Obj ect ; or rather an ,

infinity of obj ects (phenomena ) The Infinite must know .

Itself in an infin ite variety of ways .

In the second place let us consider how we as conscious

,

individuals do actually make use of our consciousness .

A little reflection will S how us that our consciousness is

for the most part directed outwa rd s ; it i s almost wholly
3 08 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM

Noumenon of Life and Consciousness constituting Man a n d ,

’
standing in the same relation to the whole cycle of Man s
e vol u t l on as the one Absolute Noumenon does to the whole
,

Cosmic Process Cosmicall y this unitary Being or Logos

.
,

will be the informing or energi sing Principle in the whole

evolution of our Earth It is the vit al ising principle within
.

the cosmic germ — cell of matter or substance which— as we

have already seen in our last chapter— produces the race of ,

Man through lower organic forms as inevitably as the i n

dividual man emerges from the individual germ - cell .

It is necessary that we should clearly define and under

stand this dis tinction between Man and men ; between the
inner spiritual Principle which is One and the outer mani ,

fes ta ti on which is ma n y if we would unders tand much which,

is otherwise dark and mystical in many ancient scriptures

and teachings .

Thus in terms of Christian (esoteric ) doctrine this unitary ,

”
Principle or Logos is the Divine Son the Cos mi c Christ
, , ,

of St Paul who is the image of the invisible God the fi rs t

.
, ,

born o f all creation for in h im were all things created in ,

the heavens and upon the earth things visible and things ,
”
invisible a n d i n h i m a ll th i n g s con s i s t (hold together )
( Col i. . All things were made by ( through ) him and .

without him was not a n y th i n g m a d e that hath been made .

In him was life a n d th e l i fe wa s th e li gh t of m en (J ohn i .

In the same way therefore that the One Universal Nou

, ,

menon appears to u s -to break up or individualise into an

.

infinite variety of forms which go to make up the phenomenal

Universe while at the same time we are compelled to postulate
,
.

that this is not so in rea l ity that the Noumenon always is ,

and always must be ON E : so we must conceive that this

Divine Being which is MAN manifests itself phenomenally ,

as an involutionary and evolutionary process ; repeating

or reflecting thereby the universal process and being thus ,

the image of the invisible ( incognisable ) God the ever

concealed Absolute Noumenon .

On the highest spiritual Plane then that which down ,

here becomes men is MA N the Divine Son , ,and the

relation of individual men of ours el ves to this supreme Logos , , ,

will be precisely that which we should postulate in any scientific

or philosophical concept of the relation of the particular to
the universal In consciousness there is an appearance o f
.
 THE EVOLUTION OF THE INDIVID U AL 3 09

separation of time and space phenomena ; in reality there

,

is no such separation ; it is the One Life which Operates in

All
.

All great teachers from the very earliest ages have con
, ,
’
s i s t en tly taught this doctrine ; have taught that man s true

life i s derived from and one with the larger Cosmic Life
, ,

whatever n a me may be given to that great cosmic fact .

They have a lso taught that this true inner indestructible

li fe can only be realised by the individual in proportion as
he abandons all attachment by hope fear or desire to , , , ,

outer temporary or phenomenal forms .

But we may now ask how— i f a ll individual life and con

s ci o u s n es s is in reality the One Life and Consciousness — we ,

and all other individual forms have lost the realisation of ,

this oneness ; how in fact consciousness as such can ever

, , ,

lose its essential and inhere nt o neness ; how we apparently

see i nfinite d egr ees of consciousness ; a n d how we ourselves
may even doubt whether our life and consciousness will survive
the disintegration of the outward physical form
In answeri ng these questions —0r rather in endeavouring
to form some dim concept of the nature of limitation or
nescience —we must bear in mind in the first instance that , ,

what we know as consciousness is a h ow and not a wh a t

.

, .

Consciousness im plies a relationship of subj ect and Obj ect .

Without the complementary obj ect there can be no such

thing as conscio usness as we u n derstand it ; Absolute con
s ci ou s n es s is unconsciousness .

Consciousness then together with its correlat i ve phe

, ,

n om en on is h ow the One Noumenon is k nown ; or kn ows

,

I ts elf
. In Itself and by I tself this One Noumenon is incog
n i s a b l e and unknowable That I s obvious because a thing
.
,

is known only by its opposite or by relation and contrast ; ,

but in the Absolute there is neither opposite nor contrast .

But in a certain sense an infinite On e necessitates an

, ,

infinite ma ny To be infinitely known or cognised the

.
,

in fin ite Subj ect demands an infinite Obj ect ; or rather an ,

infinity of obj ects (phenomena ) The Infinite must know .

Itself in an infinite variety of ways .

In the second place let us consider how we as conscious

,

individuals do actually make use of our consciousness .

A little reflection will S how us that our consciousness is

for the most part directed outwa rds ; it i s almost wholly
31 0 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM

engaged with obj ective phenomena Do we not indeed even .

, ,

take these phenomena to be rea li ty and live our life wholly ,

therein ; striving even to grasp and p os s es s these fleeting

shadows which we kn ow must pass away ?
This fact then which we fin d in the individual may
, , ,

perhaps give u S a clue to something sim il ar operating in the

universal and inadequate as any such concept must
necessarily b e— we shall at least have something not wholly
inconsistent with our present knowledge and experience .

Conceive then of the L I FE the ceaseless activity of the

, , ,

One Noumenon as being essentially of the nature of Self

,

realisation by means of a creative process which consists ,

fundamentally in the ob jecti vi s a ti on the outward presenta ,

tion as phenomenon of the Infinite contents of the One Self

, .

In this V iew we cannot conceive of this crea ti on as an act

whereby something which is a n ot- s elf is brought into existence .

We must rather conceive that the On e Self cannot help as it ,

were the eternal expression of Itself by a process whereby

,

It sees and knows Itself as Phenomenon as well as N o um en on ,

as Obj ect as well as Subj ect a process in short which is the , ,

eternal r ea li s a ti on or exp res s i on of I TS E LF

It is precisely this self-
.

realisation which constitutes our

own life which constitutes all individual life Between con .

s ci o u s n es s and phenomenon there must always be an exact

parallelism however much we may limit consciousness or

, ,

in whatever individual forms we may locate it The outward .

,

the obj ective the visible is ever and always the expression
, , ,

the symbol and sign of an inner subj ective in visible s elf

The outer phenomenal universe then -i n fi n i t e as the com
.
, ,

plement of an infinite subj ective S E LF— is not in reality the

-
not self The One Self is in reality both Subj ect and Obj ect
.
,

though the individual self is not and the outer phenomenal

aspect of this essential Unity can only be considered as a
-
Not Self by an arbitrary limitation or negation of the real
nature of the Self a limitation illusion or nescience charac , , ,

t er i s t i c of all individua l forms of consciousness as we at present

know them .

Let us conceive then that the Consciousness of the On e

, ,

Self the Universal Con s ci o us n es s o f Primordial Substance

, ,

entering in as it were or associating Itself with those i h

, ,

dividual forms which are the presentment of Itself to Itself

loses in t h o s e form s Its sense of Oneness or Unity ; identi fi e s
 THE EVOL U TION OF THE INDIVID UAL 31 1

Itself for the time being wholly with the form and regards
a ll other forms as the Not - Self This entering i h —which will
.

co rrespond with the actual creation of the forms —will con

s ti t ut e the i n vol uti on a ry cosmic process the fo rmation or ,

eman a tion of the phenomenal universe The reverse or .

,

evolu ti on a ry process is the gradual repudiation by the sub j ect

or self of the self-
,

imposed limitation .

Thus the great heresy the great illusion is the sense of

, ,

separate ness ; while on the other hand the great secret of

, ,
’
life the great religion the elixir the philosopher s stone
, , , ,

that which frees the individual from all illusion from all ,

bondage that which brings immortality to light is th e

, ,

realisation of oneness with the Infinite Divine Li fe which

lives , and moves and is conscious in ALL
, .

From our own individual nature we thus obtain some hint ,

some dim conception of the nature of the great Cosmic Process

“

on the fundamental assumption that the universal is reflected

in the individual and particular .

We may thus conceive of the Cosmic Process —as a con

scious act on the part of the One Self— to be particularised
as follows (a ) A presentation of the contents Of the One
Self as ob j ective form or phenomenon ; this obj ective form
being the natural and inevitab l e accompaniment of ev ery act
or rather of the ceaseless action— o f the One Self ; which eternal
activity is known to us as m oti on (b) An entering into or.
,

identification of the Self with particular obj ective forms or

phenomena ; an affi rmation I am this and this
, con ,

s t i t u ti n g the i n voluti on a ry or limiting process (0) A

negation of the previous a ffi rmation ; a self-
.

realisation that
the Self is infinitely more than this or this ; that the Self ,

is not limited or conditioned by any forms or phenomena but ,

is the ca u s e of these fo rms and can create or repudiate them

,

at wi ll This negation or repudiation Of form and limitation

.

constitutes the evol uti on a ry process which is essentially an

,

expansion of life and consciousness .

The individual self in its evolutionary progress realises

itself in ever larger and still larger relation and proportion
till ultimately it realises itself as verily the One Self If our .

fundamental conception a s to the unity of Life and Con s cious

ness is valid it is clearly to be seen that the sense of in d i vidual
,

i s a ti on of separaten ess from other selves is an illusion : no

, ,

such separateness existing in reality but on ly in appearance , ,

31 2 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM

according as consc i ousness ident i fies itself mor e or less clearly

with i n di vidual and limited forms .

Such identification of ourselves with individual physical

forms more particularly with our physical bodies is tha t
, ,

which gives us our conventional and limited ideas of the n ature

of life a nd consciousness and we commonly attribute to
others an individual and separate I - n eS S such as we ourselves

experience
But what indeed is this same I -
.

, ness this sens e of s elf

, , ,

save the one inherent Unique qual ity or attribute of Con

s ci ou s n es s Itself of B ei n g which knows itself as On e ,

By no possibility can I think of myself as two or as many ,

the I — ness must a lways be unitary ; and what I thus thin k of

myself S O does a ll life and consciousness everywhere in every
, ,

form Are there then many selves or shall we still adhere

.
, ,

to our fundamental Monism

Further by no possibility can I — or any other I — ever
,

think of itself otherwise than as existing a t th e centre of the

universe Is not this also the inherent or unique quality or
.

a ttri bute of Consciousness Itself of that which knows Itself

not merely as One but as ALL ,

For the S E LF as cause of Al l verily I S that centre ; and

, ,

in consciousness can never be otherwise Only— that centre .

is everywhere and the circumference nowhere

, .

W h er e it co m e th a ll t hi n g s a re,

An d i t co m e th e v e r y wh e r e .

Consider also that Consciousness being One and Universal ,

that which now appears to us to be a separate unit or self ,

as associated with some phenomenal form must ever retain ,

its sense of I — ness or selfhood even when— b y reason of the

disintegration of the form— i t becomes merged in some larger
unit However large or however small in our present estima
.
,

tion may be that un it which at present we conventionall y

’
call I it must always be myself even when it h a s ,

expanded to include the whole Universe We cannot con .

z
c ei ve of the sense of s el f a s be i ng lost though we can conceive ,

of the sense of s ep a ra ti on as disappearing ; and herein is the

”
saying true that he that loseth his li fe S hall find it
,
For .

it is only by losing the present personal self the pers onal ,

attachment to forms and formulas that we can find that ,

larger Self which lives a n d moves in ALL ..

 THE EVOLUTION OF THE INDIVIDUAL 31 3

In thus losin g what we now falsely regard as an individual

separate self we must therefore realise that our true selfness
, , ,

will ever grow stronger and more real There will be no .

further fear or question as to whether when we die when the ,

phenomenal form perishes we S hall continue to live , .

Life is universal and omnipresent inherent in the omni

p resent Primordial Substance But even as any portion of .

this substance considered as an object may be conceived of

, ,

as subdivided to i n fi n i ty — yet must each portion however ,

small retain a ll the attributes the inalienable n a ture of S u b

, ,

s ta n ce as such — S O also considered in its s ubjecti ve aspect as

Life and Consciousness the one Self -
,

i n reality as inde
,

s tru ct i bl e as Substance itself —

b y attachment to phenomenal
forms by limitations or modes of consciousness which we call
,

ti me and s p a ce may conceive itself as individual and

,

conditioned— even to an infinite degree

On the other hand I t may— nay it must -
.

expand u ntil ,

the universe grows I .

Our working theory of life based upon the foregoing ,

considerations and upon the fundamental principles disclosed

,

by philosophy and science will now be seen to be simply ,

that of the individualised consciousness self or Ego gradually , , ,

freeing itself from the limitations of phenomenon form or , ,

ma tter— the objecti ve pole of the dual aspect of the O NE con ,

s i d e re d as something separate or existing as a reality by

and in i tself-and realising its own infinite nature as the ca u s e
,

a nd p rod u cer of p h en om en on .

The individual self s een in a ll its relations and proportions

, ,

is re a lly the One Self which experiences knows su ffers

, , , ,

rej oice s — or in one word— li ves in A LL

, .

In ex oter i c religions man fears and worships this Divine

,

sourc e of his being as a p ers on a l God to whose presence he ,

may perchance approach as he would to that of some earthly

potentate .

But the Infinite can never be really thus appro ached It .

must always remain at an infinite distance when conceived

of in te rms Of time and space .

While we are approaching God we never come to Hi m , ,

says Eckhart the Mystic ; and in all true Mysticism in all ,

es oteri c reli gi on it is the on en es s of the individual self with the

,

Universal Self which is realised and t a ught .

Thus man lays claim to his im morta li ty n ot as phenomenon , ,

31 4 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM

but as Noumenon Man the phenomenon is not immortal .

-o f
that is the empirical fact our everyday life Man the .

Noumenon the ca u s e of man the phenomenon i s immortal

, ,

because he is that Infin ite Life which as the eternal Root of ,

ALL is also the One Reality the

,
thing in itself though , ,

not any thing as a thing .

Of this One Reality it is impossible for us to conceive

other wise than that I T is eternal imperishable and unchange , ,

able .

But between individual man and the f ull realisation of his

true divine nature there appears to lie a long evolutionary
process Man is the Pilgrim of the Universe Wh y or how
. .

he set forth on this pilgrimage we do not know we have only

“
obscure allegories of a fall Yet since he is a divine S on .
,

that pilgrimage is certain ly the embodiment of a Divine Idea ,

which as such must in fact belong to the very nature of

, ,

Divinity Itself .

We may now therefore ask ourselves in V iew of th es e

, , ,

fundamental principles wh a t may be the immediate destiny , ,

the cycle of evolution which lies immediately in front of the

,

individual man in front of ours el ves ,

In physical science we find that we must fall back upon

the etheric Plane for the inner energising principle and cause
of a ll physical Plane phenomena The etheric Plane literally .

en s oul s the physical ; and it is to the energies and activities

of that Plane that we must look in the first instance not ,

merely for the force which builds up physical matter which ,

unifies and holds together the corp u s cl es or el ectron s of the

physical atom but also for that unifying and co-
, ordinating
principle which en s ou ls and makes a unitary economy of every
org a n i c form on the physical Plane .

As to the nature or action of this etheric unifying principle ,

’
considered as an individual soul (Haeckel s cell soul in
the lower organic forms and animal kingdom we need not ,

attem p t to make any guess here We know nothing scienti .

fi ca ll y about it and when science has discovered the un ifying

principle the p os i ti ve el ectr on in the physical atom it wi ll be
, , ,

time enough to pass on to that of the compound molecule ,

and from that to the lowest forms of organic life That is the .

scientific method though there is a Higher Science by which

,

these things may certainly be known — may be kno wn from

’
a bove or from wi thi n
, by develop ing within one s self the power .
 THE EVOLUTION OF THE I NDI V I D UAL 31 5

to know instead of constructin g mere physical apparat us

,

with which to experiment .

I t would appear to be quite legitimate however on the , ,

basis of what we already know to conceive of this informing ,

or organising principle as being cos mi c in its nature rather ,

than individual in the lowest forms of life ; becoming i h

,

d i vi d u a li s e d — that is to say as associated with individual

,

physical forms— only at a later stage of evolution .

But the case is wholly di fferent as regards ourselves ;

where we can study at fi rst hand our own powers and con
s ti tu ti on. Here we are already in a fair way to a complete
scientific recognition of the fact that man undoubtedly
possesses a definite subtle etheric or psychic body which
, , ,

under certain conditions can and does Operate quite inde , ,

pendently of the physical organism and faculties .

The proof of this is to be found in innumerable works

dealing with the various branches of the comparatively new
s cience — new that is to say to modern science— o f psychical
, ,

research to which some of our most eminent scientists the

,

world over have devoted many years of patient inquiry and

experi ment .

The net result of the knowledge attained at the present

time is the establishment of two facts Of the utmost importance
in their bearing upon the principles we are now advancing .

The first of these facts is the discovery that within or ,

behind the normal consciousness Of man there exists a vast ,

subconsciousness or s u bli mi n a l consciousness which usually

, ,

reveals itself only under certain abnormal conditions or i n ,

states of hypnotic S leep trance or ecstasy , , .

The content of this subliminal consciousness is practically

unfathomable Knowledge utterly lost to the physical memory
.
,

or which has never been registered at a ll in the experience of

the normal man will come through as it were under these
, , ,

abnormal conditions It is as if there existed a sort of s urfa ce

.

between cons ciousness and the ob j ective world such as we ,

might symbolise by the surface of the ocean Between that .

surface and the outside world there is a constant action and

reaction th rowing the surface i nto waves and vibrations
,

whi ch constitute the normal waking consciousness of the

individual .

This normal consciousness being thus occupied with out

wa rd phenomena with s ense impressions coming from the
,
31 6 SCIENTIFIC I DEALISM

j
ob ecti ve world is a l,
most wholly on the surface of the ocean
But let consciousness be withdrawn from the outward sense i m
pressions-as is done in sleep or in natural or induced trance,

and it falls back upon its deeper connections upon the more ,

interior planes where it must necessarily always exist in some

,

appropriate fo rm of Substance ; which indeed must be said

.
, ,

to be its more natural and appropriate habi tat and wher e ,

its powers or characteristics are such as are usually termed

abnormal miraculous or even supernatural
, , .

The second fact which modern psychical research h a s

clearly brought to light and demonstrated is that of thought ,

transmission or tel ep a thy ; the intercommunication of mind

with mind independently of the usual channels of com m un i ca
tion or of the distance separating the two individuals who
,

are thus communicating .

More th an this it is even claimed by some of the most

advanced scientific investigators that telepathy is not merely
Operative a s between two or more physical individuals but ,

that it may also and indeed does take p lace between i n ca r

, ,

nate and discarnate minds ; between individuals still living

in a physical body and those who have dropped that body
,

and passed beyond the ken of our normal senses There are .

a large class Of S O-
,
called spirit commun i cations the fact
of which is undeniable and which it is now sought to expla i n
,

on the principle of telepathy .

In our next chapter we shall deal somewhat more fully

with the question of psychic phenomena what it is necessary
to point out here is simply this : each and all of the facts
which psychical research brings to light — which are however , ,

only very old facts recogn ised and clothed in more modern
scientific terminology-necessitates the possession by the i h
,

dividual man of a definite organism body or vehicle of con , ,

s ci ou s n es s on the higher Planes of Substance ; and once this ,

has been recognised as a scientific necessity a ll question as ,

to the survival of the individual s oul after the disintegration ,

of the physical body is at an end , .

Nothing less than this is in fact the result already claimed

, ,

by some of the most prominent investigators in this compara

t i vel y new branch of modern scientific research This claim is
fu lly fs e t forth in the epoch -
.

making work of the late Frederic

W H Myers of Cambridge on Hu ma n Pers on a li ty a n d i ts
. .
, ,

S urvi va l f
o B od i ly D ea th ,
 THE EVOLUTION OF THE INDIVIDUAL 31 7

When we consider the nature of the s u bli mi n a l conscious

ness— which modern science has rediscovered— i n the light of
our fundamental and universal principles it is readily seen ,

that the ocea n of consciousness to which we have referred ,

and to which the subliminal may be compared is in fact none , , ,

other than the ocean Of Primordial Substance considered as

a substrate or vehicle O f the Universal Consciousness : of

which every individual consciousness must necessarily be a

portion aspect or mode a mere wa ve which is di fferent in
, , , ,

form but identical in substance .

When we disintegrate or dematerialise ma tter we pass ,

back from Plane to Plane the matter of one Plane is resolved

.

into the substance of the next higher— s u bs ta n ce that is to ,

say as considered in its relation to the next lower Plane but

, ,

ma tter on its own Plane when considered as something objec

,

ti ve to consciousness on that Plane This disintegration or

dematerialisation is simply the breaking -
.

u p of form ; it is as ,

it were the stilling of the waves motion ceasing a s i n di vi du a l

,

moti on but only because merged in some larger cosmic

,

wh ole .

We might compare the gradual disintegration of physical

Plane matter to the melting Of the foam on the crested waves
of an ocean lately storm tossed but now subsiding Gradu , .

ally the white crests of the waves disappear and the smaller ,

ri p ples themselves are merged in the larger undulations

while later these also disappear leaving only a long roll ing
, ,

swell the last cosmic form on the infinite ocean of Primordial

Subst ance .

But these also must finally disappear ; these which are ,

the g reat Cosmic Powers and Gods the First and the Last
(in time and space ) of the cyclic manifestations of the ON E
these also must disappear as the great ocean once more sinks
,

to rest in the motionless motion of the One Absolute .

And even thus must it also be with consciousness S ince ,

a ll Obj ective forms are but the correlative or complement of

states of consciousness The individual consciousness is

never other than one in s u bs ta n ce (in that which s ub-
.

s ta n d s )

with the Universal Consciousness ; and the deeper the i n

dividual penetrates into his own nature the more must he ,

find and realise that it is deep as the Infinite Itself .

Matter never becomes other than what it always i s — Prim

ordial Substance So also Consciousness never becomes other
.
31 8 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM

than what it eternally i s — the subj ective aspect or attribute

of Life Motion Being
, , .

Consciousness is inherent in all forms of matter simply ,

because all matter on whatever Plane i s Primordial Substance

, , .

But in those forms or modes of Primordial Substance which

we know as physical matter consciousness is not nec essarily
,

present in a form in which we can recognise its activity If .

we would find the consciousness of a m i n era l we must penetrate ,

into the inner recesses of the atom and molecule The con .

s ci o us n es s of the mineral is not active on this physical Plane

neither is consciousness individualised in the mineral in the

same sense in which we apply that term to ourselves ; the
individual form of the mineral on the physical Plane does not
represent an individual form of consciousness an individual ,

Ego The mineral— or in general physical matter— rep re

.
, ,

sents a cos mi c form of consciousness which is only individual ,

ised at later stages of evolution .

Our s u bli mi n a l consciousness then is deep as the depths, ,

of Primordial Substance Itself but between that highest

Plane of a ll — where all that is individual must necessarily
disappear merged in the infinite ocean itself— and our present
,

Plane of consciousness— where individualisation appears to

be most marked— there woul d seem to be many in termediate
Planes where consciousness — like forms of matter— will still
,

be found more or less individua lised : albeit with extended

powers and characteristics which grow ever la rger and more
divine as each intermediate Plane is transcended .

Some glimpse of the nature of these larger powers some ,

foretaste of what man might be in the power Of his divine

nature is now beginning to be apprehended in modern culture
,

and scientific investigation .

Wh at then in harmony with our fundamental principles

, , ,

may we reasonably postul ate of the history fate or destiny , ,

of each individual subj ect or self of that individualised form

or aspect of consciousness which we conventionally call our
selves
In the first place that destiny must necessarily be evol u
,

t i on a ry even up to the highest point at which we can conceive

of the individual as fall ing short of absolute identity with
the One Noumenon Even the destiny or history (the time
.

and space aspect ) of the One Divine Man (Humanity the ,

Divine Son of the Father is evolutionary He was .

 THE EVOL U TION OF THE INDIVIDUAL 31 9
"
created i n the beginning in the image of God , and
there will come a ti me when all things having been s ub
jec t e d to him ( all things having run their evolutionary
course ) the Son also himself shall be subj ected
”
that God ( the One Noumenon ) may be all in all ( 1 Cor .

xv.

Short then of this final subj ection all is evolutionary ;

, , ,

and the evolutionary process we have already seen is a cyclic , ,

one in which smaller cycles run their course and are merged
, ,

in larger ones ; while these also in course of time return to , ,

something more cosmic or universal .

If then we conceive of Humanity on the highest or S piritual

, ,

Plane of Substance as being On e— One Cosmic or Divine

Potency or Noumenon which as such has its o wn distinct
, , ,

evolutionary cycle of cosmic magnitude— we may legitimately

ask ourselves at what point or on what lower Plane does
, ,

that One assume the aspect of the many at what point does
it become— i h appearance— the lesser individual selves or
Egos which we realise as ourselves
Now we have experimental evidence in psychic phenomena
that we do possess at least on the next higher or etheric Pla n e
, ,

a de fi nite body that we are in fact i n di vi du a l s on that Plane

, , ,

very much as we are on the physical Plane As to how many .

Planes may really exist between the physical and the highest
spiritual we have no evidence but we have found it necessary
,

to postulate at least four cosmic Planes lower than the ultimate

Plane of undifferentiated Primordial Substance — which strictly ,

speaking is not a Plane at all—and we have termed these

,

four Planes the spiritual the mental the etheric and the
, , , ,

physical .

If then we place the unitary Divine Man on the spiritual

, ,

Plane it wou l d appear to be reasonable to postulate that on

,

the next lower or mental Plane this one Noumenon of all

, ,

Humanity might be individualised into something which

would more nearly correspond to what we could conceive of
as our own spiritual self or Ego .

Where empirical knowledge is lacking we must fall back ,

upon correspondence and analogy ; and if we have grasped

the universal principles already deduced from our empirical
knowledge of nature it will readily be seen that a mere lack
,

of detailed knowledge or classification does not a ffect i n the

least the fundamental principles We may alter our cla s s i fi .
320 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM

cation from time to time as our knowledge of details g rOws

, ,

without a ffecting the fundamentals themselves .

It wil l be found therefore highly advantageous at the

, ,

present stage of our knowledge to assum e as a working

hypothesis that man possesses a definite body or vehicle on
at least one Plane higher than the etheric that in fact he , ,

possesses a definite mi n d body that his mental activities are

associated with a definite and individualised form of Substance
on the mental Plane S O near however is this Plan e to the
.
, ,
'

spiritual that this mental body might a hn os t be considered

,

to be the spiritual Ego for on its o wn Plane its powers will

certainly transcend even to a divine degree those which we
, ,
’
have so far l earnt to associate with ou rs el ves down here We , .

should for instance have to conceive that on that Plane tele

, ,

p a thy would be the normal mode of comm u n i ca t i on b etween

individual Egos What was present in the consciousness of
.

one would be present in the consciousness of a ll ; and the

limitations which so sharply divide you and I on this lower
physical Plane would have wholly disappeared .

It is evident however that Whatever may be the nature

, ,

o f the individualisation on the mental Plane of the higher

, ,

Spiritual Noumenal Man that i ndividualisation will be ,

.

different at the end of the evol utionary cycle to what it is

at the beginning In some way or other the process is
.

n eces s a ry and the only way in which we

,
can conceive of
that necessity— outside of the fundament a l necessity that
s u bj ect can only realise itself a s obj ect-is based upon our

common experience that the Ego grows expands becomes , , ,

by experience in phenomenal forms The cycles Of e volution .

are for the subj ect or self cycles of experience

, , .

How then may we legitimately assume the evolution a ry

, , .

cycle of the spiritua l Ego to run what is its association with

those lesser cycles which are our p ers on a li ti es on t h e physical
Plane
Each higher Plane existing before during and afte r
, , ,

the evolution of th e Plane or Planes below it must n ecessarily ,

have a much more extended existence in time It stands .

in the relation of Noumenon to the lower Plane ; its own

N o um en on being still higher .

An d as it is wi th the Planes as a whole so must it be with ,

the individual forms of existen ce which may act from the

higher to the lower Planes Man considered as a spiritual .
,
 THE EVOL U TION OF THE INDIVIDUAL 32 1

being comes d own into incarnation ; and returns plus the

, ,

experience he has gained to the Plane of his true self where , ,

his individual cycle of existence may well be of such an extended

nature as to appear in comparison with our brief physical ,

existence to be eternal .

Yet nothing in ti me— nothing even in i nfi n i te time -is

,

eternal nothing outside of the One Absolute Noumenon '

.

In the Hindu cosmog ony it is taught that even Brahman

is not ete rnal Brahman himself must be absorbed in
.

the Absolute (Pa ra b ra h m ) when the great cosmic cycle or ,

Ma h a m a n va n ta ra has run its course We have already .

seen that the same teaching is to be found in the Chris

tian Scriptures in the idea that the ,
Son himself is
fi nally subj ect to him that did subj ect all things unto him
‘‘

,
”
that God may be all in all .

We find then by correspondence and analogy and proceed

, , ,

ing from un iversals to particulars that the whole cosmic ,

process considered as phenomenon is the field of experience

, ,

of the One Self that the whole evolutionary cycle Of Man

Of which the mere physical histor y of this globe is only a very
small portion— is the field of experience of some individual
Cos mic Being which has been termed the Divine Son or Logos
,

and that the various physical personalities and individual

lives which we live down here are part of a certain larger
‘
,

cycle of evolution through which the individual S piritual Ego

has to pass .

We may note then in the first place that the spiritual Ego
, , ,

— as the informing principle or real s elf behind or within the ,

temporary personality— must necessarily pre - exist that person

ality The spiritual Ego comes down into incarnation or is the
.
,

noum enon or cause of the physical personality in j ust exactly ,

the same sense as the One N o um en on is the informing principle

or cause of the whole phenomenal universe and co mes down ,

into matter in thus emanating or producing i t ; being in fact , ,

i mma n en t in it while also remaining tra n s cen d en t thereto

, .

In the second place we m a y n o te that so far as the individual

, ,

Ego is concerned this coming down has to take place along,

s ide as i t were or in conj unction with other cycles or cosmic

, ,

processes not directly connected with the individual Ego .

The individual Ego for example does not create the matter , ,

out of which his physical body is built The evolution of .

that matter belongs to a larger cosmic process with which

21
32 2 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM r

he is not directly conn ected Neither does he create his .

own physical body that al so is prepared for him by a certain

lower order of evolution ; and mere physical heredity must
b e considered in that respect as almost on the same level as
matter itself i e as something wi th which the Ego has to
,
. .
,

work and by which the real nature and powers of the Ego are
,

largely masked and limited .

But when we come to the real man to the individual ,

ch a ra cter to the powers and g en i u s which exceptional individuals

,

exercise and which being possible for one are possible for all
, , ,

when we consider the latent powers in man the nature and ,

powers which the s u bli mi n a l or s up r a li mi n a l self is capable

of manifesting : we fin d that we are dealing with something
which continuall y transcends physical li mitations and physical
laws with something indeed whose whole effort whose whole , , ,

evolution consists precisely in a struggle to transcend mere

material con di tions ; with somethin g which realises itself as
superior to these though for the time be i ng held in bondage
,

thereof .

Perhaps with the vast ma j ority of individuals who have ,

not yet realised the nature powers and possibil ities of their
own higher -
, ,

self it must be said that they are almost wholly

,

creatures of circumstance they are almost entirely dominated

by hereditary tendencies and environment .

But if one man may be a genius rising out of the most ,

adverse circumstances by sheer force of the divine power

within him : all may nay mu s t in virtue of the evolutionary
, , ,

process become so also If one man may conquer the world

,
.
,

the flesh and the devil : all men may nay mu s t do so if

, , ,

one man may be a Buddha or a Christ a ll men may nay , , ,

certainly shall be even what the highest and noblest have

,

already attained .

How then may they accomplish this

, ,
If the genius the ,

sa i nt the Buddha the Christ as higher types of m en show 11 5

, , , ,

the direction in which the evolutionary process is tak i ng us

even though between such as these and the average mortal
there may appear t o be a great gulf fi x ed— how shall we the ,

a verage mortals reach the heights to which these have already

,

attained ; how bridge the gulf which apparently separates

them from us ; how realise as they have realised the higher
powers in man which can give victory and supremacy over
all material condition s and limitations
 THE EVOL U TION OF THE IND IVIDUAL 32 3

If evolution means anything at all for the individual it ,

means precisely this conquest of matter— i n which relation

the term ma tter may stand for three things (a ) actual physical ,

matter the material conditions by which we are now limited

,

and conditioned ( b) material or worldly desires and illusions

( )
c the prim e i ll usion that the obj ective or phenomenal world
’
is a thing in itself that it is a reality existing apart
‘

from and independently of Life and Consciousness .

The conquest of matter means that the individual shall ,

rule where at present he is a sub j ect and even a S lave He , .

must rule first in the kingdom of his own body and ruling
thus in his own body he shall find the world nay the un iverse , , ,

at his feet .

Now we cannot dissociate the evolution of the indi vidual

from the evolution of the Race as a whole at any stage o r , ,

on any Plane The Race as a whole must evolve through the

.

perfectin g of the individual The Ego belongs to the whole .

history of Hum anity and must partake of the whole evol u

,

t i on a ry process in all its phases — spiritual mental etheric , , ,

and physical .

But we have it before us as an empirical fact that individ

u a ls stand at vastly di fferent points in the scale of evolution ,

i n their capacities and powers mental moral and spiritual , , , .

Ho w then did those who are immensely in advance of the

, ,

average acquire their higher powers where has the Ego

accomplished the evolutiona ry process which must have been
necessary to resul t in these higher powers
There is one theory and one theory only which can give
, ,

any adequate reply to these questions and which at the same ,

time connects the individual man with the whole evolution ,

progress and perfecting of the Race

, .

That theory is the one commonly k nown as the theory of

Reincarnation It is the oldest philosophical and religious
.

concept in the world as to the relation which subsists between

the evolution of the Ego and the evolution of the Race ;,

between the permanent spiritual man and his temporary ,

manifestation on the physical Plane as a human personality .

We have already seen that the spiritual Ego as the i h ,

forming principle Of the human personality must necessarily

-
,
’
pre exist ; that it com es d own into incarnation Th e ord i n a ry
‘
.

Western conception of this matter— derived from the teachings

of dogm atic Christianity so long imposed upon the Western
,
3 24 SCIENTI F IC IDEALISM

World by ecclesiastical authority — is that the soul or

individual has no pre -
,

existe nce The individual commences ‘

his etern a l career at the moment of physical birth he has no

past existence experience or evolutionary history nor is his
, ,

present character or his capacities powers or opportunities

, , , ,

in any way dependent upon what the individual himself has

done or experienced in the pas t .

Notwithstanding that the individual is thus supposed to

commence his existence at a certain defin ite ti me he is p op u ,

l a rly supposed to continue to exist for ever a n d ever We .

need not here consider the further teaching that the s ta te of

the individual in bliss or the reverse is also definitely fixed
, ,

after one brief life on this Earth Such a conception belongs .

only to the lowest phase of religious dogm a and its utter ,

absurdity is now very generally recognised in th e Christian

Church itself notwithstanding that it still prevails in some
,

sects and is taught in the Church of England Prayer Book

, .

But in truth the idea that anything individual can com

mence in ti me and yet be eternal in the future is only one
’
degree less absurd than the supposition th a t a man s future
s tate is determined for ever and ever by his conduct or belief

in one brief earth life We might j ust a s well and as logically

.

conceive that there never was a time when the soul did not
exist but that its existence comes to an end with the death of
,

the physical body If it begins with the physical body it

.
,

must certainly end with the physical body— and that is simply
materialism Orthodoxy is in fact always an abort ion it is
.
, ,

never wholl y materialistic nor wholly spiritual , .

Nothing which is etern a l can c ommence i n ti me That .

which commences in time must end in time ; and that is

merely the physical form the flux and change of phen omenon
, .

The only basis on which man can claim h i s immortality is in

his oneness with that which alone is immor tal and eternal ;
the birthless deathless ceas eless S PI R I T which lives and moves
, ,

in ALL .

Individua l forms are but the modes or phases of thi s

One Noum enon As such they appear and disappear in our
.

individual consciousness ; a consciousness limited and con

d i ti on e d by that which we ca ll time and space ; which are
but the h ow consciousness wor ks and not the wha t thi ngs ,

are in reality .

The i ndividual man then whethe r We consider him on the

, ,
 THE EVOLUTION OF THE INDIVIDUAL 325

mental etheric or physical Plane has only a limited existence

, , ,

but his existence on each higher Plane must necessarily precede ,

as well as follow the manifestation on the lower Plane or

,

Planes ; j ust as the existence of the One Noumenon must

necessarily precede as well as survive the existence of all the
, ,

phenomenal universe of which it is the cause The lower .

cannot be cause of the higher S piritual man cannot be born

out of the physical .

The doctrine of reincarnation teaches that not once but , ,

many many times the Ego comes down into incarnation If

, ,
.

it can come once it can certainly come twice or many times ,

.

Incarnation must be necessary for the Ego a necessity of its ,

d ivine nature otherwise it would not be born into this world

,

at a ll We may V iew that necessity in a twofold light (a ) as

.
,

necessary for the individual ( b) as necessary for the Race .

The necessity for the individual will appear to us as a

gradual perfecting through experience gained in many many ,

lives ; the nec essity for the Race will appear in this light :
that since the Race is made up of individuals it is these ,

individuals who must be perfected if the Race itself is to ,

be made perfect .

Since therefore the individuals are gradually perfected by

, ,

the experience gained in a succession of lives more and more ,

perfect individuals will be born into the world and the Race ,

as a whole will progress accordingly .

Associated with this teaching is also the idea of cause and

e ffect acting from one incarnation to another In any one .

incarnation the individual i s what he has made himself by his

past efforts But he not merely i s such and such in charac ter
.
, ,

faculty or powers but also his circumstances fate or Ka rma

, , , ,

will be largely determined by the uses he has made of his past .

What a m an sows that he also reaps — i n a future incarnation

, ,

if not in this .

There can be no question but that such an idea appeals

strongly to our sense of j ustice and when once fully under
stood i t gives an enormous stimulus to individual e ffort It .

is a theory which on broad philosophical grounds we can

, ,

hardly refuse to accept ; which doubtless has some funda

mental and vital truth underlying it seeing that in some ,

form or other it has been put forward by those whom the world
has reco g nised as its greatest teachers in all ages We must .

be careful however not to accept it in too crude a form We

, ,
.
326 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM

may see clearly that the principle is simply the application by ,

correspondence and analogy of universals to particula rs but ,

in particulars we may possibly nay almost certainly go , , ,

wrong .

Reincarnation is a universal principle The One Life .

incarnates and reincarnates unceasingly in the phenomenal

world The whole of physical matter is an incarnation of
.

this One Life But as such it came into existence in ti me

.
,

and in ti me it will disappear though the cycle of its mani ,

fes t a ti on may be past our human powers to calculat e or

even to imagine As a temporary manifestation of the One
.

N ou m en on it can only be one of an endless series The .

Noumenon cannot cease to express itself as Phenomenon .

But the physical universe cannot be considered as a direct

inca rnation of the One Noumenon but only as the indirect ,

manifestation through lesser Principalities and Powers

each of which being the image or reflection of the ON E repeats
, ,

in itself in its own more limited manner the powers and

, ,

attributes which it derives from its own immediate N oum en on .

Thus when we endeavour to relate the ON E to our time

and spac e phenomena we are unable to conceive of I T as th e
,

immediate cause of the existence of the physical material

world or of physical Plane phenomena but— inadequate as
,

all such conceptions must necessarily b e— we are compelled

to place I T in some sense on a higher Plane between which ,

and the lower physical lies a vast cycle of involution and

evolution .

Doubtless if we could regard the universe from the point

of view of the —
O N E p erhaps we might even say if we could ,

regard it from the point of V iew of the spiritual Ego — i t would

be seen that these Planes and these great cycles of involution
,

and evolution do not exist in reality Something in Con .

s ci ou s n es s something in Life makes these for Itself

,
imposes ,

them as it were upon Itself by a process of Self-

, , limitation .

Seein g however that in our present consciousness this

, ,

apparent separation in time and space does exist we a re ,

compelled to mark out artificial lines of latitude and longitude ,

artificial distinctions of Plane above Plane and cycle fo l lowin g ,

cy cle and indeed it is only by doing so that we can make u s e

, ,

of language at all to express what the universe a pp ea rs to b e

to us and to our fellow-
,

selves .

Speaking then in terms of our common consciousness let

, , ,
 THE EVOL U TION OF THE INDIVIDUAL 327

us conceive of the One Noumenon as ema n a ti n g the highest

Hierarchies of Divine Beings on the highest or spiritual Plane .

These Divine Hierarchies or Divine Sons must represent , , ,

in fact the One Divine Life and Consciousness in so far as that

,

O N E can be said in any sense at all to be ma ny We cannot .

possibly conceive of the ON E as splitting itself up or as con ,

sisting of an infin ity of physical atoms for example The , .

ON E we must ever bear in mind is not a mere term for the

sum -
, ,

total of the many It is a U N I T in the highest and

.
,

most metaphysical and abstract sense of the term .

The p ri ma ry di fferentiation or individualisation of the

ON E we can only conceive of as consisting of Beings Powers , ,

Gods Logoi— call them what you will— s o near to the O N E

,

as to be practically identical with It Yet each of these .

Powers i n so far as they are i n di vi du a l must re p resent in some

, ,

sense a li mi ta ti on of the ONE must represent some special

Di vine I D EA .

We must then further conceive of each of these Cosmic

, ,

Beings or Powers as repeating the process of emanation or

di fferentiation producing thereby the limitations di fferences , ,

or distinctions of a lower Plane producing in fact on that , ,

lower Plane i n di vi du a l forms of life and consciousness which , ,

in their collectivity on the higher Plane are On e , .

Thus on the spiritual Plane Man is One Divine Son

, ,

but on the mental Plane becomes many spiritual Egos while

on still lower Planes one spiritual Ego becomes many human
,

personalities or incarnations The spiritual Ego in fact . , ,

repeats or reflects the universal process and becomes the ,

informing or ensouling principle first of all of a vehicle or ,

body on the etheric Plane and subsequently through this ,

subtle etheric (or Astral) body of the physical organism which ,

we conven tionally call ourselves .

We see that there is thus no break in the chain which lin k s

the lower to the higher— even to the very highest Con .

s ci ou s n es s exists all along this chain in its appropriate vehicle

or mode of Substance It is universal as that Substance

.

itself but limited and conditioned on each Plane by the body

or vehicle in or through which it is acting and-s o far as each
,

individual is concerned-acting as it were along a definite

,

, ,

individual line determined by the part which the individual

,

has to play in the economy of the lesser or larger cosmic cycles

‘

to which he belongs .
3 28 SCIENTIFIC IDE ALISM
We thus stand in the same relation to higher Cosmic
Powers as the lesser li ves — organisms cells e t c — which con , ,

s t i t u t e our physical bodies do to us Each of th ese lesser .

li ves may certainly be conceived of as having a limited

individual sphere of action in which a certain amount of
_

choice or free will may be exercised nevertheless each must ,

play its own particular part in the larger economy of the

whole body and its fa te is thereby inevitably determined
,

for it .

Every atom of matter traced back through all the Planes, ,

gradually expands till it is merged in the infinity of Primordial

Substance E very individual form of consciousness likewise
.
,

traced back from Plane to Plane must expand to infinity , ,

’
must drop its li mitations to become the Infinite I AM .

Thus we are ourselves the Pa th along which we must travel

to reach the goal of our evolution to attain to the ful l measure ,

and stature of the Divine Man the indwelling Ch ri s tos Our ,

.

consciousness our life is one with the Infinite and the Eternal
, ,

and nothing less than the fuln ess of this Truth the perfect ,

knowledge which can only be realised when we ourselves have

reached that inmost centre within ourselves can ever ,

satisfy the thirst which the individual so ul lost in darkness , ,

nescience and illusion now experiences

, , .

On each of the higher Planes Consciousness must n eces ,

s a ri ly transcend the limitations of the lower and thus trans ,

cen d i n g them it cannot see know or apprehend th i n gs as

, , ,
’
we see and know them down here .

By no possibility can we conceive of the One Absolute

Consciousness as seeing or knowing a thi n g in the limited way
in which we must see and know it in order that it may be
represented in our individual consciousness as a physical ob '

je c t
. Every qu a l i ty which we ascribe to an o b jec t i s a quality

of l i mi ta ti on due to the limitations of the sense organs through

,

which consciousness is for the time being working Colour .

,

density taste smell even form itself— the h ow we see a thing

, , ,

in space of three dimensions only— all are limitations making _

,

s ometh i n g into a definite obj ect ; s om eth i n g which in reality

has no limitations for everything would expand to in fi nity if

,

we could but see it in a ll its relations and proportions

. .

Nothing less than this must indeed be said to be the point , ,

of V iew of the One Absolute or of Consciousness on the highes t ,

Cosmic Plane In so far as the One Absolute can be said to

.
 THE EVOL U TION OF THE INDIVIDUAL 329

know a th i ng at all I T must know it in a ll its relations and

,

proportions past pres e nt and future

, , ,
.

But seeing and knowing it thus the thing has already ,

ceased to be a thi n g it has become the Whole Where past .

,

present and future do not exist where all is an eternal N OW

, ,

how can even ts such as we know be present in consciousness

, ,

The popular imagination doubtless represents God as

seeing and knowing things and events very much as we do
ourselves Nothing could possibly be further from the truth
. .

As Carlyle puts it With God as it is a universal HE R E so , ,

it is an everlasting NOW .

Christian Science is doubtless logical in at least this one

point that God being by definition Absolute Goodness and
,

Wisdom cannot possibly know what we call evil Whether

, .

Christian Science is equally logical in its definition and con

ce p t i on as to the n a tu re of what we call evil is quite another ,

matter .

But let us substitute the word l i mi ta ti on for the word evi l

—for possibly evil is nothing but limitation — and we shall
then see that God cannot possibly know evil simply because ,

He cannot — as God— know limitation Infinite knowledge .

,

infinite C onsciousness must necessarily be above all limitations

,
.

All limitation — or evil— must be a negation in the sense that ,

it is the a bs en ce of something ; something deprived ; some

thing l es s than the Whole It is something n ot present in our .

consciousness To know the rea li ty of things therefore we

.
, ,

must abolish or break down the limitations the sense of

.
,

separateness from the whole In other words the only Reality .

,

is the Infinite .

God the Infinite cannot know evil (limitation ) —yet even

, ,

so is not God Himself incarnated in each one of us in order

, ,

that He may know it

The di fference which exists in consciousness when function
ing on the higher Planes is fully confirmed by all that we know
through psychical research as to the various abnormal states
of consciousness into which the individual may pass The .

fact that things are not and cannot be seen in the same , ,

relation and proportion on the higher Planes will account to ,

a large extent for the di ffi culty which is well kno wn to exist

in interpreting in terms of physical Plane consciousnes s what

may be seen and known on the higher Planes in such abnormal
states It may also perhaps account to a large extent for the
.
, ,
 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM 7
33 0

fact that such great di fficulties exist in obtaining clear com

m un i ca ti on s with p os t-
mortem states of consciousness .

When once we have grasped the fundamental principles

which must underlie the manifestations of consciousness on
di fferent Planes or in di fferent modes of Primordial Substance
, ,

we shall have a fair understanding of the broad principles

upon which the doctrine of Reincarnation is based .

The spiritual Ego as the pilgrim of the universe must pass , ,

through all experiences He cannot separate himself from .

the evol ution of the Race The evolution of Humanity is his .

evolution in exactly the same sense that the whole Cosmic

evolutionary process must be said to belong to the One Nou
menon In one sense the Noumenon is above and beyond
.
,

all evolution remaining changeless and unmoved throughout

,

all cycles In another sense the cosmic process of change

.
,

and motion is the very nature and essence of Its Being .

So also is it by correspondence and analogy with the spirit

, ,

ual Ego which stands in the relation of a Noumenon to our

,

human personalities Living ever in the light of the spiritual .

Plane bathed ever in the radiance which emanates from th e

,

ON E what need has that Ego of the poor experiences of the

mortal man — nay what even can he kn ow of the darkness,

and limitations of the physical Plane

Thus although in one aspect the Ego is the Divine Son
, ,

the Chri s tos living ever in the bosom of the Father

,
yet
in another aspect he is the Christ who must needs be crucified
on the cross of ma tter He descends into matter and incarna .

tion in the sense that he is the informing principle the divine

, ,

li g h t which lighteth every man coming into the world .

In ex oteri c Christian doctrine Christ was born into the ,

world once as one particular historic personage ; in es oteri c

,

Christian doctr i ne Christ is the inner spiritual s elf of every

,

man with whom we ( the personality ) must become on e if we

, ,

would accomplish our salvation In the one case the divi ne

’
.

incarnation is a mere historical event in the other case it is

a cosmic process coextensive with the whole evolution of
,

Man .

The spiritual Ego the n standing as it does in the same , ,

relation to a certain lower order or cycle of evolution— our

o wn personalities and incarnations - as th e one Noumenon
does to the whole Cosmic process : must in some sense be
said to be the experiencer and knower of that evolutionary
 THE EVOL U TION or THE INDIVID U AL 33 1

process We may perhaps accept this with the reservation

.

that that process is not by any means in the consciousness

‘

of the Ego what it appears to be to us We cannot for .

one moment suppose that the hopes fears and desires of the ,

lower personality of the conventional I can in any sense

, ,

be those of the true self the spiritual Ego , .

Let us take the cosmos of our own body for an analogy .

While it is true that I know and experience through my

body through the millions and billions of l i ves which con
,

s t i t u t e that body : how much do I know of the individual

consciousness of those l i ves of the struggle for existence and ,

survival of the fittest which goes on in the cells and blood

,

corpuscles ; of the p s y ch i c activity which even Haeckel is

obliged to postulate of these unicellular and multicellular
forms of life of which my body is built up
J ust as Primordial Substance constitutes the permanent
matrix of the whole phenomenal universe— and we may a n d ,

must conceive of an endless succession of such universes as

,

arising and disappearing out of that matrix— s o with the

spi ritual Ego which on its own Plane is the matrix out of
,

which and into which arise and disappear a succession of

personalities on the lower and physical Plane .

S omethi ng we must necessarily conceive of on the higher

Plane which stores up or reaps the fruit of the experiences of
the individual on the lower Planes something which brings
forth ever - increasing powers faculty character in the physical
, , ,

man Ho w else should the Race progress ?

.

If one man di ffers from another in these respects — as indeed

it is our common experience that vast differences do exist
we must in conformity with our fundamental principles
, ,

credit these di fferences to an evolutionary past ; a past in

some way belonging to the individual The Race is made .

up of individuals and the progress of the race can be none

,

other than the progress of the individuals .

S omethi n g then which has a past experience rei n ca rn a tes ;

, , ,

it takes form and substance on the physical Plane and in a ,

certain sense begi n s where it left off before

, .

But if we ask the question as to what it is which thus

reincarnates the answer is not easy to give We must be
, .

Careful not to accept any crude or bald statement of this doc

trine We may certainly say that it is not the conventional
.

I —Mr Smith or Mrs Brown — which reincarnates Neither

.
, . .
332 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM

is it the spiritual Ego which comes down to Earth That .

Ego as we have already seen b elongs to and must always

, , ,

exist on its own Plane

,
.

Let us take an analogy The Sun does not come d own to .

this Earth although his activity and magnetic emanations are

,

incarnated in every form O f physical activity on this globe .

Without his l i fe the world would be cold and dead Neither .

does the One Noumenon come d own to Earth ; though in

truth in I T all things live and move and have their being , , .

Perhaps even thus may we best think Of the relation which

subsists between the spiritual Ego and the human personality .

Psychical research discloses to us a s u bli mi n a l s elf whose ,

depths are u nfathomed and indeed unfathomable for it , ,

belongs to the Infin ite Itself There is in reality n o break .

in consciousness from the smallest individual life to the Infinite

Life j ust as there is no break in the continuity Of Substance ,

from the smallest atom to the infinite ocean Of Primordial

Substance There is no break in consciousness though there
.
,

is many a break in —
m em ory which is quite a di fferent matter .

The human personality is but a time phenomenon O f

something which is permanent and eternal It is as it were .
, ,

the activity manifested on the physical Plane O f a ra y from

the spiritual Ego Along that ray that magnetic thread may
.
, ,

pass to the personality a constant stream Of divines t power

and inspiration if we will but turn from outward seeking
, ,

and obj ects of sense and Open ourselves for its reception
,

and inflow .

Along that ray also consciousness must retire when the

,

physical body is dropped taking with it all that naturally

belongs to the Higher Self dropping as it d rops the physical ,

body all the limitations O f the lower Planes ; and either

,

forgetting altogether its earthly experiences or t ra n s m u t ,

’
ing them by nature s higher alchemy into the pure gold of
spiritual life .

Let us get rid then Of the idea that the whole Of the I
, ,

comprised in the conventional self which acts and moves

down here Let us get rid of the notion that the spirit belongs
.

to the body and that the experiences Of the personality are

O f vital importance to the future happiness and well - being Of
the divine Ego .

The S pirit is birthless and deathless ; and while in some

sense it must be true that ou r experiences are its experiences ,
 THE EVOLUTION OF THE IND IVID U AL 3 33

it certainly cannot be true in the conventional and limited

sense in which it is usually received .

Coming into touch n ow with our Higher Selves or fall ing ,

back when we drop the physical body upon that deeper and
, ,

fuller consciousness which is ou rs b V nature it may indeed

’
seem that it is the present I the personality which thus
, ,

attains for the thinking conscious I must always be I even ,

if it expands to Infinity But in reality we a re that Infinite

.

Self ; and we can only fall back upon Ours elf

fl
.

Thus while it is true that the individual self is an illusion

,

that even the spiritual Ego is no more than a temporary aspect

O f the O N E that all that is individual is but the ON E seen
and known in part or by limitation ; and that the human
,

personality is but as a foam -e ck on an infinite ocean— yet i t

is also true that even that which we know as our present
-
s elfn es s is immortal and eternal . That which is limited can
only disappear as form ; its s u bs ta n ce must necessarily be
merged in a larger whole till a ll limitations are dropped and
, ,

the individual sees and knows i ts elf as the ceaseless changeless

C H A P TE R X V

HIG HER SCIENCE

 E ve r m or e cl ear l y m us t Ou r age o f s ci en ce r ea li s e th a t an y r e l a ti on

b e twe e n a m a t eri a l an d a s p i ri t u a l w or l d c an n o t be an e thi ca l or em o t i o n a l

r e l a t i on a l on e th a t i t m us t n ee d s be a gr ea t s tr u ct u r a l fa ct o f t h e Un i vers e ,

i n v o lv i n g l a w s at l ea s t as p ers i s t en t , a s i d en t i éal fr o m a g e t o a g e , a s o u r
”—
kn own l a ws of E n er g y or o f M oti on . FR E DE R IC W H MY E RS
. . .
 C HA P T E R X V

THE HI G HE R S C I E N C E

W HE N the f undamental principle O f the Unity O f the Universe

has been clearly understood in its many aspects when it is
full y apprehended that all diverse phenomena whatsoever are
only the O N E seen and known partially and incompletely ,

seen and known in a limited mann er under conditions or states

O f consciousness which give rise to the limitations which we

call ti me and s p a ce when we have lea rnt that life and con
s ci o us n es s mus t be as eternal and indestructible as their
obj ective correlatives matter and motion and that the real
law of substance -
, ,

O i that which sub - stands the Universe

in its totality which sub —stands s u bject as well as object— is
,

the ceaseless activity O f B E I N G then a lso we come to a clear

understanding that our own individual life is necessa rily only
a tempora ry phase O f that One Life which moves in ALL ,

and that there must be n a tura l l a ws great structural

,

facts O f the Universe connecting our present person

,

a l i t i es and consciousness with the higher or more interior

Planes of the Cosmos with the Unseen Universe even
, ,

to the very highest or innermost to the One Noumenon ,

Itself.

TO discover and elucidate these structural facts is the

province Of a h i gh er s ci en ce than that which deals merely with
the mechan i sm O f physical matter or with the Universe ,

considered merely as a machine it is a true science Of Life and

Consciousness and not a mere science Of mechanics or thermo
, ,

dynamics .

In all ages there have been students of this h i gh er s ci en ce ,

and the structural facts themselves ha v e never been without

their witness and exponents But in modern science as in
.
,

modern religion there is an orth od oxy which excludes very

,

much which is of the highest interest and importance nay ,

which even denies fa cts on a mi ori grounds and keeps men ,

22
338 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM

back from Truth which might ill umine and enrich the whole
of human life a n d endeavour .

But facts have a strange insistency a habit Of repeating ,

themselves until they finally Obtain complete recognition

and now at the commencement of a new century the facts O f
, ,

’
man s higher or deeper nature and powers which were formerly
relegated entirely to a supernatural spiritual region and ,

either ignored or denied by orthodox science on the one hand ,

or traded upon by priestcraft and superstition on the

other are receiving the attention Of some Of the foremost
,

scientists and keenest intellects Of the day .

Physicists have gradually arrived during the past century

, ,

at a clear understanding of the absolute dependence of all

physical Plane phenomena upon the nature and properties Of the
Ether ; and finally at the idea that physical matter i s etheric
, ,

in its substance that by disintegration it may be resolvable

back into Ether itself ; into a substance to us impalpable ,

intangible and imponderable a substance apparently filling

,

all space and constituting the matter O f the unseen universe

, s

But it is now beginning to be scientifically recognised that

“

the potentialities of that unseen universe are not merely those

O f matter and motion but also those O f life and consciousness
, .

J ust as we must fall back upon a higher or more interior Plane

in order to explain the nature of the atom and molecule so ,

also we must fall back upon something which is certainly n ot

physical in order to explain man s psychic nature — leaving
,
’

out Of account for the present anything in that nature which

might be more truly described as s p i ri tu a l .

Behind the mere physical activities and nature of the

atom and molecule lie the prodigious potencies Of the Ether
, ,

out Of which the atom is evolved potencies which are only

partially disclosed in the atom an d atom S imply because the
, ,

atom to be an atom to us must be l i mi ted in its nature If

, , .

the atom disclosed to us more O f its inner nature more of its ,

tota l nature if in co n sciousness we cou ld penetrate its etheric

nature and know what it is qu a Ether : it would thereby
,

cease to be to us that thing whi ch we know as a physical

atom and we should enter in consciousness into a totally
,

di fferent world than that which we n ow perceive a nd which ,

we know as the physical Plane —albeit we should be only seeing

the same thing or things in a di fferent manner and with l ess ,

limitations Al l th i ng S a re thi n gs merely by limitation and

.
'
 THE HI G HER SCIENCE 3 39

the limitation is not in the thing perceived but in the per ,

c ei vi n g consciousness .

And as it is with the atom or with any th i ng which may be

,

an object Of p ercep t i on s o also is it with the s u bfect or individual

, ,

s elf with that limited aspect or mode of the One Life which
we know as Man or as our individual selves As individuals
, .
,

as time and space phenomena we are but the ON E known ,

partially and incompletely and as such we present an outer

or limited appearance while in reality the inner depths of
,
’

our nature are as deep as the Infinite Itself Behind the .

normal man behind the consciousness and psychic activity

,

which n orni a lly manifests itself in or through the physical

organism-which comes to the surface as it were in that , ,

organism— lie the prodigious potencies of the higher self ;

even to the highest to the One Self Like the atom man as
, .
,

we know him is only so because of limitations See and know

him in his whole nature and he is a God -
.

nay God Himself

, , .

It was formerly thought that every physical atom of any

one particular Substance— oxygen for example — was absolutely ,

identical in a ll respects with every other atom Of the same

substance It is now known that considerable individual
.

di fferences must exist and that the S pecial physical or

chemical properties which any substance exhibits in bulk ,

are simply an average of the individual qua lities Of the con

s t i tuen t atoms .

In a similar manner although individuals may vary very

,

much in character and faculty there is a certain average Of ,

ps ychic activity which we broadl y attribute to all a certain

common perception Of things which constitutes th e normal
sense consciousness Of mankind at the present stage O f
evolution .

This normal is largely determined by or coincident with , ,

the course Of physical or organic evolution and in the i n ,

dividual by his particular inherited physical organism The

, .

simple reason for this would appear to be that in the large ,

ma j ority of individuals the animal or physical still very con

,

s i d era b ly dominates the psychic or spiritual ; and also that ,

even in more advanc e d members Of the race the subj ect or ,

self identifies itself for the time being almost entirely with
the vehicle in which it is temporarily functioning For this .

reason the fa culty O f sight is in the normal individual entirely

, , ,

identified with and limited by the orga n of sight To s uch an

, , .
3 40 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
extent is this the case that even wh en a true vision of some
,

thing super - physical is seen— for exa mple the d ou bl e Of another ,

person which is not within the ra n g e o f physical sight — the

, s

obj ect is apparently seen with the physical eye the fac ulty
O f sight and the organ O f sight being absolutely identified i n

the mind of the percipient subj ect .

Now if man were as materialists Of the Haeckel school

,

main tain absolutely the product of physical evolution ; if

,

the subj ect the self or Ego is only the sum -

, , total of the “

psychic functions of the cells which build up their (its )

structure (Ri ddl e p we should expect fa culty to be
, .

absolutely dependent upon organism By no possibility could .

a man ever really see or hear outside Of the limits of the physical
organism a n d any such apparent seeing or hearing would be
,

classed as a subj ective hallucination Such a classification .

has in fact as is well known been that which orthodox science

, , ,

has hitherto commonly given to all a bn orma l phenomena of

consciousness or psychic activity .

But what is the position which Obtains when it is once

clearly proved that individua ls can and do see and hear definite
physic a l happenings which are altogether outside the range
O f their physical organs O f sight and hearing events which
are taking place hundreds or thousands of miles away from
the m; nay stranger still even events which have not yet
, ,

taken place at a ll on the physical Plane but which afterwa rds

do happen there— not to mention super -
,

physical happenings ,

which it is di fficult or impossible to veri fy but which are ,

certainly clear e n ough in the con s ci ous n es s of some individuals

The recognition Of the fact that some individuals do possess
these abnormal powers o f sight and hearing ; or that in ex
cep t i on a l circumstances these powers may manifest themselves

in individuals otherwise normal in the use Of their facul ties

or that such abnormal po w ers may be induced by mesmerism ,

hypnotism or other means ; these and other facts Of an

, ,

abnormal nature now fully recog nised constitute the basis

, ,

O f the modern science O f psychical research the foundation

of a new psychology which is gradually supplanting the Old
-
academic psychology which h a s hitherto relegated all such
abnormal phenomena to the region O f hallucination or fraud .

But the new psychology is a truer science than the Ol d ,

not merely because it accepts facts as it finds them instead Of ,

denying them on a p ri ori grounds but also because the true

 THE HIG HER SCIENCE 3 41

scie nce Of man must necessarily recognise the inner depths of

his nature must recognise his connection with all the Planes
”
o f the Universe as a structural fact ; must find i n t h e
unseen universe the root Of his life and consciousness j ust as ,

certainly as we must find there the root O f all the Obj ective
phenomena of matter and motion .

If Primordial Substance is the root Of the latter in their

last analysis on e? object it is assuredly also the root O f the
,

former in any possible m a n i fes ta ti on If consciousness were .

not inherent in a ll Primordia l Substance it could not manifest ,

in a ny form or m ode O f i t— physical matter for example ,

unles s indeed we postulate an eternal dualis m Of spirit a n d

matter in which spirit is alive and matter is dead instead of
, ,

a universe in which these two are but aspects O f the One

N oum e n on .

But since the latter is the position we hold it is clear that

, ,

no form of Primordial Substance whether in the seen or the ,

unseen universe can be without its corresponding or correlative

,

life and consciousness Primo rdial Substance is O N E ; con

.

t i n u ou s homogeneous fil ling all space

, ,
NO portion Of this .

unity can be alive and conscious while the rest is dead and ,

unconscious for to postulate this is immediately to m ake of

it a duality instead of a unity .

Let us clearly understand also that j ust as certainly as the

,

root Of matter is not matter as we know it nor anything in ,

the remotest degree resembling our physical Plane matter : so

also the root of life and consciousness — whatever name we
may give to i t— is certainly not life and consciousness as we
know the se conditioned by physical Plane limitations but
, ,

something so utt erly transcending that which we n o w recognise

as life and consciousness as to be indescribable in any terms
,

whatsoever which we can now apply as derived from our

present normal ex p eri ences .

Even as our earth revolving conti nually su ffers the

, ,

vicissitudes Of day and night and summer and winter though

, ,

the mighty Sun by which it is energised sheds ever its radiance

upon it : so also the individual Ego revolving on the wheel ,

of birth and death su ffers eclipse Of that glorious fulness Of

,

light and life which ever radiates from the one source Of its
Being Strange perversion Of language that the darkness
.
,

and night Of eclipse we should now call l i fe while the entrance ,

into the lig ht we should name dea th

3 42 SC IENTIFIC IDEALISM
’
The hi gh er s ci ence is the science of man s inner nature and
powers the study Of the structural facts Of his connection
with all the Planes of the Universe These structural facts .

have been known in a ll ages and there have always been ,

those to whom the true n a tura l science has been that Of the
’
hidden or occult side Of man s nature rather than the mere ,

mechanism Of physical matter .

Not without knowledge did Bulwer Lytton write in Z a n on i

W h en we , 0 M ejn o u r, i n t h e fa r t i m e , were o u rs el ves t h e N eo
h t e s a n d A s p i r a n ts w e c o m m e n c ed r e s e a r ch w h er e m o d e rn
p y
co n j e c t u re cl os e s i t s f a i t h l e s s wi n g s A n d wi th u s , th os e w e r e th e
-
.

co m m on e l e m e n ts o f s ci e n c e wh i ch th e s a g es o f t o d a y d i s d a i n a s wi ld
”
chi m er a s , o r d es p a i r of a s u n fa th o m a b l e m y s teri es .

But now orthodox science itself is commencing to recognise

’
the existence and significance Of this occult region Of man s
nature and of the Cosmos Already by many scientific men .
,

whose names are household words much has been accepted ,

which until quite recently was classed as the veriest super

s t i ti o u s rubbish Man y s o-
. called s p i ri tu a li s ti c phenomena
have been verified and accredited though not be it noted , , ,

the common spiritualistic theories which have been attached

thereto .

It is quite true that a large amount of trickery and fraud

has been discovered and exposed It seems inevitable that .

such deception should always be associated with anything in

which s up ers ti tu ti on plays a large part as it undoubtedly ,

has and still does in anything supposed to be s up ern a tura l .

, ,

This is the direct result of the teachin g Of authoritative and

traditional Christianity which is based entirely upon super
,

naturalism ; which has always taught an absolute antithesis

between the natural and the spiritual which has not merely
failed to recognise that these must necessarily be inter - related
in a cosmic manner but has down to the most recent times
, , ,

and does even to d ay Offer the most stubbo rn resistance to

,

the advancement of scientific knowledge and rationalistic

thinking based thereon— as witness the Pope s recent Encyclical ’

on Modernism It is hardly to be wondered at that a com

.

munity which for centuries has b een s a tu ra te d with the idea of .

the supernatural should fall an easy prey to all and sundry

,

who are cunning enough to play upon an i nbred and inherent

superstitious fear of the unseen and unknown .
 THE HI G HER SCIENCE 3 43

Nevertheless facts are facts and a whole ocean of fraud

, ,

and deception or of misrepresentation and misconception

, ,

does not destroy the actuality or value of a fact any more ,

than that the abuse Of religion by priestcraft is an argument

against the existence in man Of a true religious instinct or
sense O f the Infinite Nature Of his being .

It is not without interest to the student of history and to ,

’
those who take the very widest possible V iew of man s evol u
tion that the facts Of his higher nature which have always
,

been known to many outside the pale of orthodoxy in science

and religion are now about to Obtain the recognition of the
,

o ffi cial representatives of the former if not Of the latter , .

’
It is Of profound significance that the great truths Of man s
high er nature are about to be taken out of the region of tradi
t i on a l and authoritative beliefs and placed on a basis Of,

’
structural facts that man s higher evolution the um ,

folding Of his mental moral and spiritual nature will be shown

, , ,

not to be dependent on any mere historical fact or facts ,

however well verified ; but that his higher nature like his ,

physical body is subj ect to natural laws and is equally part

, ,

of a great cosmic process that his well - being at a ll times ,

past present and future is not determined by the arbitrary

, , ,

enactments of any personal deity but is strictly a matter of ,

cause and e ffect and — even with his present powers — is largely
,

in his own hands ; whilst the full realisation Of his divi ne

nature will free him altogether from his present limitations
and disabi lities .

The acceptance by Offi cial science of s ome of the phenomena

which disclose the ra pp ort Of man with the higher or psychic
Pl ane marks the commencement Of the invasion of a region
,

hitherto supposed to belong exclusively to authoritative

religi on and it is curious to note this commencement of a new
phase in the historical struggle between science a n d eccles i
a s ti ci s m
, where science having completed its destructive
,

work on superstitious supernaturalism itse lf commences to ,

build upon the very ground where it has previously razed and ,

even with the materials which it formerly re j ected .

We are only at the commencement however if this n e w , ,

era of scientific Idealism and Religion Old established .

be liefs can only be changed or transmuted very slowly and ,

science itself is at present only advancing into the new region

in a hesitating a n d almost apologetic manner Another fifty .
3 44 SCIENTIFIC I DEALISM

years doubtless will see cha nges in thought both scientific and ,

religious even more radical and far -

,
reaching than those which
have marked the last half O f the nineteenth cen tury .

On every hand evidence is com i ng in that consciousness

can not merely transcend all the n ormal limitations O f time and
space but that physical laws themselves hitherto considered
, ,

to be fixed and immutable can be abrogated or subordinated ,

to unknown forces operating from some higher Plane under

the direction of conscious in telligence .

What were previously classed a s miracles are now calmly

investigated by scientific Observers It would be a curious .

result if Official science which led the van of the attack on

,

the credibility Of the New Testament miracles should in the ,

end confirm their possibility Already it has done so for .

some The possibility of the appearance Of J esus to his

.

disciples after his death (we do not say in his p hys i ca l body)
has already been a m ply demonstrated .

It is not possible here to enumerate the whole or even a ,

small p ortion O f the various phenomena upon which psychical

,

research is now working neither can we deal with th e many

results and conclusions already arrived at by many prom inent
workers For that purpose we cannot do better than refer
our readers to the epoch -
.

making work O f the late Frederic

W H Myers on Hu m a n Pers on a li ty a n d i ts S urvi va l of B odi ly
. .
,

D ea th This book largely summarises the work which has

been done during the past twenty -
.

fi ve years or so by the
Society for Psych i cal Research with which Mr Myers was so , .

intimately connected The book itself may be said to mark

.

definitely the commencement of a new era in psychological

’
science in the same manner that Darwin s Ori gi n of S p eci es
,

marks the point at which the theory Of evolut i on definit ely

“

took the place Of the Ol d catastrophic and creational theories

though many eminent men to -
- day refuse to accept the
evidence j ust as man y leaders of thought eminent biologists
, , ,

such as Cuvier and Sir Richard Owen r efused to accept the ,

evidence which Darwin Offered whilst other wr iters such as ,

’
Gladstone Carlyle and Ruskin repudiated Darwin s theories
, , ,

on quite other grounds .

Mr Myers endeavours to summarise and arrange the

.

vast mass Of materials and ascertained facts which psychical

research has brought to light S O as to form a definite and
cumulative pro of that man not merely possesses super-
,

physical
 THE HIG HER SCIENCE 3 45

fac ul ties and powers which he may exercise at the present time
under abnormal conditions but also that there is a survival
,

or p ersistence of the individual consciousness after the death

Of t h e physical body ; and that under certain circumstances

this surviving consciousness or individuality although , ,

beyond the reach of our mere physical senses can and do es ,

communicate with us telepathically .

The evidence for this fact consists principally in the

receipt Of verifiable information relating to certain matters
which could not by any possibility be known to the recipient ,

or be communicated to him or her telepathically but u n ,

consciously by some living person

Since the phenomenon of the sub -
.
,

consciousness or s ub ,

l i mi n a l consciousness has been fairly well understood through

,

the study Of hypnotism and it has been recognised that the

,

subliminal possesses an extraordinary capacity for repro

d uci n g under -abnormal conditions knowledge or information
whi ch the normal personality does not possess which it has ,

l ost or forgotten or even which it never did possess it has

,

become necessary to exercise the greatest possible care in all

cases Of S O- called spirit communications not merely to guard ,

against conscious fraud and trickery on the part of the

medi um but also against unconscious deception against
, ,

messages or information given in perfect good faith but in ,

reality existing in the subliminal consciousness Of the medium ,

or telepath i cally communicated to him or her while in the ,

abnormal state Of trance by living persons

S O-
.
,

called spirit commun ications however well attested ,

or valuable t h ey m a y be as individual experiences can have ,

no real scientific weight as evidence of the actual survival

of the individual after the death of the physical body until
, ,

th ey have not merely been attested as facts — that has been

done over and over again— but their true natur e discovered
by the thoroughly scientific method Of elimin ating all possible
sources Of error .

That this will eventually be done even if it has not already ,

been accomplished is the firm conviction O f many eminent

,

scientists at the present time .

It will readily be seen on the basis Of the principles laid

,

down in this work that we should C learly anticipate such a

, _

result
.

Our foremost principle is the universality O f Life and

3 46 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
Consciousness : their co- existence with Primordial Substance
filling all space As a coro llary to this-and also to our
.

empirical knowledge that s ome forms of Primordial Substance

exhibit or manifest i n di vi dua l forms or modes of life and
consciousness — we have the principle that a ll forms Of
Primordial Substance are instinct with life and cons ciousness
but— qu d i n di vi du a l forms — manifest these in an individual ,

i e in an apparently isolated separated and limited manner

. .
, , , .

That individual mode then Of the universal life and , ,

consciousness which we know as ours elves and which at ,

present we identify almost entirely with that aggregation of

physical Plane matter which constitutes our physical body :
might conceivably cease to exist as an individual mode when
the physical body bre aks up it might become merged
immediately into the un iversal ocean of consciousness—though
still retaining its sense Of existence or being .

But we have seen reason to believe that there must be

several Planes Of substance between the physical and the
universal upon which the individual consciousness might fall
,

back and find suitable conditions for persisting in an individual

,

manner All anal ogy indeed would teach us that there

.
, ,

can be no such sudden bridging O f the vast gulf which separates

our present limited consciousness from the universal as would ,

be implied in our merging in the universal as soon as we leave

the physical We have to take into account the vast cosmic
.

process in which man shares Man must reach the universal .

,

the divine by means Of that process which we now name

,

evol u ti on .

But we must not lose sight here of the fact that man
already exists on a ll th e higher Planes Of the cosmos right
‘

up to the Universal itself We are using merely conventional .

language when we speak of l ea vi n g the physical or Of en teri n g ,

a higher Plane We are not representing the real structural

.

facts O f our nature when we speak thus There can in reality .

be no break in consci ousness from the un i versal to the

individual any more than there can be a break in substance
,
.

We exist n ow on every Plane Of the universe ; and in falling

back upon a higher or deeper Plane man does but fall back
upon hi ms elf : for the self in man and the universal Self are
ON E and the same .

If the facts which psychical research brings to light

respecting the inner depths or contents of the subliminal
 THE HIG HER SCIENCE 3 47

self have any significance whatsoever it is precisely in this ,

respect that it discloses that all the s o- called higher Planes ,

all that unseen region inaccessible to our normal consciousness

but which is by far the largest part O f the sum -
,

total Of the
universe — and in which all ca u s es must lie— is part of the
contents of the real Self is already within the consciousness
,

of our real Self did we but know how to gain access to it

, ,

how to bring it through as it were to the normal but limited

, ,

mode Of consciousness which we conventionally call ourselves .

The real secret Of the whole matter appears to be this :

that although consciousness as being inherent in Primordial
,

Substance is continuous and u n iversal yet it identifies itself

, ,

more or less completely for the time being with individual

forms of that substance indeed the limitations of th i ng s which
,

constitutes the world of phenomena must be said to be

primarily due to this limitation Of consciousness .

This identification of consciousness with forms Of substance

is our common and empirical experience That which is .

p res en t in consciousness is simply that to which for the time

being we direct out attention whether it be external Obj ects
,

which claim our attention through our physical organs Of

sense or the subj ective consciousness Of the contents Of
,

the mind to which in a similar manner we may direct our

,

attention We may abstract ourselves in thought so as to

.

be totally oblivious to our physical surroundings and in ,

sleep or hypnotic tra nce the Oblivion becomes absolute B ut

, , .

normally in our waking state our attention is more or less

compelled to be occupied with our physical surro undings ;
consciousness is directed outwards or rather it is occupied ,

with the inn umerable vibrations conveyed to it through the

sensory organs nervous system and physical brain
, ,
.

Being compelled thus to work through the physical body ,

the conscious self appears for the time being to be a lmost

wholly identified with that body It is not merely limited .

in its powers Of observation by the limits Of the physical

organs ; it not merely sees and hears only within the limits
of the vibrations to which the physical eye and ear are
capable Of responding ; but it is largely controlled by and ,

s ub j ect to the psychic activity of the cells or l i ves of which

,

the body is built up .

Haeckel we have already seen postulates a cell m emory

, , ,

a ce ll s oul a psychic activity even in the simplest cell ; all

,
3 48 SCI ENTIFIC IDEALISM

of which is evolved and hereditary Weismann also we have

seen postulates that the protoplasm of to -
.
,

,
day must be
vastly different by reason of evolution and heredity from
the prim al protoplasm : all Of which simply means that
ex p eri en ce is stored in and handed down from cell to cell
, .

We would go further than either of th es e and postulate ,

a n a tomi c memory an a tomi c soul an a tomi c psychic activity

, , .

We wou l d postul ate that in the cons ciousness of the atom ,

could we but penetrate deep enough therein there would ,

be found a record of every experience through which that

atom has ever p a ssed every vibration to which it has ever
thrilled is p res en t and can be reproduced
,
.

One Of the facts brought to light by modern psychical

rese arch is that which comes under the general heading O f
h m Certain sensitive subj ect s can actually come ’

p y
s c o e try .

into ra p p ort with this atomic memory ; and by handling a ,

piece Of stone metal wood or fabric can describe events

, , , ,

with which these may have been associated In other words .

,

there is a soul a memory in th i ngs as well as in organisms

, , .

On the basis O f our fundamental principles how could ,

this be otherwise ? C onsciousness is O N E inherent in a ll ,

Primordial Substance and in that Substance qu a Substance ,

the knowledge and memory Of ALL exist s eternall y .

The s u bli mi n a l consciousness of atom or cell or brain Or , , ,

man is simply that wider and dee p er consciousness which

,
.

belongs to Substance qu a Substance ; whilst qu d a tom Or ,

.

an d cell or qu d brain it manifests only p a rt of its infinite

, ,

contents .

TO ign ore the inner facts Of the atom its real essential ,

nature as Primordial Substance is both unscientific and u n ,

philosophical But that inner psychic nature can never be

.

described in terms Of physics and chemistry One might as .

well seek for the i d ea of the artist by a physical and chemical

analysis Of the pigm en ts which he uses in setting forth that
idea in visible form .

What we have to note here however is simply this that , ,

the normal consciousness which we c onventionall y call our ,

selves is largely— and in the lower organisms perhaps entirely

,

—limited and conditioned not merely by the structure and

capacity Of the physical body considered only as a mechanism ,

but also by the inn er or psychic activity of the cells or

lives of which it is composed .
 THE HIG HER SCIENCE 3 49

So much is this the case and S O clearly is the normal con

,

s ci ou s n es s a matter O f physical conditio n s evolution and , ,

heredity that it is hardly to be wondered at that p h y s i olog

,

ical psychologists such as Haeckel who approach the problem

, ,

O f life and consciousness wholly from the material side from ,

the side of mechanism should declare that these are simply

,

the products of mechanism and have no existence apart ,

therefrom .

It is undoubtedly largely true even of man at his present ,

stage O f evolution — and certainly O f the lower orders of e vol u

tion— that the psychic activity is little if any more th a n the
sum -
, ,

total Of the psychic fun ctions of the cells which build up

their structure .

Our normal consciousness is largely if not wholly a bra i n , ,

con s ci ou s n es s ; it is dependent not merely upon the impres

sions which the brain receives from moment to moment

through the nervous system and sensory organs ; not merely
upon the stored contents of th e cells— that is to say upon the ,

vibrations which have been impress ed upon them by the .

exp eriences which the individual has passed from through

birth onwards— but also upon the purely physical heredity Of
the cells and organism ; the memory which is tran smitted
through or associated with the m as the result Of untold ages
,

of physical evolution .

Now it is noteworthy that those contents O f the sub

liminal self which a re mainly brought to light through hypnotic
treatment are almost entirely O f the nature of remnants or
fragments O f past experiences These experiences are not .

necess arily those which the person thus stimu lated can re
cognise as his own but are O ften of such a nature that they
,

must apparently be attributed to another and quite distinct

personality and woul d appear to include much which might
,

possibly be attributed to inherited cell memory rather than

to the personality at all— strange uprushes as it were of an , ,

evolutionary past The contents Of the subliminal se l f which

.

are brought to the surface by this means are indeed so peculiar , , ,

v a ried and puzzling that Myers has likened this part of the
personality to a vast lumber -
, ,

room .

Consider indeed what our physical body means as the

, ,

summation of the vast evolutionary past of organic evolution .

Consider that there is an actua l physical continuity through

the germ -
.
plasm going back to primordial protoplasm — and
,
350 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM

beyond Could we but read it aright every cell in our bo dy

.
,

woul d disclose the whole past every atom wo ul d tell us its

,

whole history .

Every atom vibrates with its whole past Every atom .

and cell strives to li ve in its individu a l manner according

, ,

to what we call its n a ture : which is S imply the tendency to

repeat what it has done in the past to rep rodu ce that past ;
,

simply because that is its line Of least resistance because what ,

it has done once it can do more easily a second time and what ,

it has done an in fi nite number Of times it can do automatic

ally and without attention How else should we perform
so a ll -
.
,

un consciously those functional activities which are

,

necessary for the l ife Of the body as a whole but to which it ,

is unnecessary that we S ho ul d now pay attention except in

cases of organic disease or functional derangement P
Is it indeed I who really perform those functions ; or
is it not rather that I enter into this complex Of lesser lives
and am either a subj ect and a slave thereto or else r ule in ,

this kingdom this cosmos Of my body as a wise and auto

, ,

cratic kin g rules in his own domain

The physical body represents a vast physical evolutionary
past and perhaps it will not be saying too much if we assert
that the great maj ority Of mankind at the present stage of
evolution are little more than the physical personality ; that
the higher self is almost wholly obscured limited over , ,

powered by physical Plane conditions and vibrations

, .

But j ust as certainly as the body is the product of this vast

evolutionary past O f organic life ; and the consciousness self , ,

or Ego working in or through that body is normally almost

wholly li mited and conditioned thereby : so certain also is
it that that self or Ego can rise above these conditions can ,

become the ruler of the body and can draw down

,

and manifest through the body not s u b- physical but

s up er- liminal but s up ra -
, ,

physical powers ; not s u b- liminal

consciousness can manifest not merely a sum -
,

total of the
”
psychic activities o f the cell s Of the body or bring forth
strange Obj ects from the l umber -
,

room O f the past but ,

can also bring to light the vast experience and knowledge

ga rn ered by the higher - sel f whose true habitat is not the
,

physical Plane but those higher or deepe r regions O f that

,

unity which we call the Universe and which though unseen , ,

though not at present entering into our individual conscious

 THE HIG HER SCIENCE 35 x

n ess as an Ob j ective reality are nevertheless even now reached

,

and u nderstood by the mind and are as absolutely necessary,

to explain what little we do know O f the nature Of man and the

universe as the existence of the unseen Ether is to explain
certain physical phenomena
“

The contents of the subliminal consciousness are not a ll

lumber Through psychical research we come into contact
.

with a large class of facts and phenomena which must be ex

plained quite otherwise than as being the result of a past
physical evolution as having been left behind as it were by , ,

the evolving consciousness or self and thus s u nk bel ow the ,

present normal field Of activity of that self These abnormal .

and h i gh er phenomena or states of consciousness must be

rega rded rather as indicating the road which the evolving
Eg o has more immediately in front of it as that which lies
a bove rather t han below the normal consciousness
, , .

If we apply the term s u bli mi n a l to a ll the contents of the

self which are normally beyond the reach Of our waking con
s ci ous n es S— and this is what Myers does — w e are doubtless

j ustified in postulating that that subliminal is deep as the

Infinite itself that the self in man and the Se lf Of the universe
,

are one and the same .

But it will be necessary now to distinguish C learly between

those phenomena which come from the past Of evolution and ,

those which are indications Of the future ; between those

which well up from the sub - consciousness as the result Of
p ast experiences and those which co me down from the super
,

consciousness as a foretaste Of experiences and powers not

y et realis ed Our analogy Of the surface of the ocean to which
.
,

we have referred in our last chapter having served us thus ,

fa r we may now abandon in favour of a more extended

,

conception .

We have already learnt on the basis Of what physical

,

science has to tell us that the ocean of Primordial Substance

,

is conti n u ous and that the Substance itself must therefore

, , ,

be incompressible and i nextensible In other words the .

,

apparent density Of bodies the apparent s urfa ce which a hard

,

substance p resents does not exist qu d substance but only on e?

, ,

motio n .

If we Observe the expanding circular ripple which results

when a stone is thrown into a pool of water we see that there ,

is an apparent forward wave motion Q u d object there is a

-
.
,
35 2 SCIENT I FIC IDE ALISM

difference between the advancing wave form and the un

disturbed water immediately in front of it an d su bs ta n ce we ,

know that there is no di fference Not m erely so but it is .

,

only the form which advances t h ef e is no real adva nce of

substance but only a vertical u p - and -down motion Of the
,

water at each point as may be seen by placing a cork

,

upon it .

Now let us revert to our conception of vortex - rings formed

in the ocean of Primordial Substance These rings as having .
,

moti on have for consciousness a definite form an out line Or

, ,

surface ; but qu d s u bs ta n ce they are no di fferent from the

, ,

surroundin g medium Suppose that thes e form s instead Of

.
“

being rings are spheres or globes and moreover tha t these

, ,

spheres are continuously expanding

-
.

Now let us further bear in mind our fundamental principle

that the continuous Primordial Substance filling all space
represents not merely universal S u bs ta n ce but also universal ,

C on s ci ou s n es s ; that Consciousness is as continuous as Sub

stance because inherent therein
,
.

We may now compare our individual self t o a mode O f

motion in and of Primordial Substance such as that Of the
expanding S phere Our present illusory and ever -
, ,

. shifting
threshold of consciousness —that which appears to us to
have a definite limit or surface differentiated and distinct,

from other forms and from the invisible ocean Of Primordial

,

Substance all aroun d u s — will be consciousness acting at the

surface or boundary of the sphere and though one in sub
stance o r essence with that which fills the whole universe ,

with that which I s the Universe — i t will have an d form or , ,

qu d motion not merely an apparently individual existence

, ,

but also an i n n er and an ou ter a p a s t which will appear as

the content already included in the expanding sphere and a ,

futu re which will appear as that not yet included .

The expansion represents our evolution The content Of .

the sphere represents the sub - consciousness that wh ich the ,

individual has already included by evolution in his indi vidua l

sphere All that apparently lies outside of the sphere in the
.
,

infinite ocean O f Primordial Substance represents that vast ,

future which lies in front of the individual and towards ,

which to the inclusion Of which within our individual sphere

, ,

we are ever expanding or evolving The expansion can stop .

nowhere short O f the In fi nite itself .

 THE HIG HER SCIENCE 35 3

We must not press this analogy too far however ; no ,

mere analogies can be thus pressed We should clearly .

understand that the real self— either qu d substance or qu a

consciousness — is neither inside nor outside the individual
S phere . The real Self is the Infinite and Eternal Itself the ,

changeless formless bodiless O NE

, , , .

Let us also understand that we— the no rmal consciousness

- may turn our attention either outwards or inwards that
not merely are all the vibrations O f the past of that whic h ,

lies within the individual sphere impinging upon our con ,

s ci o u s n es s — the surface or boundary Of our sphere— and

claiming our attention but also all the vibrations Of the
,

future all the vibrations which lie outside Of our indi vidual
,

limit s Our evolution or expansion will depend upon the

.

attention which we pay to that which apparently comes to us

from a bove ; upon our receptivity and will ingness to expand
towards the infinite towards that larger measure of life and
,

consciousness which we now speak of as belonging to the

higher- self ; which lies apparently beyond or even outside O f ,

our present self but which in truth is more really ourselves

,

than that which we conventionally conceive of as such .

Herein also we see that the selfish man the man who ,

regards himself as an isolated being and is wrapped up in ,

the hopes and fears Of the mere illusive form of the individual
self must for that very reason fail to accomplish any measure
,

of progress S elfi s h n es s means limitation and limitation

.
,

means evil for the individual and for the race

, .

We can form no conception as to what may be the real

nature of this great cosmic process whereby consciousness
becomes thus individualised ; nevertheless it appears to be
quite clear that consciousness when once associated with
particular forms or modes Of Primordial Substance — when once
embodied in form or fallen into matter —has considerable
,

di fficulty in escaping therefrom and indeed can only do so , ,

by means Of this same evolutionary process .

Not merely does there exist the ill usion of form and the ,

sense Of separation in the individual consc i ousness itself but ,

there is a constant tendency to act along the line of least

resistance to repeat over and over again the acts of the past
, ,

to recapitulate all kinds Of acts and experiences which by ,

reason Of their familiarity apparently give a sense of satis

,

faction Or pleasure to the individual Thus history repeats .

23
354 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM

itself and the progress of human evolution a ppears to be

,

incalculably slow How little does the individual a ccom

.

p l i s h in one incarnation and yet it is only as the individual

accomplishes that the race can progress .

What is it indeed which commonly fills up the measure Of

, ,

life and e ffort in the individual ? I s it not wholly a rea li s m

which can see no further than the mere common appearance of
t h ings and which grasps at this ill usive appearance with a
,

desire to experience happiness and pleasure therein All the

vast experience O f the past has apparently not yet taught the
great mass Of human kind that these ill usive p leasures at
which they strain have no permanent reality and inevitably
.

bring with them an equivalent measure Of pain .

Have not all great and divinely inspired te achers repeated

over and over again this great truth and endeavoured to ,

point out to man the way of escape from this restless striving ,

from the illusion which brings them back again and again into
incarnation ? Yet still it would appear that the race as a
whole is but as the prodigal son whose lesson is not yet ,

’
learnt whose face is not yet turned to his Father s home
, .

Were it otherwise had all or even the great maj ority learnt
, , ,

to cease from self- seeking th e strife and conflict Of man with

man and community with community would not exist
, ,
.

But even when the lesson h a s been learnt by the individual ,

and the man renouncing his past realises his true nature and
, , ,

strives to reach etern a l life it would ap p ear that the past must
still cling to him as ca u s e Of much which he would otherwise
wish to avoid— including rei n ca m a ti on As a man sows S O .
,

also S hall he reap and let no man think that another shall
reap that which he himself has sown Another p ers on a li ty .

may perchance reap it in another incarnation but that new

,

personality is the same Ol d individual the S ame Old Ego , .

Let us now turn our attention for a moment to so m e Of

the actual phenomena which indicate to us the higher possi
b ili t i es and p owers which lie hidden or latent in the real
inner man or Ego .

’
We have before us in Myers book a vast mass O f carefully
verified facts which S how not merely that the individual when ,

thrown back upon his own deeper consciousness o r s ubliminal

self can p roduce there from knowledge and information totally
,

lost to th e normal or brain consciousness but also that he can ,

receive true and verifi able information of c urrent occurrences

 THE H IG HER SCIENCE 3 55

not obtainable through the ordinary sensory channels ; that

he can see what the physical eye does not see and hear what ,

the physical ear does not hear that he can receive tel ep a thi c
impacts which are apparent ly a direct communication O f mind
with mind not merely between two incarnate individuals
, ,

but even from something which — eliminating all possible

sources Of error— can only be regarded as the definite individual
consciousness of a discarnate soul or spirit . .

Now it will be evident that in so far as abnormal powers or

faculties can be manifested in or through the physical organism ,

they must be largely dependent in form and quality upon the

recep tivity Of the organism considered merely as mechanism .

It does not appear that in this respect the reception O f tele

pathic impacts for example can be treated in any di fferent
, ,

manner from the reception Of audible physical vibrations by

the ear or of light vibrations by the eye If a telepathic
, .

mes s ag e or impression comes through to the p hysical brain it ,

must e ffect there some modification O f structure and there ,

must be some part O f that brain which is capable of responding

to the higher vibrations or modifications of substance on the
higher Plane— even if it be no higher than the etheric —which
mus t necessarily accompany the transmission Of thoughts ,

ideas or im p ressions from one individual to another

, , .

But in the case Of very many Of the most important

abnormal manifestations of consciousness we have to recognise ,

that although their actual occurrence or manifestation in the

organism must be mainly if not wholly dependent upon re
, ,

ce p t i vi t y and structure Of organism there is this vast di ffer ,

ence between them and the normal psychic activity O f the

individual They do not enter the consciousness by way of
.

the brain and sense organs but rather they enter the brain by
,

way of the consciousness by way Of some higher or deeper

,

’
part of man s nature and only filter through as it were into
, , ,

the brain losing in the process much of their pristine clearness

, .

Now it would p uzz le p hysiological psychologists to say

what part Of the brain it is which is capable of receiving a
telepathic impact of recei vm g that is to say an impression , ,

not com municated by means Of a sensory end - organ and its

relat ed nerve channels The orthodox scientific creed has
.

always b een th a t consciousness is dependent i n th e fi rs t i n s ta n ce

,

upon sundry impressions conveyed to the brain by way of the

sensory organs The mi n d may work up these impressions
.
 35 6 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM

into a ll sorts Of p res en ta ti on s but they must have come in t o

,

the mind in the first instance by sensory experience either

, , ,

direct on the part Of the individual or acquired in the course ,

O f physical evolution and handed on by heredity

, .

Haeckel speaks much O f p r es en ta ti on and de fi nes it as an

,

internal picture Of the external Obj ect which is given us in

sensation— a n idea in the broadest sense (Ri ddl e p
‘

, .

He attributes this power Of p res en ta ti on even to the simplest

unicellul ar forms Of life ; and indeed considers it to be a
general physiological property Of p s y ch op l a s m Psychoplasm .
,

we may note is a purely hypothetical invention of his own It

, .

is the term which he has given to that part of the protoplasm

wh i ch s eem s to be the indispensable substratum Of psychic
life i d l p Yet even s o— and we may readily
( R d e,
.

concede that even in a single cell there may be some equivalent

of the more highly developed brain and nervous system of
the higher organisms though this is beyond the reach of our
,

microscopes and is pure conj ecture— i t seems strange that

,

any man can conceive that the nature Of p r es en ta ti on itself is

explained when it is traced back to its minimum mani
fes t a ti on in physic a l matter and that when he has asserted
that the p s y ch e is merely a collective idea Of all the psychic
functions of protoplasm and the so ul merely a physiological
,

abstraction like assimilation or generation (Ri ddl e p he , .

has settled the whole question as to the nature Of thought

and consciousness The question as w e have previously
.
,

indicated is not one O f d egr ee at all and if we would know

,

the real nature of psychic activity we can do S O much better

,

by studying it in its maximum than in its minimum .

Now it is precisely by studying it thus by studying ,

abnormal and exalted forms Of psychic activity that modern ,

psychological research brings to light facts which absolutely

negate such theories as those of Haeckel and upsets al to ,

gether the orthodox psychology which regards sensory i m

pressions as the indis p ensable preliminary of all mental or
psychic activity For in some Of the highest or deepest states
.

O f consciousness into which the individual may be thrown we ,

have to recognise not merely the response Of the brain to

stimuli which do not come through the ordinary sensory
channels ; not merely what Myers calls a successful appeal
to the subliminal consciousness of the individual but also ,

something which amounts to what he calls a psychical

 THE HI G HE R SCIENCE 3 57

invasion an actual p os s es s i on of the organism for the time

,

being by a psychic something altogether alien to both the

normal and abnormal individual wi th whom we are dealing .

Following upon the Ol d theories it has been largely assumed,

by the critics as well as by the exponents Of telepathy that the

, ,

telepathic impact must come in the first instance to the brain

itself and be communicated thus from the organism to the
,

mind or consciousness But a careful study of this and ot h er

.

psychic phenomena will appear to indicate very clearly that

it is j ust the reverse which is the r eal fact of the case that
man possesses not merely psychic powers which do not normally
manifest in the brain consciousness but also a definite psychic ,

body or organism— which must necessarily consist O f matter

of a higher Plane — and that telepathic information is received
by and comes through to the brain from such higher psychic
, ,

organism instead O f vi ce vers a

, .

This is the most fundamental and radical result Obtained

by the newer experimental psychology i e that the brain , . .
,

receives impressi ons from a higher or inner region of con

s ci ou s n e s s that it is not merely a mechanism which responds
to vibrations conveyed to it through the sense organs and
channels that it is not merely cap able O f a p res en ta ti on of
Obj ective experiences of the past but that it may be used by a
higher psychic self which lies outside O f and beyond the limita
tions of the physical Plane and the physical body ; from a
self which knows and sees and hears on its own account on a
, ,

higher Plane .

That higher psychic self is independent Of the physical

brain It can see without the eye and hear without the ear
.
,
.

It may bring through and impress upon the physical brain

, ,

knowledge which has never entered the brain by any of the

sense Channels It can take cognisance of events happening
.

thousands of miles away and impress its knowledge upon the

,

normal personality in s uch a way that the individual appar ~

ently sees with the physical eye the event which is at that
moment taking place or which possibly took place previously
or even an event which has not yet taken place on the physical
Plane but which does actually occur at some future time
, .

It is not diffi cult to understand why such information ,

coming through to the normal brain consciousness S hould so ,

often appear as an actual visible or audible phenomenon as

i f in fact it were a physical reality
, , Broug ht down into the .
3 58 SCIENTIFIC IDEALIS M
brain consciousness that which t h e higher vision sees is there
,

associated with the physical organ which normally ful fils

that function ; and while in reality there is nothing visible
within the range of the physical eye it is apparently by means ,

O f that organ that the individual sees what he does .

This appears to be well illustrated in the case of crystal

gazing The pictures seen in the cry stal have of course no
.
,

real obj ective existence there They are for the most part
.

the obj ectivised contents Of the subliminal self Scenes and .

events long since forgotten by the normal personality may be

thus reproduced All sorts of Odds and ends in the lumber
.

room Of the subliminal may come to light obj ectively ,

visible once more to the normal man Whatever in fact .

, ,

comes through to the physical brain from the higher psychic

faculties Of the individual is largely or wholly represented
,

or interpreted in the conventional language of the brain and ,

thus produces not merely what is — physicall y— a n hall ucina

tion but also what is Often intellectua ll y unintel ligible or
, ,

even absurd .

Physical happenings seen clairvoyantly or telepathically

,

communicated can of course be clearly described ; for the

, , ,

brain is here dealing with familiar things But it would .

appear to be quite otherwise when an attempt is made to

describe in terms of physical Plane consciousness the conditions
and happenings of a higher Plane Here a double di fficulty .

must present itself In the first place that which is seen has
.
,

probably no physical counterpart or analogy ; and in the

second p lace it will be largely coloured or distorted by the
,

conventional ideas or brain images Of the recipient or seer .

This is especiall y the case when the subj ect is tin ged with
religious emoti on The real inner vision or ecstasy Of the
.

soul is invariably presented in the conventional langua g e or

imagery Of the religion Of which the subj ect is a devotee .

We have previously seen— indeed it is the basis Of all ,

—
Monistic philosophy that j ust as we are compelled to postu
late one ultimate unitary substance at the root of all objecti ve
ph enomena so also we are compell ed to post ul ate one Absolute
,

Unitary Consciousness at the root of a ll s u bjecti ve phenomena .

The problem which at present we cannot solve is the how or ,

why Of an appearance Of separation or individualisation in

this Unitary Consciousness or Universal Subj ect We have
, .

i t before us as an empirical fact that such apparent separation

 THE H IG HER SCIENCE 359

d oes ex i st ; it exists in our o wn individual consciousness in ,

that which we call ou rs elf and which appears to be separate

,

and distinct from other selves .

But along with this sense of separation we have the equally

stron g impression that at least we are something uni tary .

Surely that which I call my s elf is on e I cannot be other than .

myself nor can oth ers be myself— s o long as they are though t
,

of as other Those who are least familiar with metaphysical

.

problem s will be the readiest to assert this unitary nature

O f the c onventional self ; the identity of the self through
innumerable p h y s i ca l bodily changes .

Show to such a one a photograph of a wee tiny puling , ,

in fant and he will even assert that it is a photo of hi ms elf .

Take him a few stages further back in the direct line of physical
continuity to the germ -
, plasm a n d he will probably repudiate
the relationship At what stage then in the p h ysical line of
.
, ,

continuity— which stretches back to the primordial protoplasm

— did he begin to be h i m s elf or what is it which gives him
at the present time such a deep - rooted conviction that he is
himself and none other
,

Now strange to s ay the new psychology brings to light

, ,

facts which entirely negate this deep - rooted conviction ; or

perhaps we should rather say that whil e the conviction Of ,

unity must remain we find at the same time within that unity
,

an empirical fact O f diversity corresponding precisely within ,

our own s elf to the larger universal problem O f diversity in

ity
.

From the apparently simpler phenomena Of varying states

of consciousness and the reception by the normal personality
,

O f information or sensory impressions abnormally conveyed ,

as in clairvoyance or telepathy we have to pass to a large ,

class O f phenomena in which there is a veritable p s y chi c

i n va s i on O f the organism by something which can only be
described as a di fferent s eg men t Of the unitary self a segment
so different indeed that it possesses i ts own independent
, ,

stream O f memory and consciousness quite distinct from that ,

of the normal personality— or else it is an altogether distinct

and alien personality yet acting in and through the organism
,

which the individual no rmally calls hi ms elf .

In many cases which have been studied by means of

hypnotism not merely one but several such s eg m en ts have
, ,

been Observed in one and the same subj ect and any one in
3 60 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM

particular could be made to take control of the brain at th e

will of the hypnotiser Such are cases of what are known as .

double or multiple personality These cases however ma y

’

.
, ,

be said to have only a preliminary interest as establishin g the

fact that the brain may be thus invaded and controlled b y an
alien consciousness — alien that is to say to the normal s tream , ,

of memory and consciousness though perhaps not alien to the ,

subliminal self .

It is however but one step from this pheno menon of

, ,

multiple or alternating personality to that more general ly

known as possession or mediumship where the organism is , ,

entirely controlled by an altogether alien subj ect which may ,

possibly be that of a discarnate individual I n some cases .

,

indeed it would even appear that different parts of the

,

organism can be used simultane ously by two distinct entities

or subj ects the hand being used by one to produce automatic
writing whilst the voice is controll ed by another and gives
, ,

information on a subj ect totally disconnected from what the

hand is writing Cases are also known in which the normal
.

personality is controlling and using one part of the organism ,

whilst another part is c ontrolled by some alien subj ect the

hand for example producing automatic writing the nature
, , ,

of which is unknown at the time to the normal person who ,

may meanwhile be engaged in reading or conversation .

There is in fact every evidence to S how that in those

, ,

deeper regions of the personality which Myers included in the

term s u bli mi n a l there are certain s eg men ts ( a term we must
,

use for want of a better one ) which have as it were an inde , ,

pendent stream or continuity of memory and consciousness

of their own independent i e of the normal brain conscious , . .
,

ness and operating constantly and continuously— ou a higher

,

—
Plane apart altogether from the physical organism .

We find here in fact within our own personality or i n

, ,

d i vi d u a li t y w ithin the s elf— though still in an Obscure and

,

little understood manner— that great problem of diversity

in unity which lies at the root of the whole World Process .

We find in fact a h i gh er consciousness — active and potent in

, ,

its own manner and on its own Plane — upon which the normal
,

personality can fall back as really and truly upon i ts elf ; ,

while commonly it is unconscious even of its existence .

To what or in what manner shall we in truth limit our

, , ,

conception of the real nature of the human personality ,

 THE HIG HER SCIENCE 36 1

indivi duality Ego or Self ? The more we study our own

, ,

i n n er nature the more it opens out to infinity

,
The more we .

realise the significance even of that little knowledge which

,

modern experimental psychology and psychical research has

already brought to light the more profound becomes our ,

conviction that the self in man and the Se l f of the Universe

are one and the same .

Experimental psychology and psychical research groping ,

in the hidden depths of our individual consciousness is begin ,

ning to realise that those depths are as unfathomable as the

outer depths of space itself— space which is the emblem ,

percha nce the substance of the Infinite Noumenon ,

.

Psychical research is here confronted with exactly the

i
same problem as p h y s i ca l —s ci en ce in the endeavour of the
‘ '

f
,

latter to penetrate to t h e root of the obj ective phenomena

of matter and energy Physical science is now groping about
.

for a sol ution of the problem of the relation of physical matter

to the etheric Plane ; psychical research is groping for the
relation of consciousness to the p sychic activities of the
individual Operative on the same Plane— more commonly
,

called in this connection the a s tra l Plane .

It is the Plane which lies j ust beyond the reach of the

physical senses and normal consciousness but upon which ,

all our psychic activit y is immediately dependent : j ust as

all physical energy is immediately dependent upon the nature
and structure of the Ether .

No doubt experimental science will some day know as

much about the correlations of matter and energy on the
etheric Plane as it now does on the physical Plane and no
doubt also we shall one day be normally as c onscious on that
Plane as we are to - day on the physical ; for what is now
abnormal and exceptional in consciousness points the way ,

to what will presently be normal .

Then when the present mystery of the etheric Plane is

,

no longer a mystery but familiar and commonplace science

, ,

we shall be inquiring into the mystery of the next higher or

mental Plane as one which stands in exactly the same re
,

lation to the etheric as the etheric now does to the physical .

But in truth there is a much nearer road than along this ,

inductive line to a knowledge of the secrets of nature and

,

the real relation of man thereto .

For as consciousness transcends matter so does the ,

362 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM

Higher Science transcend the slow and cautious methods of

modern inductive science the mere knowledge of phenomenon
,

in and by itself .

Ages ago the Higher Science had already immeasurably

surpassed the feeble efforts of modern psychical research ;
and though we have in this chapter so largely identified
, ,

the latter with the former we have only done so as an

,

indication of the p os s i bi li ti es of a deeper knowledge.

The Higher Science is the science of life and conscious

ness itself It cannot be learnt in the laboratory for it is
.
,

not a matter of physics and chemistry or even of psychical

,
’
research It is the science of man s inner nature ; the
.

science by wh ich man knows h i m s elf and not merely

,

his phenomenal form— and kno wing himself knows the

, ,

Universe .
C H A PTE R XV I

RELI G ION
 Wh a t ca n m an
i n a r t t h a t d o es n o t a ri s e
,

fi
for th e I n n i t e ?
fi
a cco m p

fl
li s h t h a t i s w or th S p ea kin g
i n hi s own s elf fr om t h e i n
of, ei th er
i n li fe or
u en ce o f thi s s en s e

W i th o u t i t h o w ca n a n y o n e wi s h t o com p r e h en d th e
, ,
,

w or l d s ci e n ti ca ll y or i f i n s om e di s ti n c t t a l en t t h e kn owl e d g e i s t h r u s t
,

u p on hi m h ow s h o u l d h e wi s h t o e x er ci s e i t
, W h a t i s a l l s ci en ce i f n o t ,

th e e x i s te n c e o f
t hi n g s i n y o u , i n y ou r r ea s o n W h a t i s a ll a r t a n d cu l tu r e ,
i f n o t y o u r e x i s t en c e i n t h e thi n g s t o wh i ch y o u gi v e m ea s u r e , f or m , a n d
or d er ? A n d h o w ca n b o th c om e t o li fe i n y ou e x c e p t i n s o fa r a s t h er e
li v es i m m e di a t el y i n y o u t h e e t er n a l u ni ty of R e a s on a n d N a tu re th e , u ni

v er s a l exi s t en c e o f a l l fi ni t e t hi n s i n t h e I n fi n i t e
g
—S C H R
L E I E M A C HE R .
 C HA P T E R X V I

T HE HI G HE R R E L I GI ON

THE Higher Science is also the Higher Religion .

Religion is nothing if it is not a practical knowledge and

realisation of the relationship which exists between Man and
Go d b e t ween the self in man and the Universal Self ; and it
,
.

is precisely tha t relationship as a fact of consciousness with

, ,

which the Higher Science deals .

The religious instinct in man however outruns its , ,

scientific development Commencing with the very crudest

.

conceptions as to the nature of God or Deity it expresses ,

itself in primitive forms of the most materialistic and super

s t i t i o u s character and rises gradually through many stages
,

and phases of form and expression to the lofty heights of a

transcendental philosophy which realises the Unity of the
Universe and which boldly claims for man on that basis
, , ,

an essential and substantial oneness with that Divine Power

which I S the Universe .

’
At every period of the world s history we may find all
these stages and phases represented : simply because we find
man himself at all stages of evolution The loftiest conception .

’
of man s nature which claims his substantial identity with
,

the Universal Self is not the product of modern science

,

modern p hilosophy or modern religion In the oldest litera

, .

t ure in the world in the ancie n t S a nscrit Vedas and Upanishads

, ,

we have this grand and final conception of the nature of

man stated in the clearest possible language ; stated as
ex p licitly and concisely as it is possible for us to state it
to - day .

This fact is now obtaining very wide recognition among

writers and thinkers of all classes Fift y years ago very little .

indeed was known about the Sanscrit literature and the

Vedic philosophy Thanks however to the indefatigable
.
, ,

labours of a few students and scholars we now possess not ,

36 5
3 66 SCIENTIFIC IDEALIS M

merely accurate translations of most of t h e works which have

so far been discovered o r which are accessible for that purpose
, ,

but also an excell ent knowledge of the fundamental principles

o f the a n cient Aryan philosophy embodied in those works

and in the p resent -

,

day traditions and religions of the Eastern

Races .

In this connection we cannot do better than quote a few

sentences from an exceedingly interesting work by the late
Professor F Max Mii ll er entitled Th eos op h y or Ps y ch ol ogi ca l
.
, ,

Reli g i on wherein he shows this funda m ental idea Of the unity

,

of the individual soul with the Universal Soul existing as an ,

underlying stratum of pure truth in the most divergent systems

of phi losophy and religion in all ages .

Referring to the ancient Vedic system he says

“
Le t us re m em b er th a t th e V e d an t a -
p h i l os op h y re s ts on th e
fu n d a m e n t a l c o n v i c ti on of th e V e d an ti s t , t h a t t h e s ou l a n d t h e A b s ol u t e
B ei n g o r B r a h m a n , a re o n e i n t h ei r e s s e n ce (p .

I f w e a s k wh a t w as t h e h i g h e s t p u r p os e o f th e t ea ch i n g o f t h e
U pa n i s h a d s w e c a n s t a t e i t i n t h r e e wor d s , a s i t h a s b e en s t a te d b y .

t h e g r e a t e s t V e d an t a t e a c h e r s t h e m s el v e s , n a m e l y , T a t t v a m a s i .

Thi s m e a n s , Th o u a r t t h a t Th a t s t a n d s fo r wh a t I ca ll e d th e l a s t
.

res u l t o f Ph y s i ca l R e li g i o n w h i ch i s k n ow n to u s u n d er d i ff e r e n t na m es
i n d i ff er e n t sys t e m s o f a n ci e n t a n d
m o d ern p hi l os o p h y I t i s Z eus , .

or t h e E 39 e ebs , or n ) Z Iv i n G ree c e i t i s w h a t Pl a t o m ea n t b y t h e
,

E t e rn a l I d e a , w h a t A g n o s t i c s c a l l t h e U n k n o w a b l e w h a t I c a l l t h e ,

I n fi n i te i n N a t u r e T h i s i s w h a t i n I n d i a i s c a ll e d B ra h m a n a s
.
,

m a s c u l i n e o r n e u t e r ; t h e b ei n g b e h i n d a l l b e i n g s , t h e p o w e r t h a t
e mi t s t h e u n i v e r s e s u s t a i n s i t a n d d r a w s i t b a c k a g a i n t o i t s e l f
, , Th e .

T h ou i s w h a t I ca ll th e I n fi n i t e i n Man ,
th e l a s t r es u l t o f A n th r o p o
l o g i ca l R e l i gi o n , th e S o u l , t h e S el f, t h e b ei n g
b e h i n d e v e ry h u m a n
E g o , fr e e fro m a ll b o d i l y fe t t e r s , fre e fr o m p a s s i o n s fr e e fr o m a l l a t t a c h ,

m e n ts Th e e x p r e s s i o n Th o u a r t t h a t , m e a n s Th i n e A t m a n , t h y s o u l ,
t h y s e l f i s t h e B ra h m a n , o r , a s w e ca n a l s o e x p r e s s i t , t h e l a s t r es u l t , th e
,

h i g h es t ob d i s c o v e r e d b y Ph y s i c a l
j ec t e li g i o n i s R
t h e s a m e a s th e
l a s t r e s u l t , t h e h i g h es t s u b j e c t d i s c ov e r ed b y A n th r op o l o g i c a l e li g i o n
_
R
o r , i n o t h e r w o r d s , t h e s u b j e c t a n d Ob j e c t o f a ll b ei n g a n d a ll k n o w i n g

a re one and th e s a m e . Thi s i s t h e g i s t o f w h a t I c a ll P s y ch ol og i ca l

R el i g i on , or Th e os o p h y , th e h i g h e s t s u m m i t o f t h o u g h t wh i ch th e
h um an mind h as r e a ch e d , w h i ch h a s fo u n d d i ffe r e n t e x p r es s i o n s in
d i ffe r e n t r eli g i o n s p hi l o s o p h i e s , b u t n o w h e r e s u ch a C l e a r a n d
and

w r fu l r e a l i s a t i o n a s i n t h e a n c i e n t U p a n i s h a d s o f I n d i a
p o e (p .

W e m u s t r e m e m b e r a l s o th a t t h e fu n d a m en t a l p r i n ci p l e o f t h e
— ’
V e d an t a p h i l o s op h y , w a s n o t Th o u a r t H e , b u t Th o u a r t Th a t
‘

and t h a t i t w a s n o t Th o u wi l t b e , b u t Th o u a r t Th i s Th o u a r t
‘
.

e x p re s s e s s o m e th i n g th a t i s , th a t h as b ee n , a n d a lw a y s wi l l b e , n o t
s o m e th i n g th a t h a s s t i ll to b e a c hi e v e d , o r i s t o fo l l o w , fo r i n s t a n c e ,

a ft e r d e a t h (p .
 THE H IG HER RELIGION 3 67

Here then we have the evidence of one of our foremost

, ,

scholars as to the attainment in the far remote times of the

Vedas and Up a m s h a d s of a religious philosophy which may
truly be said to be the highest summit of thought which
”
the human mind has reached More than that he shows .
,

the same fundamental and profound truth permeating many

diversified s ystems which in their historical traditional or
, , ,

exoteric forms would appear to teach the direct antithesis

,

of this.

Nowhere is this antithesis more noticeable than in the

traditio n al or ecclesiastical forms of Christianity E x oteri c .

Christianity deals principall y in futures In ex oteri c Christi .

a n i t y God is eternally se p arated from man as a creator

fro m that which He has created and with which He can do ,

as He pleases In ex oteri c Christianity man is se p arated

.

’
from God by original sin and needs a vicarious atonement
,

to S a v e him from the consequences thereof In ex oteri c .

Christianity man can never even in the eternity of eternities, ,

do more than dwell in the presence of God as one might dwell

in the presence of an earthly potentate E x oteri c Christianity .

is in fact the m a teri a li s a ti on of spiritual truth whereby it is

, , ,

wholly limited conditioned and expressed in terms of the

, ,

material and temporal ; in terms of time and space and our

present sense consciousness ; I n terms of the mere external
a p p ea ra n ce of thi n gs .

It is of course I nevitable that in religion as in all else

, , , ,

there should be an ex oteri c form of a p prehension as well as ,

an inner hidden or es oteri c trut h to which only the few can

penetrate The great bulk of mankind at their present stage
.

of evolution cannot see or understand more than the pro

position that things a re what th ev seem ; and to such the
invisible world or any ideas connected with a p ossible
,

S piritual life must be represented in famili a r terms of time

,

and space and matter Thus even the doctrine of a material

.

hell may have its uses The mischief does not lie in the fact
.

that t h e Church teaches an ex oter i c form of doctrine to the

spiritual babes — that is only right and p ro p er for b oth ,

J esus a nd Paul did the same The mischief lies in the fact
that the Church h a s n oth i ng more to ofi er to those who have
.

reached or are reaching spiritual manhood Its leaders and .

teachers are n ot I n i ti a tes though they may be very saintly

,

and learned men They do not rea llv kn ow more of

.
368 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM

spiritual facts than the man of science— often very much

less .

The Christian Church in the early centuries rej ected the

es oteri c doctrine of its o wn Founder and has n o w no knowledge
,

of it whatsoever except as a h er es y consequently those who ,

require it have to look for it outside of the Church It is still .

to be found ho w ever in the original teachings if one can

, , ,

penetrate beneath the mere dead letter a nd historical narrative

All form s of religion are man -
.

made They are h ow certain .

races nations or communities represent to themselves the

, ,

relationship of the soul of man to the Infinite to that which

apparently lies outside and beyond the individual and is ,

vaguely felt even in the very lowest religious instinct to be

, ,

s om ethi n g : a Power which must be reckoned with even if ,

only in a propitiatory manner .

In all ages as to -day re ligion has existed in ex oteri c forms

, , ,

as well as in the understanding of those who have penetrated

beneath the form and appearance of things to the underlying
reality And because these ex oteri c forms are man -
. made b e ,

cause the y are the faithful expression or reflection of the general

level of human evolution in the race or community to which
they pertain S 0 also — since the general level of attainment
,

is i tself never constant but is ever rising or falling in accord

,

ance with the great cyclic laws of human progress — ex oteri c

religion is ever i n a state of flux ; and to - day the orth odox
are sad and depressed because the old forms of Christianity
are being more and more repudiated and all that they hold ,

to be essential to Christian faith and tradition appears to be

in danger of passing utterly away .

Well— let those who would be orthodox be orthodox still

it is probably the only safe way for them Yet could they .

but read the signs of the times and the lessons of history
, ,

they would see in this breaking - u p of the old forms a wonderful

S piritual awakening Those who have followed the flux

.

of Western conceptions of truth religious and scientific , ,

during the past fifty years and who carefully study the
,

trend of thought at the present time cannot fail to have ,

noted how the desire for more light more truth on the part , ,

of a very large section of the community is leading them to

the in ner es oteri c teach i ng which has always existed within
or beneath the ex oteri c accretion of creed and dogma The .

old forms or statements of truth are not being abandoned

 THE HI G HER RELIGION 36 9

for irreligion and denial of spiritual realities —though much

of that is still prevalent— but for new- old statements of truth ‘

which a re found to be more in line with our increased know

ledge and conceptions of the nature of man and his environ
ment and a deeper realisation of the dignity and power o f
,
’
man s inner nature .

It is no part of our task here to enter into the contro

versies o f to -day respecting special forms of Christian faith
or doctrine In the early centuries there existed an es oter i c
.

Christianity which the Church repudiated and rej ected The .

dark ages of superstition ignorance p ersecution and n u , , ,

speakable horrors perpetrated in the name of Christ were the

direct result of the materialisation of the pure spiritual teach
ings of Jesus of Nazareth Paul of Tarsus and other Initiates , , .

In connection however with our fundamental principle , ,

of the oneness of the self in man and the Self of the Universe ,

it may be interesting here to quote the words of the Rev

R J Campbell whose association with the s o -
.

. . called new
,

’
theo l ogy has lately been arousing so much interest and
controversy .

In a re p ort of the proceedings of the Summer School held

at Pen m a en m a wr 3 rd to oth August 1 967 we find him , ,

stating that in searching for the solution of the great problems

,

of existence and divinity he has found himself thrown back ,

upon a philosophy which is much older than Christianity

itself : ~

A t l e as t fi v e th o u s a n d y ea r s a go t h e fu n d a m e n t a l p ri n ci p l e o f
cl e a r l y a s i t c a n b e s t a t e d t o -
th i s p hi los op h y w a s e n u n ci a t e d a s day .

I t i s th a t t hi s fi n i te u n i v e rs e — fi ni te to our co n s ci o u s n e s s , fi n i te to a

fi n i te m i n d — i s on e m ea n s of th e - -
s e l f e x p res s i o n a n d s e l f r e a li s a t i o n o f

G od . To a l l e t e rni ty G od is wh a t H e i s , th e u n c h a n gi n g r e a l i ty w h i ch
u n d e r li es a l lp h e n o m e n a , b u t i t wil l t a k e H i m a l l e ter n i ty t o m a n i fe s t
”
wh a t H e i s e v e n t o H i m s e l f .

B y th e s el f o f a n y m a n I s h o u l d u n d e r s t a n d hi s t o ta l co n s ci o u s
n es s o f b e i n g I f th e r e b e a n y o th e r c o n s ci ou s n es s whi ch k n o w s m or e
.

o f t h e u ni v e rs e i n r e l a ti o n t o hi m t h a n h e d o e s h i m s el f, t h a t c o n s c i o u s

n e s s o u g h t t o b e r e g a rd e d a s hi s o wn d e e p e r s e l f b e ca u s e i t i n c l u d e s

hi s -
s e l f co n s ci ou s n e s s N o w t h e r e ca n b e n o thi n g i n t h e u ni v e rs e
th e a ll -
.

o u ts i d e o f G od i s
G od . i n cl u s i v e co n s ci o u s n es s , a n d , th ere fore ,
”
t h e S el f b e n e a th a l l s el v es .

I d o n Ot s ee h ow fro m th e s i d e o f G od th er e c a n b e a n y co n s ci o u s
n e s s o f s ep a ra t e n es s b e tw e e n D ei ty a n d h u m a n i ty , b u t fro m o u r s i d e

t h e re ce r t a i n l y S u r el y th e g oa l of h u m a n e ff or t a n d s p i r i t u a l a s p i ra
is .

ti on m e a n s g e t ti n g ri d o f th i s s e n s e o f s ep a r a te n es s , a n d thi s ca n o n l y
37 0 SCIENTI F IC I DEALI S M
b e d o n e b y th e d eli b era t e a n d c o n s i s t e n t g i vi n g of th e s el f to t h e wh ol e
”
a t e v e ry s t e p i n o u r u p w a r d p r o g r es s .

These passages are characteristic and expressive of a

general trend of thought and teaching at the present day ,

both within and without the Christian Church Atheism .

,

sce p ticism and materialism m a y be said to be prevalent only

,

a mong those wh o having recognised the inadequacy and

,

intellectual weakness of the traditional p resentations of

Christian doctrine and the anthropomorphic conception of
,

God to which the Church still clings have yet nothing else ,

to put in place of these ex oteri c representations Neverth e

less the breaking -
.

,
u p of the old forms and formulas is also

largely due not to a denial of spiritual realities but to a

, ,

deepe r perception of the same to a demand for a wider truth

,

and a clearer statement of the relation of man to the unseen

universe .

And for those who thus seek a deeper truth is ready at ,

hand It has always existed always been understood by the

.
,

few only— a man must really need it and earnestly seek i t ,

before he can find it .

If the present world is su fficient for the individual or if ,

the present forms of religion are an adequate representation

or reflection of his prese n t powers of reception of truth if
he can see things j ust precisely in th a t relation and proportion ,

and no other : then there is neither need nor advantage in

o ffering to him a deeper knowledge If you do he will pro .
,

bably turn again and rend you for endeavouring to pull down
hi s idols and S hibboleths .

Professor Max Mii ll er defines religion in its widest sense

as the Perception of the Infinite this being the one
”
element S hared in common by all religions .

This however he states is only a preliminary definition

, ,

and he is careful to S how that religion in its truest sense is

the consciousness and realisation of the essential unity between
the Human and the Divine a unity which has been severed
by the false religions of the world Thus religion is es s en ti .

ally a cti ve not passive it is not merely a p ercep ti on but also

, ,

a p a rti ci p a ti on a participation i e in the conscious activity

,
. .
,

—the creative potency— o f the One Life ever bringing I ts elf ,

into manifestation .

Now it has been our principal endeavour in this work to

show how this essential unity may be realised when approached
 THE HI G HER R ELIGION 37 1

from the purely scientific point of view from the logical ,

deductions which we must make from those fundamental

principles at which science has arrived by a study of
phenomena and the s o - called la ws of n a tu re .

Science rightly understood must inevitably strengthen

, ,

the inner intuition and conviction of a relationship between

man as a conscious being and the Infinite Being or B e- , ness
which finds expression in the phenomenal world from which
man is inseparable in his nature The fact of that relationship .

is the root of all science as we ll as of all religion We have .

the fi rm es t possible conviction that science can never obscure ,

but only disclose in ever greater degree the immeasurable

“

,
’
fulness of man s nature b e the temporary scientific ortho
m

doxy what it may .

Science m ust inevitably strengthen our inner conviction and

’
fa i th because in the first place it helps us to realise man s
, , ,

conn ection with the Infinite as an actual physical fact All .

physical phenomena in modern S cientific conceptions of

,

matter and energy are modes of motion of the infinite eternal

, , ,

and indestructible Primordial Substance and we cannot

conceive of man s body — on a n v Plane whatsoever— as being
’

other than one in substance with th e body of the I n fi n i te ‘

i f such indeed we may term Primordial Substance considered

, , ,

only as the objecti ve aspect of the One Absolute Principle .

Then comes the question what are we subj ectively in our

, ,

life and consciousness

The answer must inevitably be the same Life and Con .

s ci ou s n es s are either inherent in Prim ordial Substance they

are either the complement and correlative of phenomena : or
else they belong to a s p i ri tu a l order of things which is super
natural and has no necessary or intrinsic connection with
,
'

the phenomenal side of the co s mos .

This latter view , however as establishing a d u a li ty of S pirit

,

and matter instead of a u n i ty falls short of the highest

, ,

summit of human thought and as i t is thus outside of all

that is best in science and philosophy so also it is outside of all ,

that is best in religion it belongs to ex oteri c forms of religion ,

to the false conceptions of religion which would eternally

separate the nature Of Man and God and not to the higher or ,

es oteri c religion in which these are seen and known as on e .

When we have clearly understood that no possible com

bination or complex of dea d matter can manifest those qualities
37 2 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
which we k now in ourselves as life thought perception con , , ,

s ci ou s n es s that since an unconscious atom cannot be a wa re

of the presence of another atom that since no structure or
organism con s i dered m er ely a s a n a ggreg a te of s u ch a toms could
, ,

possibly be a wa re either of itself or of an external world—we

clearly perceive that life and consciousness must be inherent in
matter itself or rather in that which sub -
, stands matter in that
s u bs ta n ce of which matter as we know it is only a very limited
, ,

mode or manifestation .

Both obj ectively and subj ectively therefore we are mani , ,

fes ta ti on s of the inherent nature of that which s u b- s ta n ds the

whole Universe of the One Absolute N o um en on by whatever ,

name we may call i t— the Infinite the Unconscious the , ,

Unknowable Primordial Substance Brahman J ehovah or

, , , ,

God The name is nothing the pri nciple everything

.
, .

Our individual consciousness giving us a sense of separa ,

tion is apparently the result of an outgoing di fferentiating

, ,

process which is the essence or essential of phenomena In .

dividual consciousness is apparently associated as the inevitable

complement or correlative of individual phenomena .

But if evolution means anything for the individual it means ,

that this separation is only apparent not real that it is only ,

temporary not eternal

,
.

Evolution mean s essentially expansion of consciousness

and here again if we can read the phenomenal side of the
,

universe aright if all forms of matter on all possible Planes

,

must have emanated or di fferentiated from or in the Primordial

Substance and by a cyclic process must at some incalculably
,

distant date return thereto : we shall read in this external

process the S ign and symbol of the internal fact the certainty
that S ince the great cosmic process has carried the Self outwards
,

into the illusion of separateness an d phenomenal existence ,

so also it will bear it back to a full realisation of Its infinite

and eternal nature .

When the whole phenomenal universe I S redissolved in

that Primordial Unity where then wilt th ou be , , Nothing ,

which rea lly exists can ever cease to be and if thou a rt thou ,
”
art etern a lly Th ou a rt Th a t
. .

E s oteri c religion then j oins hands with monistic science

, ,

and monistic philosophy It has nothing to do with man

.

made doctrines of heaven and hell of original sin or vicarious , ,

atonement It rests upon the inherent and es sential oneness

.
 THE HIG HER RELI G ION 373

of the self in man and the Infinite Self upon the great structural ,

facts of the Universe .

It will be clearly p erceived there fore that religion in its , ,

truest deepest and widest sense means the return o r r eunion

, ,

in consciousness of the individual self with the One Self the

emergence of the individual from the illusion o f time and space
and matter into which he has fallen ; the negation of the
nescience of separate existence ; the a ffirmation of the i n
alienable and inseparable on en es s of the Infinite Self .

All that ministers to this is religion all that hinders it is

irreligion Thus the whole of that part of the great cosmic
.

process which we term evol uti on is religious in its nature All

evolution is religion for it is a re -
.

unifying It is the r etu rn

, .

half of the complete cosmic cycle which must be an involution ,

as well as an evolution a fall into matter di fferentiation , , ,

individualisation separation or illusion before it can be a

, , ,

r ed emp ti on or return therefrom But both the fa ll and the .

r ed emp ti on are part of the One Divine Nature .

All evo lution is religion because it is a re- becoming .

There are many religions but only one Religion — which i n ,

c l u d es all others as being the root the mot ive the inspiration , , ,

the impelling force of all Does a ny individual religion make .

for the realisation of u n i ty —then it is true Does any make .

for separation individualisation exclusiveness either bet ween

, , ,

man and man or between man and God —then it is false .

However much a religion may profess to bring man to God ,

if it separates man from man it is false .

Yet even here in the conception of the cos mi c nature of

,

Religi on we must recognise that true and false are only relative
,

terms In so far as the outgoing di fferentiating centrifugal

.
, ,

half of the cosmic process must be j ust as much a part of the

Divine Whole a s is the ingoing unifying or centripetal half , ,

the one is no more false than the other and this same principle ,

that the Whole is Divine we must also apply to lesser cycles , ,

an d to human experiences which seen in a limited manner , ,

seen by themselves and out of all relation and proportion to

other cycles or to the Whole we should be inclined to regard
, ,

as essentially or absolutely evil .

Evil we repeat is essentially limitation and negation ;

, ,

but limitati on and negation are j ust as essentially a mode of

expressio n of the One Life and Consciousness as are freedom
and affirmation Such at least must be the logical ded uction
.
, ,
3 74 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM

from our fundamental premises Doubtless in a higher state .

of consciousness and a f uller knowledge both our premises ,

and our conclusions will vanish .

Religion is essentiall y active not passive It is life , .

,

experience evolution expansion It i s life tem p oral evolving

, , .
,

into life eternal— not as any historical event but as a qu a li ty ,

of l ife It is life in which we only know in part evolving into

.
,

life i n which we know in full It is life limited conditioned .

, ,

fettered and fa talistic evolving into life full free u n con

, , , ,

d i t i on e d as the In fi nite Itself It is the S elf realising Its own

.

Infinite Nature .

Religi on is — o r ought to b e— the crown of science and

philosophy ; the p ra cti ca l a chievement to which these two
should minister and direct our energies Religion is —o r ought .

to b e— the most p ra cti ca l thing in our lives for what can be

more practical than the realisation of our own nature and
powers In the higher religion there i s no distinction between
the sacred and the secular for every act and motive in life
,

becomes religio u s Touched with the magic potency of a

.

will and desire wholly given up to the di vine will and purpose ,

evi l ceases to have any power whatsoever over the in di vidual .

Evil ceases in proportion as we realise our true nature not

merely because s u ch a realisation gives us more and more
power to command and rule where we were formerly enslaved ,

but also bec a use it gives us power to submit to the higher

will a n d purpose manifested in the cosmos of which we a re a
part It enables us to realise that if now we only know our
.

selves i h part such limitation is a necessity of our di vi n e

,

n a tu r e— for the hum a n is never i n rea li ty separate from the

divine
In perfect self- knowledge all s o-
.

called evi l must vanish .

Pain and su ffering result from ignorance of natural law So .

also the darkness and unrest of the mind is due to ignorance of

our true spiritual nature while gr ief ari ses when the individual
, ,

having centred his energies and desires on some particular

Obj ect or temporary form finds it slipping from his grasp or
, , ,

perhaps suddenly destroyed or removed from his ken Then

,
v
.
,

because the whole desire of life wa s cen tred on a temporary

form his very being seems to be uprooted to melt into
, ,

nothingness and grief and despair twin phantoms of the mind , ,

’
’
t a k e p os s es s mn of his soul
f
.

B ut p erfect knowledge of our own nature must b ring n ot

 THE H IG HER RELIGION 375

merely perfect control of all the forces in the universe and ,

therefore immunity from all pain or suffering but also perf ect ,

freedom from all illusions of separate form and existence ;

it must bring a perfect non - attachment to the temporary and
finite and therefore perfect immunity from all sorrow and
,

grief Man can only be inj ured through his attachments

.
,

through that which he endeavours to appropriate to him

self as a n individual separate thing .

True religion should accomplish in us the perfect non

attachment which can use a ll forms yet in nowise be bound ,

thereto by desire ; for true religion recognises the One Life

working in ALL even in the conflict which must be cease
,

lessly waged between good and evil or S pirit and matter , ,

the two opposite poles of the ON E Does our conflict now .

appear to be a conflict with oth ers —look deeper and you ,

will find it wholly resolved into a conflict with y ou rs elf When .

you have conquered yourself you will have a ccomplished your

,

evolution and conquered the universe

, .

The two primary elements of religion are sometimes rep re

sented as faith and conduct Faith is the mainspring of all .

real e ffort the incentive to all successful accomplishment

, .

There is perhaps only one thing which is its equal pos ,

s ibly its superior That one thing is Love ; but the

.

deep ground of faith is perhaps hardly to be dis

t i n g u i s h e d from the love of the soul in its perception
“

of the Infinite .

But faith is too often confoun ded with mere beli ef in

certain traditions or dogmas Faith is infinitely stronger and
.

deeper than mere belief Faith is the inner conviction and

.

witness the impelling power the s u bs ta n ce which may take

, , ,

form in an infinite variety of doctrinal beliefs Beli ef is only .

an accident of faith the more or less adventitious assent to

some transient mode of religious expression Faith makes a .

man religious ; belief only makes him a religionist Pro .

bably most good Christians would have made equally good

Buddhists had they been born in a Buddhist community .

Forms of religion are only tem p orary pegs on which men hang
their religious instincts — Often in order to save themselves
the trouble of wearing them .

Beliefs change and die but faith grows ever stronger and
,

more assured with every advance that a man makes in his

evolution , Be liefs belong to t h e h ori z ontal li ne of p rogress
37 6 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
faith is the vertical line of direct con n ection with the Eternal
I AM .

But faith ever springing up in new forms of belief as man

,

evolves and knowledge increases is too apt to outrun reas on , ,

and to assume strange forms of superstition and supernatural

ism Faith needs to be balanced by science and philosophy
.

true religion can never be divorced from these .

So strong is the religious instinct in man however so , ,

insistent the inner compulsion that reli g ion cannot wait for,

the S low i nductive methods of science and philosophy but ,

must needs press forward into the unknown and unseen with
straining eyes and ears keenly alert for any voice which may
,

seem to S peak with authority from out the vast S ilence of the
’
other world .

Moreover religion embodies a quality not necessarily

,

associated with the mere inte ll ectual apprehension of truth

the quality of emotion and emotion is apt to play the mis
chief with logic and reason Thus in religion more than in.
,

anything else man is prone to abandon reason to listen to

, ,

the voice of authority and to become an easy prey to fraud

, ,

deception and priestcraft A fea r of the unseen rules in the

,
.

heart of the ign orant man and the un scrupulous have never
,

failed to trade upon it .

All individual forms of religion however must necessarily , ,

contain some element of abiding truth ; and j ust as meces ,

s a ril y a finite element which is only true within certain

,

limitations Accept the limitations and you may be per

.
,
~

fe ctly logical and sane w ithin your own particular form ,

though outside of those limitations your religion is f a lse .

Every religion is true to its own devotees because it represents ,

th ei r own particular limitations or stage of evolution To .

other religionists whose limitations are di fferent your religion ,

is false .

To grasp the real s u bs ta n ce of religion we must decline to

limit ourselves to any particular form doctrine or dogma ; , ,

though we may employ these— even such as appear in their

ex oter i c form to be absolutely contradictory— when once we

have discerned the nature of their limitations and can thus ,

use them for what they are worth without being bound by them .

Nothing which is limited can be true in any final or com

p l e t e sense ; it can o n ly be r el a ti vely true Any religion .
,

therefore which only takes account of s ome of the factors of

,
 THE H I G HER RELIGION 77
’
human experience or which would in any way limit man s
nature and powers must be rej ected by the real truth -
,

seeker
-
, .

Thou art That and Th a t has no limits .

The beginning of religion is the dawn ing consciousness of a

relationship between the individual self and the Infinite Sel f .

The end of religion is the complete realisation i n con s ci ou s

n es s that this is not a mere relationship but an identity , .

Between these two poles of religious experience there must

’
be varieties of expression as innumerable as man s individual
consciousness If we could mark o ff the gradual process
.

of evolution in the individual into well - d e fi n e d stages we ,

should find an appropriate form of religion corresponding to

each stage .

Of a truth there are many sciences but only one Science ,

many philosophies but only one Philosophy many religions

, ,

but only one Religion And finally there is neither Science

.
,

Philosophy nor Religion but only One Truth which includes

, ,

them all .

Nothing which is limited or conditioned can satisfy our

final sense of proportion can satisfy our final consciousness
of our own nature We cannot even limit ourselves to time
.

and space ; we must get beyond these to a truth which is ,

timeless and spaceless Historical events do not d etermi n e

.

our nature or destiny they are only the fulfilment or mode

thereof The nature and destiny of man was fixed before
.

ever the worlds took form or shape .

The final truth is a unifying not a di fferentiating or dis ,

criminating one All phenomena al l states of consciousness

.
, ,

are true as part of the great Whole not merely a few which ,

individual forms of religion may choose to select To re .

cognise the limitations of the limited and the fin a lity of the ,

fi nite is the beginning of truth

,
To know the Self living .

and moving in AL L is the sum of all knowledge and the end of

, ,

a ll evolution .

Philoso p hy and religio n have proclaimed this final Truth

in no uncertain voice in all ages but the message has for the ,

most part fallen upon deaf ears ; for the complete under
standing and realisation of it involves many things on the
part of the finite person a lity which that self-willed entity with ,

its load of conventional ideas and inherited physical tendencies ,

is by no means inclined to accept at its present stage of

evolution .
 37 8 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM

The practical realisation of our divine nature would make

of u s — gods And many such indeed there are who — having
.
, , ,

passed through all the human stages even as we are now ,

passing— are beyond the ken of mortal eyes but who ,

nevertheless reach down strong hands for the helping and

saving of humanity And now and again as the evolution
.
,

of the race may demand it one such may incarnate in the ,

flesh and body forth even in human form the divine attributes
,

and powers of the perfect man so that men marvel and say , ,

truly this was the Son of God .

And even such must each and all become in that unfolding
which we term the evolution of Man for the perfect Man is
contained in the seed from the beginning and Man ,

( H umanity ) must reach the fu l l measure of his stature as ,

certainly as the plant or t h e tree or the individual evolves

, ,

from the parent germ .

But the Self in man the living conscious active principle ,

which m oves in all can never be separated from can never be

. ,

other than ON E with T HAT .

To realise this inte llectually is the crown of philosophy ;

to realise it practicall y so a s to be able to a ct in the power of
,

that knowledge is the goal of Religion If we can but grasp

,
.

this fundamental Truth with our whole bei n g so that it ,

becomes wi thin us a l i vi n g truth we shall find that we have ,

in our hands the master key which will unlock for us one by
one the doors which lead to the inmost sanctuary of the Temple
”
of Truth which Temple ye are .

To realise our own d ivine nature is to establish within

ourselves a centre of stability from which nothing can remove
us That centre of stability must li e in somethin g which is
.

p er m a n en t,
in something untouched by time una ffected by ,

phenomena even though the actor and doer therein The

,
.

secret lies in non - attachment The actor and the doer is the .

One Self but that Self must remain ever immutable and
,

unchangeable the witness and the spectator as well as the

, ,

actor and doer So also we if we would rise above the vi ci s s i

.
,

tudes of phenomenal life must learn to establish ourselves in ,

that higher centre of consciousness in which we become the

unattached witness and spectator of our o wn acts as well as ,

the actor and doer That centre cannot be found in the

.

personal self which is merely a thing of name and form a

, ,

phe nomenal phantasm Only in a realisation of our i dentity

.
 THE H IG HER RELIGION 3 79

wi th the One Self which lives and moves in all can we rightly ,

establish that immovable centre of stability Then of us it may .

be written as of others who have accomplished before u s

,

fl
Hi m t h e t h r e e worl d s i n r ui n s h oul d not Sh a ke
”
All li fe i s li v e d for hi m , a ll d e a th s a re d ea d .

Even a sma ll measure of understanding of this funda

mental truth wil l place u s at a stand p oint from which we can
view with perfect equanimity the inevitable u x and change of
a ll for ms even those which were once perhaps to us the e m b o d i
,

ment of all that we held most sacred and which still remain ,

so for a large maj ority of our fell ow-

men We S hall be removed .

far above the strife and controversy of creeds and dogmas ;

above the noise and fu me of those who mistaking the form ,

for the substance cry lo here or 10 there We sha ll learn

, , , , .

gradually to dwell in thought and consciousness in the Infinite

and Eternal not in the temporary and finite and o p ening up
, ,

thus our mind and consciousness to the true nature of our

real Self of our inner divine power and potency that divine
, ,

nature will be brought to birth or manifestation within us ;

it will well up so that we S hall drink of the living water of
,

life drinking which a man shall thirst no more

,
.

Creeds religions races nations— a y worlds and systems

, , , , , ,

and universes — c hange and pass away ; but the Self is not
”
this ,
not that The Self as Ca us e of a ll these is changeless
.
, .

and eternal and— Thou art That

, .
C H A P TE R XVI I

AND THE LOWER SELF

t a ken
,
Th e La w

up

,
of

i s th i s ,
C o n ti n u i ty fur n i s h es an a

t h a t i f N a t u r e b e a h a r m on y ,

p h y s i ca l m e n t a l m or a l ,
, a n d s p ir i tu a l — fa ll s
fl
a r g u m en t
for th e p os i ti o n
p ri ori
w e a r e a tt e m p ti n g t o e s t a b li s h o f t h e m o s t c on v i n ci n g ki n d — o i s u ch a
ki n d i n d e e d a s t o s e e m t o ou r m i n d
,
nal fi
B ri e y i n di ca t e d t h e g r ou n d
.

Ma n i n a ll
,

hi s r e l a ti on s

t o b e i n cl u d e d wi th i n i t s ci r cl e .

_
HE N RY R
D U M M O N D , N a tu r a l L a w i n th e S p i r i tu a l W or l d .
 CH A P T E R XVI I

THE HI G HE R A N D THE L OW E R S E L F

W E have now climbed by way of modern concepts of matte r

and energy to a lofty Idealism which is found to be in harmony
with all that is best in what the world has ever known in
Philosophy and Re l igion as well as in Science , .

This Idealism may possibly claim our attention and our

assent in the first place merely as a likely theory or working
, ,

hypoth esis — as an intellectual statement which satisfies our

logical faculty but without appealing very strongly to our
,

deeper emotional nature Later on however it may become

.
, ,

a profound conviction of Truth which must influence every

thought and action of our lives giving to the heart as well as ,

to the mind the fullest satisfaction and freedom opening up

, ,

as it does an unlimited prospect of an infinite fulness of life

,

and consciousness which we may immediatel y commence to

,

realise in thought and action .

For this Idealism if steadily pursued must assuredly pass

, ,

to a true rea li s a ti on it must pass from the region of theory to

that of knowledge a true knowledge of the Self and its powers
, .

From the region of emotion also it may pass to a h igher and

deeper satisfaction for which perhaps we have no adequate
, , ,

word in the English language .

We have commenced our intelle ctual apprehension of

this Idealism with a C lear understanding of the two funda
mental scientific concepts of the indestructibility of
matter (or substance ) and the conservation of energy (or
,

motion ) .

We have found that these two concepts inevitably lead

us to the further concept of an Absolute Primordial Substance ,

which must be the thing in itsel f of all things the Root of all , ,

phenomena which must possess as its inherent and i n a li en

able qualities or attributes all that can possibly account for ,

or be conceived of as ca u s e of the phenomenal universe even if

,

383
3 84 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM

that un iverse be conceived of in the first place merely as a

mech a n i s m .

But we fin d that there is in the un iverse besides the mere ,

apparent mechanism of obj ective phenomena a s u bjecti ve ,

s omethi n g which we term con s ci ou s n es s ; and we find it i m

possible to conceive that consciousness p er s e can be the result

or product of mere mech a nism can be the e ffect of any com
,

bination however complex of any s u bs ta n ce in which con

, ,

s ci o u s n es s is not as primarily and eternally i nherent as motion

itself .

We fin d that even Haeckel— most materialistic of modern

scientists — is compelled to admit this and that in order to ,

get out of the difficul ty of reconc i ling it with his mechanical

theory of the u niverse he is forced back upon the post ul ate
,

that the two fun damental forms of substance ponderable ,

matter and ether are not dead and only moved by extri nsic
, ,
”
forc e but they are endowed with sensatio nand wi l l
, .

’
An examination of Haeckel s position however has sho wn , ,

us that he never real ly reaches a fundamental Monism that

h i s system at best is only a d istor t ed form of Duali sm or a
, ,

Materiali sm masquerading in a fancy dress to which it has no

righ t .

We have further foun d that S ince life and consciousness

actually exist in the universe and are as much subj ect of
em p irical kn owledge on our pa r t as are matter and motion
,

possibly even more s o— we have two alternative theories to

fall back upon as to their ultimate connection with obj ective
phenomena .

We may post ul ate that life and consciousness are inherent

in Primordial Substance that the eternal and indestructible
m oti on which we are compelled to attribute to that Substance ,

is on the one side con s ci ou s n es s or s u bject and on the other side

,

p h en o m en on or obj ect or as an alternative

,
we may postu l ate ,

that life and consciousness are tra n s cen d en ta l in their nature

that they exist p er s e and have no necessary or essential
,

connection with p henomena— consciousness and phenomenon

not bei ng complementary or correlative but e x isting as ,

independent entities .

This latter position ho w ever we have seen to be duali stic

, , ,

not monistic and though the un iverse to be sensible at a ll ,

in any conceivable manner must necessarily al ways exhibit

,

a duali sm of subj ect a n d obj ect consciousness and phenomenon

, ,
 THE HI G HER AND THE LOWER SELF 3 85

or spirit and matter yet we find that the mind is not satisfied
to rest in any form of dualism as a fi n a l statement but must ,

needs reduce it to a Monism .

We are therefore compelled to accept the first of these

, ,

two alternative co n cepts and to postul ate that consciousness

,

must be a quality or attribute of Primordial Substance or ,

of that ultimate Pri n ci p l e by whatever name we may call

I T which s u b-
,

, s ta n d s the Universe in its totality .

i But consciousness thus inherent in Primordial Substance

, ,

must like motion be a bs ol ute We cannot attribute any

, , .

partial or relative quality to that which we have alre a dy

defined as an absolute Principle Further than that we .
,

cannot attribute to any p a rt of that which is essentially a

Unit or Monad a quality which is not inhere nt in the whole .

Motion or consciousness must be inherent in a ll Primordial

Substance and therefore in all form s of that Substance whatso
,

ever This is the inevitable deduction from the empirical

.

fact that we know these to be inherent in some forms namely , ,

in our own physical bodies We may attribute di fferent .

forms or modes of motion or consciousness to Primordial

Substance and those forms may and do appear as if they
,

were p a rts ; indeed it is only this variety or contrast which

make s life and consciousness understandable at all We .

might even postulate that an Infinite Absolute requires as

its necessary complement or correlative an infinite relative ,

an infinite particular an infinite phenomenal

,
.

Science has no difficulty in understanding that there is

no such thing as absolute rest ; that where we apparently
see no motion we are only dealing with an appearance rela ti ve
to our present senses that a body apparently at rest is so
only relatively to some other body and not absolutely so ; ,

and that in the invisible regions of the ether the actual motion
or activity is immeasurably greater than in the visible region
of physical matter Absolute rest is in fact only to be found
.
, ,

in absolute motion .

But science has not yet arrived at the same deduction as

regards consciousness We find consciousness inherent in
.

s o-called orga n i c forms but in inorganic matter and in the

, ,

invisible regions of space filled with Pri mordial Substance

,

i n many other modes and forms we lose touch and recogn ition
.
,

of it .

Yet the postulate that consciousness must be inherent in

25
3 84 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM

that universe be conceived of in the first place merely as a

mech a n i s m .

But we find that there is in the universe besides the mere ,

apparent mechanism of obj ective phenomena a s u bjecti ve ,

s omethi n g which we term con s ci ou s n es s ; and we find it i m

possible to conceive that consciousness p er s e can be the result

or product of mere mechanism can be the e ffect of any com ,

bination however compl ex of any s u bs ta n ce in which con

, ,

s ci o u s n es s is not as primarily and eternally i nherent as motion

itself .

We find that even Haeckel —most materialistic of modern

scientists — is compelled to admit this and that in order to ,

get out of the di fficulty of reconciling it with his mechanical

theory of the universe he is forced back upon the postulate
,

that the two fundamental forms of substance ponderable ,

matter and ether are not dead and only moved by extrinsic
, ,
”
force but they are endowed with sensation and will
,
.

’
An examination of Haeckel s position however has S hown , ,

us that he never really reaches a fundamental Monism that

his system at best is only a distorted form of Dualism or a
, ,

Materialism masquerading in a fancy dress to which it has no

righ t .

We have further found that since life and consciousness

actually exist in the universe and are as much subj ect of ,

empirical knowledge on our part as are matter and motion

possibly even more s o— we have two alternative theories to
fall back upon as to their ultimate connection with obj ective
phenomena .

We may postulate that life and consciousness are inherent

in Primordial Substance that the eternal and indestructible
moti on which we are compelled to attribute to that Substance ,

is on the one side con s ci ou s n es s or s u bject and on the other S ide

,

p h en o m en on or obj ect or as an alternative

,
we may postulate ,

that life and cons ci ousness are tra n s cen d en ta l in their nature
that they exist p er s e and have no necessary or essential
,

connection with p h en om en a con s ci ous n es s and phenomenon

fi

not being complementary or correlative but existing as ,

independent entities .

This latter position however we have seen to be duali stic

, , ,

not monistic and though the universe to be sensible at all ,

in any conceivable manner must necessarily always exhibit

,

a dualism of subj ect a n d obj ect consciousness and phenomenon

, ,
 THE HIG HER AND THE LOWER SEL F 3 85

or spirit and matter yet we find that the mind is not satisfied
to r est in any form of dualism as a fi n a l statement but must ,

needs reduce it to a Monism .

We are therefore compelled to accept the first of these

, ,

two al ternative concepts and to postul ate that consciousness

,

must be a quality or attribute of Primordial Substance or ,

of that ultimate Pri n ci p le by whatever name we may call

I T which s u b-
,

, s ta n d s the Universe in its totality .

i But consciousness thus inhere nt in Primordial Substance

.

, ,

must like mo tion be a bs olute We cannot attribute any

, , .

parti al or relative quality to that which we have alre a dy

“

defined as an absolute Principle Further than that we .

,

cannot attribute to any p a rt of that which is essentially a

Unit or Monad a quality which is not inherent in the whole .

Motion or c onsciousness must be inherent in a ll Primordial

Substan ce and therefore i n all forms of that Substance whatso
,

ever This is the inevitable deduction from the empirical

.

fact that we know these to be inherent in some forms namely , ,

in our own physical bodies We may attribute different .

forms or modes of motion or consciousness to Primordial

Substance a nd those forms may and do appear as if they
,

were p a rts ; indeed it is only this variety or contrast which

fl
makes life and consciousness understandable at all We .

might even postulate that an Infinite Absolute requires as

its necessary complement or correlative an infinite relative ,

an infinite particular an infinite phenomenal

,
.

Science has no d i i cu l ty in understanding t hat there is

no such thing as absolute rest ; that where we apparently
see no motion we are only dealing with an appearance r ela ti ve
to our present senses that a b ody apparently at rest is so
only relatively to some other body and not absolutely so ; ,

and that in the invisible regions of the ether the actua l motion
or activity is immeasurably greater than in the visible region
of physical matter Absolute rest is in fact only to be found
.
, ,

in absolute motion .

But science has not yet arrived at the same deduction as

regards consciousness We find consciousness inherent in
s o-
.

called org a n i c forms but in inorganic matter and in the

, ,

invisible regions of S p ace filled with Primordial Substance

'
,

i n m a n y other modes and forms we lose touch and reco g nition ,

of it .

Yet the postulate that consciousness must be inherent in

25
38 6 SCIE NTIFI C IDEALISM

a ll forms of Primordial Substance rests upon the s a me b a s i S ,

'

as that of motion If consciousness can manifest in some

.

forms or modes of that Substance it must be present in all ,

fo rms whether we recognise i t or whethe r we do not simp ly

, ,

because Primordial Substance is by hypothesis ON E The .

alternat ive is that what we now call con s ci ou s n es s -i e sub

,
. .
,

as distinguished fro m obj ect — is itse l f only a mode aspe ct

j e c t , ,

or attribute of a higher s ometh i n g— of B ei n g— which if it could ,

be known i n i ts elf would certainly n ot be anyth i ng such as

,

we now know as consciousness j ust as Primordial Substance ,

considered as the R oot of Matter is certainly n ot anything ,

rese mbling ma t ter as we know it .

Primordial Substance c onsidered merely as a homo geneous

,

something fillin g all space might conceivably be I n a state of

,

absolute rest in the sense of having n o moti on anywhere .

But in that case i f motion Were commen ced in a ny part or

,

portion of it it would be because that part Wa s s omewh a t

,

d i fi er en t from the other portions where motion did not

originate To post ul ate this however is immediately to
.
, ,

stultify our primary definition of Primordial Substance as

being one a nd homogeneous Whatever qu a lity therefore .
, ,

is inherent in a part must be inherent in the whole .

We must bear in mind however in this connection that, , ,

j ust as certainly as Prim ordial Substance is n ot matter or ,

anything material or substantial in any sense in which we

can at present understand these terms : so also motion
p er s e is certain ly n ot the mere movement of material particles
or masses So also consciousness p er s e must certainly not
.

be anything resembling that limited and conditioned cognition

of an ex t em a l obj ective world which is all that we at present
know as such in ourselves and assume in others , .

The fundamental quality characteristic or attri b ute of , ,

what we now call m a tter is m a ss or inertia But we derive

, .

our idea of mass simply through the s en s a ti on of resistance

or limitation What then is it which senses this limitation
.
, ,

It is something which is essentially n ot matter but the opposite ,

of matter It is in fact what we ca l l consciousness and our

.
, , ,

final definition of ma tter must be S impl y th a t wh i ch i s opp os ed

or objecti ve to con s ci ou s n es s ; indeed in that light matte r , ,

may be said to be simply a mode of co n sciousness Conscious .

ness and matter can never be said to be in dependent of each

o ther in any final analysis the one must be the necessary “
 THE HIG HER AND THE LOWER SELF 3 87

complement or correlative of the other the two constituting ,

the Opposite poles or modes of a Unity which in itself is neither .

We cannot find the R ea li ty in either one of these considered

separately ; in any pair of Opposites or correlatives the one
m ust stand or vanish with the other The extremes of .

Ideal ism and Realism must n ecessarily meet in any true

Monism both resolved in the ON E incogn isable S u bs ta n ce
, .

There must be in the Universe innumerable forms or

modes of motio n not merely utterly unkno wn to us but also ,

utterly inconceivable to our present limited mind and con

s ci ou s n es s
. There must also be innum erable forms or modes
of consciousness or B ei n g utterly beyond our present powers of
,

conception or imagination Th ere must be cos mi c forms of con

.

sciousness Divine Beings Gods Creators whose visi b le body

, , ,

or manifestation to our mere physical faculties is indeed seen , ,

in mighty flaming Suns and Worlds and Systems and

, , ,

Uni verses ; but whose invisible Life a n d Being is infinitely

more C J en that which is the ful n es s of space itself the Might
, ,

of that which en s oul s the visible universe and without which ,

no single atom of mat ter could be formed or could possess ,

even mechanical motion .

The obj ective world of matter or phenomenon cannot

’
possibly be a thing p er s e a thing in itself We may re
, .

dissolve it back through all the Planes to the One Root

Substance but even there — nay precisely there we must
, , ,

relate it to consciousness or to that which is the R oot of

,

conscious ness .

Neither can that sub j ective something which we call

’
consciousness be a thing p er s e a thing in itself
, It is the .

correlative or complement of the obj ective Consciousness .

and matter (obj ect ) are the two primary aspects or modes
of Being or B e- ness ; of the only thing which can possibly be
e—
said to exist p er s the One Absolute N o u m en on .

’
This One Absolute i s the thing in itself of all things
‘
.

When the thing is seen in a ll its relations and propor tions it ,

becomes T HAT It is not the old ontological concept of the

.

thing stripped bare of all qualities b u t r a ther the thin g with

,

all qualities raised to the in fi nite power Conceived of thus .

,

it can only be e xpressed by a paradox The thing in a ll i ts .

relations and proportions has ceased to be a thi ng at all the

Absolute is no thi ng (not n oth i ng)
The Absolute is the Self - i n-
.

Itself of all selves ; it is the

388 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
Self free from all limitations ; the Self which knows Itself in
a ll I t s relations and proportions and which has therefore
, , ,

ceased to be an individual or personal self .

The One Absolute Self is neither subj ect nor ob j ect neither
, ,

spirit nor matter It is the One Reality the permanent

.
, ,

abiding etern al Root of ALL

, .

When we have thus obtained a clear intellectual a p p re

h en s i on of the nature of the problem of the R i ddl e of th e
Un i vers e of the logical necessity of the terms in which we
,

are at present obliged to state it and of the reservations which

,

we must make because of our present limited consciousness :

we should be able to feel that I n S pite of these limitations we
have a solid grip of a fundamental Truth which cannot fail
us however much forms or modes of expression may change
,

a Truth which must grow ever clearer and brighter with every
fresh accession of knowledge and with the natural evolu
,

tion of our own powers and faculties .

But this Truth should be something more to us t h a n a

mere intellectual satisfaction It should ta ke possession of
.

our nature as a livi ng power influencing every thought and

,

action We must begin to rea li s e our oneness with th e In

.

finite Self to consciously act in the power of our divine nature

, .

That divine nature must become within u S a l i vi n g truth

it must re-
,

create and regenerate the lower nature the person ,

ality— a y even the physical body itself

,
.

We must ourselves become the expression of the great

truth —Thou art That .

In a clear apprehension that we are on e wi th the In fin ite

Power which I S the Un i ve rs e we must find th erefore n ot merely
, , ,

an intellectual satisfaction but must find as the next res ul t an

, , ,

immeasurable stimulus and power to lift us to lofty regions of

thought and action We must find an incentive and a motive
.

enablin g us not merely to press forward to the full est realisation

of divi ne powers hitherto latent and unsuspected within u S not ’

merely to claim our birthright to the divin est powers of the

Universe to claim as our ultimate and legitimate right th e
,

freedom of th e Un i vers e but also that ready submission of the

personal to the divine wil l— because that will has now become
our own will — which enables a man to su ffer and endure all ‘

as well as to achieve all knowing that all even seeming evi l , ,

is of the divi ne will a n d purpose .

Before this great truth i s realis ed the lower pers onal nature
,
 THE HIG HER AND THE LOWER SELF 38 9

appears to be in opposition to the divine perchance it even

’
appears to be something in need of salvation Yet the lower .

personal self is not a thing p er s e it is only an aspect a mode , ,

a portion of the life and activity of a larger divine nature ,

which we term the Higher Self The lower self or personality .

is only a temporary phenomenon Its separate selfness is an .

illusion its only real selfness lies in the One Self What is it .
,

then in the personality which needs salvation

, Are we
going to save a phenomenon one moreover which exists as , ,

a mode or manifestation of the One Divine Life Have we

not indeed read that he who would save his life must first los e
it ( the lower personal self)
The relation of the lower personal nature — which we now
con ventionally call ourselves —to our higher divine or spiritual
nature considered as an i n di vi du a l self is in fact precisely that , , ,

which in the universal pertains to the relation which exists

bet ween the phenomenal and the noumenal The personal .
,

limited and conditioned is merely a phenomenal aspect of

, ,

the impersonal Higher S elf Man ( Humanity ) as we know him

.

historically— even if we stretch his history to millions of years

—is only a passing phase of a Divine Idea which as such , , ,

must be complete and perfect having neither past nor future , ,

but only an eternal NOW Man as we know him 18 only a

.
, ,

fragment MA N as God knows him in all his relations and

, ,

proportions must be a complete Whole Man as we know him

,
.
, ,

appears as something far distant from God ; MAN as God ,

knows him is Hi s own image and likeness In MAN God real

,
.
,

i s es Himself and because this is so it is only in God that

, ,

Man can realise himself .

An Infinite Absolute requires as Its correlative or comple

ment an I nfinite Relative discrete or phenomenal Without
, , .

such I T is unthinkable and unknowable ; and there b y it is

a lready postulated that the great Cosmic Process is that
whereby the Infinite Self knows and realises Itself in an infinite
variety of ways .

’
The real Self needs no s a lvation for it eternally I s The , .

’
lower self cannot be saved for it is an illusion of time and
,

sense We might as wel l talk of savi ng our reflection in the

.

mirror as of saving the lower personal self We repeat again .

what all great teachers have said—though perchance it is a

,

—
mystic saying which only a few have understood that the true
Self can only be found in proportion as the personal self is l os t .
39 0 SCIENTIFIC ID EALISM

A clear understanding of the principle that the above and

the below the di vine and the human are complementary and
, ,

correlative that even as the whole phenomenal universe must

be necessary to the One Self so the lower or personal self must ,

be necessary to the higher or divine Self will enable us to place

ourselves at that standpoint from which the hum an— even
wi th a ll its S O- called evil— is no longer seen as antagonistic to
the Divi ne .

Ev erything even God Himself must be known by its

, ,

opposite The opposite of the Absolute is the limited or

.

conditioned The opposite of God is the Devil or Satan

.
, .

Demon est Deus inversus Satan is the a lter E g o of God .

’
He is the adversary the cosmic di fferentiating individual
, ,

ising centrifugal force personified

,
.

Let us now however return to the lower standpoint to

, , ,

that of the personal self and endeavour to understand wherein

,

lies the appa rent conflict between the higher and t h e lower ’

between good and evil between the pe rsonal wil l and the
divine will which is such an ever -
,

, present and ins istent factor

in our daily thoughts a d actions n .

The lower personal or animal nature— the physical body

and the animal - psychic nature — is the product of the phe
n om en al aspect of the O N E it has evolved out of t h e lowest
fo rm s of life and even from apparently inanimate m a tter itself
, .

It possesses no will of its own to rise or achieve but only a blind ,

i n s ti n ct to perpetuate or intensify previous experiences It .

is wholly the sport of what we ca ll ci rcu ms ta n ces the product ,

of cosmic solar and mundane act ivities of which it is wholly

, ,

ignorant a n d with which therefore it does not consciously

c o-
, , ,

operate It acts wholly for itself for the preservation of i ts

.
,

in dividual life and interests The law of this lower life as .

exemplified in all organisms be l ow the human and in the ,

human itself up to a certain point of evolution is individualis m , ,

struggle for existence and survival of the fittest

,
.

The mere physical man has his own special evolutionary

line of ascent and heredity ; and as we have already s e en
he must in his development from the embryonic g erm -
, ,

,
cell ,

pa s s rapidly through all the previous evolutionary stages of

the Race as a whol e .

All that incalcul able past of the Race is built in to and

represented in his body and alo ng with it a vast p s y chi c life
a cell me mory or cell consciousness -
, ,

’
,
to u s e H aeckel s
 THE H IG HER AND THE LOWER SELF 39 1

own terms — and even an atomic consciousness in every ,

atom and cell of h i s body .

All this vast past claims the individual as its own and ,

repeats itself automaticall y— u n les s g overn ed by s ome h i gh er

di r ecti ve p ower .

Now man d oes possess this higher directive power ; he

rises above the mere animal j ust in proportion as he exercises
it He is higher than the animal not merely in what he can
.

accomplish in the utilisation and control of natural forces ,

but also and above all in the control of his own lower or
, ,

purely animal nature and in the subordination of his individual

,

interests to a higher or moral law .

It is evident in the first place that this power resides in

, ,

the mind Man rises above the animal in the first instance
.

by reason of his superior mentality

Superimposed as it were upon the lower or animal -
.

, psychic ,

nature , man possesses a psychic something which we commonly

call the s ou l and which is prin cipally associated with his
,

mental activities That s oul not merely di fferentiates man

.

from the animals but also on e individual from another in

,

what we call his ch a ra cter his individual powers and moral ,

nature .

Now it is precisely in that s oul or higher psychic self , ,

that we locate the great struggle which goes on in man b e

tween what we call good and evil between the higher spiritual ,

nature and the lower or animal - material It is there that .

at the present stage of evolution— we locate ou rs el ves From .

that point of V iew we are able both to look down upon our
mer ely p h ysical nature and the past of evolution and also to , ,

look up to a higher spiritual nature or perfection not yet

realised bu t none the less already entering into our conscious
,

ness and influencing us as it were from a bove

, , ,
.

Now it is readily seen— on the basis of our primary postu

late that the self in man is one with th e Infinite Self— that this
coming into activity or realisation in the individual self of
a higher nature is the natural and legitimate result of e vol u
tion evolution being essentially an expansion of conscious
ness a self -
, realisation .

Evolution 1 5 an u nfoldi n g Nothing can really become .

what it is not already You may say that the acorn is not .

the oak tree nevertheless it can only become the oak and
, ,

nothing else Not merely must the cause be adequate to the

.
.

39 2 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM .

e ffect but the e ffect is contained in the cause they are only
,

varying aspects of one and the same thing Man can only .

becom e divine because he is so already .

That small fraction of Man however which we at present , ,

know as our individual self appears to occupy a midway

position between two poles -spirit and matter Between
,

these two poles the whole vast Cosmos is spun out One in ,

Substance yet in fi nite in variety ; and the conscious s elf

,

appears to traverse this Cosmos in an evolutionary cycle ,

or possi b ly to pul sate—the eternal M oti on of the Great

Breath — between pole and pole .

We stand at present in a position in which we recognise

an evolutionary past which we have already transcended the ,

possession of powers of body and mind exceeding those of

other individuals or of the lower orders of evolution while ,

on the other hand we are conscious of limitations yet to be

,

transcended of powers which others wield to which we have

,

not yet attained nay even of possible powers which may and
,

S hall be ours but which the divinest man has been unable to
,

declare or reveal to our present imperfect and l imited human

nature .

There must be powers in the Universe as l ittle suspected by

us as are those of electricity and magnetism by the primitive
savage ; but if our fundamental principles are true these ,

powers are part of the Self and they exist not merely in the,

external universe but are also i n u s n ow even in our body , ,

of flesh and we must as inevitably come to know and wield

,

them as a part of ou rs el ves as we now do those powers which

we already possess and consciously use in our present bodies .

All the powers that build and sustain the whole Universe
are operative in our body n ow though we possess and utilise ,

them a ll un con s ci ou s ly The same Root Substance is mani

~
.

fes t e d on all possible Planes and in all possible phenomena ,

.

It is immanent in all things though viewed from the i h , ,

dividual standpoint it also appears to be transc endent

, .

The One Life m oves in a ll We can no more have a .

principle of life thought or consciousness apart from the

, ,

Universal than we can have a body on any Plane what

, ,

soever compounded of matter or substance which is n ot a

,

form or mode of the universal Substance .

Thus the higher and the lower self are not two in reality ,

any more than are spirit and matter or subj ect and obj ect ,
.
 THE HIG HER AND THE LOWER SELF 3 93

The animal - psychic through which we have passed and through ,

which other monads or units of consciousness are passing is ,

j ust as much a part of the life of the One Self as anything

which we may place in a transcendental region and wor , ,

shipping i t from afar o ff call it Divine , .

How then does the lower nature appear as the adversary

, ,

of the higher how are we conscious of such a struggle within

ourselves for the supremacy of the one or the other
l The answer is a very simple one and requires no violent ,

resort to a God and Devil theory It is simply this that our .

,

natural position at the present time is on the upward or

return half of the great cosmic cycle We have passed the .

lowes t point of the outgoing process which led us into indi

vi d u a l i s a ti on and apparent separation and the law of our ,

nature is now expansion and re - u n i fi ca t i o n Anything which .

opposes this anything which holds us back and checks the

,

nat ural process will assume the appearance of evi l though

, ,

in truth there is no such thing as evil p er s e The outgoing .

,

differentiating or individualising half of the cycle the struggle

, ,

for individual existence and survival of the fittest is j ust as ,

much g ood in its proper order and place as part of the whole as
is the revers e ingo i ng or unifying process Where individual .

i s a t i on is the law of existence f u n i fi ca ti on must appear as

,

evil ; where unification should take place individualisation ,

is its adversary .

We locate ourselves therefore somewhere or other on

, ,

the return half of the great cosmic process of evolution on that

half in which the self gradually re-
,

emerges from its limitations ,

negates the negation of ma tter and reasserts its infinite and

,

eternal nature Even thus is man able at the present time to

.

assert his immortality though the common acceptation of

,

this term is only half the truth for it includes only a concept
,

of an infinite future and neglects the infinite p ast The real

,
.

Self can have neither past nor future it eternally I S , .

Behind us lies the whole vast past of evolution actual ly ,

built into our body and psychic nature ; before us is the

whole vast future— also wi thi n us but not ve t disclosed to our ,

consciousness The past as built into our bodies strives to

.
, ,

retain its hold over us and— since it is to us for the time being
the apparently rea l— i t largely succeeds The external world .
,

as we know it is the inverse or reflection of our present powers

,

of consciousness ; it is what we have realised of ours elves ;

39 4 SCIENTI F IC IDEALISM
and what we have not yet rea lised the unseen universe se ems , ,

a ll vague and shadowy in comparison We cling to the seem ing .

real like limpets to a rock and encase ourselves in an almost ,

impenetrable crust of conventions customs habits and , , ,

ideas We should indeed never get free of these were it n ot

.
, ,

that we are moved on by an inexorable power over which we

have no control that great stream of evolution which forbids
,

anything to stand still

Moreover in spite of every e ffort on our part the s o-
.

i , called ,

real is constantly slipping from our grasp At a certain period .

o f our evolution we come to realise that the e ffort to retain

a hold on the things of time and matter and sense brings , , ,

with it weariness pain a n d suffering , , .

How then do we learn this

, , How does the s oul or s elf
learn it ; how does it become an inner innate i n born con , ,

vi ct i o n of the individual Why does one individual know it ,

and not another ? How does the individual Ego acquire an '

intuitive s p i ri tu a l knowledge the conviction that t h e b od y ,

and mere animal nature is not himself that it is something ,

which must be conquered and rul ed that i n i ts elf it is antagon ,

i s t i c to his higher nature and is continually dragging him back,

therefrom and causing him to fall into sin and suffering making
, ,

of him a slave and creature of circumstances where he ough t

to rule and be free
"
if The obvious answer to these questions is that the soul ,

evol ves as well as the body The vast experiences of the past .

which enable the individual to discriminate between truth

goodness and beauty and their opposites -nay further
,

, , , ,

which lay s an imperative command upon him to rea li s e the

higher in h i s own person and rej ect the l ower as unworthy of ,

his nature— must inhere in s ometh i n g : j ust as certainly as any

lower psychic qualities which we may attribute to an atomic
’ ’
memory or a ce l l memory
, .

Much controversy has raged round the doctrine of i n n a te

i d ea s
. The notion that there could be any ideas whatsoever
innate i n i th e mind or soul was supposed by many to have been
utterly destroyed by Locke in his celebr a ted E s s a y on th e
Hu ma n Un d ers ta n di n g published in 1 6 9 0 Locke declared
,
.

that the mind of every individual born into the world is a

perfect blank a ta bu l a ra s a and that nothing was written
, ,

thereon but what the in dividual ex p erienced thro ugh his

physical senses But mode m or materialistic psychology
.
‘
 THE HIG HER AND THE LOWER SELF 39 5
’
it self gives a direct negative to Locke s contention The
'

generally accepted position now may be said to be that form u

lated by Herbert Spencer who accepted Locke s general ’
‘

principle that the contents of the mind must be gained by

experience but rej ected his dictum that the i n di vi d u a l mind
,

is a ta bul a ra s a According to Spencer each mind has a

.
,

character of its own a number of i n h eri ted qualities which are

,

the result of racial and ancestral experiences

fl
.

But if there is no reincarnating soul or Ego in which these

experiences inhere then they must inhere merely in certain
,

physical cells they must be handed on by some purely physical

cell to germ -
,

proces s from ge rm - cell Here however comes in .

, ,

the great d i i cu l ty that so many scientists with Weismann at

“

their head deny that acquired character can be thus trans

,

m i t te d .

All these controversie s however can be set aside when once

, ,

we have accepted the doctrine or theory or fact— whichever , ,

we may like to term i t— o f a reincarn ating Ego The d i ffi .

culty which the ordinary religionist — who does not believe in

the pre - existence of the soul— has to face is quite as great as ,

that of the materialist who believes i n no soul at all The .

one h a s to attribute individual character to the will of God

the other has to plant this C haracter on the already over
burdened physical germ- cell .

On the basis of the existence of ma tter— ou any Plane

whatsoever— as S imply a form or mode of th e One U niversal
or Primordia l Substance it is di fficult to see how or why

fl
,

science should strive to limit all psychic p henomena even mind ,

itself to merely physical matter to a structure or organism

, ,

compounded of that form of motion of Primordial Substance

which we know of as our chemical atoms and molecules It is .

d i i cu l t to see how it can be maintained that i d ea s can only

,

inhere in S uch a form of Substance can only be handed from ,

one individual to another because inherent in the p hy s i ca l

germ - plasm They may quite as conceivably and legitimately
.

—
b e postulated as inherent in an eth eri c form of Substance not
to S peak of any higher Plane— i n that form of motion of the
Primordial Substance which constitutes etheric atoms and
molecules even though science has not as yet any definite
,

knowledge of such structures Such a proposition is both .

thinkable and logi cal even wi thout any definite scientific

,

knowledge of the structure of ma tter on any Plane higher than

39 6 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM

the physical In truth however there is ample scientific

.
, ,

evidence that intelligence mind consciousness do ex i s t in , , ,

disembodied ent i ti es .

We say then that the vast experiences of the past inhere

, ,

in the s ou l in the conscious thinking princi ple or Ego This

, , .

soul or Ego which we l ocate as a form or mode of Primordial

, ,

Substance on the men ta l Plane evolves through the ex p eri ,

e n ces which it encounters on the lower or physical Plane during

repeated incarnations It may have - i n all probability it

.

has— a n evolutionary cycle of its own on its own proper Plane

but by correspondence and analogy we should conclude that
j ust as the One Self incarnates and reincarnates in the whole
phenomenal universe — which process is a necessity of Its own
nature — s o als o the soul or individual self or Ego repeating
, , ,

or reflecting the universal process incarnates and reincarnates ,

in the lower ph enomenal world ; the process also being a

n eces s i ty of its nature As above so below
. .

This soul or reincarnating Ego then we would place on the

, , ,

’
mental Plane It is the thin k ing conscious i n di vi dua l I
.
, .

It is that which knows experiences remembers su ffers and

, , , ,

enj oys It stores up within itself the fruit of a ll the i n n u mer

.

able experiences through which i t p asses in repeated incarna

tions ; and perchance much else which it garners on other
Planes It endeavours to impress this acquired knowledge
.

and experience upon the lower p er s on a l sel f but in this it is ,

only partially successful .

The lower personality is in the first place as we have , ,

already seen merely physical and subj ect largely to physical

, ,

environment and heredity The brain as the receptive .

,

psychic organ can receive impressions either from above or

,

from below or rather from within or from without In our

,
.

present social conditions and training of children however , ,

it is almost wholly the without which claims the attention of

the nascent individual the newly- born Ego
,
.

Parents mostly believe that the so ul of the child is a new

’
and baby one ; they tacitly accept Locke s theory that it is
a ta bu la ra s a that it can hold nothing but what is now i m
,

p ressed upon i t from outs i de ; possibly with a vague idea ,

however of some kind of heredity in its character If per
,
.
,

chance the child does exhibit abnormal psychic or other

,

powers reminiscences of past experiences of which the parents

know nothing or clear-
,

seeing where the parents are blind

,
 THE HIG HER AND THE LOWER SELF 39 7

this is usually regarded as decidedly uncanny and the ,

child is even punished for saying what to the parents is , ,

untrue .

Yet the true meaning of education is to edu ce to dra w ou t ,

that which is already within and if parents — or the Church

which professes to instruct the parents concerning s p i ri tua l
things— really understood what the soul is in itself what it ,

contains of an immeasurable past and what is its relation ,

to the body they would give the reincarnating Ego a much

,

better chance of obtaining a body and environment in which

it could more fully express itself .

We have then superimposed as it were upon the animal

, ,

psychic nature this higher psychic entity or Ego which has

,

reached a more or less advanced point in the scale of e vo l u

tion and -
,
which— i f it is given the chance of doing s o— will
express itself as the ch a ra cter of the man in any one particular
incarnation .

This higher psychic entity has to ma ke u s e of the lower

physical organism and it can only do so by impressing or
,

superimposing its vibrations upon the phy i cal brain and s

organism .

Let us clearly understand that this higher psychic entity

is a n a ctu a l force or form of en ergy j ust as capable of producing
,

physical results as electricity or magnetism Its physical .

action is seen in the various changes of structure which go

on in the brain and nervous system as the a ccomp a n i ment of
thought It is a definite organised form of substance on the
.

mental Plane and as such is simply a modification of motion

, , ,

of Primordial Substance We may red uce its action S imply

.

to a matter of vibrations since science is so fond of vibrational

,

conceptions of force or energy If the physical brain can .

respond to these higher vibrations it is receptive of the energy

of thought the i dea s of the higher Ego
,
.

The a cti on of the self on the mental Plane is to thi n k ;

and a thought is a th i ng as definite on its o wn Pla n e as a n y
, ,

physical obj ect on our material Plane But each individual .

thought or idea of the individual Ego is not merely a th i ng ,

it is a part of the mental body in which the self is encased

on the mental Plane Man in fact possesses a mental body
.
, , ,

as well as a physical body and an etheric or astral double .

The result of the superimposing of the higher psychic

nature upon the lower personality works out in many di fferent
39 8 S CIE NTIFI C IDEALISM

ways in various individuals accor ding as more or less of th e

,

higher or of the lower predominates .

In the purely animal and early human stages of evolution ,

we find the energy of the mind wholly subordinated to the

needs and desires of the physical organism A s the individual .

gradually rises out of this stage we fin d a more or less p re ,

dominant individuality or ch a ra cter coming into evidence ;

, ,

we fi n d something not merely added to the lower nature but ,

superimposed thereon as a power which must now govern

and subordinate it That something we now call the s ou l
.

or E g o It has a will of its own to accomplish and achieve

.

a will which sets aside and triumphs over physical obstacles ,

heredity and environment

,
.

Most of us at the present stag e of our evol ution are a

strange mixture of the higher and the lower psychic nature .

As we have evolved out of the lower psychic and as it comes ,

first i n the order of evolution down here below it is the ,

predominant factor in the first stages of -life in any on e

particular incarnation Some individuals — i n any one life
.

—never get beyond it others on ly do so late in life a few

very advanced individuals may come very early in phy sical ,

incarnation to a realisation of the h igher nature op erative

within them .

We may note here as accounting for much which would

,

be otherwise inexplicable in many of our experiences that ,

j ust as the physical man in any one life has to run rapidly
, ,

through all the pre vious physical stages of evolution so also ,

must the reincarnating Ego pass through certain psychic

stages representative of the past .

Into the Ego — or let us say rather into t h e mind body

, ,

of the Ego — as well as int o the physical body i s built a n ,

immense past of evolution In it inheres all that the i ndividual

.

has become in character and faculty as the result of his past

incarn ations It exists on the higher P lane as a subtle
.
,

ensouling impelling force ; largely desirous as is the physical

, ,

nature of repeating former experiences of realising on the

, ,

lower Plane unsatisfied desires ambitions and e m oti on S or, ,

‘

sensations .

This inner impelling force or character leads the phys ical

man into certain courses of thought and action and its first ,

influence on the pers onality in any one particular incarnation

i ll
be in the working out completion or exhaustion of some
, ,
 THE HI G HER AND THE LOWER SELF 3 99

unsatisfied tendencies the repetition of pre vious acts in ,

previous lives the same in moti ve though di fferent in form

,

and circumstance We may note much in ourselves and in

.

others which has seemed in our earlier days to be so insistent so ,

dominant that we could then have pledged our whole life to it

,

yet later 011 it fall s from our will and desire while possibly
other influences and motives rise within us motives whic h ,

were p revi ou s l v unsuspected or only dimly foreshadowed , ,

but which now bring about surprising changes in our lives ,

sometimes even amounting to a complete change of person

ality as if we had suddenly dropped a dress in which
,

we were merely masquerading though at the time we did ,

not know it as such .

Thus we may run more or less rapidly through stages

belonging to the p ast of our inner psychic nature and which ,

still inhere therein ; stages which we have previously left

inco mplete or which still hold us in the bondage of attachment
,

and desire In addition to this we have to reap much which

.
,

we have p reviously sown in our relations to others ; to repay

our ka rmi c d eb ts b oth of good and evil ,
. .

We must n ote now however that this higher psychic , ,

nature or reincarnating Ego is not the s p i ri tu a l man the ,

Higher Self .

The reincarnating Ego being largely the product of the “

experiences of the lower a nimal man is itself up to a certain , ,

po i nt of evolution wholly subservient to the lower order of

,

nature God Himself as that which lives and moves in all

.
, ,

must be s a i d i n a certain sense to be subservient in the lower

'

’
orders of nature Hence the question why does God a ll ow
s o-and -
.
,

so N 0 S ingle form of life can move or act in separa

tion from the One Life but the higher lends itself as it were , ,

to the lower which uses it for its own selfish and individual
,

ends all unconscious of the divine nature of the powers it

,

thus prostitutes The higher thus becomes the sacrificial

.

victim of the lower— one of the mysteries of the divine

’

’
incarnation .

"
Th i s p ri n ci p l e of the subordination of the higher to the
’

lower must act by correspondence and analogy in a ll relations

as between one Plane and another All energy of whatever .

kind on any lower Plane comes by influx from the next higher ,

and that again fr om the next right up to the highest which , ,

is the O N E including all others .

400 SC IENTIF IC IDE ALISM

f
i rs t th e energy comin g in from a h i gher — o r more interior

fi n e is limited and condi ti oned by th e forms al rea dy

,

p e a i n i n g to the lower Plane and so al s o th e hi gher psychic

m a) coming down in to a body of fl es h is li mi t e d and ,

con i t i on ed thereby . The reinca rnat i ng Eg o may have

t coul d be im press ed upon
the pe rs on a lity to avoid
ll y di s as trous co u rse of li fe .

we may postul ate th e relation

hi gher spiritual s el f e xistin g ,

Pla ne and th e reinca r n a ting

,

or ment a l Pla n e The mental

.

ich constitutes th e in dividuality

have alrea dy noted large ly the ,

of the Ego on th e l ower physical

are largel y moulded from below ,

di ed in those forms must neces s a ril y

the true Self the so urce of a ll energy
, ,

the Eg o—the
conscious thinkin g se lf
s oul or mental bod y — l oo ks d own upon

nature a n d negates the claim s of that

,

it als o looks up to
a llegian ce though ,

d that hi gher somethin g

Hi gher Self of its own

,

n and kn owledge of
g th
ht which radiates from
Plan e of the Cosmos

eye coul d loo k upon

Divine Be i ng : which
Ii ere
a dim
 THE H IG HE R AND THE LOWE R S EF 40 1

never come down into incarnation any more thn the Sun
comes down to Earth when its rays vivify and q erg i s e the
lower world The Sun exists in the maj esty a n might of
.

its own nature even while it radiates life and li g b to all the
,

worlds .

Even so must it be with that Higher Self wich is our

own a lter E g o It is the light which lighteth very man
.

coming into the world It is— did the Chris ti n Church

.

but know i t— the Divine Son the Christos the First - born , ,
‘

”
of the Father the Man made in the image of Gd
, .

By and in this divine nature we literally li vea n d move

, ,

and have our being ; yet from the lower s ta dp o i n t it ,

,

appears as something to which we must a t ta i n so m eth i n g ,

—
which we must become nay even something u ttrly trans ,

cen d en t to which we can never reach

,
.

Let us learn however that all becomi n g is on; illusion

, ,
,

due to a false sense of separateness which arises vhen con

s ci ou s n es s falls into modes of time and space .

Briefly summarised we may here regard the cns ti tu ti o n

,

of man as follows
The Higher Self as the source of a ll that can mn i fes t on
,

the lower phenomenal Planes as our individual 0 personal

selves radiates its light and life even as does on physical
,

Sun The ra y s which it thus radiates are a ctu a forms of

.

en ergy . They take form and substance on ea ch Pla n e of

the Cosmos On the mental Plane they energise a th ou g h t
forms which become our thought -
.

,
body soul or re i ca rn a ti n g , ,

Ego From that soul they are again radiated to he lower

.

etheric Plane where they build up the eth eri c dobl e upon
,

which the physical body is moulded .

But in thus coming through the thought -

, bod the one ,

divine energy will so to speak lend itself to alread existing

, ,

forms therein forms which now at our present s ta g o f evol u ,

tion are largely representative of the l ower ex p eri ene s of the

,

Ego in the world of physical matter These th oug t - forms

the m -energised from above but largely moulded frm below
.
,

— wil l pass on the energy to the lower or etheric Pla e where

they will— previous to any one partic ul ar i n ca m a tin —
,

buil d
up an etheric body or d ou ble representative of the articular
thought -
,

form or forms which the Ego now desires I express

or work out on the physical Plane of ex p eri en es This .

etheric double is in its turn the vivifying and a o uldi n g

26
46 6 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM

fB u t the energy coming in from a higher— or more interior

Plane is limited and conditioned by the forms already
,

pertaining to the lower Plane and so also the higher psychic

man coming down into a body of flesh is limited and
, ,

conditioned thereby The reincarnating Ego may have .

gained much experience which — i f it could be im pressed upon

the physical brain— would cause the personality to avoid
many dangers or even a wholly disastrous course of life
, .

On this same principle then we may postulate the relation , ,

which must exist between the higher spiritual self e xisting ,

permanently on the S piritual Plane and the reincarnating ,

Ego existing on the next lower or mental Plane The mental

body of thought -
.

forms which constitutes the individuality

on that Plane is as we have already noted largely the
, ,

product of the experiences of the Ego on the lower physical

Plane The thought -
.
forms are largely moulded from below ,

while the en ergy embodied in those forms must necessarily

come from above from the true Self the source of all energy
, , ,

motion or l ife , .

While therefore the Eg o— the conscious thinking self

, ,

now located in the s ou l or mental body— looks down upon

the lower physical nature and negates the claims of that ,

nature to dominate its will and conduct : it also looks up to

a higher spi ri tual something claiming its allegiance though
'
,

i t m a y not yet have clearly recognised that higher something

to be its own real Self .

What then shall we say of this Higher Self of its own

, , ,

proper nature and functions

Livin g ever in the supreme strength and knowledge of
its divine nature in the eternal light which radiates from
,

the ON E : Man on that highest spiritual Plane of the Cosmos

is a D i vi n e S on of Li gh t .

Clothed with the Sun no mortal eye could loo k upon ,

the glory and maj esty of that Immortal Divine Being : which
yet did the mortal but know and realise it is Hi ms elf Here
, , .

and there perchance saint or seer may have caught a dim

, ,

reflection and vision of this radiant A ugoei des and tradition

has it that one of Nazareth was once partia ll y tra n s fi g ure d ,

even in his body of flesh so that his disciples saw h i m s h i n i n g ,

'

with the glory and radiance of his divinity .

In its own nature this divine Man this Higher Self of all ,

Egos can never be other than what it eternally I s It can

, .
 THE H IG HER AND THE LOWE R SELF 40 1

never come down into incarnation any more than the Sun
comes down to Earth when its rays vivify and energise the
lower world The Sun exists in the maj esty and might of
.

its own nature even while it radiates life and light to all the
,

worlds .

Even so must it be with that Higher Self which is our

own a lter E g o It is the light which lighteth every man
.

coming into the world It is — did the Christian Church

.

but know i t— the Divine Son the Christos the First - born , ,

of the Father the Man made in the image of God

, .

By and in this divine nature we literally live and move

, ,

and have our being ; yet from the lower standpoint it , ,

appears as something to which we must attain something ,

which we must become — nay even something utterly trans ,

cen d en t to which we can never reach

,
.

Let us learn however that a ll becomi ng is only illusion

, ,
,

due to a false sense of separateness which arises when con ~

s ci o u s n es s falls into modes of time and space .

Briefly summarised we may here regard the constitution

,

of man as follows
The Higher Self as the source of a ll that can manifest on
,

the lower phenomenal Planes as our individual or personal

selves radiates its light and life even as does our physical
,

Sun The ra y s which it thus radiates are a ctu a l forms of

.

en ergy . They take form and substance on each Plane of

the Cosmos On the mental Plane they energise as thought
forms which become our thought -
.

,
body soul or reincarnating , ,

Ego From that soul they are again radiated to the lower
.

etheric Plane where they build up the eth eri c dou bl e upon
,

which the physical body is mo ulded .

But in thus coming through the thought -

, body the one ,

divine energy will so to speak lend itself to already existing

, ,

forms therein forms which now at our present stage of evolu ,

tion are largely representative of the l ower experiences of the

,

Ego in the world of physical matter These thought - forms .

then— energised from above but largely moulded from below

,

—will pass on the energy to the lower or etheric Plane where

they will— previous to any one particul ar incarnation-build
,

up an etheric body or d ou bl e representative of the particular

thought -
,

form or forms which the Ego now desires to express

or work out on the physical Plane of experiences This .

etheric double is in its turn the vivifying and mouldi n g

26
4 02 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM

principle of the physical body interpenetrating and energising

,

every organ and ce ll thereof.

This classification or representation of the connection of

the lower personality with the Higher Se lf will be found to
be of the utmost utility in its practical application to every
e ffort and as p iration of our lives It wi ll b e found to be
.

broadly re presentative of much which can be learnt in greater

detail in many sys tems of esoteric or occult teaching ; and
even in exoteric religion it corresponds to the ordina ry
classification of Man as consisting of body soul and spirit :
, ,

while at the same time linking and harmonising this cla s s i fi ca

tion with scientific concepts of matter ( or substance ) and
energy (or motion ) .

Some few practical considerations may fi tly conclude our

present subj ect.
C H A PT E R XVI I I

THE IDEAL REALISM

 Th e e s s en ce of ou r b ei n g , th e m y s t ery in i t s elf I
us —
th a tah c a ll s ,
’
,

wh a t wor d s h a ve we for s u ch t h i n g s —i s a b rea t h of H ea ven t h e Hi g h es t

fl
B ei n g rev e a l s hi m s elf i n M a n Thi s b od y t h es e fa cu l ti es t hi s li fe o f o u rs i s i t
.
, , ,

n o t a ll a s a v es t u r e for t h a t U n n a m e d ? Th ere i s b u t on e Te m p l e i n t h e
’
Un i v er s e , s a y s t h e d ev o u t N ov a li s , a n d th a t i s t h e b od y of m an . N o t hi n g
i s h oli er th a n th a t hi g h form W e t ou ch h ea v en wh en we l a y ou r h an d
"
.

on a h u m a n b o d y Thi s s ou n d s m u ch li ke a m ere o u ri s h o f r h e t ori c ;

b ut i t is n ot s o . I f w ell m edi ta t ed , i t wi l l t u rn ou t to b e a s ci en t i fic fa ct
”
th e p r es s i on i n s u ch word s
ex , a s ca n b e h ad , of th e a ct u a l tru t h of t h e thi n g .

R Y
TH OM A S C A L L E .
 C HA P T E R X V I I I

THE I D E A L R E A L I S M

THE s oul of man is the battle -

ground between all the p a i rs
of op p os i tes the two contrasted poles of the O N E ; between
,

that which we now term the higher an d the lower ; between

go od and evil spirit and matter God and Devil between the
, ,

Self as infinite free unconditioned and the same Self as

, , ,

individual limited and necessitous

, ,
.

Possibly it is this very contrast which constitutes self

consciousness or I - ness Possibly it is only thus that the
.

One Self can know Itself as a S elf Certainly it is only thus .

that we know ourselves and any larger measure of self ,

consciousness to which we may possibly attain can only

be conceived of as a matter of extended relation and propor
tion until at last we may possibly know ourselves as the
,

Whole .

Meanwhile the lower apparently tries to a p propriate the

,

powers of the higher for its own individual selfish ends knowing ,

not as yet that the higher is its own a lter E g o .

The Higher Self knowing its own transcendent nature

, ,

and that the lower is the creation of its o wn divine will

knowing that that wil l and purpose in the lower must i n
e vi t a b ly be accomplished or realised ; sits as it were an , ,

impersonal spectator of the Cosmic Process while yet it a cts

in every part and at every moment of that process .

I establish (or pervade ) this whole universe with a

single portion of myself and remain separate says Krishna
, , ,

the Supreme Spirit in B h a ga va d —

,
Gi ta and again There ,

is nothing in the three regions of the univer se which it is

necessary for me to perform nor anything possible to obtain ,

which I have not obtained ; and yet I am constantly in

action
Now it is obvious that the real well-
.

being of all the lower

’
creation must consist in action which is harmonious with
40 5
4 06 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
the divine will and purpose working in all— i f only that will
and p urpose could be clearly known .

When we say th e di vi n e wi ll a n d p u rp os e h owever we , ,

do not mean any supposititious com mandments given by a

personal God to ma n but simply and solely the n a tu ra l l a w
,

of our being— on all Planes of the Universe .

.

In the lower orders of nature I n the animal kingdom , ,

this natural law is followed and realised automatically We .

do not grant to the animals any abstract sense of right and

wrong though in some of the higher animals coming under ,

the direct influence of man there is something very nearly ,

akin to what we call con s ci en ce the inner prompt i ng of a ,

moral nature .

But in man there is the consciousness of a ch oi ce b etween a

higher and a lower between a right and a wrong It is the ,
.

S ign and manifestation of a higher divine nature towards

which he is graduall y evolving ; it is the partial realisation

of an absolute freed om to do ri g ht a freedom which can be ,

only realised in that perfect knowledge which makes wro ng

doing impossible .

In man a t the present time exists a choice and a desire ,

sometimes for the higher sometimes for the lower : simply ,

because the individual has as yet only p artially realised the

divine nature within him as yet only parti ally knows his re al
nature and transcendental powers When these are full y .

known all questions of right and wrong wi ll have vanished

,

vanished in that higher aspect or polarity of B ei ng which

’
we sometimes call Spirit even as they vanish though , ,

necessarily for the opposite reason at the lower pole in , ,

what " we call Matter and the s o-

a
called lower orders of ,

creation .

Let us see for a moment and apart from a ll mere codes , ,

reli gious or otherwise how this higher divine law or n a tu re ,

sho ul d express itself in man .

We may sum up its action and expression in three words

the True the Good and the B eautiful
,
1
, .

To man at a certain stage of his evolution there comes a

perception of these not merely as being th e o p posite of fals e
,

hood evi l and distortion not merely as being so mething

, , ,

1
W e m us t n ot, h o w ev er , u n d ers t a n d t h e t er m g ood i n any m er e co n

v en t i on a l s en s e . It m ea n s ra t h er w h o l e n es s or wh ol e s om e n es s , fi tn es s ,

q u a li ty , h a r m on y , e tc .
 THE IDEAL REALISM 40 7

de sirable but even as an imperative l a w of his nature which

,

he must disobey at his peril .

At the present time we might possibly say that a large

maj ority of the human race have not yet apprehended that
truth goodness and beauty a re the law of their nature that
, ,

they shoul d strive to realise them individually and com

m u n a l ly Even with those who have realised that these ought
.

to be their aim and ideal the lower nature still strives for,

mastery and too often succeeds in gaining it

,
.

We say then in such case that the man s i n s against his ,

higher nature Sin is the transgression of the law —the

.

law of our own nature at whatever may be our position in the

scale of evolution Where the law is not known S i n does not
\

.
,

exist ; and an action may be quite right for one man but ,

wrong for another who has reached a higher perception of the

divine within him .

’
Let no man j udge his fellow ; the law of the man s own
nature will inevitably j udge Heredity and e n vironment .

may possibly be t oo strong for the individual who would other

wise be what the world calls moral and good and herein lies
the responsibility of the parent and the community to see to
it that heredity and environment are all on the side of truth ,

goodn ess and beauty ,

.

But the lower nature too often holds us in bondage even ,

when we have perceived the beauty of what we might be ,

were our higher spiritual nature wholly to rule within us .

Again and yet again we fall under its sway nay it would even ,

sometimes a p p ea r th a t the more we strive for the higher the ,

greater becomes the strength of the lower Perhaps we .

succumb altogether and give up the struggle for this partic ular
,

life resigning ourselves to what we are pleased to call C ircum

,

stances But assuredly the conflict must be renewed in some

.

future incarnation even if not on the higher Plan e ; for evol u

,

tion is the law of our being and evolution forbids anything to

,

stand still Our only safety lies in refusing to accept defeat

. .

Every effort made to conquer even though ineffectual at the ,

time is a power we shall wi eld in the future conflict The

,
.

only real failure is to give up trying .

Truth goodness and beauty as kn own to us are matters of

, ,

relation and proportion but in the Divine as such they must

,

exist as absolute perfection and our evolution will thus tend ,

more and more towards their perfect realisation they are in ,

46 8 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
fact the I dea l R ea li ty They come to us from the above from
,
.
,

the divine not from the below not from that lower nature
, ,

which we have left or are striving to leave behind In t he

, .

lower ani m al nature indeed they are wholly unknown , , .

_ Truth perfectly known must be perfect goodness and

perfect beauty .

Goodness perfectly reali sed must be perfectly true and

beautiful .

Beauty perfectly manifes ted must be perfect truth and

goodness .

In the Divine as such a ll this must exist in the fulness of

consciousness that such 1 5 the Self ; and the Higher Self in
man living ever in the glorious light of a perfect knowledge
,

of the di vi n e relation and proportion of a ll radi ates down into ,

the lower self into the s oul of man whatever that soul is
, ,

capable of receivi ng of this perfect di vine knowledge In its .

turn the soul en deavours to impress this upon the lower physic al
personality and whatever can thus come through to ou r lower
,

world finds expression in manifold forms of scien ce philosophy

religion conduct and art— but alas "
, ,

, how blurred and dis

, ,

t ort e d how little representative of the rea li ty which the

,

soul intuitively senses and now calls the i d ea l ,

.

How then are we to bring these i d ea l real i ti es through to

, ,

the physical Plane what is the p ra cti ca l method by which we

— the present personality— may realise our true di vine nature
and powers ; by which we may realise in our own person
perfect truth perfect goodness and perfect beauty
, ,

Exoteric and authoritative forms of religion here address

us with their demands for implicit belief in their own specific
doctrines and sacraments To many indeed perhaps to a .
, ,

gr eat maj ority exoteric forms of religi on constitute the only

,

possible way The ch i ld who has not yet learnt to rely upon
.

its own physical powers rightly demands the help of the father
or mother— let us say in order to cross the road But the ,
.

adult in full possession of his powers does not dream of appeal

ing for help to do so Self- reliance indeed is what we s t renu
.
, ,

ou s l
y endeavour to incul cate in our children yet strange t o ,

say it is comm only accepted that there is a different law a n d

a different order of things in the s o-
,

called spiri tual world : a s

if man coul d never become a S piritual adul t It has alway s .

been the interests of the Church to foster this fallacy ; t e

fIi g h ten the spiritual babe with the bogey of supernaturalism
 THE IDEAL REALISM 409

to teach men that they are crawling worms instead of divine ,

beings .

Let a man thi n k that he is a spiritual babe or a crawling ,

worm and such he will assuredly be Let him thi n k that he

, .

has no higher powers wherewith to command his lower nature ,

and assuredly he wi ll do nothing but grope in the dark for a

protecting hand and possibly end as many have d On e in
, , ,

cursing God for their own failures .

And here we put our finger upon the first and fundamental
law of crea ti on What a man thinks that he becomes— i n
.
,

this or in some future incarnation .

The first great fact which we must realise in the p ra cti ce of

religion— i n the effor t to become that which we have now
intell ect uall y apprehended as our higher divine nat ure or
self— is the fact that the mind is the great crea ti ve or rather ,

forma ti ve power ; that what is fo und in the mind presently

,

becomes materialised as the ob j ective conditions of life and

consciousness .

The statement is often made that the universe is the

ob j ectivised or materialised thought of God ; and we h ave
ourselves postulated that the action of the Self on the
mental Plane is the immediate production in consciousness
of the external image of the thing thought of Thus we may .

find in the operation of t h e individual mind the reflection of

the universal process AS above so below The Son can do
.
,
.

nothing of himself but what he seeth the Father doing : for

,

what things soever he doeth these the Son also doeth in like ,

manner ( John i v .

W e might thus almost say that the primary activity of

the One S elf is what we call thought or possibly i dea ti on ,
.

Being and thinking are inseparable To be is to think to

"

. ,

think is to be It is S i mply impossible for us to conceive of

.

the one without the other .

If this be so we cannot regard thought or ideation as a

,

phenomenal activity or aspect of the ON E though we may

regard th ou gh t-
,

for m s as such ; and in fact our working , ,

hypothesis is precisely this : that the eternal moti on of

Primordial Substance is on the one side ideation thought , , ,

consciousness all that is s u bjecti ve in the Self ; and on the

,

o ther side form matter phenomenon all that is objecti ve

, , , ,
.

If we regard Primordial Subst ance as being actually the

One Self as being that which sub -
,
stands subj ect as well as
41 0 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM

obj ect : we see that this One Self by its primary activity of ,

think i ng produces wi thi n I ts elf the form of the thin g thought

,

of Thus all things are truly within the Self though viewed as
.
,

obj ect m erely viewed as thi n g s they are separated therefrom

, ,

by the inevitable duality of subj ect and obj ect .

The individual Self then — the Son possessing or

reflecting the nature of the One Self -
,

or Father not
merely thi n k s but by Its thoughts creates the obj ective form
,

corresponding thereto and the first step towards a practical

realisation of our true divine nature and powers is to learn
to consciously exercise this power ; to obtain control of our
thoughts ; to u s e our mind as definitely and consistently as
we use our physical body to create only such thought - forms
as we desire .

Every one knows in a rough and general way that if they

would accomplish anything they must first th i n k about it and ,

in many cases they must think hard and think continuously

in order to achieve success But few people realis e the true
.

creative power of the mind few people realise that in thus ,

concentrating their thoughts on one partic ul ar obj ect they are

not merely creating a mental picture of the thing they desire
to accomplish but are actually bringing into operation an
,

active power a form of substance on the mental Plane they

,

are actually brin ging in to play through certain definite ,

channels a force as real and natural as that of electricity and

,

ma g netism though far more subtle and potent

, .

By the power of thought we create or build a definite

mi n d body and if the will or desire behi nd those thought
,

forms in which the self is e ncased on the mental Plane is

centrifugal in its nature if that is to say it is directed down
, , ,

wards or outwards to the lower Planes — being wholly con

n e ct e d let us say with physical -
, ,
material matters — then it
must inevitably sooner or later materialise on the physical
’
Plane Even so is real sincere prayer answered
. .

We have already noted that in t h e natural order of e volu

tion considered from the individual standpoint the higher is , ,

in the first instance subj ect to the lo wer ; but subsequently

,

establishes a rul e and supremacy thereover Mind is higher .

than matter but in individual forms of matter as we know

, ,

it on the lowest 01 physical Plane min d has wholl y dis ,

appeared With the progress of organic evolution mind

.

gradually reappears and in the human kingdom establishes a

 THE IDEAL REALISM 41 1

supremacy over many material conditions to which it was

previously subj ect A man —when h e is not wholly an animal
—governs his physical body more or less successfully though
.

f
,

mostly unconsciously by means of his mind ; and this he

,

may do without any considerations of a higher spiritual

nature Just as the physical comes before the mental in
.

the natural order of evolution so also the mental comes ,

before the spiritual and a man may even be an intellectual

,

giant but with scarcely an atom of spirituality

, .

Let us consider in the first place then this power of mind , ,

over body apart from any spiritual or religious motives .

Although it is true that apart from the One Life the individual
, ,

could have no existence or powers whatsoever either on the ,

mental or the physical Plane : yet in the natural order of ,

evolution the mind body like the physical body is deter

, , ,

mined as to the forms which exist therein by the experiences

through which the individual passes during repeated i n ca r
nations The thought -
. forms of the individual are moulded ,

in the first instance from bel ow from the physical and animal
, ,

kingdom though which the individual is evolving The .

particular form is determined from below the en ergy comes from ,

above .

It is one of the most significant signs of the times that the

supremacy of mind over body is now beginning to be under
stood and practised in the cure of disea s e ; that the real
potency of the mind as a creative and regenerative power is
b eginning to be realised even though the theories and practices
,

resulting from this are in some ca s es wildly extravagant We .

have prominently before us in this res pect the mode rn practice

of hypnotism suggestion auto - , suggestion and various , ,

systems of mental cure ; while last but not least we have , ,

s o-called Christian Science In this latter system such a large

.

amount of a special religious element is intermixed that it can ,

hardly be classified with other systems in which the religious

or spiritual factor is wholly absent that is to say with mental , ,

cure pure and simple Nevertheless we would emphasise

,
.
,

here that the actual modu s op era n di of the n a tu ra l forces

which are brought into play must in all cases be the same ,

whatever may be the theories or ideas by which that m odu s

op era n di and the results undoubtedly obtained are sought to
, ,

be explained Physical resu lts a re produced by mental

.

processes ; disease i s cured by the operation of mind An .

 41 2 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM

apple d oes fall to the earth and it matters not whether

,

you call the actual force which produces this phenomenon

gravity or mortal mind it is s ometh i n g which we can
utilise to produce definite res ul ts .

Christian Science denies the reality of matter a bs olutely ,

not rela tively The physical body and every quality of

.
,

physical matter is an absolute illusion They have no existence .

whatever save in mortal m i nd which is itself an absolute ,

illusion— or as Mrs Eddy defines it Nothing claiming to be

.
,

something . If this be the case however it is clear that a ll

, ,

bodily states must be the product of mortal mind i e a state .

of health as much as a state of disease and therefore the , ,

mere change from disease to health is the result of the action

of mort al mind and not of any higher power An a b s o
, .

lute illusion cannot create a reality Arguing from Christian .

Science premises health is j ust as much an illusion as is

,

disease and the whole of Christian Sci ence healing is the

,

operation of mortal mind In any case the Christian

.
,

Science healer must and does use mental effort and coneen
tra t i on — sometimes called prayer — j ust as in other systems
of mind cure .

The realisation of the power of the mind to determin e and

modify our bodily states is perhaps the first step towards the
definite development of higher mental powers to which we
shall presently refer .

It is well known that the mental states o f j oy or grief of ,

courage or fear of optimism or pessimism will largely affect

, ,

the general health and constitution ; or that some sudden

shock to the mind wi l l result in disastrous or even fatal e ffects .

In hypnotism and suggestion we have a potent means of

producing results by a direct appeal to the mind of the i n
dividual The firm conviction suggested or otherwise that
.
, ,

an a n ms th eti c or a poison has been administered will produce

an aesthetic or poisonous results in the system even even tu a t ,

ing in death .

The ordin ary individual commonly allows the action

between mind and body in the support of the latter to take
, ,

place unconsciously and automatically ; and is able to do so

because the functional activity of most of the organs has now
sunk below the threshold of our no rmal consciousness and is ,

relegated to that region of the self which is now commonly

termed s u bli mi n a l This being so ”we have come to reg ard
.
,
 THE IDEAL REALISM 41 3

these functional actions as something over which the self has

no control ; and therefore when any derangement or disease
, ,

arises we resort to external remedies and drugs instead of ,

usin g our own creative and regenerative powers We allow .

our bodies to be our masters in disease and pain as well as in ,

desire and appetite .

There are many experiments in hypnotism which S how us

that it is really a part of the s elf which regulates and carries
on a ll the organic functions of th e b o d y and that the part of ,

the self which does this can be largely got at and influenced
through the power of the mind and will Besides this we have .
,

examples of Hindu Yogi s who can exercise complete control

over organs which are commonly supposed to be wholly auto
matic i n their action and entirely beyond the reach of conscious
,

control Many of these Yogis can stop the action of the heart
.

at wi ll they can reverse the peristaltic action of the intestines

they can even suspend animation altogether for many months .

These practices are known as Ha th a Yoga and though they ,

are not generall y of a desirable nature and require years of ,

arduous trainin g to accomplish they at least serve to S how

,

what can be done by a concentration of the mind and will on

the organs of the body which we are accustomed to regard as
altogether beyond our control .

Although therefore such extreme practices as these are

, ,

by no means to be recommended especially for the Western ,

mind and temperament it is yet of the utmost importance that

,

each individual should fully realise the enormous power which

the mind does actually exercise within the body both in health ,

and in disease that they should realise that thought is an

actual form of energy producing physical results ; and that they
should learn to take conscious control of this power for the
preservation of health and the cure of disease .

When the mind and will are firmly and continuously directed
-
to this end the body may be wholly re created and re gener
,
-
ated even with little or no knowledge of the higher and di viner
,

powers of the self Let it be Clearly understood that there is

.

no magic or m i ra cl e in this process except in so far as all

'

natural processes may be said to be magical Sandow has .

taught us that even in the development of muscle mere auto

, ,

matic exercise is not su fficient the mi n d must also be put into

,

the exercise .

The higher powers of the Self are no mere s u bjecti ve things

41 4 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM

which we may vaguely term s p i ri tu a l and relegate to a super ,

natural region To accomplish obj ective results they must

.

have a definite relation to t h e phenomenal world of matter and

energy they must be structural facts of the Universe .

By the power of the Self the Universe is brought forth and

sustained and in the phenomenal world that One Power or
, ,

Energy or Life is seen and known in an in fi nite variety of

, ,

modes and manifestations constituting what we commonly ,

call N a tu re .

Now in Nature there is no such thing as a miracle definite

results must have defin ite causes and this would be true on all ,

Planes and not on the physical merely

,
.

If therefore we require the higher powers of the Self to

, ,

manifest in or through u s — the physical body— we must make

the lower nature receptive sensitive or responsive to the higher , ,

vibrations We must a ttu n e the lower to the higher

. .

Al l the powers all the vibrations in the Universe are present

, ,

with us now here at every moment of time and at every point

, , ,

in space They sweep through the room in which we sit a y

.
,

even the divinest beauties of vision or hearing which the highest

heaven Ca n contain are with us now and surround us and inter , ,

penetrate us could we but attune the physical organism to see

,

and to he a r or rise in our normal consciousness to the Plane

,

on which these are R ea li ti es Our Higher Self does see and does .
,

hear— otherwise we coul d never see and hear even what little
we do either now or at any future time
, .

To see to hear and to know the unveiled truth goo d ness

, , , ,

and beauty of the Universe— even this and nothing less is the , ,

Ideal Realism we may and should strive to atta i n .

But working as we do now from below upwards a s s oci a t

,

ing as we do now our mind and consciousness almost wholly

with physical matter and phenomena : we need to accomplish a
re-creation and re- generation of the lower physical and psychic
nature before we can even commence to attain to such a result
This re -
.

creation and re g eneration which we should aim at

accomplishing in our mind and body is something far higher
and greater than the mere attainment of physical health and
immunity from disease The latter is a very necessary and .

preliminary step indeed it is unw i se and even dangerous to ,

endeavour to develop any higher powers in an unsound body

and particularly so if the bodily des i res are not under complete
control .
 THE IDEAL REALISM 41 5

A very great deal has been written on this subj ect within
recent years and there are many more or less excellent books
,

which give practical advice and directions concerning mental

training and its relation to bodily and physical results There .

are also many excellent teachers who make a speciality of this

science We cannot enter here into practical instructions or
.

directions our obj ect being mainly to give the reader a clear
,

conception of the scientific basis of the matter and an a p p re ,

h en s i o n of the r ea li ty of the higher powers which he can exercise

if he wi l l We may note however that each and all of these
.
, ,

systems ought to have a common - s en s e basis If they have .

not they S hould be avoided

, .

We need then in the first place to take conscious control of

, ,

our mind and thinking for the p urpose of accomplishing clear

and definite results in the lower physical organism realising as
we now should that that organism in itself is merely an i u s t ru
ment , an automaton a vehicle for the use and manifestation
,

of the conscious thinking self .

But the mind itself as well as the body requires to be

r e-
, ,

created and re - generated in so far as it is at present princi

,

pally formed or moulded from bel ow It stands as we have .

,

seen midway between the lower and the higher nature and
, ,

i n the evolutionary process is moulded in the first instance by

the lower experiences and vibrations Such at least a p p ea r s .

to be the case in all that we know of the mind in connection

wi th our present limited consciousness and physical organism .

We must postulate however that the mind on its o wn

, ,

Pl ane must really in the first instance be formed from above

j ust as any Pl ane as a whole must be formed out of or within
a higher one and the higher Plane itself must be formed before
,

the lower can come into existence Before the return or .

evolutionary process can take place there must be the outgoing

formative process By correspondence and analogy therefore
.
, ,

we should be inclined to postulate that the mind body which

the Self forms for itself has its o wn evolution to accomplish
,

on its own Plane more or less independently of the lower

,

physical organism The mind on its own Plane must in fact

. , ,

be almost infinitely more universal or cosmic than the narrow

thing which is all that we can realise of our mind in connection
with the physical body and which is a matter of memory rather
,

than anything else that memory i tself being due for the most ,

part to physical brain impressions Added to the cosmic

,
.
41 6 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM

aspect of the mind there must be in th e m i n d as a whole all

,
‘

the accumulated experiences of an incalculable past of physical

evolution and how little of th a t we a re able to bring through
to our present consciousness If Weismann or Haeckel can
.

postulate a s oul in a speck of protop l asm which s ou l is rea lly ,

rep resentative of a ll the past physical evolution of protoplasm

—s o that protoplasm as we have it to - day must be i m m ea s u r
ably greater than primitive protoplasm - what indeed must , ,

be the contents of the individual soul of man

There is a vast amount of evidence to S how that the mind
really remembers every thi ng ; nothing is really forgotten
even impressions unconsciously received the lightest vibrations ,

conveyed to the mind by the senses are all registered and , ,

may and do reappear perhaps when least expected One of

, .

the higher powers which the conscious self is capable of

exercising is j ust precisely this recovery of the complete
memory of the long - forgotten past No single detail of the .

great historic drama of man s evolution is missing in the’

indelible record of the higher mind .

That which now comes down however from the higher , ,

mind to the normal consciousness is not expressed as memory ,

but as faculty and character ; whilst the individual from

birth to maturity is continually creating thought - forms to
correspond to the sense impressions of the physical body ,

until it would appear that the individual portion of the mind

the incarnating ra y which is all that we at present know as
ou r s el ves — becomes encased in these forms as in a shell thereby
shutting out the higher powers of the real mind and the ,

still higher vibrations which come from the spiritual Self .

S h a d es of t h e p ri s on -
h ou s e b egi n to C l os e

U p o n t h e g r o wi n g b oy ;

A t l e n g th t h e m a n p erce i v es i t d i e a wa y ,
”
An d fa d e i n t o t h e li g h t o f co m m on d a y .

But the vision splendid may be rega i ned : in a fulness

and measure indeed which childhood and youth cannot
, ,

compass To do this however the mind— that portion which

.
, ,

we at present call our mind—must be re - created and r e ‘

generated Even as the atoms and cells of the physical body

.

must be changed and renewed if health is to give place to

disease so must the mental images and mind forms in which
,
 THE IDEAL REALISM 4 1 7

w e h ave encased ourselves be reconstructed in order that ,

they may no longer form a barrier to the influx of the higher

mental and spiritual vibrations .

It is necessary in the first place to tu rn ou r a ttenti on

, ,

constantly and continuously to the higher i d ea l which we

Wish to realise ; to the highest ideal we can form of truth ,

goodness and beauty In proportion as we can do this we

,
.

shall find truth goodness and beauty becoming rea li s ed in

, ,

our nature The practical outcome of an intelligent rea li s a

.

tion of the existence of our higher divine Self is the Opening ,

up as it were of a channel of communication through which

, ,

the higher can flow into and manifest in the lower There is
, , .

an actual structural alteration in the physi cal body and nerve

centres Every thought conditions a defin ite physiological
.

change We shut out the higher possibilities by thought

.

alone by thinking ourselves separate J ust in proportion

, .

as we t hink of ourselves as divine in proportion as we ,

realise that the divine is wi thi n us shall we come to a ,

conscious realisation of our divine nature and powers Nor .

is there any other path by which this may be accomplished .

But in Order to do this we require something more than a

mere abstract idea the value of a concrete example cannot
.

be overlooked Many would find it impossible to a ccomplish

.

anything without some such concrete example which they

might endeavour to copy or imitate Hence the power of the .

p er s on a l Christ the historical

,
J esus of Nazareth .

In all a ges m en have set up some such worship of the

visible personal ideal ; some form of divine man virgin saint , , ,

or he ro : until these have even lost their value as actual

evi d en Ce of what man himself can and must be ; have been
placed on a superhuman or supernatural pede stal and , ,

worshipped from afar o ff have even been supposed to mediate,

between God and the soul and to hold in their hand the keys ,

o f heaven and of hell .

At different stages of evolution many such phases may

be passed through ; and in any one incarnation even a man ,

ma y run more or less rapidly through some of these phases ,

recapitulating thereby some of the earlier experiences of his

evolution before he reaches the point where he can go forward
,

to new experiences and increased knowledge and power .

To a large extent therefore the process of mental re

-
, ,

g e n er a t i o n m u
‘

s t consist in the breaking u p of fi xed ideas ,

27
4 1 s SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM

or perhaps we might better say the s p i r i tu a li s a ti on of all

,

existing ideas and mental forms as well as of the lower ,

animal nature Let us take a concrete example of what

.

is meant by this .

At a certain stage of evolution before the higher has ,

obtained control of the lower nature this latter appears as ,

the deadly foe of the higher The world the flesh and the .
, ,

devil stand in antagonism to God and the soul ; and before '

it is clearly perceived that the Universe being O N E the lower ,

must exist as the will and purpose of the higher : the former
will appear to be something which must be not merely sub
j ugated but even renounced and destroyed Hence arise
,
.

strange forms and practices of m orti fi ca ti on penance and , ,

asceticism .

But beyond that and in the light of a truer comprehension

,

of the relation of the higher to the lower self the latter is ,

neither mortified neglected nor ignored but S imply u s ed

, , ,

by the hi gher self which requires a fitting body or vehicle

,

in order to carry out on the ph ysical Plane the purpose

, ,

for which it has come down into incarnation J ust in .

proportion indeed as we see to it that our physical body

, ,

is perfect we are realising the ideal of truth goodness and

, , ,

beauty which we have set before us and are also helping ,

forward the evolution of the race as a whole thereby becoming

co- workers with the higher purpose which is manifesting
itse l f in and through that process The body is a temple .

of the living God and as such it cannot be vile unless we

, ,

dishonour and desecrate it ourselves .

But while we thus see to it that the physical body is

made as perfect an instrument as possible and while we work ,

to the best of our ability in and thro u gh that body : there

is from the higher standpoint which we have now taken
,

up no a tta ch men t to the things done in the body

This position of non -
.
,

attachment is not reached however , ,

by any intensification of the idea of s ep a ra ten es s but precisely ,

for the very opposite r eason ; because the One Self is seen as
working in All The position to be aimed at now to be
.
,

re al ised as we come to kn ow more and more of the true Self

within us is in fact precisely that which we can and must
, , ,

even now attrib ute to the Consciousness Life Activity or , , ,

Will of a Supreme B eing I establish this whole universe

with a single portion of myself and remain separate , .
 THE IDEAL REALISM 41 9

The position to be reached is that of the Self which knows

Itself as transcendent as well as immanent Observe that .

in its fullest conceivable development this is only an extension

of the attitude which we mu s t take up even now if we are ,

to be anything more than animals or automata If we are to .

govern our lower nature at all we must take up a position

or mental attitude in which we can say I am more than ,

the body more than that in and through which I act more
, ,
’ -
than the animal Any mental position from which we a ct
.

a s something higher than that upon or with which we act ,

is a more or less transcendental position .

When therefore we have clearly realised that the mind

, ,

or soul is more than the body we commence to act from ,

that transcendental position ; but if we act with a tta ch ment

'

to the act with desire for a further fruit of the action in a

,

narrow selfish sense — i n other words if we identify ourselves

, ,

with the act — we abandon our transcendental position and ,

become as it were the act itself ; we attach the idea of

, ,

selfness to a particular phenomenal form and must enj oy ,

or su ffer therein accordingly Nay ultimately we must .

,

s uff er even if at first we enj oy

, for a ll illusion and separate
ness is in the end evil pain suffering , , .

What we really do if we attach ourselves to a particular

action on the lower Plane by desire for individual gain or ,

en j oyment therein is to make an i dea l of something below

,

us something in the illusive world of phenomena on a Plane

,

lower than that of the real Self And S ince this power of .

idealising is a crea ti ve power our ideal must inevitably become ,

ob j ectivised or materialised must take form and shape on ,

the Lower Plane a y even in our very flesh and blood so

that we are clothed not merely with the thought -
, , ,

form on the
mental Plane but also with a material body which may
possibly be to us a prison -
,

house of darkness and illusion if ,

not a veritable hell Do we not see indeed that such it is

to thousands of our fe llow-
.
, ,

creatures .

If then we desire anything for the individual self—wealth

, , ,

pleasure sensation fame — most assuredly even these we

, ,

shall re a lise and obtain now or in some future incarnation , ,

but they will be to us as prison walls and fetters from which ,

in pain and su ffering we shall presently s trive to free ourselves ,

a n d perchance hardly escape therefrom even when we have

paid the uttermost farthing .

42 0 SCIENTIFIC IDEALIS M
But the Self kn owing Itself as transcendental and not
, ,

attached to the fruit of action — the desire for sel fi sh enj oyment
therein — may poss ess the Universe m a y p erform a ll actions
’

, ,

yet be in no wise touched or bound thereby All action is done .

because it is right and proper to do because oth ers are helped ,

thereby because it is the D i vi n e La w with which we have

, ,

now identified ourselves .

All things are lawful for me ; but all things are not
expedient says Paul the Initiate S peaking from thi s point
, ,

of view ; and he continues a ll things are lawful for me but, ,

I wi ll n ot be brou gh t u n d er th e p ower of a ny
To re -
.

create and re g enerate the mind therefore it is , ,

necessary that the i d ea l should be one which lies a bove the

min d soul or reincarnating Ego ; that it should lie in the
, ,

transcendental regions of Being in that which is immutable ,

and eternal not in the transitory and phenomenal This

, .

statement of course is one which is made in some form or

, ,

other in all relig ions but we are here endeavou ring to place it ,

not on any special religious basis but simply as a matter of ,

common sense based upon a scientific understanding of the

nature and constitution of man .

We have seen that the i ndividual or Ego realising that ,

mind is higher than body that he himself is in fact acting , , ,

in and by the mind may establish thereby an absolute control

,

over the body by directing and shaping his mental energies

to that end even without any reference to higher spiritual
,

powers We have also seen that the ordinary individual

.

thus locating his s elfn es s in the mind - body or soul may , ,

conceive of himself as occupyi n g an intermediate position

between the higher spiritual and the lower material a position ,

in which he can turn h i s a tten ti on either to the one or the

other .

But a little further consideration must show us that j ust

as the individual can thus Op erate upon the lower by means
of the higher upon the physical body by means of the mind
,

so also if the mind be in its turn operated upon or used by the

,

s elf that s elf must exist on a still higher Plane than the mind
, .

Let us consider for a moment what we can do when we

take our physical bodies to the top of a high mountain .

Below us is spread a vast panorama and we can select any ,

one point of interest in the landscape and keep our physica l ,

eye upon that point as long as we desire We do not for one .

 THE ID EAL REALISM 42 1

moment suppose that it is the physical eye itself which wi ll s

to do this we refer the act to a s elf behind the physical eye ;
,

and we find that that self not merely uses the physical eye as
an instrument but that the mind is also concentrated upon
,

that special feature of the landscape which we have selected .

The mind is used as well as the b od V .

Now let us come down from our mountain sit in our easy ,

chair and close our eyes We may then call up before us at

,
.

will the menta l i ma g e of the landscape we have previously been

viewing and we may fix our a tten ti on on any particular feature
,

of th a t landscape ; and—i f we have a tolerable amount of

mental control or power of concentration — we may keep our
mental eye upon that one particular feature for any desired
length of time .

But what is the we which can do this which apparently ,

regards the mental image from outside as a spectator in

,
, ,

precis ely the same way as it previously regard ed the physical

ob j ect willing and directing the mind as well as the body to
,

the desired action The physical landscape we say— i n con ,

ven ti on a l language — is not wi th i n us Is then the mental image

.
, ,

any more — or any less — within us A clairvoyant or psychic

individual may actually re - obj ectivise the mental image and ,

reproduce in a crystal for example a visible picture of the

, , ,

landscape .

What then is the s elf which can call up a mental image at

, ,

will which has as it were the whole contents of the mind— the
, ,

whole remembered contents — before it as a landscape and can ,

turn its attention to any portion thereof at will selecting and ,

associating any particular features which it may require

for its immediate purpose What is that self which u s es the
mind in precisely the same sense that it uses the physical
body ; and which thus u s i n g the mind must obviously be
, ,

s uperior to it
The self thinks but the self i s not the thought - form The .

self acts : but the self is not the material act The self acts .

in and through forms of Primordial Substance but the self is

neither the one form nor the other it creates and destroys at
will moving through a ll forms yet superior to all immanent
, ,

in a ll yet also eternally transcendent

,
.

The inalienable power or attribute of the Self is thought .

But thought is not mind By mind we understand something .

which evolves a form a phenomenon But above this limited

, ,
.
42 2 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
and phenomenal something which we now call mind there
lies a Power which creates and uses the mind j ust as above ,

or behind the phenomenal physical body lies a Power which

creates that body Both mind - body and physical- body are
forms of Primordial Substance but the Selfness the B e -
.

ness , ,

the Life the Consciousness which I s that Substance — which

,

would still exist were all forms whatsoever a ll phenomena to

van ish utterly redissolved in the One self-
, ,

, existent imperish ,

able R ea li ty — is transcendent superior unattached unborn , , , ,

free and unfettered by any form

,
.

Above all forms whatsoever on any highest conceivable ,

Plane lies the region of abstract thought the region of abstract

, ,

ideas of truth goodness and b eauty : ready to take form and

, ,

shape in i nfinite variety in the universal or cosmic Mind ,

constituting what we then call the mental Plane and from ,

the s u bs ta nce of which Man or the individual self must obtain

, , ,

his mind body as surely as he must obtain his physica l body

from the substance of the physical Plane .

To reali se the true Self as transcendental — even to a ll mind

forms — must then be our Ideal our aim obj ect and goal
, , , , ,
.

Even to realise n ow this transcendental nature of the Self ,

merely as an intellectual concept or working hypothesi s must ,

give us an enormous power of control over both mind and body

for it is the ill usive identification of the self with something
l es s than itself with phenomenal fo rms gi ving a sense of
,

separateness which is the root of all i ll usion pain suffering

, , , ,

fl
and death .

Our goal is nothing S hort of the Ideal Real that Reality of

consciousness in which all things are known a s th ey a re and ,

not as they s eem that Reality in which we gr asp a s ubs ta nce ,

not a shadow ; in which we have laid hold of eterna l li fe : a life

not sub j ect to the ebb and OW O f phenomena but full free ‘

, , ,

immeasurable triumphant , .

The real and the ideal are usually considered to be a s far

apart as the poles they are in fact but other names for the , ,

dual aspect of the u niverse which appears as sub j ect and

obj ect or spirit and matter
,
.

But though in this relation the ideal appears as something

, ,

which is n ot the real : it must actually exist as s omethi ng for

all that becomes real a ll that is ever practically accomplished
, ,

must of necessity first exist as the ideal .

Is it then only real when i t is m a terialised in ob j ective

, ,
 THE IDEAL REALISM 2
4 3

form Is it not rather the case not merely that the ob j ective ,

form is only real in proportion as it is touched with the magic

power of the ideal but that the true Real i s that Ideal which
,

can express itself in an infinite variety of forms can fi n d Its ,

infinite life and bliss in so expressing Itself yet be in nowise ,

bound limited or conditioned by the forms It creates nor

, , ,

touched or destroyed by the hand of time ? Which is the

true Reality the i dea which the artist embodies in the picture
,

or the statue ; or the material picture or statue itself which

may be destroyed to - morrow
Wh ich is the true Reality that One B e- ness which lives ,

and moves in All creating in endless time and unbounded

,

space out of the Infinite Pleroma which is I TS E LF all this vast

U niv erse of phenomena which comes and goes ; or that
present but evanescent ob j ectivity which we call physical
matter and form
Which is the Reality the Consciousness or Self which ,

knows and acts ; or those forms of mind or body in which

It expresses to Itself Its Own Infinite Selfness ? Even as
the artist is greater than the picture or statue the musician ,

than the materialised score or the i n trum en ts by which it is

rendered the artisan than the material in which he works
,

so also the Self is greater than the whole obj ectivised Universe
in and through which It expresses Itself The obj ective .

Universe is the supreme work of a rt of the transcendental

Craftsman the Supreme Self ; a work ever perfect in truth
, ,

goodness and beauty yet never complete ; for we conceive

, ,

that Self cannot do otherwise than thus etern a lly express

Itself to Itself .

And here below the individual self repeating or reflecting

, ,

the divine creative process materialising in some physical ,

form what dim reflection of the divine and eternal perfection

of truth goodness and beauty it can mirror in its individual
, ,

mind and reproduce in the dulness and inertness of physical

,

matter and brain as science ph i losophy religion art and

, , , , ,

conduct : finds therein a j oy a happiness a bliss otherwise , ,

unobtainable ; which however can be at its best but a faint

reflection of the divine ecstasy of Life Itself — full-
, ,

free u n ,

conditioned Eternal , .

Briefly summarised the three stages oi evolution may be ,

said to be : the animal the human and the divine Each of , ,

.

these however shades off by imperceptible degrees into the

, ,
42 4 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
other for they are all part of the one process By evolution
, .

we here mean the return half of the cosmic cycle There .

must h ave been a corresponding descent or involution in

the first instanc e ; but of this science knows nothing In the .

fi rst stage of the evolutionary process however as we know , ,

-
it the individual self is identified wi th the physical form
,

or body In the second it is identified with the mind body

.
, .

In the third it is identified with the One Self and is above '

all bodies and all forms though active in all When this
, .

stage is reached when to the power of the mind over body

,

is added the power of the Higher Self over mind all things ,

become possible because all ca us es are known and realised

,

as lying within the Self .

I t is on record that this highest state or stage may be

reached and known even b y th e incarnate self ; and even
before it is fully reached results may be accomplished by th e
indivi dual in and through the physical body which would
seem to many probably to most to be nothing short of super
‘

, ,

natural and miraculous So little are these results known

.

or understood or credited at the present t ime and so little ,

real proof can be offered of them to the world at large th at ,

no useful purpose would be served in attempting to indicate

or explain them here .

Here and there in the history of the world some few have
manifested to their fellows these divine powers and have ,

commo nl y been rewarded with persecution calumny a n d , ,

death — though possibly afte rwards with d ei fi ca ti on .

An d perchance to - day also living among us are many

, ,

s uch though the world knows them not for they seek neith er

for the recognition nor approbation of their fellow -

, ,

men They .

can do their work best without these

'

The Ideal Realism then is the realisation of the true

, ,

divine nature of the S E LF .

The highest possible Ideal which we can at present form

as to the true nature of that Infinite Life which is Ours mu st
fall immeasurably short of the true Reality .

Are there any divine powers whatsoever which at any

’
time in the world s history any in di vidual has manifested
in the flesh —even such di vine powers can be shall be , ,

and must be yours and mine in the fulness of time ,

.

Are there any still diviner powers the powers of vast ,

c osmic Beings by whom , through whom and in whom S uns , ,

 THE IDEAL REALISM 25

and Moons and Planets vast Solar Systems and Universes

, , ,

innumerable are brought to manifestation out of the timeless

spaceless Pleroma of Pri mordial Substance and in due course , ,

having run their appointed cycles are redissolved therein ?

—even such powers as these S how forth can be S hall be
,

, ,

and must be yours and mine when having passed beyond the ,

illusion of separate existence ; when free from all bodily

fetters free from passions free from all attachments — we
, ,

know the final Truth of all truths that Thou art That .

The Ideal Realism must begin to realise n ow the real

nature and powers of the Self It does not commence with .

the development in the individual of abnormal powers ; it

begins with the realisation that all the powers which we
n ow exercise— life
“

thought consciousness will emotion—i h

, , , ,

our common everyday life and at every moment of time ,

a re di vi n e p owers .

If indeed we look forward to the possession of these at

, ,

some future time in a diviner degree in a fulness at present ,

unrealised and even unimagined they are none the less divine
powers in whatever degree we may at present possess them .

Unless this is first realised it is useless to ask for more , .

Let each and all put aside the idea that there is anything
common p l a ce or that religion is a special and separate function
,

or development of human nature All science all philosophy .

, ,

all li fe is religious to the man who apprehends the true nature

of the Self .

B ut even when we speak of looking forward to the

possession at some future time of a diviner degree or measure
of the powers of life and consciousness which we already
possess we are still speaking in conventional terms and not
, ,

in terms of the true Idealism The self Which we thus speak .

of as we i s still the limited and conditioned personal self .

In terms of the higher Idealism however the process of

becomi n g is a self-
, ,

realisation of what we A R E and by no means ,

a becomi ng of what we are not The becomi ng is only in

‘
.

consciousness not in reality ,

.

We have endeavoured to S how that there are two modern

s cientific concepts which help us to realise this strange paradox ,

that we are yet are not so much more than we seem to be

, , .

The first of these is the purely physical one that physica l ,

matter is yet is not Primordial Substance We can speak

, ,
.

of the physical atom as disintegrating into etheric substance

42 6 SCIENTIFIC IDEALISM
as becomi ng ether Yet it i s ether all the time— etheric as
.

to s u bs ta n ce physical matter as to form The ether again

,
.
, ,

may be conceived of a s resolvable into the substance of a

higher Plane— say the mental Yet it i s the substance of
,
.

that higher Plane already ; and so also is physical matter .

In like manner all the matter on any Plane is ul timately

,

resolvable into the One Primordial Substance yet it i s that

Primordial Substance all the time ; and can never be a ught
else It is only the form not the s u bs ta nce whi ch becomes
.
, .

The second concept which h elps us to realise this is the

psychological concept of the s u bli mi n a l s elf Th e real self .

must be the self in its tota li ty and not a mere fragment — which
,

is all we are in our normal consciousness in our physical ,

personality and thread of memory .

But since a ll things are contained in the ON E we cannot ,

reach totality short of that ONE short of the Infinite The ,

.

Self in its real nature cannot be less than the Whole Universe .

Possibly there is no u n i t of consciousness which kn ows

Itself as the Whole Absolute consciousness must be u n
.

consciousness and perchance the Most High Seer that is

,
‘

in highest heaven knows not Perchance the highest .

ers on a l God conceivabl e falls still somewhat short of full

p
self- realisation is somewhat less in consciousness than the
,

Whole .

Were it otherwise there were possibly and conceivably

,

no necessity for the great cosmic process or evolution ; for

all forms of consciousness all activi ty of life must be the
activity of self-
, ,

realisation .

Yet even so even if personality or individuality must

,

always fall short of Infinity : the Self in its total ity must be
the Whole Universe— and perchance requires Infin ity in order
to realise it .

Let us understand not merely that we exist n ow on all

Planes of the Universe not merely that we possess bodi es
,

forms of Substance for the indwelling consciousness— on

each of the higher Planes but also that as we fall back upon
,

those bodies or vehicles of consciousness whi ch a re a lrea dy

ou rs
, we must necessaril y enter into a fuller and more
universal mode of consciousness or mode of B ei ng Consci ous ,
.

ness or Being cannot be destroyed any more than motion :

it can only be transferred in degree from one form to another .

It must always possess a body or vehicle its final body or ,

 THE IDEAL REALISM 42 7

vehicl e being Primordial Substance itself If our present .

personal con s ci ou s n ees s may appear capable of becomi ng

something which it is not at present it can only do so by ,

falling back upon some more universal mode of Substance ,

or by bringing through to the physical brain a deeper and

wider consciousness already existing That which is capable .

of welling up within us as a deeper consciousness or a fuller

life - i s a lrea dy th ere .

Only thus may we truly speak of the Human as becomi ng

Divine Man is both Human and Divine because God is both
.

Divine and Human The Divine Incarnation is a Cosmic

.

Fact —only mirrored or reflected in any possible historical

event.

What higher Ideal then can we have than that of our

, ,

own Infinite Nature What higher Reality can we possibly

attain to than that of knowing Ourselves in all the fulness
of our divine Powers
If Man is now the Pilgrim of the Universe he is a Pilgrim ,

who shall certainly return to claim his inheritance .

In all ages Ma n has been taught Thou art That

but for the most part this great and final Truth has been a
h i dden my s tery which few could receive .

The Path which each must tread is the Path of Self

realisation We are ourselves the Path
. .

Behind you around you before you is the U niverse

, , ,

Y O U who have power to say I A M I .

W I THI N YOU is the Universe for—T HOU ART T HAT ,

.

R E B M A N LT D .
,
12
9 S HAFT E S B UR Y A V E N UE , LOND ON , W C
. .
 Pom man s Li s t
’
es s rs . .

J un Pnl i s hcd .

Two D emy 8 vo vo l s . O ver 1 000 pp . Pri ce 21 s . n e t.

PRG RES S l V E C REATI ON : A Re co n c i l i a t i o n of Re l i g i o n

w i t h S ci e n c e .

y R ev . HOL D E N E S A M PS ON . .

'

l 5 b oo ki
d e e p e s t i n tere s t t o ma ny cl a s s e s o f rea d ers a nd th i n ers , a n d we
s o f th e k
d o r ne S I ta te to p ro nou n ce i t o n e o f th e m os t re m a r a b l e b oo s wh i c h h a ve a p p e a re d k k
d uri th e p a s t h a l f cen t u ry -
I t a p p ea l s to s o m a ny s e c ti o n s of h u m a n s o ci e ty , b e i n a
.

g
s er i c co n t ri b u t i o n t o p u b l i s h e d t h o u g h t i n c u rre n t s ci e n t i c r es e a rc h I t i s a d e n i te fi . fi
a n d I S I ti ve a d va n ce o f t h e E vo l u ti o n a ry t h eo ry wh i ch s ta rted fro m th e p ub l i ca ti on o f
'
D a r n s m e m o ra b le b oo s Th e Or ig i n of S p ec i e s k a nd
, Th e D es ce n t o f M a n a nd
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a n d e S p i ri tua l p l a n e s b re a i n g d o wn th e t i m e worn b a rr i ers wh i ch for s o m a n y a g e s
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.

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,

va s I q ui ry i n to th e c o o rd i n a ti o n o f s ci e n t i
.
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p .

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p h s o p h y ) es t ,

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b e t rme n t a n d re d e m p ti o n , free from th e m a n y u n s c i en ti c a nd i nconcei va b le a noma li e s

wh I d i s cre d i t re l i gi on g en era ll y t o th e s cie n ti c m i n d
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fi .

h o tly Is s ued .

D e my 8 vo , 7 36 p p .
, clo th , i n cl udi ng B i b li og ra p h y a nd cop i ous I nd e x .

Pri ce 1 28 . 6d . n et .

Ts HI D D E N C HURC H OF THE HOLY G RAA L : I ts

'

Le g e n d s a nd S y m b o li s m .

fi
C ons i d ere d i n th e i r A f ni t y wi th C e rta i n M ys te ri es o f I n i ti a ti on a n d o th er T races
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’
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to ce rta i n c la ss o f t h ou g h t fu l rea d e r s
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Th e b oo i s a m on u me n t o f l a b our , lea rn i ng , a nd l ove h e b ri ng s t o t h e e x e cu t ion of h i s

m t f t h e w h o l e h i s t o r y a n d l i t e ra t u re o f t h e s u b e c t , a nd a d e e p i ns i g h t i n t o i t s j
—
ta a ra r e a s e ry o

li nen s p i r i tua l a s e ct s Gl a sg ow H e r a l d
k l
.

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.

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.

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t d s ta n d s alo n e a s a m a g a z m e of I nfor ma ti o n
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l ere h i m i n t h i s e n cy c lo p aed i c t re a t s e N a ti on
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c :s ma
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c .

1 Is s ued .

C rown 8 vo , 4 8 p p .
, p a
p e r covers . Pri ce I s . n et ; b y p os t, 1 8 . 1 d .

HE RI D DL E .

By M I C HA E L W OOD .

OND ON : R EB M AN LI M I T ED , 1 29 F
S HA TE S B UR Y A V E N UE , W . C .
 ’
From Me an s Lis t .

J us t Publ i s hed .

Two D emy 8 vo vo ls . O ver 1 000 pp . Pri ce 21 8 . n e t.

PROG RES S I V E C REA TI ON : A Re co n c i l i a t i o n of Re l i g i o n

w i t h S ci e n ce .

B y R ev . HOL DE N E S A M PS ON . .

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d o no t h es i ta te to p r o nou n ce i t o n e o f t h e m o s t r e m a r a b l e b o o s wh i c h h a ve a p p e a re d k k
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,

s eri o u s co n t ri b u ti o n t o p u b l i s h e d t h ou g h t i n cu rre n t s ci e n t i c re s ea rc h I t i s a d e n i te .

a n d p o s i ti ve a d va n ce o f th e Evol ut i o n a ry t h e o ry wh i ch s ta r te d fro m t h e p ub l i ca t i o n o f
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h a ve b e en re a re d u p b e twe en th e S p i ri tua l a n d th e M a ter i a l a n d b e twee n S ci e nce a n d ,

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.

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k
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- fi
,

va s t i n ui ry i n to th e co o rd i n a ti o n o f s c i e n t i c a n d t h eol o g i ca l p r o p os i t i o n s a nd o f t h e
q ,

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,

b e tte rm e nt a n d re d e m p ti on , free fro m th e m a ny u n s ci e n ti c a nd i ncon ce i va b le a no m a li e s

wh i ch d i s cre d i t rel i gi on g e n era l ly to th e s ci e n ti c m i n d fi .

D e my 8 vo , 7 36 p p .
, cloth , i n cl udi n g B i b li og ra p h y a nd co p i ous I nd e x .

Pri ce 1 28 . 6d . n e t.

THE HI DD E N C HURC H OF THE HO LY G RAA L : I ts

Le g e n d s a nd S y m b ol i s m .

C on s i d ere d i n th ei r Afii ni t y wi th C e rta i n M y s teri es o f I n i ti a ti on a nd o th e r T races

o f a S e cret Tr a d i t i o n i n C h ri s ti a n Ti me s B y A TH U E D W A D W A I T E . R R R .

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.
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k
. .

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h i d d e n s p i ri t u a l a s p e c ts —Gl a s g ow H er a l d
k i
.

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T P s Wee k ly
’

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M r W a i te s s u b t tl e nt m a t e s t h a t th e Le g e nd s a nd S y mbol s m o f th e Holy G ra a l a re
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.

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Th e b oo i s o ne wh i c h n o l o ve r o f ro m a nc e , of o ur o ld li t era ture , o f
t h e C e l t i c s p i ri t , or , m ore p a rt i cula rly , o f t h e G ra a l Le g e n d c a n a ffo rd to le a ve u n r e a d H is
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.

b oo i s a co n s p e c tu s , as i t w e re , o f t h e wh ole su bj e ct , a n d s ta n d s a lo n e a s a m a g a z i n e o f i n for ma ti o n
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. i
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of R evi ews .

J us t Is s ued .

C rown 8 vo , 48 p p .
, p a p er covers . Pri ce 1 8 . n et ; b y p os t, 1 6. t a .

THE RI D D L E .

By M I C H A E L W OO D .

LO N D O N : R EB M AN LI M I T ED , 1 29 F
S HA TE S B UR Y A V E N UE , W C
. .
 ’ ’
F R OM M E S SR S R E B M AN S
Q

. LI S T .

C ro wn 8 vo, 1 44 pp .
, p a p er co ve rs . Pri ce 1 8 . n et ; b y p os t, 1 8 . 2d .

M ONI S M
An A nti d o te to Profes s or Ha ec el s Bo o , Th e R i d d le of th e U ni vers e k By S
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k
R
. .

PH M A C US M D , S p a Ph y s i ci a n a t Py rm o n t G erm a n y
. , . . T ra n s l a ted b y R W , . . .

-
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. . Tro p i ca l D i s e a s e s i n Afri ca , e tc
. . .

Y
S N O PS I S O F C ON TE N T S : I K n owled g e —I I M a tter III T h e L i vi n g
—I V Th e L i vi n g Org a n i s m —V Th e L i vmg Org a n i s m
. . .

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. .

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’
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XI I Pe rfecti o n
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. X I I I Tel e o log y a nd D y s tel eol o g y
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.

A p p en d i x -V .

. . . .
.

C o nclus i o n — S y lla b us . .

Th i s l i t tl e vol u m e h a s b ee n w ri tt e n w i th t h e o b e ct o f s ti mu l a t i n g m e n a n d wome n t o tlz z n k

-
j ’

M a te ri a li s m i s s p rea d i n g fa r a n d w i d e t o d a y , a n d i t s e e m s t o me t h a t th i s i s la rg ely d ue to w a n t
o f s o u nd t h i n i ng k
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-
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k
.

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k
.

m i s lea d s , th e p op ula r i d e a s a s t o w h a t i s fa l s e a nd wh a t i s t ru e I n t h i s s ma ll b oo t h e a u th o r h a s
—
.

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s o u g h t t o p rovi d e , a s i t w ere , th o ug h t t a b lo i d s con ta i n i n g a n a n t i d o t e F rom t h e TR A N S LA T O R S .

PR E F A C E .

Recently Is s ued .

C rown 8 vo , I 50 p p .
, cl oth . Pri ce 28 . 6d . n et .

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fl
.

fl
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M D ( Ho n C a us a) C h i ca g o L L D ,
. . . L S A e tc ,
, . . . . .

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—
.

k
Th e b oo co n ta i n s s i x s ecti on s vi z I I n tro d ucti o n I I T h e I on s —I I I I o n s
i n B i ol ogy —I V —
, . . . . . .

E volu ti o n o f Org a n i c M a t ter V I n ue n ce o f I ons o n th e

O rg a n i s m —
. . . .

V I T h e I n ue n ce of I o n s i n Ox id a ti on a n d I m m u n i s a ti o n
. . .

DV/za t i s i t th a t r en d ers m a tter act i ve, tlza t en a bl es i ons or mer es to f or m

org a n i c s u bs ta n ces , a n d to p r od u ce w i l l a n d r ea s on ?1
Th e V i ta l i s t a rg u e s th a t i t i s a vi t a l forc e wh i ch m y s teri ous l y m o ul d s th e
e l e m e n ts i n t o o rg a n i c ti s s u es , t h e t i s s u e s i n t o o rg a n s , a n d t h e org a n s i n to a n
o rg a n i s m .

T h e P/zy s i ci s t s a ys l ife i s t/z e s u m o f th e p a rt i cul a r vi ta l a c ti vi ti es e xhi b i ted b y

a n org a n i s m .

fi
Ac cord i ng to th e rs t i t i s a n tece d e nt to a n d th e sour ce o f a ll vi ta l p h en o m e na .

Acco rd i ng to th e la tter : I t i s th e r es u l t o f t h e n u m erou s a cti vi ti es e x h i bi ted b y

a n o rg a n i s m a n d d e p e n d e n t u p on va r i ou s fo r ces .

La rg e cro wn 8 vo , 38 2 p p .
, cloth . Pri ce 7 9 . 6 d . n et.

HY PN OTI S M , O R S UG G ES TI ON A N D PS YC HOTHERA PY .

A S tu d y of t h e Ps ych ol og i ca l , Ps y ch o p h y s i ol og i ca l a nd Th era p eu ti c As p ects o f -

R
,

Hyp n oti s m B y D r ( M e d ) A UG U S T FO E L , D r Ph i l
. . e t J ur C h i g ny . . .
,

S wi tz erl a n d forme rl y Pro fe s s or o f Ps yc h i a tr y a n d D i re c t or o f th e Provi n ci a l

L u n a t i c A s yl um , Z ii r i c h T ra n s l a ted b y H W A M I T . L R C P , fr om . . R , . . . .

t h e F ifth ( G erma n ) Ed i ti o n .

k
W e ca n s a y e mp h a t ica lly t ha t t h e b oo i s a va l ua b le a d d i t i on t o t h e li t e ra tu re of th e s ub e ct , ” —
j
a nd we h o p e i ts c i rcula t i o n w i ll b e a s w i d e a s i t d e s e r ves occu l t R evi e w
k fi
. .

“
T h o u g h t h e w or i s p e nn ed b y on e p o ss e s s i n g h ig h m e d i c a l q u a li ca ti o ns , t h e re a re n o
t ec h n i ca li t i e s wh i c h w i ll p re ve n t t h e la y ma n fr o m p e r u s m g i t He w i ll not o nl y fi nd t h e wor k
i ns truct i ve , b u t p os i t i ve ly fa s cm a t i ng —A u n a l s o
.

'

f P sy c/z zca l S ci en ce . .

R oya l 8 vo, 700 p p .

,
cl o th . Pri ce 21 s . n et.

V I TA LI TY , FA S TI N G , A N D N UTRI TI ON .

A Ph y s i olog i ca l S t ud y o f t h e C u ra ti ve Powe r o f F as t i ng , tog e th e r wi th a N e w

T h e o ry o f t h e R e la ti o n o f F o o d to Hu ma n i ta l i ty By H E EW A D V R R
RR
.

CA I NG TON , M e m b er o f th e S o c i e ty for Ps ych i ca l R e s ea rch e tc , .

k
T h i s b oo p res e n ts a m as s of e n t i r el y n e w m a te ri a l to th e s ci en ti c world a s a wh ole fi
o n a g rea t va r i e ty o f s ub jects N ew th e or ie s a re a d va n ce d a s to t h e n a tu re o f d i s e as e
. ,

t h e a c ti o n o f d rug s a n d s ti m ul a n ts t h e g erm t h eo r y , t h e q ua n ti ty o f foo d n e ces s a ry to

,

s u s t a i n li fe o f c a n ce r i n s a n i ty , p a i n , fa ti g ue s l ee p d ea th , t h e ca us a ti o n a n d ma i n te n a n ce
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o f b od ily h ea t a n d o f h u m a n vi ta l i ty A l tog eth er t hi s i s o n e o f th e m os t re m a r a b l e

.

k
b oo s of r ecen t y e a rs .

L ON D ON : R EB M A N L I M I TE D , 1 29 S HA TE S B URY A F V EN UE , W . C .
 ’
F R OM M E S S RS . REBMAN S LI S T .

Fi v e cro wn 8 vo vo l um es . Pri ce p e r vol ume , b o und i n cl o th , 48 . e a ch n ot

( s old s e p a ra te ly )

fl
.

B I O G RAPHI C C LI N I C S
-
.

V ol I . T h e Orig i n o f th e I ll h ea l th o f D e Q ui n cey C a rly le D a rwi n , H u xle a nd

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. , .

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. . . , ,

C a rly le S p e n ce r W h i tt i er, M a rg a re t F ul l er O s s o li , a n d N i e tz s c h e A nd ols

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, , . .

I I I I V , a nd V i s ua l F u n cti o n a n d Hea l th Es s a y s co n ce r n i n g t h e I n u e nce

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. . .
, .

of i s u a l F u n c ti o n Pa th ol og i c a n d Ph y s i ol o g i c u p o n th e Hea l th o f Pa t ie n ts By
R
, , .

G E O G E M GO UL D , A M , M D . Ph ila d e l p h i a . . . .

W h e th e r p rop ou n d e d th e re i n b e s ou n d or n o t , t h e wor i s a va l ua b le c o n t ri b u t i o n
t h e t h eory k
t o me d i ca l l i te ra t u re jj
I n t h e s e d a y s o f e un e tre a t i s es a n d co mp i la t i on s , wh i c h a re a s a s h es i n
k k
.

’ ‘ ’
t h e m o u t h , a b oo l i e D r G ou l d s B i o g ra p h i c C l i n i cs , wh i ch h a s t h e fre s h n e s s , t h e b r i lli a nc y ,
a n d t h e ru s h i n g force o f a m ou n t a i n s t re a m , i s a s w e l c o m e a s s u mme r—w h e n i t d o e s co me i n t h i s
.

d rea ry cli ma te —
B r i ti s k Al ecl i ca l j ou r n a l ( Re vi e w of V o l
. .

La rg e p os t 1 6mo, limp clo th . Pri ce 1 8 . n et ; p os t fre e, 1 8 . 1 d .

D EATH A N D I TS V E RI F I C ATI ON .

V
B e i ng a D es cr i p ti o n o f th e a r i ou s T e s ts wh i ch s h ould b e A d o p te d t o P reve n t t h e
k
R i s of Prema t ure Buri a l B y J B I N D LE J A M E S L R C P M R C S E ng. . R Y , . . . . . . . .

J us t Pub l i s h ed .

C rown 8 vo . 68 .

THE M A N I A C : A Re a li s t i c S t ud y of M a d n e s s fro m th e
’
M a niac s Po i n t of Vi ew .

F r om t/ze F or ew or d to th e Vol u me .

k
Th i s b o o i s a fa i th ful a c c ou n t o f a g e nu i n e a tta c o f A cu te M a n i a k
N o th i n g h a s b e e n i n ve n te d —fro m rs t to l a s t t h i s i s a true reco rd
.

fi
k
.

T h e wh ol e wa s wri tte n d own d u ri ng th e m o n th s i m m e d i a tel y a fte r t h e a tta c a nd

wh ile re m e mb ra n ce o f i t wa s a s vi vi d a s a t t h e a ctu a l ti m e o f i ts o ccurre n ce .

F IC T IO N
N ew N ove l b y th e A uth or of Mora g th e S e a l . To b e p ub li s h ed to wa rd s end o f

J un e 1 909 . 68 .

O LD AS THE W ORLD : A Ro m a n c e of th e W e s t e rn
I s la n d s .

By J W BROD I E
. . I N N ES .

Th e ca u s es b r i n g i n g a b out ro m a n t i c a n d d ra m a t i c h a p p e n i ng s ma y b e fou n d i n th e
k
l e g e n da ry fol l o r e , tra d i ti o n s o r s up e rs t i ti o n s wh i c h h a ve p e rs i s te d from t i m e i mm e mor i a l
,

i n th e C e lti c W e s t T h i s i s i llu s tra te d i n th e p re s e n t n o vel i n vi vi d c ol o u r a n d s tro ng

k
.

h um a n p as s i o n a g a i n s t a b a c g ro un d o f th e lo ve l y s ce n ery o f th e W e s tern I s la nd s ,
k
s e tc h ed b y o n e wh o k
n o ws a n d l o ve s i t wel l ; wi th g l i m p s es o f D ru i d i c l o re a n d o f th e

re li g i o n o f t h e b u i ld e rs o f s t o ne c i rcle s a n d t h e m a e rs of s erp e n t m o u n d s , a n d t h e
, k
m e a n i n g a n d o ri g in o f m a n y m y s ter i o u s c a rvi n g s o n t h e a n ci e n t s cul p ture d s ton e s i n
- k
,

cl u d i n g t h e c uri o us cu p m a r i n g s , wh i ch s h o ul d b e very fa s c i n a t i n g to t h e a rch aeo l og i s t .

F e w re a l i s e th a t s o n ea r t o o ur d oo rs l i es a la n d a s Ale x a n d er S m i th s a i d , m ore s tra n g e

—wh er e b ea u ty i s m a g i ca l a n d e te rna l a nd wh e re
,

a n d n e w th a n a n y C o n t i n e n ta l c o u n try ,

ro m a n ce y e t l i n g e rs R e a d ers o f th i s n o vel a re g i ve n a g l i mp s e of th i s fa i ry l a n d
. I t is .

a b oo k n ot o nl y to rea d , b u t to p o s s e s s .

C rown 8 y o, 6 8 .

A DA UG HTE R OF B E LI A L . A S e n s a t i o n a l S t o ry .

B y B AS I L T O E Z R .

A n a ma z i n g l y i n t ere s t i n g s tory i t th rob s wi th life — Wes ter n M a i l

j
. .

A veri ta b l e fe as t to t h o s e wh o e n o
y an — a cc u m u la t i o n o f me lod ra ma t i c t h rills M r To z er h a s
k fi i
. .

e x ce p t i on a l q ua l i t i es for t h i s i n d o f c t on 0 u t l oole
k k ik
. .

a n d i t h a s , i n fa c t , e p t u s fr o m wor lo ng e r t h a n we l e Ti m es
k —L i vcrfi ool
. .

T h e b oo i s wid e ly s e n s a t i ona l, fu ll o f my s te r y , a nd t h o roug h ly e x c i t i n g . D a i ly

O

A t h r i lli ng p i e ce of wor k .
—
By s t
’
a na er .

L ON D ON R E B MA N LI M I TED , 1 29 F
S HA TES B U RY A V EN UE ,
 FR 0M M E S S RS . R E B M AN S
’
LI S T .

A R EM A R K A B L E NO VE L O F H I G H L I TE RA RY Q U AL I T I ES .

S econ d I m p ress i on . 68 .

fl
THE ROM A N C E OF A N UN .

”
'

By A L i x K I N G , A uth or of T h e L i ttle N ovi ce .

Our h ea r t s g o ou t u nre s erve d ly d M a M ére W i th ou t i n th e l ea s t s t ra i ni ng a fter

t o th e re ve re
’

k
.

W e wa t c h
'
e ec t , M i s s K i n g p re s e n t s a p o r t ra i t of h e r w h i c h i s a t o n ce s i m p l e , m as t e r l y , a n d li fe l i e
k k
.

wi th t h e e e n es t i n t e r e s t t h e s tru g g l e w h i ch t a e s p la ce w i t h i n h e r b e t w ee n th e i n s t i nc t of ma te rna l
l ove a n d t h e ca ll of s p i r i tua l d u t y , a nd w e h a ve n o th i n g b ut co n g ra t u la t i o ns t o o ffe r t o th e a u th or es s
k k fi -
-
'

o n h e r s i lfu l d e l i n e a t i o n of t h i s s t ri i n g g u re B i r m z n g lz a m D a i ly P os t . .

On e o f t h e m os t c on vi n ci ng a n d m o s t h e a rt re n d i n g h u m a n d o cu me n ts e ver p re p a re d .

N e tt i ng /t a m G u a r d i a n
k
.

A l i x K i n g i s t o b e con g ra t ul a t e d u p on h a vi n g p ro d u ce d a n ove l o f tru e h u ma n i n te re s t , a b oo

‘

”—
wh i ch l i tera l ly h as n o t a d ull s e n t c n i t o
e n e i fr m t h fi rs t p g e to t h e l a s t
e a By s ta mi er . .

I t i s from a ne w s t a nd p oi n t t h a t t h e s tr ug g le b e t we e n p a s s i o n a n d c on s ci e n c e i s s h own u s i n t h i s
t o u ch i n g a n d u n co n ve n t i o na l ro m a n ce o f a n u n n e r y T h e b oo i s rea lly a s tu d y o f t e mp er a me n t . k .

E n p a s s a n t cur i ou s l y i n t eres t i ng d e t a i l s o f d a i l y c on ve n t u a l l i fe a re g i ve n , a n d a s tr on g l i h t t h r own

-
o n t h e s e l f re p re s s i o n p r a c t i s e d b h
y t s o e wh o
‘
di e t o the w or l d
’
M i s s Ki n g h as i t u p on a
k
.

c a tc h i n g t i t le fo r h e r ro m a n ce , w h i ch i s w r i tt e n wi t h g re a t s i ll a n d d e l i ca cy , a n d for wh i ch s u cc es s
i
i s ce rta n ly i n s u r ed
"
W or ld . .

C rown 8 vo , Gs .

THE W I FE A S t o r y o f S m a rt S u b u r b a n
. a nd Ho m e ly
A-r i s t oc r a t i c Li fe .

By HO R A C E W C N E W TE Au th or o f Th e M a s ter B ea s t
“
. .
, .

M r N e wt e h a s
.

wi th ou t b e co mi ng ch e a p
a mos t d e ft
i
.

n o s y , or
a n d co n v n c i ng
i wa y o f w r i t i n g
h
T ec l m a x i
h e ca n b e s ma r t a nd s a rca s t i c
I s a ma z m g ly c le ve r
”
S t a nel a r d -
,
i
. .

“
I t l ea ve s an i mp re s s wn a n d t h e re i s a g o od d e a l o f c l e ver sa t re a n d h umou r to b e fou n d i n
"
it. Ti m es .

C rown 8 y o , 6 8 .

M ORA G THE S EA L . A Fa s ci n a t i n g W es t Hi g h l a n d
Ro m a n c e .

By J W B R O DI E I NN Es
-
. . .

fl
Th i s n o vel d ea l s wi th th e fa s ci n a ti n g b u t li ttle n own fol l ore of th e C el ti c W e s t ; k k
le g e n d s o f th e S e a l W o m a n wi th th e for m o f a g o d a n d t h e h e a rt o f a b ea s t , told b y
o n e wh o k
n ows th e s u bje c t t h o ro u g h l y wel l T h e o ri e s o f te le p a th y a nd p h a n ta s m s o f th e
k
.

li vi n g a n d th e m os t m od e rn m e d i ca l n o wl e d g e o f t h e m y s ter i o u s s l ee p i n
g s i ck n e s s a nd
k
,

o f h y p n o t i s m , a r e b l e n d e d i n a we i r d , u n ca n n y co m p ou n d a g a i n s t a b a c g r ou n d o f mo or
k
an d m o un ta i n , s p a r l i n g we s tern s e a s a n d fa i ry i s l a n d s A n d th ro ug h i t a l l a s h e s i n a n d .

h
ou t t e e n t ra n ci n g g u re o f M o ra g h fi
er s e l f —s u b tle , fa s ci n a ti n g , a n d e lus i ve as a m o un ta i n ,

m i s t , — we a vi n g a s tra n g e a n d o ri g i n a l ro ma n ce .

k
A b oo to b u y a n d rea d
- —
.

Tz m es
°

A we i r d , w e l l h a n d le d ro ma n ce . .

Th i s cl e ve r a n d i n t er e s t i n g r oma n ce s h o ul d b e re a d wi th a h e ar ty i n t ere s t b y a n y o n e
j
wh o ca n e n oy s e e i n g t h e o l d er e le me n ts of roma n t i c W z a rd ry i ng e n i ous ly r e fre s h e d b y m od e rn
”—
i
.

d e vi ce s o f i n ve n ti on S cot s m a n . .

He wh o h a s a ta s te for t h e s u p”ern a t u ra l a n d for s e n s a t i o n wi ll fi nd h i ms elf re p a i d i n e x ci ted

i nte re s t b y th e p erus a l o f th i s b oo D a z ly Tel eg r ap h k .
— '

A cy ni ca l I nd i ctme nt of Mod e r n Mar ri a g e a nd Its Meth od s .

C rown 8 vo , p a p e r co ve rs , 18 . n et ; p os t fre e , 1 8 . 2d . ne t.

THE I RONY OF M A RRI A G E .

By B AS I L T O E ZR . W i th an I n tro d uctory N o te b y D r . C . W . S A LE E B Y ,

k i ll love , b u t th e w a y i n wh i ch ma ny p e op l e l i ve i n th e
-m a t ri mon y th a t
I t is not s s ta t e o f
’
ma tri mony M A x O R E LL .

k
.

T h e b oo wi ll a p p ea l s tro n g ly t o t h e m a rri e d a s well as t o th e un m a rri e d , a n d

certa i n ly i t s h o ul d b e re a d b y a l l m e n a n d wo m e n wh o h a ve r ea ch e d t h e a g e o f
d i s cre ti o n .

To q uote a t i t h e o f t h e g ood th i ng s co n ta i ne d i n t h e s e e s s a y s wou l d oc cup y m o re s p a ce t h a n we

c a n a ff o rd
”
.
k k
W h en w e t oo up t h e b oo i t wa s n ot p u t d o wn u n t il we h a d re a d t h e wh o le of i t to t h e
V i de P r es s
e nd
- i i i
. .

Th e Ta tl er i n a fu l l p a g e n ot ce s a y s : M r Toz er 3 c h a p te r s a re p q u a n t a n d merc less , a nd .

t h ey c a n b e warra n t e d t o o b l i t era t e a g r ea t ma n y te d i o us m i les b e twe e n , s a y L o n d on a n d M a n ch e s te r .

LON D ON : R EB MAN LI M I TED , 1 29 F

S H A T E S B UR Y A V E N UE ,
W C . .