,note3  ,i have made the following      
spelling changes3 ,prologue3  methed  to
 method2 ,chapter #b3 renders           
imposssible to renders impossible2      
which man possessses to which man       
possesses2 absolute  unqestionable to   
absolute unquestionable2 loathesomeness 
to  loathsomeness2 ,chapter #c3 alllowed
 to distort to allowed to  distort2     
,chapter #d3 itelf in its precise to    
itself in its precise2  ,chapter #e3 do 
very considerably to do vary            
considerably2  ,chapter #f3 oversoul to 
over-soul2 its own permonition to its   
own premonition2 arbitrement to         
arbitrament2 subtratum to  substratum2  
gooodeness to goodness2 ,chapter #g3    
flicherings to  filcherings2 ,perapity  
to ,peripety2 ,chapter #h3 penerated to 
penetrated2 ,chapter #i3 the            
anthropomorphic expresssion to  the     
anthropomorphic expression2 convuluted  
to convoluted2  ,chapter #aj3 a vast    
hierachy to a vast hierarchy2 ,chapter  
#aa3 to  be too anthromorphic to to be  

too anthropomorphic2 strictly strictly  
speaking to strictly speaking2 ,chapter 
#ac3 working in isolaton  to working in 
isolation2 ,if to this the astronomer   
answer to  ,if to this the astronomer   
answers2 difficult to decribe to        
difficult to describe2 the asethetic    
sense to the aesthetic  sense2 no       
attentuation to no attenuation2 the     
,complex ,vision  represents to the     
complex vision represents2 ,conclusion3 
is  eternaly divided to is eternally    
divided2 rest of the imortals  to rest  
of the immortals2 elimination of the    
objectice mystery to  elimination of the
 objective mystery4 ,the word over-soul 
is  mostly spelled with a hyphen1 so ,i 
added a hyphen to all instances of  this
 word4 ,the word outflowing is mostly   
spelled without a hyphen1  so ,i deleted
 the hyphens from all instances of this 
word4 ,all other  spelling remains the  
same4        ,,the ,,complex ,,vision   
,,by    ,,john ,,cowper ,,powys         
,,new ,,york  ,,dodd1 ,,mead ,,and      

,,company  #aibj        ,,dedicated     
,,to  ,,littleton ,,alfred              
,,prologue    ,what ,i am anxious to    
attempt in this anticipatory summary of 
the  contents of this book is a simple  
estimate of its final conclusions1 in   
such a form as shall eliminate all      
technical terms and reduce the  matter  
to a plain statement1 intelligible as   
far as such a thing can be  made        
intelligible1 to the apprehension of    
such persons as have not  had the luck1 
or the ill-luck1 of a plunge into the   
ocean of  metaphysic4    ,a large       
portion of the book deals with what     
might be called our  instrument of      
research2 in other words1 with the      
problem of what  particular powers of   
insight the human mind must use1 if its 
vision  of reality is to be of any      
deeper or more permanent value than the 
passing on the wing1 so to speak1 of    
individual fancies and  speculations4   
,this instrument of research ,i find to 
be the use1 by the human  person1 of all

 the various energies of personality    
concentrated into  one point2 and the   
resultant spectacle of things or reality
 of things1  which this concentrated    
vision makes clear1 ,i call the original
  revelation of the complex vision of   
man4    ,having analyzed in the earlier 
portions of the book the peculiar       
nature of our organ of research and the 
peculiar difficulties--  amounting to a 
very elaborate work of art--which have  
to be  overcome before this             
concentration takes place1 ,i proceed in
 the  later portions of the book to make
 as clear as ,i can what kind of        
reality it is that we actually do       
succeed in grasping1 when this          
concentrating process has been achieved4
 ,i indicate incidentally that  this    
desirable concentration of the energies 
of personality is so  difficult a thing 
that we are compelled to resort to our  
memory of  what we experienced in rare  
and fortunate moments in order to       
establish its results4 ,i suggest that  

it is not to our average moments  of    
insight that we have to appeal1 but to  
our exceptional moments of  insight2    
since it is only at rare moments in our 
lives that we are able  to enter into   
what ,i call the eternal vision4    ,to 
what1 then1 does this conclusion amount1
 and what is this  resultant reality1 in
 as far as we are able to gather it up  
and  articulate its nature from the     
vague records of our memory8    ,i have 
endeavoured to show that it amounts to  
the following series  of results4 ,what 
we are1 in the first place1 assured of  
is the  existence within our own        
individual body of a real actual living 
thing  composed of a mysterious         
substance wherein what we call mind and 
what we call matter are fused and       
intermingled4 ,this is our real and     
self-conscious soul1 the thing in us    
which says1 ,i am ,i1 of which  the     
physical body is only one expression1   
and of which all the bodily  senses are 
only one gateway of receptivity4    ,the

 soul within us becomes aware of its own
 body simultaneously  with its becoming 
aware of all the other bodies which fill
 the visible  universe4 ,it is then by  
an act of faith or imagination that the 
soul  within us takes for granted and   
assumes that there must be a soul       
resembling our own soul within each one 
of those alien bodies1 of  which1       
simultaneously with its own1 it becomes 
aware4    ,and since the living basis of
 our personality is this real soul      
within  us1 it follows that all those   
energies of personality1 whose          
concentration is the supreme work of    
art1 are the energies of this real      
soul4 ,if1 therefore1 we assume that all
 the diverse physical bodies  which fill
 the universe possess1 each of them1 an 
inner soul  resembling our own soul1 we 
are led to the conclusion that just as  
our own soul half-creates and           
half-discovers the general spectacle of 
things which it names the universe1 so  
all the alien souls in the  world       

half-create and half-discover what they 
feel as their  universe4    ,if our     
revelation stopped at this point we     
should have to admit that  there was not
 one universe1 but as many universes are
 there are  living souls4 ,it is at this
 point1 however1 that we become aware   
that  all these souls are able1 in some 
degree or other1 to enter into          
communication4 ,they are able to do this
 both by the bodily sounds  and signs   
which constitute language and by certain
 immaterial  vibrations which seem to   
make no use of the body at all4 ,in this
  communication between different souls1
 as far as humanity is  concerned1 a    
very curious experience has to be       
recorded4    ,when two human beings     
dispute together upon any important     
problem of life1 there is always an     
implicit appeal made by both of  them to
 an invisible arbiter1 or invisible     
standard of arbitration1 in  the heart  
of which both seem aware that the       
reality1 upon which  their opinions     

differ1 is to be found in its eternal   
truth4 ,what then  is this invisible    
standard of arbitration8 ,whatever it   
is1 we are  compelled to assume that it 
satisfies and transcends the deepest and
  furthest reach of personal vision in  
all the souls that approach it4  ,and   
what is the deepest and furthest reach  
of our individual soul8  ,this seems to 
be a projection upon the material plane 
of the very  stuff and substance of the 
soul's inmost nature4    ,this very     
stuff of the soul1 this outflowing of   
the substance of the  soul1 ,i name     
emotion2 and ,i find it to consist of   
two eternally  conflicting elements2    
what ,i call the element of love1 and   
what ,i  call the element of malice4    
,this emotion of love1 which is the     
furthest reach of the soul1 ,i find to  
be differentiated when it comes  into   
contact with the material universe into 
three ultimate ways of  taking life2    
namely1 the way which we name the       
pursuit of beauty1  the way which we    

name the pursuit of goodness1 and the   
way which  we name the pursuit of truth4
 ,but these three ways of taking life   
find  always their unity and identity in
 that emotion of love which is the      
psychic substance of them all4    ,the  
invisible standard of arbitration1 then1
 to which an appeal is  always made1    
consciously or unconsciously1 when two  
human  beings dispute upon the mystery  
of life1 is a standard of arbitration   
which concerns the real nature of love1 
and the real nature of what  we call the
 good and the true and the beautiful4   
,and since we have found in personality 
the one thing in existence of  which we 
are absolutely assured1 because we are  
aware of it1 on the  inside1 so to      
speak1 in the depths of our own souls1  
it becomes  necessary that in place of  
thinking of this invisible standard as  
any  spiritual or chemical law in any   
stream of life-force we should  think of
 it as being as personal as we ourselves
 are personal4 ,for  since what we call 

the universe has been already described 
as  something which is half-created and 
half-discovered by the vision of  some  
one soul in it or of all the souls in   
it1 it is clear that we have  no longer 
any right to think of these ultimate    
ideas as suspended in  the universe1 or 
as general laws of the universe4 ,they  
are  suspended in the individual soul1  
which half-creates and  half-discovers  
the universe according to their         
influence4    ,personality is the only  
permanent thing in life2 and if truth1  
beauty1  goodness1 and love1 are to have
 permanence they must depend for  their 
permanence not upon some imaginary law  
in a universe  half-created by          
personality but upon the indestructible 
nature of  personality itself4    ,the  
human soul is aware of an invisible     
standard of beauty4 ,to this  invisible 
standard it is compelled to make an     
unconscious appeal in  all matters of   
argument and discussion4 ,this standard 
must therefore  be rooted in a personal 

super-human vision and we are driven to 
the  conclusion that some being or      
beings exist1 superior to man1 and yet  
in communication with man4 ,and since   
what we see around us is a  world of    
many human and sub-human personalities1 
it is1 by  analogy1 a more natural      
supposition to suppose that these       
supernatural beings are many than that  
they are one4    ,what the human soul1  
therefore1 together with all other      
souls1 attains  in its concentrated     
moments is an eternal vision wherein    
what is  mortal in us merges itself in  
what is immortal4    ,but if what we    
call the universe is a thing made up of 
all the various  universes of all the   
various souls in space and time1 we are 
forbidden to find in this visible       
material universe1 whose reality  does  
not become really real until it has     
received the hall-mark1  so to speak1 of
 the eternal vision1 any sort of medium 
or link which  makes it possible for    
these various souls to communicate with 

one  another4    ,this material         
universe1 thus produced by the          
concentrated visions of  all the souls  
entering into the eternal vision1 is    
made up of all the  physical bodies of  
all such souls1 linked together by the  
medium of  universal ether4 ,but        
although the bodies which thus occupy   
different  points of space are linked   
together by the universal ether1 we are 
not  permitted to find in this elemental
 ether1 the medium which links the      
innumerable souls together4 ,and we are 
not permitted this because  in our      
original assumption such souls are      
themselves the  half-creators1 as well  
as the half-discoverers1 of that        
universe whose  empty spaces are thus   
filled4 ,the material ether which links 
all  bodies together cannot1 since it is
 a portion of such an universe1 be      
itself the medium from the midst of     
which these souls create that  universe4
    ,but if1 following our method of    
regarding every material substance  in  

the world as the body of some sort of   
soul1 we regard this  universal ether as
 itself the body of an universal or     
elemental soul1  then we are justified  
in finding in this elemental omnipresent
 soul  diffused through space1 the very 
medium we need2 out of the midst  of    
which all the souls which exist project 
their various universes4    ,we are thus
 faced by a universe which is the       
half-creation and  half-discovery of all
 living souls1 a universe the truth and 
beauty of  which depend upon the eternal
 vision1 a universe whose material      
substance is entirely composed of the   
actual physical bodies of  those very   
souls whose vision half-creates and     
half-discovers it4    ,we thus reach our
 conclusion that there is nothing in the
 world  except personality4 ,the        
material universe is entirely made up of
  personal bodies united by the personal
 body of the elemental ether4  ,what we 
name the universe1 therefore1 is an     
enormous group of  bodies joined        

together by the body of the ether2 such 
bodies being  the physical expression of
 a corresponding group of innumerable   
souls joined together by the soul of the
 ether4    ,in the portions of this book
 which deal with the creative energy of 
the soul ,i have constantly used the    
expression objective mystery2  but in my
 concluding chapter ,i have rejected and
 eliminated this  word as a mere step or
 stage in human thought which does not  
correspond to any final reality4 ,when  
,i use the term objective  mystery ,i am
 referring to the original movement of  
the individual  mind when it first      
stretches out to what is outside itself4
 ,what is  outside itself consists in   
reality of nothing but an unfathomable  
group of bodies and souls joined        
together by the body and soul of  the   
ether which fills space4    ,but since1 
in its first stretching out towards     
these things1 all it is  aware of is the
 presence of a plastic something which  
lends itself1  under the universal curve

 of space1 to the moulding and shaping  
and  colouring of its creative vision1  
it is natural enough to look about  for 
a name by which we can indicate this    
original clay or matter or  world-stuff 
out of which the individual soul creates
 its vision of  an universe4 ,and the   
name objective mystery is the name by   
which1 in the bulk of this book1 ,i have
 indicated this mysterious  world-stuff1
 by which the soul finds itself         
surrounded1 both in regard  to the      
matter of its own body and in regard to 
the still more alien  matter of which   
all other bodies are composed4    ,but  
when by the use of the term objective   
mystery ,i have indicated  that general 
and universal something1 not itself1 by 
which the soul is  confronted1 that     
something which1 like a white screen1 or
 a thick  mass of darkness1 waits the   
moving lamp of the soul to give it light
  and colour1 it becomes clear that the 
name itself does not cover any  actual  
reality other than the actual reality of

 all the bodies in the  world joined    
together by the universal ether4    ,is 
the term objective mystery1 therefore1  
no more than the name  given to that    
first solid mass of external impression 
which the  insight of the soul          
subsequently reduces to the shapes1     
colours1  scents1 sounds1 and all the   
more subtle intimations springing from  
the innumerable bodies and souls which  
fill universal space8 ,no4 ,it  is not  
quite this4 ,it is a little deeper than 
this4 ,it is1 in fact1 the  mind's      
recognition that behind this first solid
 mass of external  impression which the 
soul's own creative activity creates    
into its  universe there must exist     
something1 some real substance1 or      
matter1 or world-stuff1 in contact with 
which the soul half-creates  and        
half-discovers the universe which it    
makes its own4    ,when1 however1 the   
soul has arrived at the knowledge that  
its own  physical body is the outward   
expression of its inner self1 and when  

by an act of faith or imagination it has
 extended this knowledge to  every other
 bodily form in its universe1 it ceases 
to be necessary to  use the term        
objective mystery2 since that something 
which the  soul felt conscious of as    
existing behind the original solid mass 
of  impressions is now known by the soul
 to be nothing else than an  incredible 
number of living personalities1 each    
with its own body4    ,and just as ,i   
make use in this book of the term       
objective mystery1  and then discard it 
in my final conclusion1 so ,i make an   
emphatic  and elaborate use of the term 
creative and then discard it1 or        
considerably modify it1 in my final     
conclusion4    ,my sequence of thought1 
in this matter of the soul's creative   
power1 may thus be indicated4 ,in the   
process of preparing the  ground for    
those rare moments of illumination      
wherein we attain the  eternal vision   
the soul is occupied1 and the person    
attempting to  think is occupied1 with  

what ,i call the difficult work of art  
of  concentrating its various energies  
and fusing them into one balanced  point
 of rhythmic harmony4 ,this effort of   
contemplative tension is a  creative    
effort similar to that which all artists
 are compelled to  make4 ,in addition to
 this aspect of what ,i call creation1  
there also  remains the fact that the   
individual soul modifies and changes    
that  first half-real something which ,i
 name the objective mystery1 until it   
becomes all the colours1 shapes1 sounds 
and so forth1 produced by  the          
impression upon the soul of all the     
other personalities brought  into       
contract with it by the omnipresent     
personality of the universal  ether4    
,the words creation and creative axe    
thus made descriptive in  this book of  
the simple and undeniable fact that     
everything which  the mind touches is   
modified and changed by the mind2 and   
that  ultimately the universe which any 
mind beholds is an universe             

half-created by the mood of the mind    
which beholds it4 ,and since the  mood  
of any mind which contemplates the      
universe is dependent  upon the relative
 overcoming in that particular soul of  
the emotion  of malice by love1 or of   
the emotion of love by malice1 it       
becomes  true to say that any universe  
which comes into existence is           
necessarily created by the original     
struggle1 in the depths of some  soul or
 other1 of the conflicting emotions of  
love and malice4    ,and since the ideal
 of the emotion of love is life1 and the
 ideal of  the emotion of hate is death1
 it becomes true to say that the emotion
  of love is identical with the creative
 energy in all souls1 while the  emotion
 of malice is identical with the force  
which resists creation  in all souls4   
,why then do ,i drop completely1 or at  
least considerably modify1 this  stress 
upon the soul's creative power in my    
final chapter8 ,i am led  to do so by   
the fact that such creative power in the

 soul is1 after all1  only a preparation
 for the eternal vision4 ,creative      
energy implies  effort1 tension1        
revolution1 agitation1 and the pain of  
birth4 ,all  these things have to do    
with preparing the ground for the       
eternal  vision1 and with the final     
gesture of the soul1 by which it enters 
into that ultimate rhythm4 ,but once    
having entered into that vision--  and  
in these things time is nothing--the    
rhythm which results is a  rhythm upon  
which the soul rests1 even as music     
rests upon music1 or  life rests upon   
life4    ,and the eternal vision1 thus  
momentarily attained1 and hereafter     
gathered together from the deep cisterns
 of memory1 liberates us1  when we are  
under its influence1 from that          
contemplative or creative  tension      
whereby we reached it4 ,it is then that 
the stoical pride of the  soul1 in the  
strength of which it has endured so     
much1 undergoes the  process of an      
immense relaxation and relief4 ,an      

indescribable  humility floods our      
being2 and the mood with which we       
contemplate  the spectacle of life and  
death ceases to be an individual mood   
and  becomes an universal mood4 ,the    
isolation1 which was a necessary        
element in our advance to this point1   
melts away when we have  reached it4 ,it
 is not that we lose our personality1 it
 is that we merge  ourselves by the     
outflowing of love1 in all the          
personalities to which  the procession  
of time gives birth4    ,and the way we 
arrive at this identification of        
ourselves with all  souls1 living or    
dead or unborn1 is by our love for that 
ideal  symbolized in the figure of      
,christ in whom this identification has 
already been achieved4 ,this1 and       
nothing less than this1 is the eternal  
vision4 ,for the only god among all the 
arbiters of our destiny1 with  whom we  
are concerned1 is ,christ4 ,to enter    
into his secret is to enter  into their 
secret4 ,to be aware of him is to be    

aware of everything in  the world1      
mortality and immortality1 the          
transitory and the eternal4    ,life    
then1 as ,i have struggled to interpret 
it in this book1 seems to  present      
itself as an unfathomable universe      
entirely made up of  personalities4     
,what we call inanimate substances are  
all of them the  bodies1 or portions of 
the bodies1 of living personalities4    
,the  immense gulf1 popularly made      
between the animate and the  inanimate1 
thus turns out to be an unfounded       
illusion2 and the whole  universe       
reveals itself as an unfathomable       
series1 or congeries1 of  living        
personalities1 united by the presence of
 the omnipresent ether  which fills     
universal space4    ,it is of little    
moment1 the particular steps or stages  
of thought1 by  which one mind1 among so
 many1 arrives at this final conclusion4
  ,other minds1 following other tracks  
across the desert1 might easily  reach  
it4 ,the important thing to note is     

that1 once reached1 such a  conclusion  
seems to demand from us a very definite 
attitude toward  life4 ,for if life1 if 
the universe1 is entirely made up of    
personality1  then our instinctive or   
acquired attitude toward personality    
becomes  the path by which we approach  
truth4    ,to persons who have not been 
plunged1 luckily or unluckily1 in the   
troublesome sea of metaphysical phrases1
 the portions of this book  which will  
be most tiresome are the portions which 
deal with those  half-realities or      
logical abstractions of the human       
reason1 when  such reason works in      
isolation from the other attributes of  
the  soul4 ,such reason1 working in     
isolation1 inevitably produces certain  
views of life2 and these views of life1 
although unreal when  compared with the 
reality produced by the full play of all
 our  energies1 cannot be completely    
disregarded if our research is to  cover
 the whole field of humanity's          
reactions4 ,since there is always  an   

irresistible return to these            
metaphysical views of life directly the 
soul loses the rhythm of its total      
being1 it seems as if it were unwise  to
 advance upon our road until we have    
discounted such views and  placed them  
in their true perspective1 as unreal but
 inevitable  abstractions4    ,the      
particular views of life which this     
recurrent movement of the  logical      
reason results in1 are1 first1 the      
reduction of everything to  an infinite 
stream of pure thought1 outside both    
time and space1  unconscious of itself  
as in any way personal2 and1 in the     
second  place1 the reduction of         
everything to one universal             
self-conscious  spirit1 in whose        
absolute and infinite being independent 
of space and  time all separate         
existences lose themselves and are found
 to be  illusions4    ,what ,i try to   
make clear in the metaphysical portion  
of this book is  that these two views of
 life1 while always liable to return    

upon us  with every renewed movement of 
the isolated reason1 are in truth       
unreal projections of man's imperious   
mind4 ,when we subject them  to an      
analysis based upon our complete organ  
of research they show  themselves to be 
nothing but tyrannous phantoms1         
abstracted from  the genuine reality of 
the soul as it exists within space and  
time4    ,what ,i seek to show          
throughout this book is that the world  
resolves  itself into an immeasurable   
number of personalities held together by
  the personality of the universal ether
 and by the unity of one space  and one 
time4 ,even of space and time           
themselves1 since the only  thing that  
really fills them1 so to speak1 to the  
brim1 is the  universal ether1 it might 
be said that they are the expression of 
this  universal ether in its relation to
 all the objects which it contains4     
,thus the conclusion to which ,i am     
driven is that the dome of space1  out  
of which the sun shines by day and the  

stars by night1 contains  no vast gulfs 
of absolute nothingness into which the  
soul that hates  life may flee away and 
be at rest4 ,at the same time the soul  
that  hates life need not despair4 ,the 
chances1 as we come to estimate  them1  
for and against the soul's survival     
after death1 seem so  curiously even1   
that it may easily happen that the      
extreme longing of  the soul for        
annihilation may prove in such a        
balancing of forces the  final deciding 
stroke4 ,and quite apart from death1 ,i 
have tried to  show in this book1 how in
 the mere fact of the unfathomable      
depths  into which all physical bodies  
as well as all immaterial souls recede  
there is an infinite opportunity for any
 soul to find a way of escape  from     
life1 either by sinking into the depths 
of its own physical being1  or by       
sinking into the depths of its own      
spiritual substance4    ,the main       
purpose of the book reveals1 however1   
the only escape  from all the pain and  

misery of life which is worthy of the   
soul of  man4 ,and this is not so much  
an escape from life as a transfiguring  
of the nature of life by means of a     
newly born attitude toward it4  ,this   
attitude toward life1 of which ,i have  
tried to catch at least the  general    
outlines1 is the attitude which the soul
 struggles to maintain  by gathering    
together all its diffused memories of   
those rare  moments when it entered into
 the eternal vision4    ,and ,i have    
indicated as clearly as ,i could how it 
comes about that in  the sphere of      
practical life the only natural and     
consistent  realization of this attitude
 would be the carrying into actual      
effect  of what ,i call the idea of     
communism4    ,this idea of communism1  
in which the human implications of the  
eternal vision become realized1 is      
simply the conception of a system  of   
human society founded upon the creative 
instinct1 instead of upon  the          
possessive instinct in humanity4    ,i  

endeavour to make clear that such a     
reorganization of society1  upon such a 
basis does not imply any radical change 
in human  nature4 ,it only implies a    
liberation of a force that already      
exists1 of  the force in the human soul 
that is centrifugal1 or outflowing1 as  
opposed to the force that is            
centripetal1 or indrawing4 ,such a force
  has always been active in the lives of
 individuals4 ,it only remains to       
liberate that force until it reaches the
 general consciousness of the  race1 to 
make such a reconstruction of human     
society not only ideal1  but actual and 
effective4    ,,contents    ,chapter ,i4
        ,the ,complex ,vision           
#a  ,chapter ,,ii4       ,the ,aspects  
of the ,complex ,vision           #bj   
,chapter ,,iii4      ,the ,soul's       
,apex-,thought                     #ef  
,chapter ,,iv4       ,the ,revelation of
 the ,complex ,vision        #ga        
,chapter ,v4        ,the ,ultimate      
,duality                       #ajj     

,chapter ,,vi4       ,the ,ultimate     
,ideas                         #abj     
,chapter ,,vii4      ,the ,nature of    
,art                          #afj      
,chapter ,,viii4     ,the ,nature of    
,love                         #aid      
,chapter ,,ix4       ,the ,nature of the
 ,gods                     #bad         
,chapter ,x4        ,the ,figure of     
,christ                       #bbe      
,chapter ,,xi4       ,the ,illusion of  
,dead ,matter                #bdh       
,chapter ,,xii4      ,pain and ,pleasure
                          #bgj  ,chapter
 ,,xiii4     ,the ,reality of the ,soul 
in ,relation to                         
,modern ,thought                        
#bic  ,chapter ,,xiv4      ,the ,idea of
 ,communism                      #cbc   
,conclusion                             
#cci        ,,preface    ,the           
speculative system which ,i have        
entitled ,the ,philosophy of  the       
,complex ,vision is an attempt to bring 
into prominence1 in the  sphere of      

definite and articulate thought1 those  
scattered and chaotic  intimations which
 hitherto have found expression rather  
in ,art than  in ,philosophy4    ,it has
 come to be fatally clear to me that    
between the great  metaphysical systems 
of rationalized purpose and the actual  
shocks1  experiences1 superstitions1    
illusions1 disillusions1 reactions1 hope
  and despairs1 of ordinary men and     
women there is a great gulf fixed4  ,it 
has become clear to me that the real    
poignant personal drama in all  our     
lives1 together with those vague        
marginal feelings which  overshadow all 
of us with a sense of something         
half-revealed and  half withheld1 has   
hardly any point of contact with these  
formidable  edifices of pure logic4     
,on the other hand the tentative1       
hesitating1 ambiguous hypotheses of     
,physical ,science1 transforming        
themselves afresh with every new        
discovery1 seem1 when the portentous    
mystery of ,life's real secret          

confronts us1 to be equally remote and  
elusive4    ,when in such a dilemma one 
turns to the vitalistic and pragmatic   
speculations of a ,bergson or a ,william
 ,james there is an almost  more        
hopeless revulsion4 ,for in these       
pseudo-scientific1  pseudo-psychological
 methods of thought something most      
profoundly  human seems to us to be     
completely neglected4 ,i refer to the   
high  and passionate imperatives of the 
heroic1 desperate1 treasonable  heart of
 man4    ,what we have come to demand is
 some intelligible system of            
imaginative reason which shall answer   
the exigencies not only of  our more    
normal moods but of those moods into    
which we are  thrown by the pressure    
upon us--apparently from outside the    
mechanical sequence of cause and        
effect--of certain mysterious  ,powers  
in the background of our experience1    
such as hitherto have  only found       
symbolic and representative expression  
in the ritual of  ,art and ,religion4   

,what we have come to demand is some    
flexible1 malleable1  rhythmic system   
which shall give an imaginative and yet 
a rational  form to the sum total of    
those manifold and intricate impressions
  which make up the life of a real      
person upon a real earth4    ,what we   
have come to demand is that the centre  
of gravity in our  interpretation of    
life should be restored to its natural  
point of  vantage1 namely1 to the actual
 living consciousness of an actual      
living human being4    ,and it is       
precisely these demands that the        
philosophy of the  complex vision       
attempts to satisfy4 ,it seeks to       
satisfy them by using  as its organ of  
research the balanced ensemble of man's 
whole  nature4 ,it seeks to satisfy them
 by using as its material the whole     
variegated and contradictory mass of    
feelings and reactions to  feelings1    
which the natural human being with his  
superstitions1 his  sympathies1 his     
antipathies1 his loves and his hates1   

his surmises1 his  irrational           
intuitions1 his hopes and fears1 is of  
necessity bound to  experience as he    
moves through the world4    ,it seeks1  
in fact1 to envisage from within and    
without the confused  hurly-burly of    
life's drama2 and to give to this       
contradictory and  complicated spectacle
 the aesthetic rationality or           
imaginative  inevitableness of a        
rhythmic work of art4    ,in this       
attempt the philosophy of the complex   
vision is bound to  recognize1 and      
include in its rational form1 much that 
remains  mysterious1 arbitrary1         
indetermined1 organic1 obstinately      
illogical4  ,for the illogical is not   
necessarily the unintelligible1 so long 
as the  reason which we use is that same
 imaginative and clairvoyant  reason1   
which1 in its higher measure1 sustains  
the vision of the poets  and the        
artists4    ,by the use of this fuller1 
richer1 more living1 more concrete      
instrument of research1 the conclusions 

we arrive at will have in  them more of 
the magic of ,nature1 and will be closer
 to the actual  palpable organic mystery
 of ,life1 than either the abstract     
conclusions of metaphysic or the        
cautious1 impersonal hypotheses of      
experimental physical science4          
,,chapter ,i4    ,,the ,,complex        
,,vision    ,a philosophy is known by   
its genuine starting-point4 ,this is    
also its  final conclusion1 often very  
cunningly concealed4 ,such a conclusion 
may be presented to us as the logical   
result of a long train of  reasoning1   
when really it was there all the while  
as one single vivid  revelation of the  
complex vision4    ,like travellers who 
have already found1 by happy accident1  
the city  of their desire1 many crafty  
thinkers hasten hurriedly back to the   
particular point from which they intend 
to be regarded as having  started2 nor  
in making this secret journey are they  
forgetful to erase  their footsteps from
 the sand1 so that when they publicly   

set forth it  shall appear to those who 
follow them that they are guided not by 
previous knowledge of the way but by the
 inevitable necessity of  pure reason4  
,i also1 like the rest1 must begin with 
what will turn out to be the  end2 but  
unlike many ,i shall openly indicate    
this fact and not attempt  to conceal   
it4    ,my starting-point is nothing    
less than what ,i call the original     
revelation of man's complex vision2 and 
,i regard this original  revelation as  
something which is arrived at by the use
 of a certain  synthetic activity of all
 the attributes of this vision4 ,and    
this  synthetic activity of the complex 
vision ,i call its apex-thought4        
,this revelation is of a peculiar       
nature1 which must be grasped1 at  least
 in its general outlines1 before we can 
advance a step further  upon that       
journey which is also a return4    ,it  
might be maintained that before         
attempting to philosophize upon  life1  
the question should be asked 4 4 4 why  

philosophize at all8  ,and again 4 4 4  
what are the motive-forces which drive  
us into this  process which we call     
philosophizing8    ,to philosophize is  
to articulate and express our personal  
reaction to  the mystery which we call  
life1 both with regard to the nature of 
that  mystery and with regard to its    
meaning and purpose4    ,my answer to   
the question ,why do we philosophize8 is
 as  follows4 ,we philosophize for the  
same reason that we move and  speak and 
laugh and eat and love4 ,in other words1
 we philosophize  because man is a      
philosophical animal4 ,we breathe       
because we  cannot help breathing and we
 philosophize because we cannot help    
philosophizing4 ,we may be as sceptical 
as we please4 ,our very  scepticism is  
the confession of an implicit           
philosophy4 ,to suppress  the activity  
of philosophizing is as impossible as to
 suppress the  activity of breathing4   
,assuming then that we have to          
philosophize1 the question  naturally   

arises 4 4 4 how have we to philosophize
 if our  philosophy is to be an adequate
 expression of our complete reaction  to
 life8    ,by the phrase man's complex  
vision ,i am trying to indicate the     
elaborate and intricate character of the
 organ of research which we  have to    
use4 ,all subsequent discoveries are    
rendered misleading if  the total       
activity1 at least in its general       
movement1 of our instrument  of research
 is not brought into focus4 ,this       
instrument of research  which ,i have   
named man's complex vision implies his  
possession1  at the moment when he      
begins to philosophize1 of certain basic
  attributes or energies4    ,the       
advance from infancy to maturity        
naturally means1 when the  difference   
between person and person is considered 
an unequal and  diverse development of  
these basic energies4 ,nor even when the
  person is full grown will it be found 
that these energies exist in him  in the
 same proportion as they exist in other 

persons4 ,but if they  existed in every 
person in precisely equal proportions we
 should not  all1 even then1 have the   
same philosophy4    ,we should not have 
this1 because though the basic          
activities were  there in equal         
proportion1 each living concrete person 
whose  activities these were would      
necessarily colour the resultant vision 
with the stain or dye of his original   
difference from all the rest4 ,for  no  
two living entities in this             
extraordinary world are exactly the     
same4    ,what is left for us1 then1 it 
might be asked1 but to whisper our      
conclusions and accept the fact that all
 philosophies must be  different1 as    
they are all the projection of different
 personalities8  ,nothing1 as far as    
pure logic is concerned1 is left for us 
but this4  ,yet it remains as an        
essential aspect of the process of      
philosophizing  that we should endeavour
 to bring over to our vision as many    
other  visions as we can succeed in     

influencing4 ,for since we have the     
power of communicating our thought to   
one another and since it is  of the very
 nature of the complex vision to be     
exquisitely sensitive  to influences    
from outside1 it is a matter of         
primordial necessity to  us all that we 
should exercise this will to influence  
and this will to  be influenced4    ,and
 just as in the case of persons         
sympathetic to ourselves the  activity  
of philosophizing is attended by the    
emotion of love and the  instinct of    
creation1 so in the case of persons     
antagonistic to  ourselves the activity 
of philosophizing is attended by the    
emotion  of hate and the instinct of    
destruction4 ,for philosophy being the  
final articulation of a personal        
reaction to life1 is penetrated  through
 and through with the basic energies of 
life4    ,on the one hand there is a    
,come unto me1 all ye 4 4 4 and on the  
other there is a ,woe unto you1 ,scribes
 and ,pharisees1 hypocrites6  ,just     

because the process of philosophizing is
 necessarily personal1 it  is evident   
that the primordial aspect of it which  
implies the will to  influence must     
tally with some equally primordial      
reciprocity1  implying the will to be   
influenced4    ,that it does so tally   
with this is proved by the existence of 
language4    ,this medium of expression 
between living things does not seem to  
be confined to the human race4 ,some    
reciprocal harmony of energy1           
corresponding to our complex vision1    
seems to have created  many mysterious  
modes of communication by which myriads 
of  sub-human beings1 and probably also 
myriads of super-human beings1  act and 
react on one another4    ,but the       
existence of language1 though it        
excludes the possibility of  absolute   
difference1 does not1 except by an act  
of faith1 necessitate  that any         
sensation we name by the same name is   
really identical  with the sensation    
which another person feels4 ,and this   

difficulty is  much further complicated 
by the fact that words themselves tend  
in  the process to harden and petrify1  
and in their hardening to form1 as  it  
were1 solid blocks of accretion which   
resist and materially distort  the      
subtle and evasive play of the human    
psychology behind them4    ,so that not 
only are we aware that the word which we
 use does not  necessarily represent to 
another what it represents to ourself1  
but we  are also aware that it does not1
 except in a hard and inflexible        
manner1 represent what we ourselves     
feel4 ,words tend all too  quickly to   
become symbolic2 and it is often the    
chief importance of  what we call genius
 that it takes these inflexible symbols 
into its  hands and breaks them up into 
pieces and dips them in the wavering    
waters of experience and sensation4     
,every philosopher should be at pains to
 avoid as far as possible the  use of   
technical terms1 whether ancient or     
modern1 and should  endeavour to evade  

and slip behind these terms4 ,he should 
endeavour to indicate his vision of the 
world by means of words  which have     
acquired no thick accretion of          
traditional crust but are  fresh and    
supple and organic4 ,he should use such 
words1 in fact1 as  might be said to    
have the flexibility of life1 and like  
living plants  to possess leaves and    
sap4 ,he should avoid as far as he can  
such  metaphors and images as already   
carry with them the accumulated         
associations of traditional usage1 and  
he should select his  expressions so    
that they shall give the reader the     
definite impact and  vivid shock of     
thoughts that leap up from immediate    
contact with  sensation1 like fish from 
the surface of a river4    ,just because
 words1 in their passage from generation
 to generation1  tend to become so hard 
and opaque1 it is advisable for any one 
attempting to philosophize to use       
indirect as well as direct means of     
expressing his thoughts4 ,the object of 

philosophizing being to  carry over into
 another person's consciousness one's   
personal  reaction to things1 it may    
well happen that a hint1 a gesture1 a   
signal1 a sign1 made indirectly and     
rather by the grouping of words  and the
 tone of words than by their formal     
content1 will reach the  desired result 
more effectually than any direct        
argument4    ,it must be admitted1      
however1 that this purely subjective    
view of  philosophy1 with its implied   
demand for a precise subjective         
colouring of the words1 leaves some part
 of our philosophical  motive-force     
unsatisfied and troubled by an obscure  
distress4 ,no  two minds can interchange
 ideas without some kind of appeal1     
often  so faint and unconscious as to be
 quite unrecognized1 to an invisible    
audience of hidden attendants upon the  
argument1 who are tacitly  assumed in   
some mysterious way to be the arbiters4 
,these invisible  companions seem to    
gather to themselves1 as we are vaguely 

aware  of them1 the attributes of a     
company of overshadowing listeners4     
,they present themselves to the         
half-conscious background of our  mind  
as some pre-existent vision of truth    
towards which my  subjective vision is  
one contribution and my interlocutor's  
subjective vision another contribution4 
,this vague consciousness which we both 
have1 as we exchange our  ideas1 of some
 comprehensive vision of pre-existent   
reality1 to  which we are both          
appealing1 does not destroy my          
passionate  conviction that ,i am nearer
 the truth than my friend2 nor does it  
destroy my latent feeling that in my    
friend's vision there is  something of  
the truth which ,i am unable to grasp4  
,i think the  more constantly we        
encounter other minds in these          
philosophical  disputes the more does   
there grow and take shape in our own    
mind  the idea of some mysterious and   
invisible watchers whose purer  vision1 
exquisitely harmonious and clairvoyant1 

remains a sort of  test both of our own 
and of others' subjectivity2 becomes1 in
 fact1 an  objective standard or measure
 or pattern of those ideas which we     
discover within us all1 and name truth1 
beauty1 nobility4    ,this objective    
standard of the things which are most   
important and  precious to us1 this     
ideal pattern of all human values1      
attests and  manifests its existence by 
the primordial necessity of the         
interchange of thoughts among us4 ,i    
call this pattern or standard of  ideas 
the vision of the immortal companions4  
,by the term the  immortal companions ,i
 do not mean to indicate any immanent   
power or transcendental over-soul4 ,nor 
do ,i mean to indicate that  they are   
created by our desire that they should  
exist4 ,although ,i call  them          
companions ,i wish to suggest that they 
exist quite  independently of man and   
are not the origin of these ideas in    
man's  soul but only the model1 the     
pattern1 the supreme realization of     

these  ideas4    ,it is1 however1 to    
these tacit listeners1 whose vision of  
the world is  there in the background as
 the arbiter of our subjective          
encounters1  that in our immense        
loneliness we find ourselves constantly 
turning4  ,all our philosophy1 all our  
struggle with life1 falls into two      
aspects  as we grow more and more aware 
of what we are doing4 ,the whole        
strange drama takes the form1 as we feel
 our way1 of a creation  which at       
present is non-existent and of a        
realization of something  which at      
present is hidden4    ,thus philosophy1 
as ,i have said1 is at once a           
setting-forth and a  return2 a          
setting-forth to something that has     
never been reached1  because to reach it
 we have to create it1 and a return to  
something  that has been with us from   
the beginning and is the very form and  
shape and image of the thing which we   
have set forth to create4    ,these     
hidden listeners1 these tacit arbiters1 

these assumed and  implied witnesses of 
our life1 give value to every attempt we
 make  at arriving at some unity amid   
our differences2 and their vision       
seems1 as the eternal duality presses   
upon us1 to be at once the thing  from  
which we start and the thing towards    
which1 moulding the  future as we go1 we
 find ourselves moving4 ,in the         
unfathomable  depths of the past we are 
aware of a form1 a shape1 a principle1 a
  premonition2 and into the unfathomable
 depths of the future we  project the   
fulfilled reality of this4 ,we are as   
gods creating  something out of nothing4
 ,but when we have created it 4 4 4     
behold6  it was there from the          
beginning2 and the nothing out of which 
we  have created it has receded into a  
second future from which it mocks  and  
menaces us again4    ,the full          
significance of this ultimate duality   
would be rendered  abortive if the      
future were determined in any more      
definite way than  by the premonition1  

the hope1 the dream1 the passion1 the   
prophecy1  the vision1 of those         
invisible companions whose existence is 
implied  whenever two separate souls    
communicate their thoughts to one       
another4    ,it is by our will that the 
future is created2 but around the will  
hover  intermittently many unfathomable 
motives4 ,and the pre-existent  motive1 
which finally gives the shape to the    
future1 holds the future  already in its
 hand4 ,and this surviving motive1      
ultimately selected  by our will1 is of 
necessity purged and tested by a        
continual  comparison with that form1   
that idea1 that dream1 that vision1     
which  is implied from the beginning and
 which ,i name the vision of the        
invisible companions4    ,the           
philosophical enquiry upon which we are 
engaged finds its  starting point1 then1
 in nothing less than that revelation of
 the  complex vision which is also the  
goal of its journey4 ,the complex       
vision1 in the rhythmic play of its     

united attributes1 makes use of a       
synthetic power which ,i call its       
apex-thought4    ,the supreme activity  
of this apex-thought is centred about   
those  primordial ideas of truth1 beauty
 and nobility which are the very  stuff 
and texture of its being4 ,in the       
ecstasy of its creative and  receptive  
rapport with these it becomes aware of  
the presence of  certain immortal       
companions whose vision is at once the  
objective  standard of such ideas and   
the premonition of their fuller         
realization4    ,in thus attempting to  
articulate and clarify the main outlines
 of our  starting point1 a curious      
situation emerges4 ,the actual          
spectacle1  or mass of impressions to be
 dealt with1 presents itself1 we are    
forced to suppose1 as more or less      
identical1 in its general  appearance1  
in every human consciousness4 ,and this 
general  situation is strange enough4   
,we find ourselves1 motionless or       
moving1 surrounded by earth and  air and

 space4 ,impressions flow past us and   
flow through us4 ,we  ourselves seem at 
the same time able to move from point to
 point in  this apparently real universe
 and able to remain1 as invisible       
observers1 outside all the phenomena of 
time and space4 ,as the  ultimate       
invisible spectator of the whole        
panorama1 or1 in the logical  phrase1 as
 the a priori unity of apperception our 
consciousness  cannot be visualized in  
any concrete image4    ,but as the      
empirical personal self1 able to move   
about within the  circle of the         
objective universe1 the soul is able to 
visualize itself  pictorially and       
imaginatively1 although not rationally  
or logically4  ,these two revelations of
 the situation are simultaneously       
disclosed2  and although the first-named
 of them--the a priori unity of         
apperception--might seem to claim1 on   
the strength of this a  priori a        
precedence over the second1 it has no   
real right to make  such a claim4 ,the  

truth of the situation is indeed the    
reverse of this2  and upon this truth1  
more than upon anything else1 our whole 
method of enquiry depends4 ,for the fact
 that we are unable to think  of our    
integral personal self as actually being
 this a priori  consciousness1 and are  
not only able but are bound to think of 
our  integral personal self as actually 
being this individual soul  within time 
and space1 we are driven to the         
conclusion that this a  priori observer 
outside time and space is nothing more  
than an  inevitable trick or law or     
aspect or play of our isolated logical  
reason4    ,our logical reason is itself
 only one attribute of our real concrete
  self1 the self which exists within    
time and space2 and therefore we  reach 
the conclusion that this a priori unity1
 which seems outside  time and space1 is
 nothing but a necessary inevitable     
abstraction  from the concrete reality  
of our personal self which is within    
time  and space4 ,there is no need to be

 startled at the apparent paradox of    
this1 as though the lesser were         
including the larger or the part the    
whole1 because when space and time are  
eliminated there can be no  longer any  
large or small or whole or part4 ,all   
are equal there  because all are equally
 nothing there4    ,this a priori unity 
of consciousness1 outside time and      
space1 is  only real in so far as it    
represents the inevitable manner in     
which  reason has to work when it works 
in isolation1 and therefore  compared   
with the reality of the personal self1  
within time and  space1 it is unreal4   
,and it is obvious that an unreal thing 
cannot be larger than a real  thing2 nor
 can an unreal thing be a whole of which
 a real thing is a  part4    ,the method
 therefore of philosophic enquiry1 which
 ,i name the  philosophy of the complex 
vision1 depends upon the realization of 
the difference between what is only the 
inevitable play of reason1  working in  
isolation1 and what is the inevitable   

play of all the  attributes of the human
 soul when they are held together by the
  synthetic activity of what ,i name the
 apex-thought4 ,but this  logical       
revelation of the a priori unity of     
consciousness outside of  time and space
 is not the only result of the isolated 
play of some  particular attribute of   
personality4 ,just as the isolated play 
of  reason evokes this result1 so the   
isolated play of self-consciousness     
evokes yet another result1 which we have
 to recognize as intervening  between   
this ultimate logical unity and the real
 personal self4    ,the abstraction     
evoked by the isolated play of          
self-consciousness is  obviously nearer 
reality and less of an abstraction than 
the merely  logical one above-named1    
because self-consciousness has more of  
the personal self in it than reason or  
logic can have4 ,but though  nearer     
reality and less of an abstraction than 
the other1 this  revelation of the      
inevitable play of self-consciousness1  

working by  itself1 is also unreal in   
relation to the revelation of the       
concrete  personal individual soul4     
,this revelation of self-consciousness1 
working in isolation1 has as its result 
the conception of one universal  ,i am  
,i or cosmic self1 which is nothing more
 or less than the  whole universe1      
contemplating itself as its own object4 
,to this  conception are we driven1 when
 in isolation from the soul's other     
attributes our self-consciousness gives 
itself up to its own activity4  ,the ,i 
am ,i which we then seek to articulate  
is an ,i am ,i reached  by the negation 
or suppression of that primordial act of
 faith which  is the work of the        
imagination4 ,this act of faith1 thus   
negated and  suppressed in order that   
this unreal cosmic self may embrace the 
universe1 is the act of faith by which  
we become aware of the  existence of    
innumerable other selves1 besides our   
own self1  filling the vast spaces of   
nature4    ,the difference between the  

sensation we have of our own body and   
the sensation we have of the rest of the
 universe ceases to exist  when         
self-consciousness thus expands2 and the
 conceptions we  arrive at can only be  
described as the idea that the whole    
universe  with all the bodies which it  
contains--including our own body--is    
nothing but one vast manifestation of   
one vast mind which is our  own ,i am   
,i4    ,it must not be supposed that    
this abstraction evoked by the solitary 
activity of self-consciousness is any   
more a whole1 of which the  real self is
 a part1 than the logical a priori unity
 is a whole1 of  which the real self is 
a part4 ,both are abstractions4 ,both   
are unreal4  ,both are shadowy          
projections from the true reality1 which
 is the  personal self existing side by 
side with the immortal companions4  ,nor
 must it be supposed that these         
primordial aspects of life are of  equal
 importance and that we have an equal   
right to make of any  one of them the   

starting point of our enquiry4 ,the     
starting point of  our enquiry1 and the 
end of our enquiry also1 can be nothing 
else  than the innumerable company of   
individual souls1 mortal and  immortal1 
confronting the mystery of the universe4
    ,the philosophy of the complex      
vision is not a mechanical  philosophy2 
it is a creative philosophy4 ,and as    
such it includes in it  from the        
beginning a certain element of faith and
 a certain element  which ,i can only   
describe as the impossible4 ,it may seem
  ridiculous to some minds that the     
conception of the impossible  should be 
introduced into any philosophy at the   
very start4 ,the  complex vision is1    
however1 essentially creative4 ,the     
creation of  something really new in the
 world is regarded by pure reason as    
impossible4 ,therefore the element of   
the impossible must exist in  this      
philosophy from the very start4 ,the act
 of faith must also exist  in it2 for   
the imagination is one of the primary   

aspects of the  complex vision and the  
act of faith is one of the basic        
activities of  the imagination4    ,the 
complex vision does not regard history  
as a progressive  predetermined process4
 ,it regards history as the projection1 
by  advance and retreat1 of the creative
 and resistant power of individual      
souls4 ,that the invisible companions   
should be in eternal contact  with every
 living soul is a rational              
impossibility2 and yet this             
impossibility is what the complex       
vision1 using the faith of its  creative
 imagination1 reveals as the truth4     
,the imagination working in isolation is
 able1 like reason and                  
self-consciousness1 to fall into curious
 distortions and aberrations4    ,one   
has only to survey the field of dogmatic
 religion to see how  curiously astray  
it may be led4 ,it is only by holding   
fast to the high  rare moments when the 
apex-thought attains its consummation   
that  we are able to keep such isolated 

acts of faith in their place and        
prevent the element of the impossible   
becoming the element of the  absurd4    
,the philosophy of the complex vision1  
though far more  sympathetic to much    
that is called materialism than to much 
that  is called idealism1 certainly     
cannot itself be regarded  as           
materialistic4 ,and it cannot be so     
regarded because its  central assumption
 and implication is the concrete basis  
of  personality which we call the soul4 
,and the soul1 when we think  of it as  
something real1 must inevitably be      
associated with what  might be called   
the vanishing point of sensation4 ,in   
other words  the soul must be thought of
 as having some kind of matter or       
energy or form as its ultimate life1 and
 yet as having no kind of  matter or    
energy or form4 ,the soul must be       
regarded as  something which is living  
and real and concrete1 and which has a  
definite existence in time and space1   
and which is subject to  annihilation2  

but the stuff out of which the soul is  
made is not  capable of analysis1 and   
can only be accepted by such an act of  
faith  as that which believes in the    
impossible4    ,the fact that the       
philosophy of the complex vision assumes
 as its  only axiom the concrete reality
 of the soul within us which is so      
difficult to touch or handle or describe
 and yet which we feel to be  so much   
more real than our physical body1       
justifies us in making an  experiment   
which to many minds will seem uncalled  
for and  ridiculous4 ,i mean the        
experiment of trying to visualize1 by an
  arbitrary exercise of fancy1 the sort 
of form or shape which this  formless   
and shapeless thing may be imagined as  
possessing4    ,metaphysical discussion 
tends so quickly to become thin and     
abstract and unreal2 words themselves   
tend so quickly to become  dead wood    
rather than living branches and leaves2 
that it seems  advisable1 from the point
 of view of getting nearer reality1 to  

make  use sometimes of a pictorial      
image1 even though such an image be     
crudely and clumsily drawn4             
,pictorial images are always treacherous
 and dangerous2 but1 as ,i  have hinted1
 it is sometimes necessary1 considering 
the intricate and  delicately balanced  
character of man's complex vision1 to   
make a  guarded and cautious use of     
them1 so as to arrive at truth          
sideways1 so to speak1 and indirectly4  
,one of the curious psychological facts1
 in connection with the  various ways in
 which various minds function1 is the   
fact that when  in these days we seek to
 visualize1 in some pictorial manner1   
our  ultimate view of life1 the images  
which are called up are geometrical  or 
chemical rather than anthropomorphic4   
,it is probable that even  the most     
rational and logical among us as soon as
 he begins to  philosophize at all is   
compelled by the necessity of things to 
form in  the mind some vague pictorial  
representation answering to his         

conception of the universe4    ,the real
 inherent nature of such a philosophy   
would be probably  understood and       
appreciated far better1 both by the     
philosopher  himself and by his friends1
 if this vague pictorial projection     
could  be actually represented1 in words
 or in a picture4    ,most minds see the
 universe of their mental conception as 
something quite different from the      
actual stellar universe upon  which we  
all gaze4 ,even the most purely rational
 minds who find  the universe in pure   
thought are driven against their        
rational will  to visualize this pure   
thought and to give it body and form and
  shape and movement4    ,these hidden  
and subconscious representations1 in    
terms of sensible  imagery1 of the      
conclusions of philosophic thought1 are 
themselves  of profound philosophical   
interest4 ,we cannot afford to neglect  
them4 ,they are at least proof of the   
inalienable part played1 in the         
functioning of our complex vision1 by   

sensation as an organ of  research4 ,but
 they have a further interest4 ,they are
 an illuminating  revelation of the     
inherent character and personal bias of 
the  individual soul who is             
philosophizing4 ,i suppose to a great   
many  minds what we call the universe   
presents itself as a colossal circle1   
without any circumference1 filled with  
an innumerable number of  material      
objects floating in some thin attenuated
 ether4 ,i suppose the  centre of this  
circle with no circumference is         
generally assumed to  be the self or    
soul of the person projecting this      
particular image4    ,doubtless1 in some
 cases1 it is assumed to be such a      
person's  physical body as it feels     
itself conscious of sensation and is    
aware of  space and time4    ,as ,i     
myself use the expression complex vision
 ,i suppose ,i call up  in the minds of 
my various readers an extraordinary     
variety of  pictorial images4 ,without  
laying any undue stress upon this       

pictorial  tendency1 ,i should like to  
indicate the kind of projected image    
which ,i myself am conscious of1 when ,i
 use the expression1 the  complex       
vision4    ,i seem to visualize this    
thing as a wavering1 moving mass of     
flames1  taking the shape of what might 
be called a horizontal pyramid1 the     
apex of which1 where the flames are     
fused and lost in one another1 is       
continually cleaving the darkness like  
the point of a fiery arrow1  while the  
base of it remains continually invisible
 by reason of some  magical power which 
confuses the senses whenever they seek  
to  touch or to hold it4    ,sometimes  
,i seem to see this base or spear handle
 or arrow  shaft1 of my moving          
horizontal pyramid1 as a kind of deeper 
darkness2 sometimes as a vibration of   
air2 sometimes as a cloud of            
impenetrable smoke4 ,i am always        
conscious of the curious fact that1     
while ,i can most vividly see the       
apex-point of the thing1 and while ,i   

know that this moving pyramid of fire   
has a base1 there is for ever  some     
drastic natural law or magical power at 
work that obscures my  vision whenever  
,i turn my eyes to the place where ,i   
know it exists4    ,i have not mentioned
 this particular pictorial image with   
any wish to  lay undue stress upon it4  
,in all rarified and subtle experiments 
of  thought pictorial images are quite  
as likely to hinder us in our  groping  
towards reality as they are to help us4 
,if my image of a  moving1 horizontal   
pyramid with an apex-point of many names
  fused into one and a base of          
impenetrable invisibility seems to any  
reader of this passage a ridiculous and 
arbitrary fancy ,i would  merely ask    
such an one to let it go1 and to        
consider my description  of the complex 
vision quite independently of it4       
,sometimes to myself it appears         
ridiculous2 and ,i only1 as we put it1  
throw it out in order that1 if it has   
the least illuminative value1  such a   

value should not be quite lost4 ,any    
reader who regards my  particular       
picture as absurd is perfectly at       
liberty to form his own  pictorial image
 of what ,i am endeavouring to make     
clear4 ,he may1 if  he pleases1         
visualize the soul as a sort of darkened
 planet from  which the attributes of   
the complex vision radiate to the right 
or to  the left1 as the thing moves     
through immensity4 ,all ,i ask is that  
these attributes should be thought of as
 converging to a point and as  finding  
their base in some thing which is felt  
to exist but cannot  be described4      
,probably to a thorough-going           
empiricist1 and certainly to a          
thorough-going materialist1 it will     
appear quite unnecessary to  translate  
the obvious spectacle of the world1 with
 oneself as a  physical body in the     
centre of it1 into mental symbols and   
pictorial  representations of the above 
character4 ,of such an one ,i would only
  ask1 in what sort of manner he        

visualizes1 when he thinks of it at all1
  the soul which he feels conscious of  
in his own body2 and in the  second     
place how he visualizes the connection  
between the will1 the  instinct1 the    
reason and so forth1 which animate his  
body and endow  it with living purpose8 
,it will be found much easier for       
critics to  reject the particular image 
which has commended itself to me as     
suggestive of the mystery with which we 
have to deal1 than for them  to drive   
out and expel from their own thought the
 insidious human  tendency towards      
pictorial representation4    ,i would   
commend to any sardonic psychologist    
whose malice  leads him to derive       
pleasure from the little weaknesses of  
philosophers1 to turn his attention to  
the ideal systems of supposedly  pure   
thought4 ,he will find infinite         
satisfaction for his spleen in  the     
crafty manner in which impure           
thought--that is to say thought by      
means of pictorial images--passes itself

 off as pure and conceals  its lapses4  
,truth1 as the complex vision clearly   
enough reveals to us1 refuses to  be    
dealt with by pure thought4 ,to deal    
with truth one has to use  impure       
thought1 in other words thought that is 
dyed in the grain by  taste1 instinct1  
intuition1 imagination4 ,and every      
philosopher who  attempts to round off  
his system by pure reason alone1 and who
  refuses to recognize that the only    
adequate organ of research is the       
complex vision1 is a philosopher who    
sooner or later will be caught          
red-handed in the unphilosophic act of  
covering his tracks4    ,no philosopher 
is on safe ground1 no philosopher can   
offer us a  massive organic concrete    
representation of reality who is shy of 
all  pictorial images4 ,they are        
dangerous and treacherous things2 but it
  is better to be led astray by them    
than to avoid them altogether4    ,the  
mythological symbolism of antique       
thought was full of this  pictorial     

tendency and even now the shrewdest of  
modern thinkers  are compelled to use   
images drawn from antique mythology4    
,poetic  thought may go astray4 ,but it 
can never negate itself into quite the  
thin simulacrum of reality into which   
pure reason divorced from  poetic       
imagery is capable of fading4    ,after 
all1 the most obstinate and irreducible 
of all pictorial  representations is the
 obvious one of the material universe   
with our  physical body as the centre of
 it4 ,but even this is not complete4 ,in
  fact it is extremely far from         
complete1 directly we think closely     
about it4 ,for not only does such a     
picture omit the real centre1 that      
indescribable something we call the     
soul1 it also loses itself in           
unthinkable darkness when it considers  
any one of its own  unfathomable        
horizons4    ,it cannot be regarded as a
 very adequate picture when both the    
centre of it and the circumference of it
 baffle thought4 ,the  materialist or   

objectivist may be satisfied with such a
 result1 but  it is a result which does 
not answer the question of philosophy1  
but  rather denies that any answer is   
possible4 ,but though this obvious      
objective spectacle of the universe1    
with our bodily self as a part of  it1  
cannot satisfy the demands of the       
complex vision1 it is at least  certain 
that no philosophy which does not       
include this and accept  this and       
continually return to this1 can satisfy 
these demands4    ,the complex vision   
requires the reality of this objective  
spectacle  but it also requires         
recognition of certain basic            
assumptions1 implicit  in this          
spectacle1 which the materialist refuses
 to consider4    ,and the most          
comprehensive of these assumptions is   
nothing less  than the complex vision   
itself1 with that something1 which is   
the  soul1 as its inscrutable base4     
,thus ,i am permitted to retain1 in     
spite  of its arbitrary fantasy1 my     

pictorial image of a pyramidal arrow of 
fire1 moving from darkness to darkness4 
,my picture were false to my  conception
 if it did not depict the whole pyramid1
 with the soul itself  as its base1     
moving1 in its complete totality1 from  
mystery to  mystery4    ,it may move    
upwards1 downwards1 or1 as ,i myself    
seem to see it1  horizontally4 ,but as  
long as it keeps its apex-point directed
 to the  mystery in front of it1 it     
matters little how we conceive of it as 
moving4 ,that it should move1 in some   
way or another1 is the gist  of my      
demand upon it2 for1 if it does not     
move1 nothing moves2 and  life itself is
 swallowed up in nothingness4    ,this  
swallowing up of life in nothingness1   
this obliteration of life by            
nothingness is what the emotion of      
malice ultimately desires4 ,the  eternal
 conflict between love and malice is the
 eternal contest  between life and      
death4 ,and this contest is what the    
complex vision  reveals1 as it moves    

from darkness to darkness4              
,,chapter ,,ii4    ,,the ,,aspects ,,of 
,,the ,,complex ,,vision    ,the aspects
 of the complex vision may be separated 
from one  another according to many     
systems of classifications4 ,as long as1
 in  the brief summary which follows1 ,i
 include the more obvious and  more     
important of these aspects1 ,i shall be 
doing all that the  philosophy of the   
complex vision demands4    ,the reader  
is quite at liberty to make a different 
classification from  mine1 if mine      
appears unconvincing to him4 ,the       
general trend of my  argument will not  
be in any serious way affected1 as long 
as he  admits that ,i have followed the 
tradition of ordinary human  language1  
in the classification which ,i have     
preferred4    ,it seems to me1 then1    
that the aspects of the complex vision  
are  eleven in number2 and that they may
 be summarized as consisting of  reason1
 self-consciousness1 will1 the aesthetic
 sense1 or taste1  imagination1 memory1 

conscience1 sensation1 instinct1        
intuition and  emotion4    ,these eleven
 aspects or attributes are not to be    
regarded as  absolutely separate        
functions1 but rather as relatively     
separate  energies of the one concrete  
soul-monad4 ,the complex vision is  the 
vision of an irreducible living entity  
which pours itself as a  whole into     
every one of its various energizings4   
,and though it pours  itself as a whole 
into each one of these1 and though each 
one of  these contains the latent       
potentiality of all the rest1 the nature
 of  the complex vision is such that it 
necessarily takes colour and form  from 
the particular aspect or attribute      
through which at the moment  it is      
especially energizing4    ,it is        
precisely here that the danger of       
disproportion was found4 ,for  the      
complex vision with the whole weight of 
all its aspects behind it  receives the 
colour and the form of only one of them4
 ,we can see  the result of this from   

the tenacity--implying the presence of  
emotion and will--with which some       
philosopher of pure reason  passionately
 and imaginatively defends his logical  
conclusion4    ,but we are ourselves    
proof of it in every moment of our      
lives4  ,confronted with some definite  
external situation1 of a happy or       
unhappy character1 we fling ourselves   
upon this new intrusion with  the       
momentum of our whole being2 and it     
becomes largely a matter  of accident   
whether our reaction of the moment is   
coloured by  reason or by will or by    
imagination or by taste4 ,immersed in   
the tide  of experience1 receiving shock
 after shock from alien and hostile     
forces1 we struggle with the weight of  
our whole soul against each  particular 
obstacle1 not stopping to regulate the  
complicated  machinery of our vision but
 just seizing upon the thing1 or trying 
to  avoid it1 with whatever energy      
serves our purpose best at the  moment4 
,this is especially true of small and   

occasional pleasures or small  and      
occasional annoyances4 ,a supreme       
pleasure or a supreme pain  forces us to
 gather our complex vision together1    
forces us to make  use of its           
apex-thought1 so that we can embrace the
 ecstasy or fling  ourselves upon the   
misery with a co-ordinated power4 ,it is
 the little  casual annoyances and      
reliefs of our normal days which are so 
hard  to deal with in the spirit of     
philosophic art1 because these little   
pleasures and pains while making a      
superficial appeal to the reason  or the
 emotion or the will or the conscience1 
are not drastic or  formidable enough to
 drive us into any concentration of the 
apex-thought which shall harmonize our  
confused energies4    ,the fatal ease   
with which the whole complex vision gets
 itself  coloured by and obsessed by one
 of its own attributes may be  proved by
 the history of philosophy itself4      
,individual philosophers  have1 over and
 over again1 plunged with furious       

tenacity into the  mystery of life with 
a complex vision distorted1 deformed and
  over-balanced4    ,i seem to see the  
complex vision of such thinkers taking  
some  grotesque shape whereby the       
apex-point of effective thought is      
blunted and broken4 ,the loss and       
misery1 or the yet more ignoble         
comfort1 of such suppressions of the    
apex-thought1 is however a  personal    
matter4 ,those invisible companions1 or 
immortal  children of the universe1 who 
are implicitly present as the           
background of all human discussion1 grow
 constantly more definite  and          
articulate the apprehension of the      
general human mind by  reason of these  
personal aberrations4    ,it is perhaps 
rather to the great artists of our race 
than to any  philosopher at all that    
these invisible ones reveal themselves1 
but in  their gradual disclosure to the 
consciousness of the human race1 they   
are certainly assisted by the most      
insane and unbalanced plunges  into     

mystery1 of this and the other abnormal 
individual4 ,the paradox  may indeed be 
hazarded that the madder and more       
abnormal are the  individual's attempts 
to dig himself into the very nerves and 
fibres  of reality1 the clearer and more
 definite as far as consciousness of    
the race is concerned1 does the         
revelation of these invisible ones      
grow4    ,the abnormal individual whose 
complex vision is distorted almost  out 
of human recognition by the predominance
 of some one  attribute1 is yet1 in his 
madness and morbidity1 a wonderful      
engine  of research for the clairvoyance
 of humanity4    ,the vision of the     
immortals1 as a background to all       
further  discussion1 is rendered richer 
and more rhythmical every day1 or       
rather the hidden rhythm of their being 
is revealed more clearly  every day1 by 
the eccentricities and maladies1 nay6 by
 the insanities  and desperations1 of   
individual victims of life4    ,thus it 
comes about that1 while the supreme     

artists1 whose  approximation1 to the   
vision of the invisible ones is closest1
 remain  our unique masters1 the lower  
crowd of moderately sane and  moderately
 well-balanced persons are of less value
 to humanity than  those abnormal and   
wayward ones whose psychic distortions  
are the  world's perverted instruments  
of research4    ,a philosopher of this  
unbalanced kind is indeed a sort of     
living  sacrifice or victim of          
self-vivisection1 out of whose demonic  
discoveries--bizarre and fantastic      
though they may seem to the  lower      
sanity of the mob--the true rhythmic    
vision of the immortals  is made clearer
 and more articulate4    ,the kind of   
balance or sanity which such average    
persons1 as are  commonly called men of 
the world1 possess is in reality further
  removed from true vision than all the 
madness of these debauches of           
specialized research4 ,for the          
consummation of the complex vision is  a
 meeting place of desperate and violent 

extremes2 extremes1 not  watered down   
nor modified nor even reconciled1       
certainly not  cancelled by one another1
 but held forcibly and deliberately     
together  by an arbitrary act of the    
apex-thought of the human soul4    ,as  
,i glance at these basic activities of  
the complex vision one by  one1 ,i would
 beg the reader to sink as far as he can
 into the recesses  of his own identity2
 so that he may discover whether what he
 finds  there agrees in substance--call 
it by what name he pleases and  explain 
it how he pleases--with each particular 
energy ,i name1 as ,i  indicate such    
energies in my own way4    ,consider the
 attitude of self-consciousness4 ,that  
man is self-conscious  is a basic and   
perhaps a tragic fact that surely       
requires no  proof4 ,the power of       
thinking ,i am ,i is an ultimate        
endowment of  personality1 outside of   
which1 except by an act of primordial   
faith1  we cannot pass4 ,the phenomenon 
of human growth from infancy to         

maturity proves that it is possible for 
this self-consciousness--this  power of 
saying ,i am ,i--to become clearer and  
more articulate  from day to day4 ,it   
seems as impossible to fix upon a       
definite  moment in a child's life where
 we can draw a line and say there  he   
was unconscious of himself and here he  
is conscious of  himself as it is       
impossible to observe as an actual      
visible movement  the child's growth in 
stature4    ,between consciousness and  
self-consciousness the dividing line    
seems to be as difficult to define as it
 is difficult to define the  line       
between sub-consciousness and           
consciousness4 ,my existence as a       
self-conscious entity capable of        
thinking ,i am ,i is the basic          
assumption of all thought4 ,and though  
it is possible for my thought  to turn  
round upon itself and deny my own       
existence1 such thought  in the process 
of such a denial cuts the very ground   
away which is  the leaping point of any 

further advance4    ,philosophy by such 
drastic scepticism is reduced to        
complete  silence4 ,you cannot build up 
anything except illusion from a basis   
that is itself illusion4 ,if ,i were not
 self-conscious there would be no       
centre or substratum or coherence or    
unity in any thought ,i had4 ,if ,i     
were not self-conscious ,i should be    
unable to think4    ,consider1 then1 the
 attribute of reason4 ,that we possess  
reason is  also a fact that carries with
 it its own evidence4 ,it is reason     
which  at this very moment--reason of   
some sort1 at any rate--,i am bound to  
use1 in estimating the important place  
or the unimportant place  which reason  
itself should occupy4 ,you cannot       
derogate from the  value of reason      
without using reason4 ,you cannot put   
reason into an  inferior category1 when 
compared with will or instinct or       
emotion1  without using reason itself to
 prove such an inferiority4    ,we may  
come to the conclusion that the universe

 is rather irrational  than rational4   
,we may come to the conclusion that the 
secret of life  transcends and          
over-brims all rationality4 ,but this   
very conclusion  as to the irrational   
nature of the mystery with which reason 
is  attempting to deal is itself a      
conclusion of the reason4    ,there is  
only one power which is able to put     
reason aside in its  search for truth   
and that power is reason4    ,consider1 
then1 the attribute of will4 ,that we   
possess a definite and  distinct energy 
whose activity may be contrasted with   
the rest and  may be legitimately named 
the will is certainly less self-evident 
than either of the two preceding        
propositions but is none the less       
implied in both of them4 ,for in the act
 of articulating to ourself the         
definite thought ,i am ,i we are using  
our will4 ,the motive-force  may be     
anything4 ,we may for instance will an  
answer to the implied  question what am 
,i1 and our self-consciousness may      

return the  answer ,i am ,i1 leaving it 
to the reason to deal with this answer  
as  best it can4 ,the motive may be     
anything or nothing4 ,both              
consciousness and will are independent  
of motive4    ,for in all these         
primordial energizings of the complex   
vision  everything that happens1 happens
 simultaneously4 ,with the              
consciousness ,i am ,i there comes      
simultaneously into existence  the      
consciousness of an external universe   
which is1 at one and the  same time1    
included in the circle of the ,i am ,i  
and outside the  circle4 ,that is to say
 when we think the thought ,i am ,i1 we 
feel  ourselves to be the whole universe
 thinking ,i am ,i1 and yet by a        
primordial contradiction1 we feel       
ourselves to be an ,i am ,i  opposed to 
the universe and contrasted with the    
universe4    ,but all this happens      
simultaneously2 and the consciousness   
that we  are ourselves implies1 at one  
and the same time1 the consciousness    

that we are the universe and the        
consciousness that we are  inside the   
universe4    ,and precisely as the fact 
of self-consciousness implies the       
primordial duality and contradiction of 
being at once the whole  universe and   
something inside the universe1 so the   
original fact of  our thinking at all1  
implies the activity of the will4    ,we
 think because we are thinking animals  
and we will because  we are willing     
animals4 ,the presence of what we call  
motive is  something that comes and goes
 intermittently and which may or  may   
not be present from the first awakening 
of consciousness4 ,we  may think ,i am  
,i at the very dawn of consciousness    
under the  pressure of a vague motive of
 clearing up a confused situation4 ,we  
may use our reason at the very dawn of  
consciousness under the  pressure of a  
vague motive of alleviating the distress
 of disorder  with the comfort of order4
 ,but1 on the other hand1               
self-consciousness  may play its part1  

reason may play its part and the will   
may play its  part in the complete      
absence of any definite motive4 ,there  
is such a  thing--and this is the point 
,i am anxious to make--as motiveless    
will4 ,certain thinkers have sought to  
eliminate the will altogether by        
substituting for it the direct impact or
 pressure of some motive or             
motive-force4 ,but if the will can be   
proved to be a primordial energy  of the
 complex vision and if the conception of
 a motiveless exertion  of the will is a
 legitimate conception1 then1 although  
we must admit  the intermittent         
appearance and disappearance of all     
manner of  motives1 we have no right to 
substitute motive for will4 ,if we do   
make such a substitution1 all we really 
achieve is simply a change of  name2 and
 our new motive is the old will writ    
small4    ,motives undoubtedly may come 
and go from the beginning of            
consciousness and the beginning of will4
 ,they may flutter like  butterflies    

round both the consciousness and the    
will4 ,for instance it  is clear that ,i
 am not always articulating to myself   
the notable or  troublesome thought ,i  
am ,i4 ,i may be sometimes so lost and  
absorbed in sensation that ,i quite     
forget this interesting fact4 ,but it   
may easily happen at such times that ,i 
definitely experience the  sensation of 
choice2 of choice between an            
intensification of  self-consciousness  
and a continued blind enjoyment of this 
external  preoccupation4 ,and it is from
 this sensation of choice that we       
gather weight for our contention that   
the will is a basic attribute of  the   
human soul4    ,it is certainly true    
that we are often able to detach        
ourselves from  ourselves and to watch  
the struggle going on between two       
opposite  motive-forces1 quite unaware1 
it might seem1 and almost indifferent1  
as to how the contest will end4    ,but 
this struggle between opposite motives  
does not obliterate our  sensation of   

choice4 ,it sometimes intensifies it to 
an extreme point  of quite painful      
suspension4 ,the opposite motives may be
 engaged  in a struggle4 ,but the field 
of the struggle is what we call the     
will4  ,and it may even sometimes happen
 that the will intervenes between  a    
weaker and stronger motive and1 out of  
arbitrary pride and the  pleasure of    
exertion for the sake of exertion1      
throws its weight on  the weaker side4  
,it is a well-known psychological fact  
that the complex vision can  energize1  
with vigorous spontaneity1 through the  
will alone1 just as it  can energize    
through sensation alone4 ,the will can1 
so to speak1  stretch its muscles and   
gather itself together for attack or    
defence at  a moment when there is no   
particular necessity for its use4       
,some degree of self-consciousness is   
bound to accompany this  motiveless     
stretching of the will1 for the simple  
reason that it is  not will in the      
abstract which makes such a movement but

 the  totality of the complex vision1   
though in this case all other           
attributes of the complex vision1       
including self-consciousness and        
reason1 are held in subordination to the
 will4    ,man is a philosophical       
animal2 and he philosophizes as         
inevitably as  he breathes4 ,he is also 
an animal possessed of will2 and he uses
 his  will as inevitably as1 in the     
process of breathing1 he uses his lungs 
or his throat4 ,around him1 from the    
beginning1 all manner of motives  may   
flutter like birds on the wing4 ,they   
may be completely  different motives in 
the case of different personalities4    
,but in all  personalities there is     
consciousness1 to grasp these motives2  
and in  all personalities there is will1
 to accept or to reject these motives4  
,the question of the freedom of the will
 is a question which  necessarily enters
 into our discussion4    ,the will feels
 itself--or rather consciousness feels  
the will to be--at  once free and       

limited4 ,the soul does not feel it is  
free to do anything  it pleases4 ,that  
at least is certain4 ,for without some  
limitation1  without something resistant
 to exert itself upon1 the will could   
not  be known4 ,an absolutely free will 
is unthinkable4 ,the very nature of  the
 will implies a struggle with some sort 
of resistance4    ,the will is1         
therefore1 by the terms of its original 
definition and by  the original feeling 
which the soul experiences in regard to 
it1  limited in its freedom4 ,the       
problem resolves itself1 therefore1 if  
once  we grant the existence of the     
will1 into the question of how much     
freedom the will has or how far it is   
limited4 ,is it1 for instance1 when  we 
know all the conditions of its activity1
 entirely limited8 ,is the  freedom of  
the will an illusion8    ,it is just at 
this point that the logical reason makes
 a savage attempt  to dominate the      
situation4 ,the logical reason arrives  
step by step at  the inevitable         

conclusion that the will has no freedom 
at all but is  absolutely limited4      
,on the other hand emotion1 instinct1   
imagination1 intuition1 and  conscience1
 all assume that the limitation of the  
will is not absolute  but that within   
certain boundaries1 which themselves are
 by no  means fixed or permanent1 the   
will is free4    ,consciousness itself  
must be added to this list4 ,for        
whatever  arguments may be used in the  
realm of thought1 when the moment  of   
choice arrives in the realm of action1  
we are always conscious of  the will as 
free4 ,if the reason is justified in    
regarding the freedom  of the will as an
 illusion1 we are justified in denying  
the existence  of the will altogether4  
,for a will with only an illusion of    
freedom is  not a will at all4 ,in that 
ease it were better to eliminate the    
will  and regard the soul as a thing    
which acts and reacts under the stimuli 
of motives like a helpless automaton    
endowed with consciousness4    ,but the 

wiser course is to experiment with the  
will and let it prove  its freedom to   
the sceptical reason by helping that    
same reason to  retire into its proper  
place and associate itself with the     
apex-thought  of the complex vision4    
,leaving the will then1 as a thing      
limited and yet free1 let us pass to  a 
consideration of what ,i call taste4    
,this is the aesthetic sense1 an        
original activity of the human soul1    
associated with that universal  tendency
 in life and nature which we name the   
beautiful4 ,i use the  word taste at    
this moment in preference to aesthetic  
sense1  because ,i feel that this       
particular original activity of the     
complex  vision has a wider field than  
is commonly supposed4 ,i regard it1 in  
fact1 as including much more than the   
mere sense of beauty4 ,i regard  it as a
 direct organ of research1 comparable to
 instinct or intuition1  but covering a 
different ground4 ,i regard it as a     
mysterious  clairvoyance of the soul1   

capable of discriminating between       
certain  everlasting opposites1 which   
together make up an eternal duality in  
the very depths of existence4    ,these 
opposites imply larger and more         
complicated issues than are  implied in 
the words beautiful and ugly4 ,the real 
and the unreal1 the  interesting and the
 uninteresting1 the significant and the 
insignificant1 the suggestive and the   
meaningless1 the arresting and  the     
commonplace1 the exciting and the dull1 
the organic and the  affected1 the      
dramatic and the undramatic1 are only   
some of the  differences implied4       
,the fact that art is constantly using  
what we call the ugly as well as  what  
we call the commonplace1 and turning    
both these into new  forms of beauty1 is
 a fact that considerably complicates   
the  situation4 ,and what art1 the      
culminating creative energy of the      
aesthetic sense1 can do1 the aesthetic  
sense itself can do with its  critical  
and receptive power4    ,so that in the 

aesthetic sense1 or in what ,i call     
taste1 we have an  energy which is at   
once receptive and creative2 at once    
capable of  responding to this eternal  
duality1 and of creating new forms of   
beauty and interest out of the ugly and 
uninteresting4 ,a new name  is really   
required for this thing4 ,a name is     
required for it that  conveys a more    
creative implication than the word      
taste1 a word  which has an             
irresponsible1 arbitrary1 and even      
flippant sound1 and a  more passionate1 
religious1 and ecstatic implication than
 the word  aesthetic1 a word which      
suggests something calculated1 cold1    
learned1 and a little tame4 ,i use the  
word taste at this particular  moment   
because this word implies a certain     
challenge to both  reason and           
conscience1 and some such challenge it  
is necessary to  insist upon1 if this   
particular energy of the soul is to     
defend its  basic integrity4    ,this   
ultimate attribute of personality1 then1

 which ,i call taste  reveals to us an  
aspect of the system of things quite    
different from  those revealed by the   
other activities of the human soul4     
,this aspect  of the universe1 or this  
open secret of the universe1 loses      
itself1  as all the others do in        
unfathomable abysses4 ,it descends to   
the very  roots of life4 ,it springs    
from the original reservoirs of life4   
,it has  depths which no mental logic   
can sound2 and it has horizons in the   
presence of which the mind stops        
baffled4 ,when we use the term the      
beautiful to indicate the nature of what
 it reveals1 we are easily  misled2     
because in current superficial          
speech--and unless the word is  used by 
a great artist--the term beautiful has a
 narrow and limited  meaning4 ,dropping 
the term taste then1 as having served   
its  purpose1 and reverting to the more 
academic phrase aesthetic  sense we must
 note that the unfathomable duality     
revealed by this  aesthetic sense       

covers1 as ,i have hinted1 much more    
ground than is  covered by the narrow   
terms beauty and ugliness4    ,it must  
be understood1 moreover1 that what is   
revealed by the aesthetic  sense is a   
struggle1 a conflict1 a war1 a          
contradiction1 going  on in the heart of
 things4 ,the aesthetic sense does not  
only reveal  loveliness and distinction2
 it also reveals the grotesque1 the     
bizarre1  the outrageous1 the indecent  
and the diabolic4 ,if we prefer to use  
the  term beauty in a sense so          
comprehensive and vast as to include    
both sides of this eternal duality1 then
 we shall be driven to regard  as       
beautiful the entire panorama of life1  
with its ghastly contrasts1  with its   
appalling evil1 with its bitter pain1   
and with its intolerable  dreariness4   
,the beautiful will then become nothing 
less than the whole  dramatic vortex    
regarded from the aesthetic point of    
view4 ,life with  all its               
contradictions1 considered as an        

aesthetic spectacle1 will  become       
beautiful to us4 ,this is undoubtedly   
one form which the  aesthetic sense     
assumes2 the form of justifying         
existence1 in all its  horror and       
loathsomeness as well as in all its     
magical attraction4    ,another form the
 aesthetic sense may assume is the form 
of taking  sides in this eternal        
struggle2 of using its inspiration to   
destroy1  or to make us forget1 the     
brutality of things1 by concentrating   
our  attention upon what in the narrow  
sense we call the beautiful or the      
distinguished or the lovely4 ,but there 
is yet a third form the  aesthetic sense
 may assume4 ,not only can it visualize 
the whole  chaotic struggle between     
beauty and hideousness as itself a      
beautiful  drama2 not only can it so    
concentrate upon beauty that we forget  
the  hideousness2 it is also able to see
 the world as a humorous spectacle4     
,when the aesthetic sense regards the   
whole universe as beautiful  it must    

necessarily regard the whole universe as
 tragic2 for the pain  and dreariness   
and devilishness in the universe is so  
unspeakable  that any beauty which      
includes such things must be a tragic   
beauty4 ,not to recognize this and to   
attempt to accept the universe  as      
something which is not tragic1 is to    
outrage and insult the  aesthetic sense4
    ,but we may regard the universe as  
tragic without regarding it as          
beautiful and yet remain under the power
 of the aesthetic energy4  ,for there   
exists a primordial aspect of the       
aesthetic vision which is  not concerned
 with the beautiful at all1 or only with
 the beautiful in  so wide a latitude as
 to transcend all ordinary usage1 and   
this is our  sense of humour4    ,the   
universe as the human soul perceives it1
 is horribly and most  tragically       
humorous4 ,man is the laughing animal2  
and the perilous  stuff which tickles   
his aesthetic sense with a revelation of
  outrageous comedy has its roots in the

 profoundest abyss4 ,this  humorous     
aspect of the system of things is just  
as primordial and  intrinsic as what we 
call the beautiful4 ,the human soul is  
able to  pour the whole stream of its   
complex vision through this fantastic   
casement4 ,it knows how to respond to   
the diablerie of the abysses  with a    
reciprocal gesture4 ,it is able to      
answer irony with irony2 and  to the    
appalling grotesqueness and indecency of
 the universe it has  the power of      
retorting with an equally shameless     
leer4    ,but this sardonic aspect of   
human humour1 though tallying truly     
enough with one eternal facet of the    
universe1 does not exhaust the  humorous
 potentiality of the aesthetic sense4   
,there is a good irony  as well as a    
wicked irony4 ,humour can be found in   
alliance with  the emotion of love as   
well as with the emotion of hate4       
,humour can  be kind as well as cruel2  
and there is no doubt that the aesthetic
  spectacle of the world is as          

profoundly humorous in a quite normal   
sense as it is beautiful or noble or    
horrible4    ,turning now to that       
primeval attribute of the complex vision
 which  we call emotion1 we certainly   
enter the presence of something  whose  
existence cannot be denied or explained 
away4 ,directly we  grow conscious of   
ourselves1 directly we use reason or    
instinct or  the aesthetic sense1 we are
 aware of an emotional reaction4 ,this  
emotional reaction may be resolved into 
a basic duality1 the activity  of love  
and the activity of the opposite of     
love4    ,i say the opposite of love    
deliberately2 because ,i am anxious to  
indicate1 in regard to emotion1 how     
difficult it is to find adequate  words 
to cover the actual field of what we    
feel4    ,i should like to write even   
the word love with some such mark of    
hesitation4 ,for1 just because of the   
appalling importance of this  ultimate  
duality1 it is essential to be on our   
guard against the use  of words which   

convey a narrow1 crude1 rough-and-ready1
 and  superficial meaning4 ,by the      
emotion of love ,i do not mean the      
amorous phenomenon which we call being  
in love4 ,nor do ,i mean  the calmer    
emotion which we call affection4 ,the   
passion of  friendship1 when friendship 
really becomes a passion1 is nearer my  
meaning than any of these4 ,and yet the 
emotion of love1 conceived  as one side 
of this eternal duality1 is much more   
than the passion of  friendship2 because
 it is an emotion that can be felt in   
the presence  of things and ideas as    
well as persons4 ,perhaps the emotion of
 love  as symbolized in the figure of   
,christ1 combined with the aesthetic    
and intellectual passion inherited from 
the ,greek philosophers1  comes nearest 
to what ,i have in mind2 though even    
this1 without  some tangible and        
concrete embodiment1 tends to escape us 
and  evade analysis4    ,and if it is   
hard to define this love which is the   
protagonist1 so to  speak1 in the       

world's emotional drama1 it is still    
harder to define its  opposite1 its     
antagonist4 ,i could name this by the   
name of hate1 the  ordinary antithesis  
of love1 but if ,i did so it would have 
to be with a  very wide connotation4    
,the true opposite to the sort of love  
,i have in my mind is not so  much hate 
as a kind of dull and insensitive       
hostility1 a kind of  brutal malignity  
and callous aversion4 ,perhaps what we  
are looking  for as the true opposite of
 love may be best defined as malice4    
,malice seems to convey a more          
impersonal depth and a wider reach  of  
activity than the word hate and has also
 a clearer suggestion of  deliberate    
insensitiveness about it4 ,the most     
concentrated and  energetic opposite of 
love is not either hate or malice4 ,it  
is  cruelty2 which is a thing that seems
 to draw its evil inspiration  from the 
profoundest depths of conscious         
existence4    ,but cruelty must         
necessarily have for its object         

something living  and sentient4 ,a      
spiritual feeling1 a work of art1 an    
idea1 a principle1  a landscape1 a      
theory1 an inanimate group of things1   
could not be  contemplated with an      
emotion of cruelty1 though it could     
certainly  be contemplated with an      
emotion of malice4    ,there is often1  
if not always1 a strange admixture of   
sensuality in  cruelty4 ,cruelty1       
profoundly evil as it is1 has a living  
intensity  which makes it less dull1    
less thick1 less deliberately           
insensitive1  less coldly hostile1 than 
the pure emotion of malice1 and         
therefore  less adapted than malice to  
be regarded as the true opposite of     
love4    ,but the best indication of the
 distinction ,i want to make will be    
found in the contrast between the       
conceptions of creation and             
destruction4 ,the dull1 thick1          
insensitive callousness which we are    
conscious of in the opposite of love is 
an indication that while love  is       

essentially creative the opposite of    
love is essentially that  which resists 
creation4    ,the opposite of love is   
not destructive in the sense of being an
  active destructive force4 ,such an    
active destructive force must           
necessarily1 by reason of the passionate
 energy in it1 be a perversion  of      
creative power1 not the opposite of     
creative power4    ,creative power1 even
 in its unperverted activity1 must      
always be  capable of destroying4 ,it   
must be capable of destroying what is in
  the way of further creation4 ,thus the
 true opposite of creation is not       
destruction1 but the inert1 heavy1      
thick1 callous1 brutal1 insensitive     
obscurantism or material opacity which  
resists the pressure of  the creative   
spirit4    ,by this analysis of the     
ultimate duality of emotion we are put  
in  possession of a basic aspect of the 
complex vision1 which must  largely     
shape and determine its total activity4 
,the soul within us1  that mysterious   

something which is the living and       
concrete  person whose vision the       
complex vision is1 is a thing subject at
 the  start to this unfathomable        
duality1 the emotion of love and the    
emotion of malice4    ,the emotion of   
love is the life-begetting1             
life-conceiving force1 the  creator of  
beauty1 the discoverer of truth1 and the
 reconciler of  eternal contradictions4 
,the emotion of malice1 with its frozen 
sneer of sardonic denial1  raises its   
infernal fist against the centrifugal   
outflowing of the  emotion of love4 ,it 
is impossible to conceive of            
self-consciousness  without love and    
hatred2 or1 as ,i prefer to say1 without
 love and  malice4 ,self-consciousness  
implies from the start what we call the 
universe2 and the universe cannot appear
 upon the scene without  exciting in us 
the emotion of love and hate4 ,every man
 born into the  world loves and hates   
directly he is conscious of the world4  
,this is  the ultimate duality4         

,attraction and repulsion is the        
material formula  for this              
contradiction4    ,if everything in the 
world were illusion except one          
,universal ,being1  such a being must   
necessarily be thought of as            
experiencing the  emotion of self-love  
and of self-hatred4 ,a condition of     
absolute  indifference is unthinkable4  
,such indifference could not last a     
moment without becoming either that     
faint hatred1 which we call  boredom1 or
 that faint love1 which we call         
interest4 ,the  contemplation of the    
universe with no emotional reaction of  
any  kind is an inconceivable thing4 ,an
 infant at its mother's breast  displays
 love and malice4 ,at one and the same  
moment it satisfies  its thirst and     
beats upon the breast that feeds it4    
,the primordial process of              
philosophizing and the primal will to   
philosophize are both of them penetrated
 through and through1 with  this        
ultimate duality of love and malice4    

,love and malice in  alternate impulse  
are found latent and potent in every    
philosophic  effort4 ,behind every      
philosophy1 if we have the love or the  
malice to  seek for it1 may be found the
 love or malice1 or both of them1 side  
by side1 of the individual philosopher4 
,that pure and unemotional  desire for  
truth for its own sake which is the     
privilege of physical  science cannot   
retain its simplicity when confronted   
with the deeper  problems of philosophy4
 ,it cannot do so because the complex   
vision  with which we philosophize      
contains emotion as one of its basic    
attributes4    ,to consider next1 the   
attribute of imagination4 ,imagination  
seems1  when we analyse it1 to resolve  
itself into the half-creative1          
half-interpretative act by which the    
complex personality seizes upon1        
plunges into1 and moulds to its purpose1
 that deeper unity in any  group of     
things which gives such a group its     
larger and more  penetrating            

significance4    ,imagination differs   
from intuition in the fact that by its  
creative and  interpretative power it   
dominates1 possesses and moulds the     
material  it works upon4 ,intuition is  
entirely receptive and it receives the  
illumination offered to it at one single
 indrawing1 at one breath4  ,imagination
 may be regarded as a male attribute2   
intuition as a  feminine one2 although  
in a thousand individual cases the      
situation  is actually reversed4    ,to 
realize the primary importance of       
imagination one has only to  visualize  
reason1 will1 taste1 sensation1 and so  
forth1 energizing in  its absence4 ,one 
becomes aware at once that such a       
limited activity  does not cover the    
field of man's complex vision4          
,something--a  power that creates1      
interprets1 illumines1 gathers up into  
large and  flowing outlines--is absent  
from such an experience4    ,consider1  
in the next place1 that primordial      
attribute of the complex  vision which  

we commonly name conscience4 ,we are not
 concerned  here with the world-old     
discussion as to the origin of          
conscience4  ,conscience1 from the point
 of view we are now considering1 is just
  as fundamental and axiomatic as will1 
or intuition1 or sensation4    ,the     
philosophy of the complex vision        
retains1 with regard to what is  called 
evolution1 a completely suspended       
judgment4 ,the process  of historic     
evolution may or may not have resulted  
in the particular  differentiation of   
species which we now behold4 ,what we   
are now  assuming is that1 in whatever  
way the differentiation of actual living
  organisms has come about1 every       
particular living organism1  including  
the planetary and stellar bodies1 must  
possess in some  degree or other the    
organ of apprehension which we call the 
complex vision4    ,our assumption1 in  
fact1 is that every living thing has    
personality2  that personality implies  
the existence of a definite soul-monad2 

that  where such a soul-monad exists    
there is a complex vision2 and  finally 
that1 where there is a complex vision1  
there must be1 in some  rudimentary or  
embryotic state1 the eleven attributes  
of such a  vision1 including the        
attribute which the human race has come 
to  call conscience and which is1 in    
reality1 the power of response to  the  
vision which we have named immortal4    
,when evolutionists  retort to us that  
what we call personality is only a late 
and accidental  phenomenon in the long  
process of evolution1 our answer is that
  when they seek1 according to such an  
assumption1 to visualize the  universe  
as it was before personality appeared1  
they really1 only in  a surreptitious   
and illegitimate manner1 project their  
own conscious  personality into the vast
 backward and abysm of time1 to be the  
invisible witness of this pre-personal  
universe4    ,thus when evolutionists   
assure us that there was once a period  
in  the history of the stellar system   

when nothing existed but masses of      
gaseous nebulae1 our reply is that they 
have forgotten that invisible  and      
shadowy projection of their own         
personality which is the  pre-supposed  
watcher or witness of this              
nothing-but-nebulae state of  things4   
,the doctrine or hypothesis of evolution
 does not in any degree  explain the    
mystery of the universe4 ,all it does is
 to offer us an  hypothetical           
picture--true or false--of the manner in
 which the  changes of organic and      
inorganic life succeeded one another in 
their  historic creation4 ,evolutionists
 have to make their start somewhere1    
just as personalists have2 and it is    
much more difficult for them to  show   
how masses of utterly unconscious       
nebulae evoked the  mystery of          
personality than it is for us to show   
how the primordial  existence of        
personality demands at the very start   
some sort of  material or bodily        
expression1 whether of a nebular or of  

any other  kind4    ,evolutionists1     
forgetting the presence of that         
invisible watcher of  their evolutionary
 process which they have themselves     
projected  into the remote planetary    
past1 assume as their axiomatic data    
that  soulless unconscious chemical     
elements possess within them the        
miraculous power of producing living    
personalities4 ,all one has to  do is to
 pile up thousands upon thousands of    
years in which the  miracle takes place4
    ,but the philosophy of the complex  
vision would indicate that no  amount of
 piling up of centuries upon centuries  
could possibly  produce out of          
unconscious matter the perilous and     
curious stuff  which we call            
consciousness of life4 ,and we would    
further reply  to the evolutionists that
 their initial assumption as to the     
objective  existence1 suspended in a    
vacuum1 of masses of material chemistry 
is an assumption which has been         
abstracted and isolated from the  total 

volume of those sense-impressions1 which
 are the only actual  reality we know1  
and which are the impressions made1 in  
human  experience1 upon some living     
personality4    ,this criticism of the  
evolutionists' inevitable attack upon us
 enters  naturally at this point2       
because1 while the average mind is      
willing  enough to grant some sort of   
vague omnipresent will to evolve to  the
 primordial nebula and even prepared to 
allow it such obscure  consciousness as 
is implied in the phrase life-force or  
lan vital1  it is startled and shocked  
to a supreme degree when we assert that 
such nebula1 if it existed1 was the     
outward body or form of a  living       
soul-monad possessed1 even as human     
beings are1 of every  attribute of the  
complex vision4    ,the average mind1 in
 its vague and careless mood1 is ready  
to accept  our contention that some sort
 of will or reason or consciousness     
existed at the beginning of things4 ,it 
is only when such a mind  comes to      

realize that what we are predicating is 
actual personality1  with all the       
implications of that1 that it cries out 
in protest4 ,the  average mind can      
swallow our contention that reason and  
will  existed from the beginning because
 the average mind has been  penetrated  
for centuries by vague traditions of an 
over-soul or an  universal reason or    
will4 ,it is only when in our analysis  
of the  attributes of personality we    
come bolt up against the especially     
anthropomorphic attribute of conscience 
that it staggers and  gasps4    ,for the
 original stellar gas to be vaguely     
animated by some  obscure lan vital     
seemed natural enough2 but for it to be 
the  body of some definite living soul  
seems almost humorous2 and for  such a  
living soul to possess the attribute of 
conscience1 or the  power of response to
 the vision of immortals1 seems not only
  humorous but positively absurd4       
,the philosophy of the complex vision1  
however1 in its analysis of  the eternal

 elements of personality is not in the  
least afraid of  reaching conclusions   
which appear absurd to the average      
intelligence4 ,the philosophy of the    
complex vision accepts the  element of  
the absurd or of the outrageous or of   
the fantastic  in its primordial        
assumptions2 for according to its       
contention this  element of the         
apparently impossible is an essential   
ingredient in  the whole system of      
things4    ,life1 according to this     
philosophy1 is only one aspect of       
personality4  ,another aspect of        
personality is the apparently miraculous
 creation  of something out of nothing2 
for the unfathomable creative  power of 
personality extends beyond and below all
 the organic  phenomena which we group  
vaguely together under the name of      
life4    ,thus when in our analysis of  
the attributes of the complex vision we 
are confronted by the evolutionary      
question as to how such a thing1  as the
 thing we call conscience1 got itself   

lodged in the little  cells of the human
 cranium1 our answer is that the        
question stated in  this manner does not
 touch the essential problem at all4    
,the essential  problem from the point  
of view of the philosophy of the complex
  vision is not how conscience1 or why  
other attribute of the soul1  got itself
 lodged in the human skull1 or          
expressed1 shall we say1  through the   
human skull1 but how it is that the     
whole stream of  sense-impressions1 of  
which the hardness and thickness of the 
human skull is only one impression among
 many1 and the original  star-dust or   
star-nebulae only another impression    
among many1  ever got itself unified and
 synthesized into the form of impression
  at all4    ,in other words the problem
 is not how the attributes of the soul  
arose from the chemistry of the brain   
and the nerves2 but how the  brain and  
the nerves together with the whole      
stream of material  phenomena from the  
star-dust upwards1 ever got themselves  

unified  and focussed into any sort of  
intelligibility or system4 ,the average 
human mind which feels a shock of       
distrust and suspicion directly  we     
suggest that the thing we name          
conscience1 defined as the  power of    
response to the ideal vision1 is an     
inalienable aspect of  what we call the 
soul wherever the soul exists1 feels no 
sort of  shock or surprise when we      
appeal to its own conscience1 or when   
it appeals to the conscience of its     
child or its dog or even of its  cat1 or
 when it displays anger with its trees  
or its flowers for  their apparent      
wilfulness and errancy4    ,kant found  
in the moral sense of humanity his door 
of escape from  the fatal relativity of 
pure reason with its confounding        
antinomies4  ,huxley found in the moral 
sense of humanity a mysterious1         
unrelated phenomenon that refused to    
fall into line with the rest of  the    
evolutionary-stream4 ,but when1 in one  
hold act of faith or of  imagination1 we

 project the content of our own         
individual soul into  the circle of     
every other possible soul1 including the
 souls of  such phenomenal vortices of  
matter as those from which historic     
evolution takes its start1 this         
impossible gulf or lacuna dividing  the 
human scene from all previous scenes is 
immediately bridged2  and the whole     
stream of material sense-impression     
flows forward1 in  parallel and         
consonant congruity1 with the underlying
 creative  energy of all the complex    
visions of which it is the expression4  
,therefore1 there is no need for us1 in 
our consideration of the basic          
attribute of the soul which we call     
conscience1 to tease ourselves  with the
 fabulous image of some prehistoric     
cave-man supposedly  devoid of such a   
sense4 ,to do this is to employ a trick 
of the  isolated reason quite alien from
 our real human imagination4    ,our own
 personality is so constructed that it  
is impossible for us to  realize with   

any sort of intelligent sympathy what   
the feelings of  this conscience-less   
cave-man would be4 ,to contemplate his  
existence at all we have to resort to   
pure rationalistic speculation4  ,we    
have to leave our actual human          
experience completely behind4  ,but the 
philosophy of the complex vision is an  
attempt to interpret  the mystery of the
 universe in terms of nothing else than 
actual  human experience4 ,so we are not
 only permitted but compelled to  put   
out of court this conscience-less       
cave-man of pure speculation4  ,it is   
true that we encounter certain eccentric
 human beings who  deny that they       
possess this moral sense2 but one has   
only to  observe them for a little while
 under the pressure of actual life to   
find out how they deceive themselves4   
,experience certainly indicates that    
every human being1 however  normal and  
good1 has somewhere in him a touch of   
insanity and a  vein of anti-social     
aberration4 ,but no human being1 however

  abnormal or however criminal1 is born 
into the world without this  invisible  
monitor we call conscience4    ,the     
curious pathological experience which   
might be called  conscience-killing is  
certainly not uncommon4 ,but it is an   
experiment that has never been more than
 approximately successful4  ,in         
precisely the same way we might practise
 reason-killing or  intuition-killing or
 taste-killing4 ,one may set out to hunt
 and  try to kill any basic attribute of
 our complex vision2 but the proof of   
the truth of our whole argument lies in 
the fact that these murderous  campaigns
 are never completely successful4 ,the  
murdered  attribute refuses to remain   
quiet in its grave4 ,it stretches out an
 arm  from beneath the earth4 ,it shakes
 the dust off and comes to life  again4 
,when we leave the question as to the   
existence of conscience1 and  enquire   
what the precise and particular command 
of conscience  may be in any individual 
case1 we approach the edge of an        

altogether different problem4    ,the   
particular message or command of        
conscience is bound to differ  in a     
thousand ways in the cases of different 
personalities4 ,only in its  ultimate   
essence it cannot differ4 ,because1 in  
its ultimate essence1  the conscience of
 every individual is confronted by that 
eternal  duality of love and malice     
which is the universal contradiction at 
the  basis of every living soul4    ,but
 short of this there is room for an     
infinite variety of categorical         
imperatives4 ,the conscience of one     
personality is able to accept as  its   
good the very same thing that another   
personality is compelled  to regard as  
its evil4 ,indeed it is conceivable that
 a moment might  arise in the history of
 the race when one single solitary      
individual  called that thing good or   
that thing evil which all the rest of   
the  world regarded in the opposite     
sense4 ,not only so2 but it might even  
happen that the genius and              

persuasiveness of such a person might   
change into its direct opposite the     
moral valuation of the whole of         
humanity4 ,in many quite ordinary cases 
there may arise a clash  between the    
conventional morality of the community  
and the verdict  of an individual       
conscience4 ,in such cases it would be  
towards what  the community termed      
immoral that the conscience of the      
individual would point1 and from the    
thing that the community  termed moral  
that it would turn instinctively away4  
,a conscience of this kind would suffer 
the pain of remorse when in  its        
weakness it let itself be swayed by the 
community-morality  and it would        
experience the pleasure of relief when  
in absolute  loneliness it defied the   
verdict of society4    ,let us consider 
now an attribute of man's complex vision
 which  must instantaneously be accepted
 as basic and fundamental by every      
living person4 ,i refer to what we call 
sensation4 ,the impressions  of the     

outward senses may be criticized4 ,they 
may be corrected1  modified1 reduced to 
order1 and supplemented by other        
considerations4  ,conclusions based upon
 them may be questioned4 ,but whatever  
be done  with them1 or made by them1    
they must always remain an integral  and
 inveterate aspect of man's personality4
    ,the sensations of pain and         
pleasure--who can deny the primordial   
and inescapable character of these8 ,not
 that the pursuit of pleasure  or the   
avoidance of pain can be the unbroken   
motive-force even of  the most          
hedonistic among us4 ,our complex vision
 frequently flings  us passionately upon
 pain4 ,we often embrace pain in an     
ecstasy of  welcome4 ,nor is this fierce
 embracing of pain motivated by a       
deliberate desire to get pleasure out of
 pain4 ,it seems in some  strange way   
due to an attraction towards pain for   
its own sake--  towards pain1 as though 
pain were really beautiful and desirable
 in  itself4 ,one element in all this is

 undoubtedly due to the desire of  the  
will to assert its freedom and the      
integrity of its being2 in  other words 
to the desire of the will towards the   
irrational1 the  capricious1 the        
destructive1 the chaotic4    ,it has    
been only the least imaginative of      
philosophers who have  taken for granted
 that man invariably desires his own    
welfare4 ,man  does not even invariably 
desire his own pleasure4 ,he desires the
  reactive vibration of power2 and very 
often this power is the  power to rush  
blindly upon destruction4 ,but1 whether 
dominant or  not as a motive affecting  
the will1 it remains that our experience
 of  pleasure and pain is a basic       
experience of the complex vision4 ,and  
this experience of sensation is not only
 a passive experience4 ,the  attribute  
of sensation has its active1 its        
energetic1 its creative  side4 ,no one  
who has suffered extreme pain or enjoyed
 exquisite and  thrilling pleasures1 can
 deny the curious fact that these things

 take  to themselves a kind of          
independent life within us and become   
something very like entities or living  
separate objects4    ,this phenomenon is
 due to the fact that our whole         
personality  incarnates itself in the   
pain or in the pleasure of the moment4  
,such  pain1 such pleasure1 is the      
quintessential attenuated matter with   
which our soul clothes itself4 ,at such 
moments we are the pain2  we are the    
pleasure4 ,our human identity seems     
merged1 lost1  annihilated4 ,our soul   
seems no longer our soul4 ,it becomes   
the  soul of the overpowering sensation4
 ,we ourselves at such moments  become  
fiery molecules of pain1 burning atoms  
of pleasure4 ,just as  the logical      
reason can abstract itself from the     
other primal energies  and perform      
strange and fantastic tricks1 so the    
activity of sensation  can so absorb1   
obsess and overpower the whole          
personality that the  rhythm of         
existence is entirely broken4    ,pain  

at the point of ecstasy1 pleasure at the
 point of ecstasy1 are  both of them    
destructive of those rare moments when  
our complex vision  resolves itself into
 music4 ,such music is indeed itself a  
kind of  ecstasy2 but it is an ecstasy  
intellectualized and consciously        
creative4 ,pain is present there and    
pleasure is present there2 but  they are
 there only as orchestral notes in a    
larger unity that has  absorbed them and
 transmuted them4    ,when a work of art
 by reason of its sensational appeal    
reduces us to  an ecstasy of pleasure or
 pain it renders impossible that supreme
 act  of the complex vision by means of 
which the immortal calm of the  ideal   
vision descends upon the unfathomable   
universe4    ,sensation carried to its  
extreme limit becomes impersonal2 for in
 its  unconscious mechanism personality 
is devoured4 ,but it does not  become   
impersonal in that magical liberating   
sense in which the  impersonal is an    
escape1 bringing with it a feeling of   

large1 cool1  quiet1 and unruffled      
space4 ,it becomes impersonal in a      
thick1 gross1  opaque1 mechanical       
manner4    ,there is brutality and      
outrage2 there is bestiality and        
obscenity  about both pain and pleasure 
when in their voracious maw they devour 
the magic of the unfathomable world4    
,thus it may be noted that most  great  
and heroic souls hold their supreme pain
 at a distance from  them1 with a proud 
gesture of contempt1 and go down at the 
last  with their complex vision         
unruffled and unimpaired4 ,there is     
indeed  a still deeper final moment than
 this2 but it is so rare as to be  out  
of the reach of average humanity4 ,i    
refer to an attitude like that  of      
,jesus upon the cross2 in whose mood    
towards his own suffering  there was no 
element of pride of will but only an    
immense pity for  the terrible          
sensitiveness of all life1 and a supreme
 heightening of  the emotion of love    
towards all life4    ,it will be noted  

that in my analysis of sensation ,i have
 said  nothing of what are usually      
called the five senses4 ,these senses   
are obviously the material feelers or   
the gates of material  sentiency by     
which the soul's attribute of sensation 
feeds itself from  the objective world2 
but they are so penetrated and          
percolated1  through and through1 by the
 other basic activities of the soul1    
that it  is extremely difficult to      
disentangle from our impressions of     
sight1  of sound1 of touch1 of taste1   
and of smell1 those interwoven threads  
of reason1 imagination and so forth     
which so profoundly modify and          
transmute1 even in the art of seeing1   
hearing1 touching1 tasting1 and         
smelling1 the various manifestations of 
the objective mystery  which we         
apprehend in our sensuous grasp4    ,by 
emphasizing the feelings of pleasure and
 pain as the primary  characteristics of
 the attribute of sensation we are      
indicating the  fact that every         

sensation we experience carries with it 
in some  perceptible degree or other1   
the feeling of well-being or the        
feeling of distress4    ,we now come to 
consider that dim1 obscure1 but         
nevertheless  powerful energy1 which the
 universal tradition of language        
dignifies  by the name of instinct4     
,this instinct is the portion of the    
activity of the soul which works more   
blindly and less consciously  than any  
other4    ,the ,french philosopher      
,bergson isolates and emphasizes this   
subterranean activity until it seems to 
him to hold in its grasp a  deeper      
secret of life than any other energy    
which man possesses ,to  secure for     
instinct this primary place in the      
panorama of life it is  necessary to    
eliminate from the situation that silent
 witness which  we call the mind or     
self-consciousness2 that witness which  
from  its invisible watch-tower looks   
forth upon the whole spectacle4 ,it is  
necessary to take for granted the long  

historic stream of  evolutionary        
development4 ,it is necessary to regard 
this  development in its organic        
totality as the sole reality with which 
we  have to deal4    ,the invisible     
mental witness being eliminated1 it     
becomes  necessary1 if instinct is to be
 thus made supreme1 to regard the       
appearance of the soul as a mere stage  
in an evolutionary process1  the        
driving-force of which is the power of  
instinct itself4 ,planets  and plants1  
men and animals1 are seen in this way to
 be all dominated  by instinct2 and     
instinct is found to be so much the most
 important  element in evolution1 that  
upon it1 rather than upon anything else1
  the whole future of the universe may  
be said to depend4    ,having made this 
initial plunge into shameless           
objectivity1 having  put completely out 
of court the invisible witness of it    
all1 we find  ourselves reduced to      
regarding this blind instinct as the    
galvanic  battery which moves the world4

 ,thus isolated from the other powers   
of the soul1 this mysterious energy1    
this subterranean driving-force1  has to
 bear the whole weight of everything    
that happens in space  and time4 ,a     
strange sort of blindness must its      
blindness be1 when  its devices can     
supply the place of the most passionate 
intellectual  struggles of the mind6    
,if it is blind1 it gropes its way1 in  
its blindness1 through the  uttermost   
gulfs of space and into the nethermost  
abysses of life4 ,if  it is dumb1 its   
silence is the irresistible silence of  
,fate1 the  silence of the eternal      
,mothers4    ,but the instinct which is 
one of the basic attributes of the      
complex  vision is not quite such an    
awe-inspiring thing as this4 ,to raise  
it  into such a position as this there  
has to be a vigorous suppression1 as  ,i
 have hinted1 of many other attributes  
of the soul4 ,instinct may be  defined  
as the pressure of obscure creative     
desire1 drawn from the  inscrutable     

recesses of the soul1 malleable up to a 
certain point by  reason and will1 but  
beyond that point remaining unconscious1
  irrational1 incalculable1 elusive4    
,that it plays an enormous part in  the 
process of life cannot be denied2 but   
the part it plays is not so  isolated   
from consciousness as sometimes has been
 imagined4    ,there is in truth a      
strange reciprocity between instinct and
  self-consciousness1 according to which
 they both play into each  other's      
hands4 ,this is above all true of great 
artists' work1 which  in a superficial  
sense might be called unconscious1 but  
which in a  deeper sense is profoundly  
conscious4 ,it seems as though1 in great
  works of art1 a certain superficial   
reasoning is sacrificed to  instinct1   
but in that very sacrifice a deeper     
level of reason is  reached between     
which and instinct there is no longer   
anything  but complete understanding4   
,to intellectualize instinct is one of  
the profoundest secrets of the  art of  

life2 and it is only when instinct is   
thus intellectualized1 or  brought into 
focus with the other aspects of the     
soul1 that it is able  to play its      
proper rhythmic part in the musical     
synthesis of the  complex vision4 ,but  
although we cannot allow to instinct the
  all-absorbing part in the world-play  
which ,bergson claims for it1 it        
remains that we have to regard it as one
 of the most mysterious and             
incalculable of the energies of the     
soul4 ,it is instinct which brings  all 
living entities into relation with      
something sub-conscious in their  own   
nature4    ,under the pressure of       
instinct man recognizes the animal in   
himself1  the plant in himself1 and even
 a strange affinity with the inorganic  
and the inanimate4 ,it is instinct in us
 which attracts us so strangely  to the 
earth under our feet4 ,it is instinct   
which attracts certain  individual souls
 to certain particular natural elements1
 such as air1  fire1 sand1 mould1 rain1 

wind1 water1 and the like2 a kind of    
remote  atavistic reciprocity in us     
stretching out towards that particular  
element4 ,it is by means of instinct    
that we are able to sink into that      
mysterious sub-conscious world which    
underlies the conscious  levels of every
 soul-monad4 ,under the groping and     
fumbling  guidance of this strange power
 we seem to come into touch with the    
profoundest reservoirs of our personal  
identity4    ,considering what fantastic
 and cruel tricks the lonely thinking   
power1 the abstract reason1 has been    
allowed to play us it is no  wonder that
 this ,french philosopher has been      
tempted to turn away  from reason and   
find in instinct the ultimate solution4 
,instinct1 as we  give ourselves up to  
it1 seems to carry us into the very     
nerves and  tissues and veins and pulses
 of life4 ,its verdicts seem to reach us
  with an absolute and unquestionable   
authority4 ,they seem to bear  upon them
 an imprimatur more powerful than any   

moral sanction4  ,potent and terrible1  
direct and final1 instinct seems to rise
 up out of  the depths and break every  
law4    ,it leaps forth from our inmost 
being like a second self more  powerful 
than we are4 ,it invades religion4 ,it  
incarnates itself in  lust4 ,it obsesses
 taste4 ,it masquerades as intuition4   
,it triumphs over  reason4 ,with an     
irrationality1 that seems at the same   
time terrible  and beautiful1 instinct  
moves straight to its goal4 ,it follows 
its  purpose with demonic tenacity1     
heedless of logic1 contemptuous of      
consequences4 ,it cares nothing for     
contradictions4 ,it forces              
contradictions to lose themselves in one
 another according to some  secret law  
of its own1 unknown to the law of       
reason4    ,such1 then1 is instinct1 the
 sub-conscious fatality of ,nature so   
difficult to control2 whose unrestrained
 activity is capable of  completely     
destroying the rhythm of the complex    
vision4 ,nothing  but the power of the  

apex-thought of man's whole concentrated
  being is able to dominate this thing4 
,it may be detected lurking in  the     
droop of the ,sphinx's eyelids and in   
the cruel smile upon her  mouth4 ,but   
the answer given to the challenge of    
this subterranean  force is not1 after  
all1 any logical judgment of the pure   
reason4 ,it  is the answer of the vision
 of the artist1 holding its treacherous 
material under his creative hand4       
,let us turn now to the attribute of    
intuition4 ,intuition is a thing  more  
clearly definable and more easily       
analysed than almost any  other of the  
aspects of the soul4 ,intuition is the  
feminine counterpart  of imagination2   
and1 as compared with instinct1 it is a 
power which  acts in clearly denned1    
isolated1 intermittent movements1 each  
one of  which has a definite beginning  
and a definite end4 ,as compared  with  
imagination1 intuition is passive and   
receptive2 as compared  with instinct it
 does not fumble and grope forward1     

steadily and  tenaciously1 among the    
roots of things2 but it suspends itself1
  mirror-like1 upon the surface of the  
unfathomable waters1 and  suspended     
there reflects in swift sudden glimpses 
the mysterious  movements of the great  
deep4 ,in this process of reflecting1 or
  apprehending in sudden1 intermittent  
glimpses1 the mysterious depths  of the 
life of the soul1 intuition is less     
affected by the reason  or by the will  
than any other aspect of the complex    
vision4    ,instinct1 in secret         
sub-conscious alliance with the will1 is
 a  permanent automatic energy1 working 
in the hidden darkness of the  roots of 
things like an ever-flowing subterranean
 stream4 ,the  revelations of intuition1
 on the other hand1 are not flowing and 
constant1 but separate1 isolated1       
distinct and detached4 ,in the          
subject-matter of their revelations1    
too1 intuition and instinct are  very   
different4 ,if the recesses of the soul 
be compared to a fortified  castle1     

instinct is the active messenger of the 
place1 continually  issuing forth on    
secret errands concerning the real      
nature of which  he is himself often    
quite ignorant4 ,intuition1 on the      
contrary1 is  the little postern gate at
 the back of the building1 set open at  
rare moments to the wide fields and     
magical forests which extend to  the    
far-off horizon4    ,instinct is always 
found in close contact with sensation1  
groping its  ways through the midst of  
the mass of material impressions1 acting
  and reacting as it fumbles among such 
impressions4 ,intuition seems  to deal  
directly and absolutely with a clear and
 definite landscape  behind the         
superficial landscape1 with a truth     
behind truth1 with a  reality within    
reality4    ,to take an instance from   
common experience3 a stranger1 an       
unknown person1 enters our circle4      
,instinct1 working automatically  and   
sensationally1 may attract us powerfully
 towards such a person1  with a steady1 

irresistible attraction4 ,intuition1 on 
the contrary1  uttering its revelation  
abruptly and with1 so to speak1 one     
sudden  mysterious cry1 may warn us of  
some dangerous quicksand or  perilous   
jungle in such a stranger's nature of   
which instinct was  totally ignorant    
because the thing was what might be     
called a  spiritual quality lying deeper
 than those sensational or magnetic     
levels through which instinct feels its 
way4    ,the instinct of animals or     
birds for instance warns them very      
quickly with regard to the presence of  
some natural enemy whose  approach they 
apprehend through some mysterious       
sense-impression  beyond the analysis of
 human reason4 ,but when their enemy  is
 the mental intention of a human being  
they are only too easily  tricked4      
,to take quite a different instance4 ,it
 may easily happen that while           
conscience has habitually driven us to a
 certain course of action  against which
 instinct has never revolted because of 

its  preoccupation with the senses1 some
 sudden flash of intuition  reaching us 
from the hidden substratum of our being 
changes our  whole perspective and gives
 to conscience itself a completely      
opposite bias4 ,what these intermittent 
revelations of intuition  certainly do  
achieve is the preservation in the      
soul's memory of the  clear and deep and
 free and unfathomable margins of the   
ultimate  mystery1 those wavering       
sea-edges and twilight-shores of our    
being1  which the austere categories of 
rational logic tend to shut out as if   
by impenetrable walls4    ,it remains to
 consider the attribute of memory4      
,memory is the name  which we give to   
that intrinsic susceptibility1 implying 
an intrinsic  permanence or endurance in
 the material which displays            
susceptibility1 such as makes it        
possible for what the soul feels or     
what the soul creates to write down its 
own record1 so that it can be  read at  
will1 or if not at will1 at least can be

 read1 if the proper  stimulus or shock 
be applied4    ,memory is not the cause 
of the soul's concrete identity4 ,the   
soul's  concrete identity is the cause  
or natural ground of memory4 ,memory  is
 the passive-active power by means of   
which the concrete  identity of the soul
 grows richer1 fuller1 more articulate1 
more  complex and more subtle4    ,in   
looking back over these eleven          
attributes of the soul-monad1  what we  
have to remark is1 that two of the      
number differ radically in  their nature
 from the rest4 ,the attribute of       
emotion differs from the  rest in the   
sense that it is the living substantial 
unity or ultimate  synthesis in which   
they all move4 ,it is indeed more than  
this4 ,for it  is the actual stuff or   
material out of which they are all1 so  
to  speak1 made or upon which they all1 
so to speak1 inscribe their  diverse    
creations4    ,the permanent surface1 or
 identical susceptibility1 of this      
ebbing  and flowing stream of emotion is

 memory2 but the emotion itself1        
divided into the positive and negative  
pole1 as we say of love and  malice1 is 
an actual projection upon the objective 
universe of the  intrinsic stuff or     
psycho-material substance of which the  
substratum of the soul is actually      
composed4 ,the other aspects of  the    
soul are1 so to speak1 the various      
tongues of diversely coloured  flame    
with which the soul pierces the         
objective mystery2 but the  substance of
 all these flames is one and the same4  
,it is the soul  itself1 projected upon 
the plane of material impression2 and   
thus  projected1 becoming the           
conflicting duality to which ,i give the
 name of  emotion4    ,the attribute of 
will1 also1 differs radically from the  
rest2 in the  sense that will is the    
power which the soul possesses of       
encouraging or suppressing1 re-vivifying
 or letting fade1 all the other         
attributes of the soul1 including that  
attribute which is the substance  and   

synthesis of them all and which ,i name 
emotion4    ,in regard to emotion the   
will can do three separate things4 ,it  
can  encourage the emotion of love and  
suppress that of malice4 ,it can        
encourage the emotion of malice and     
suppress that of love4 ,and  finally it 
can use its energy in the effort1 an    
effort which can never  be totally      
successful1 to suppress all emotion1 of 
any kind at all4    ,man's complex      
vision then consists1 in simple terms1  
of  self-consciousness1 reason1 taste1  
imagination1 conscience1 instinct1      
sensation1 intuition1 will1 memory1 and 
emotion4 ,these various  activities1    
differentiated clearly enough in their  
separate energizing1  must never be     
regarded as absolutely separate         
faculties1 but rather  as relatively    
separated aspects4 ,behind all of them  
and under all of  them is the complex   
vision itself1 felt by all of us in rare
 moments in  its creative totality1 but 
constantly being distorted and obscured 

as  one or other of its primal energies 
invades the appropriate territory  of   
some other4    ,the complex vision must 
not be regarded as the mere sum or      
accumulated agglomeration of all these4 
,it is much more than this4 ,it  is more
 than a mere formal focussing of its own
 attributes4 ,it is more  than a mere   
logical unity suspended in a vacuum4    
,the complex vision is the vision of a  
living self1 of an organic  personality1
 of an actual soul-monad4 ,it may be the
 vision of a man4  ,it may be the vision
 of a plant or a planet or a god4 ,it   
may be the  vision of entities undreamed
 of and of existences inconceivable4 ,it
  may be the vision1 for example1 of    
some strange soul of space or  soul of  
the ether whose consciousness is        
extended throughout the  visible        
universe and even throughout the        
etherial medium which  binds all souls  
together4    ,but whether the vision of 
a plant1 a man1 or a god1 the complex   
vision seems to bring with it its own   

immediate revelation that  where there  
is any form of matter1 however          
attenuated1 such  matter is the outward 
expression of some inward living soul   
whose energies have some mysterious     
correspondence to the eleven  aspects of
 the soul of man4      ,,chapter ,,iii4 
,,the ,,soul',s ,,apex-,,thought    ,it 
now becomes necessary to discuss the    
connection between what  ,i have named  
the soul's apex-thought and certain     
permanent  aspects of life with which   
this apex-thought has to deal4    ,the  
apex-thought is the name ,i give to that
 synthetic and  concentrating effort of 
the soul by means of which the various  
energies of the complex vision are      
brought into focus and fused  with one  
another4 ,in accordance with my         
favourite metaphorical  image1 the      
apex-thought is the extreme point of the
 arrow-head  of the soul2 the point with
 which it pierces its ways into         
eternity4    ,it is necessary that ,i   
should indicate the connection between  

the  activity of this apex-point of the 
complex vision and the various          
perplexing human problems round which   
our controversies  smoulder and burn4   
,it is advisable that ,i should indicate
 the  connection between the activity of
 this apex-thought and that  thing which
 the world has agreed to call ,religion4
    ,it is advisable that ,i should     
indicate the relation of the            
apex-thought to those recurrent moods of
 profound human scepticism  wherein we  
deny the attainability of any truth at  
all4    ,it is advisable that ,i should 
indicate the relation of the            
apex-thought to any possible new organ  
of vision with which some  unforeseen   
experiment of the soul may suddenly     
endow us4 ,and it  is above all         
advisable that ,i should show the       
relation between this  focussed         
synthesis of the soul's complexity and  
the actual physical  body whose material
 senses are part of this complexity4    
,the whole problem of the art of life   

may be said to lie in the  question of  
co-ordination4 ,the actual process of   
coordination is the  supreme and eternal
 difficulty4 ,only at rare moments do we
  individually approximate to its       
achievement4 ,only once or twice1 it    
may be1 in a whole life-time1 do we     
actually achieve it4 ,but it is by  the 
power and insight of such fortunate     
moments that we attain  whatever measure
 of permanent illumination adds dignity 
and  courage to our days4    ,we live by
 the memory of such moments4 ,we live by
 the hope of  their return4 ,in the     
meanwhile our luck or our ill luck1 as  
living  human beings1 depends on no     
outward events or circumstances but  on 
our success in the conscious effort of  
approximation to what1  when it does    
arrive1 seems to take the grace and ease
 and  inevitable beauty of a free gift  
of the gods4    ,this fortunate rhythm  
of the primordial energies of the       
complex  vision may be felt and realized
 without being expressed in words4  ,the

 curse of what we call cleverness is    
that it hastens to find  facile and     
fluent expression for what cannot be    
easily and fluently  expressed4         
,education is too frequently a mere     
affair of words1 a  superficial         
encouragement of superficial expression4
 ,it is for this  reason that many      
totally uneducated persons achieve1     
unknown to  all except their most       
intimate friends1 a far closer approach 
to this  difficult co-ordination than   
others who are not only well-educated   
but are regarded by the world as famous 
leaders of modern  thought4    ,it will 
be remarked that in my list of the      
primordial energies of the  complex     
vision ,i do not mention religion4 ,this
 is not because ,i do  not recognize the
 passionate and formidable role played  
by  religion in the history of the human
 race1 nor because ,i regard the        
religious instinct as a thing outgrown  
and done with4 ,i have not  included it 
because ,i cannot regard it as a        

distinct and separate  attribute1 in the
 sense in which reason1 conscience1     
intuition and so  forth1 are distinct   
and separate attributes1 of the complex 
vision4    ,i regard it as a name given 
in common usage to certain premature    
and disproportioned efforts at          
co-ordination among these  attributes1  
and ,i am well content to apply the word
 religion to  that sacred ecstasy1 at   
once passionate and calm1 at once       
personal  and impersonal1 which suffuses
 our being with an unutterable          
happiness when the energies of the      
complex vision are brought  into focus4 
,i regard the word religion as a word   
that has drawn and  attracted to itself1
 in its descent down the stream of time1
 so rich  and so intricate a cargo of   
human feelings that it has come to mean 
too many things to be any longer of     
specific value in a  philosophical      
analysis4    ,any sort of reaction      
against the primeval fear with which man
  contemplates the unknown1 is religion4

 ,the passionate craving of  human      
beings for a love which changes not nor 
passes away1 is  religion4    ,the      
desperate longing to find an idea1 a    
principle1 a truth1 a  cause1 for the   
sake of which we can sacrifice our      
personal  pleasure and our personal     
selfishness1 is religion4    ,the       
craving for some unity1 some synthesis1 
some universal  meaning in the system of
 things1 is religion4 ,the desire for an
  over-life or an over-world1 in which  
the distress1 disorder1                 
misunderstandings and cruelties of our  
present existence are  redeemed1 is     
religion4    ,the desire to find        
something real and eternal behind the   
transient  flow of appearance1 is       
religion4 ,the desire to force upon     
others by  violence1 by trickery1 by    
fire1 by sword1 by persecution1 by      
magic1  by persuasion1 by eloquence1 by 
martyrdom1 an idea which is more        
important to us than life itself1 is    
religion4    ,it will be seen from this 

brief survey of the immense field which 
the word religion has come to cover1    
that ,i am justified in  regarding it   
rather as a name given to the emotional 
thrill  and ecstatic abandonment which  
accompanies any sort of co-ordination   
of the attributes of the complex vision1
 proportioned or  disproportioned1 than 
as a distinct and separate attribute in 
itself4    ,only when the co-ordination 
of our human activities rises to the    
height of a supreme music1 can we regard
 religion as the most  beautiful and    
most important of all human experiences4
 ,and at the  moment when it takes this 
form it resolves itself into nothing    
more  than an unutterable feeling of    
ecstasy produced by the sense that  we  
are in harmony with the rest of the     
universe4 ,religion1 as ,i am  compelled
 to think of it1 resolves itself into   
that reaction of  unspeakable happiness 
produced in us1 when by any kind of     
synthetic movement1 however crude1 we   
are either saved from  unreality or     

reconciled to reality4    ,religion is1 
in fact1 the name we give to the ecstasy
 in the heart of  the complex vision1   
when1 in any sort of coordination       
between our  contradictory energies1 we 
at once escape from ourselves and       
realize ourselves4 ,we are forbidden to 
speak of the religious  sense or the    
religious instinct because1 truly       
interpreted1  religion is not a single  
activity among other activities1 but the
  emotional reaction upon our whole     
nature when that nature is  functioning 
in its creative fulness4    ,religion   
must therefore be regarded as the       
culminating ecstasy of  the art of life1
 or as a premature snatching at such an 
ecstasy while  the art of life is still 
discordant and inchoate4 ,in the first  
instance  it is the supreme reward of   
the creative act4 ,in the second        
instance it  is a tragic temptation to  
rest by the way in a unity which is an  
illusive unity and in a heaven from     
which the sun of the morning  is        

excluded4 ,it thus comes about that what
 we call religion is  frequently a      
hindrance to the rhythm of the          
apex-thought4 ,it may  be a sentimental 
consolation4 ,it may be an excuse for   
cruelty and  obscurantism4 ,there is    
always a danger when it is thus         
prematurely manifested1 that it should  
darken1 distort1 deprave and  obstruct  
the movement of creation4    ,at this   
point1 an objection arises to our whole 
method of research  which it is         
necessary to meet at once4 ,this        
objection1 a peculiarly  modern one1 is 
based upon the theory1 handed about in  
modern  literature as a kind of diploma 
of cleverness and repeated              
superficially by many who are not really
 sceptical at all1 that it is           
impossible in this world to arrive1     
under any circumstances1 at any  kind of
 truth4    ,persons who repeat this     
sceptical dogma are simply refusing to  
acknowledge the evidence of their own   
experience4 ,however rare  our high     

rhythmic moments may be1 some sort of   
approximation  to them1 quite sufficient
 to destroy the validity of this        
absolute  scepticism1 must1 if a person 
honestly confesses the truth1 and does  
not dissimulate out of intellectual     
pride1 have entered into the  experience
 of every human being4    ,let us1      
however1 consider the kind of dogmatic  
language which  these sceptics use4     
,they speak of life as a thing which so 
perpetually changes1 expands1           
diminishes1 undulates1 advances1        
recedes1 evolves1 revolves1 explodes1   
precipitates1 lightens1  darkens1 thins1
 thickens1 hardens1 softens1 over-brims1
 concentrates1  grows shallow1 grows    
deep1 that it were ridiculous even to   
attempt  to create an equilibrium1 or   
rhythmic parting-of-the-ways1  out of   
such evasive and treacherous material4  
,my answer to this sceptical protest is 
a simple one4 ,it is an appeal  to human
 experience4 ,i maintain that this      
modern tendency to talk  dogmatically   

and vaguely about the evasive fluidity  
of life is  nothing more than a crafty  
pathological retreat from the           
formidable challenge of life4 ,it is    
indeed a kind of mental drug or         
spiritual opiate by the use of which    
many unheroic souls hide  themselves    
from the sardonic stare of the eternal  
,sphinx4 ,it is a  weakness comparable  
to the weakness of many premature       
religious  syntheses2 and it has the    
same soothing and disintegrating effect 
upon the creative energy of the mind4   
,what1 as a matter of fact1 hurts us    
all1 much more than any  tendency of    
life to be over-fluid and over-evasive1 
is the atrocious  tendency of life to be
 inflexible1 rigorous1 implacable1      
harshly  immobile4 ,this vague dogmatic 
sentiment about the fluidity of  life1  
is one of the instinctive ways by which 
we try to pretend that  our prison-walls
 are not walls at all1 but only friendly
 and flowing  vapour4 ,none of the great
 works of art and poetry1 the austere   

beauty of which reflects the real nature
 of the universe1 could  continue to    
exercise their magical power upon us1   
could continue  to sustain us and       
comfort us1 if those tragic ultimate    
realities were  not ultimate realities4 
,the sublime ritual of art1 which at its
 noblest has the character of  religion1
 could not exist for a moment in a world
 as softly  fluctuating and as dimly    
wavering as this modern scepticism      
would make it4 ,life is at once more    
beautiful and far more tragic4  ,though 
surrounded by mystery the grand outlines
 of the world  remain austerely and     
sternly the same4 ,the sun rises and    
sets4 ,the  moon draws the tides4 ,man  
goes forth to his work and his labour   
until the evening4 ,man is born2 man    
loves and hates2 man dies4  ,and over   
him the same unfathomable spaces yawn4  
,and under  him the same unfathomable   
spaces yawn4 ,time1 with its seasons1   
passes him in unalterable procession4   
,from birth to death his soul  wrestles 

with the universe2 and the drama of     
which he is the  protagonist lifts the  
sublime monotony of its scenery from the
  zenith to the nadir4    ,let any man  
ask himself what it is that hurts him   
most in life and  yet seems most real to
 him4 ,he will be compelled to answer 4 
4 4  the atrocious regularity of things 
and their obscene necessity4  ,the very 
persons who talk so glibly about the    
fluidity and  evasiveness of life are   
persons in whose own flesh the          
wedge-like granite of fate has lodged   
itself with crushing finality4  ,life   
has indeed been too rigid and too stark 
for them2 and in  place of seizing it in
 an embrace as formidable as its own1   
they go  aside muttering1 life is       
evasive2 life is fluid2 life brims over4
    ,this sceptical dogma of evasiveness
 is generally found in  alliance with   
some vague modern religion whose chief  
object is  to strip the world of the    
dignity of its real tragedy and endow it
  with the indignity of some pretended  

assurance4 ,this is the role of  that   
superficial optimism so inherently      
repugnant to the aesthetic  sense4      
,such apologists for a shallow and      
ignoble idealism are in the habit  of   
declaring that the tendency of modern   
thought is to render  materialism       
unthinkable2 but when these people speak
 of  materialism they are thinking of   
the austere limits of that vast         
objective spectacle into which we are   
all born4 ,this spectacle is  indeed    
mysterious4 ,it is indeed staggering and
 awful4 ,but it is  irrevocably there4  
,and no vague talk about the evasiveness
  and over-brimmingness of life can     
alter one jot or tittle of its  eternal 
outlines4    ,from the sublime terror of
 this extraordinary drama such persons  
are anxious to escape1 because the iron 
of it has entered into their  souls4    
,they do not see that the only escape   
offered by the reality  of things is a  
change of attitude towards this         
spectacle1 not an  assertion that the   

form of this spectacle is unfixed and   
wavering4  ,no psychological or         
mathematical speculation has the power  
to  alter the essential outlines of this
 spectacle4    ,if such speculations    
could alter it1 then the aesthetic sense
 of  humanity would be driven to        
transform itself2 and a new aesthetic   
sense1 adapted to this new evasiveness  
of life1 would have to  take its place4 
,attempts are indeed being made at this 
very hour to  start fresh with a new    
aesthetic sense and only the winnowing  
process of time and the pressure of     
personal experience can refute  such    
attempts4 ,meanwhile all we can do is to
 note the rejection of  such attempts by
 the verdict of the complex vision2 a   
rejection  which indicates that if such 
attempts are to be successful they must 
imply the substitution of a new complex 
vision for the one which  humanity has  
used since the beginning4    ,in other  
words they must imply a radical change  
in the basic  attributes of human       

nature4 ,humanity1 to justify them1 must
  become some sort of super-humanity2   
and a new world inhabited  by a new race
 must take the place of the world we    
know4 ,such an  attempt to substitute a 
new humanity for the old is already     
conscious of itself in those curious    
experiments of psychical  research which
 are based upon the hypothesis that some
 completely  new organs of sense are on 
the point of being discovered4          
,philosophers  who believe in the       
inherent unchangeableness of our present
 instrument  of research--the complex   
vision as it now exists--can only look  
on at  these experiments with an        
attitude of critical detachment2 and    
wait  until time and experience have    
justified or refuted them4              
,philosophers who believe in the        
unchangeableness of the complex  vision 
are bound to recognize that the human   
will1 which is a basic  attribute of    
this vision1 must in any case play a    
considerable part in  the creation of   

the future4 ,but from their point of    
view the will is1  after all1 only one  
of these basic attributes4 ,there is    
also the  aesthetic sense4 ,and the     
aesthetic sense is totally averse to    
this  new kind of humanity and this new 
kind of world4 ,the eternal  vision of  
those invisible sons of the universe1   
the proof of whose  existence is a      
deduction from the encounters of all    
actual souls  with one another1 would   
seem to be entirely irreconcilable with 
any new complex vision whose nature had 
been completely  changed4    ,the       
visible spectacle of the world with its 
implied eternal  arbiters would be      
transmuted and transfigured by such an  
upheaval4 ,for as long as the human     
will1 as we know it now1  remains in    
association with the aesthetic sense as 
we know it now1  the creation of the    
future--however yielding and            
indetermined--  must depend upon the    
form1 the shape1 the principle1 the     
prophecy1  the premonition1 existing    

from the beginning in the nature of     
things4 ,and it is precisely this shape1
 this form1 this principle1 this  hope1 
this dream1 this essential motive of    
those sons of the  universe whose       
existence is implied when two and three 
are  gathered together1 which would be  
destroyed and annihilated1 if  the      
complex vision were transformed into    
something else and a  new world took the
 place of the old4    ,it is the        
existence of these real immortals       
confronting this real  universe which   
makes possible the feeling we have that 
in spite of  all our differences1 some  
accumulated stream of beauty1 truth and 
goodness1 does actually carry the past  
forward into the future1 does  actually 
create the future according to a        
premonition and a hope  which have been 
there from the beginning4    ,this is   
the supreme act of faith of the complex 
vision4 ,this is the  supreme act of    
faith which saves us at once from our   
subjective  isolation and from the will 

towards the acceptance of a premature   
religion4 ,this is what saves us from   
any psychological or  mathematical or   
logical speculation1 which would        
contradict this  hope or destroy the    
reality of the universe from which this 
hope  emerges4    ,when we come to a    
general consideration of the various    
attributes  of the complex vision we are
 struck at once by the appalling power  
they each have1 when not held in check1 
of cancelling one  another's            
contribution4 ,it is for this reason    
that my newly-coined  word was          
unavoidable if we are to emphasize the  
synthetic energy  of the complex vision 
when it exercises its control over these
  diverse attributes and resists their  
constant tendency to cancel one         
another4 ,it was precisely to emphasize 
this synthetic energy of  the soul that 
,i have made use of the arbitrary       
expression  apex-thought4 ,for if we    
think of these various attributes as    
shooting forth like flames from the     

arrowhead of the individual soul1  we   
must think of this coordinating energy  
as the power which  continually draws   
these flames together when they deviate 
from  their focussed intensity1 and     
continually restores1 from its          
inharmonious dispersion1 the            
concentration of their arrows' point4   
,if we are permitted to use this image  
of a horizontal pyramid of  flames it   
will be seen how important a part is    
played by this  apex-thought in         
concentrating the energies of the       
complex vision so  that it can drive or 
burn or pierce its way into the         
surrounding  mystery4    ,for this image
 of an arrow-head of focussed flame     
which is in  constant danger of being   
dispersed as the flames recede from one 
another and are blown backwards is only 
a symbolic way of  indicating how       
difficult it is to pierce with our      
complicated  instrument of research the 
vast mystery which surrounds us4    ,all
 this is mere pictorial metaphor2 but in

 visualizing the human  soul as a moving
 arrow-head1 composed of flickering     
flames that  only now and then combine  
into a sharp point1 while at other times
  the wind drives them apart and bends  
them back1 ,i am suggesting  that the   
ultimate reality of things is a state of
 confused movement  continually becoming
 a state of concentrated movement4 ,i am
  suggesting that the secrets of life   
only yield themselves up to a  movement 
of desperation4 ,i am suggesting that   
the spirit of  creation is also the     
spirit of destruction1 and that the real
 object  of the energy of creation is to
 pierce with its burning light the      
darkness of the objective mystery4      
,as proof of the necessity of keeping   
this apex-thought in constant  poise1   
let me reiterate one or two of the      
philosophical disasters  which result   
from a cessation of its rhythmic        
function4 ,when the  reason1 for        
instance1 usurps the whole field and    
acts in isolation  from the imagination 

and the intuition1 it tends to persuade 
us to  deny the very existence of that  
deepest and most vivid reality of  all1 
the handle of our spear-head1 the base  
of our pyramid1 the  mysterious entity  
within us1 which we have come1 following
 the  traditions of the centuries1 to   
name the soul4 ,and not only does  the  
soul disappear when the reason thus     
isolates itself1 but another  primary   
revelation of the complex vision1 ,i    
mean that half-created1  half-discovered
 object of the senses popularly called  
matter1  disappears with it4    ,man's  
self-consciousness is thus left         
suspended in vacuo with no  concrete    
reality within it and no concrete       
reality outside it2 and                 
thought-in-the-abstract becomes the only
 truth4    ,but not only can reason thus
 set itself up in isolated usurpation   
against such other activities as        
imagination1 intuition1 will or taste2  
it can also divide itself against itself
 and emerge in completely  contradictory

 functions4 ,in the form of mathematical
 logic1 for  instance1 it can dispose   
most drastically of that living organic 
world which in the form of experimental 
science it assumes to be  the only      
truth4 ,again it may happen that reason 
will arbitrarily ally  itself with one  
or the other of the other attributes and
 on the  strength of such an alliance   
seek to obliterate all the rest4 ,thus  
while it is impossible to avoid the     
admission that of all these basic       
attributes reason is the most important1
 because without it all the  rest would 
be inarticulate and dumb1 it remains    
true that to hold  reason in balanced   
relation to all the rest and to hold its
 own  contradictory tendencies in       
balanced relation to one another is an  
undertaking of such extraordinary       
difficulty that if it were not for  the 
complex vision's possession of that     
co-ordinating power which  ,i have named
 its apex-thought1 one might well pardon
 the mood of  those persons who use     

reason to drug reason and who steer     
their  boat into some unruffled         
backwater of dogma or mysticism4    ,the
 necessity of such an infinitely        
delicate poise or balance or  rhythm in 
these high matters1 the necessity of    
keeping all these  conflicting          
attributes at this exquisite point of   
suspense between  abysses of            
contradiction1 is a necessity which     
compels us to  recognize that philosophy
 is nothing more or less than the       
supreme  art1 and the most difficult of 
all arts4    ,certainly1 it seems as    
though thought has to become in a       
profound  sense rhythmical1 has to take 
to itself the nature of music1 before it
  can become the truth4 ,for the truth  
does not seem to be a mere  picture of  
the system of things1 reflected in the  
mirror of the mind4  ,the truth seems to
 be the very system of things itself1   
become  conscious and volitional1       
changing1 growing1 living1 destroying1  
creating4 ,thus it comes about that the 

thought which plunges into  the universe
 must of necessity1 even in that very   
act1 remould and  re-fashion the        
universe4 ,thus ,nature perpetually     
recreates herself  by the passion of her
 children and is forever re-born as the 
child of  her own offspring4    ,but if 
the supreme difficulty of the art of    
life lies in the  maintenance of this   
rhythm between these primary attributes1
 it  must never be forgotten that these 
attributes are1 after all1 only  aspects
 of the soul4 ,the soul is each of them1
 not in each of  them4 ,they are not    
faculties through which the soul acts4  
,they  are never absolutely distinct    
from one another4 ,there is something   
of each of them in every one of them1   
and every attempt which  they make to   
establish themselves in an independent  
existence is  only an attempt of the    
soul itself to live a perverted and a   
discordant1 instead of a natural and a  
harmonious life4    ,the rarity and     
difficulty of that high art which brings

 all these  orchestral players into     
harmony is sufficient cause to account  
for  the scarcity of genuine            
philosophical thought in this confused  
world4 ,the human soul1 looking         
desperately round for some calm  yet    
passionate light to save its hours from 
ruinous waste1 turns  away in bitter    
disillusion from the thin dust and the  
swollen  vapour that are offered it4    
,out of the logical laboratories of the 
abstract reason this thin dust  is      
offered2 and out of the ideal factories 
of the wish for superficial  comfort    
this iridescent vapour is poured forth4 
,that burning secret  of life1 that     
lovely and terrible reality for which   
the soul pines is  not to be found in   
any mere outward fact or in any mere    
subjective  intuition4    ,such a fact  
may crumble to pieces and give place to 
another4 ,such  an intuition may melt   
into air under the shock of experience4 
,the  craving of the soul is not        
satisfied by the discovery that matter  

resolves itself into energy1 nor is the 
misery of the heart  assuaged by the    
theory that time is an attribute of     
fourth-dimensional  space4 ,the         
lamentable beating of blood-stained     
hands upon the  ultimate walls does not 
cease when we learn that two straight   
lines  can or cannot meet in infinity2  
nor does the knowledge that history  is 
an ideal evolution heal the aching of   
the world-sorrow4    ,could we know for 
certain that the dead were raised up1   
even that  knowledge would not reduce to
 silence the bitter cry of the  outraged
 generations4 ,so poisonous and so deep 
is the pain of life  that no kind of    
knowledge1 not even the knowledge that  
annihilation  must at last1 sooner or   
later1 end it all1 can really heal it4  
,but truth is not knowledge4 ,truth is  
not the recognition of an  external     
fact4 ,truth is a creative gesture4 ,it 
is a ritual1 a rhythmic  poise1 a       
balance deliberately sustained between  
eternal  contradictions4 ,it is the     

magical touch which reduces to harmony  
the quivering vibrations of many        
opposites4 ,it is the dramatic  movement
 of a supreme actor at the climax of an 
unfathomable  drama4 ,it is music       
resting upon itself2 music so exquisite 
as to  seem like silence1 music so      
passionate as to have become calm4      
,the apex-thought of that pyramid of    
conflicting flames which we  call the   
complex vision holds itself together at 
one concentrated  point4 ,and this point
 is the arrow point of our human soul2  
that  soul which is shot across         
immensity in the eternal war between    
life  and the opposite of life4         
,although for the purpose of emphasizing
 and elucidating the  essential nature  
of this apex-thought it has been found  
advisable to  use such metaphorical and 
pictorial images as the one just        
indicated1 it must be remembered that   
what we are actually and in  direct     
experience confronted with is the       
mystery of a real human  personality    

inhabiting a real human body4    ,this  
real personal soul inhabiting a real    
objective body and  surrounded on all   
sides by a real unfathomable universe1  
is the  original revelation of the      
complex vision from which there is no   
escape except by death4    ,the         
philosophy of the complex vision finds  
its starting point in an  acceptance of 
this situation which is nothing more    
than an  acceptance of the complex      
vision's own harmonious activity4 ,an   
acceptance of the reality of the human  
body is an essential part of  this      
harmonious activity because among the   
aspects of the  complex vision are to be
 found certain attributes1 such as      
sensation1 instinct and imagination1    
which would be negated and  rendered    
abortive if the human body were an      
illusion4    ,if the starting point of  
our philosophy demands recognition of   
the reality of the body1 the ideal of   
our philosophy must have a  place for   
the body also4 ,flesh and blood must    

therefore play their  part in the       
resultant harmony at which we are all   
the while aiming2  and no contempt for  
the body1 no hatred of the body1 no     
refusal to  recognize the supreme beauty
 and sacredness of the body1 can be     
allowed to distort or pervert our       
vision4    ,the activity of the         
apex-thought1 though we have a right to 
use  any metaphorical image we please   
about it in order to elucidate its      
nature1 must always be considered as    
using the bodily senses in its          
resultant rhythm4 ,it must always be    
considered as using that  portion of the
 objective universe which we name the   
body as an  inevitable note in its      
musical flight from darkness to         
darkness4 ,it  must always be conceived 
as following the attraction of an       
eternal  vision1 in which the idea of   
the body is an imperishable element4    
,this eternal vision1 which it is the   
rhythmic motive of the  apex-thought to 
seek1 carries with it the witness and   

imprimatur of  the gods2 and although no
 man has ever beheld the gods1 and      
although the gods by reason of their    
omnipresent activity1 cannot  be thought
 of as being incarnated1 yet since they 
are living souls1  even as we are1 and  
since every living soul has1 as the     
substratum  of its identity1 what might 
be called a spiritual body1 there is    
nothing in the revelation made to us    
through the activity of our  complex    
vision to forbid our free and even      
fanciful speculation as  to its use1 by 
the very highest of superhuman          
personalities1 even1  let us say1 by the
 ,christ himself1 of this mysterious    
energy of the  soul which ,i have named 
the apex-thought4      ,,chapter ,,iv4  
,,the ,,revelation ,,of ,,the ,,complex 
,,vision    ,using then1 as our         
instrument of research1 that totality of
 attributes  by which the soul in its   
rare moments of rhythmic consummation   
visualizes the world1 the question      
arises--what1 in plain  untechnical     

terms1 is the revelation made to us by  
this complex  medium8 ,here1 as before1 
,i am anxious1 before ,i venture upon   
such a hazardous undertaking as an      
answer to this question1 to  indicate   
clearly that what ,i am attempting to   
state is a revelation  which is common  
to the experience of all souls1 wherever
 such a  thing as the soul exists4 ,the 
question as to whether or not such an   
universal revelation is an illusion does
 not concern us4 ,to call any  universal
 experience an illusion is no more and  
no less  illuminating than to call it an
 ultimate truth4 ,it is the only        
reality we are at present in possession 
of2 and we must accept it1  or remain in
 complete scepticism2 which is only     
another name for  complete chaos4       
,the first important discovery which the
 complex vision makes is  the fact that 
the revelation1 thus half-offered to it 
and half-created  by it1 is presented   
simultaneously in all its various       
aspects4 ,it does  not appear to us bit 

by bit or in succession but en masse and
 in  its complete ensemble4 ,it is of   
course unavoidable that its  aspects    
should be enumerated one by one and that
 in such an  enumeration one aspect     
should be placed first and another last4
  ,nevertheless1 this first and last    
must not be regarded as of any          
reasonable importance2 but as nothing   
more than an accident of  arbitrary     
choice4 ,all the aspects of this        
original revelation are  linked         
together4 ,all are dependent upon one   
another4 ,among them  there is no first 
and last4 ,all are equally real4 ,all   
are equally  necessary4 ,all are equally
 inescapable4    ,the activity of the   
complex vision1 then1 makes us aware    
that we  have within us an integral     
irreducible self1 the living personal   
substratum of our self-consciousness1   
the ,i of our primordial ,i  am ,i4     
,this living personal self is the       
background of our complex  vision4 ,it  
is the personal visionary whose vision  

we are using4 ,i  say we have within us 
such a self4 ,this within us is one of  
the  inescapable original revelations4  
,for though our consciousness  will be  
found in its full circle to invade      
obscure shores and  wavering margins1   
there must always be a return1 however  
far it  may wander1 to this definite    
something within us which utters  the   
happy or unhappy ,i am ,i4    ,it is    
precisely here1 in regard to the nature 
of this ,i am ,i1 that it  is essential 
to let the totality of our complex      
vision speak1 and not  one or other of  
its attributes4 ,nowhere has the        
fantastic and  desolating power of pure 
abstract reason left to itself done more
 to  distort the general situation than 
in this matter4 ,it has distorted it  in
 two opposing ways4    ,it has distorted
 it metaphysically by completely        
eliminating this  revelation of a       
personal self1 within us1 and it has    
distorted it  scientifically by reducing
 this personal self to an automatic     

mechanical phenomenon produced by the   
action and interaction of  unconscious  
chemical forces4    ,to the logic of    
metaphysical reason there is no concrete
 living self  which can say ,i am ,i    
from that definite point in space and   
time  which we indicate by the use of   
the phrase within us4 ,according  to    
such logic our ,i am ,i becomes an      
infinity of consciousness  with no local
 habitation4 ,it becomes a consciousness
 which  includes both the within and the
 without1 a consciousness in  which our 
actual personal self is nothing but an  
illusory  phenomenon1 a consciousness   
which is outside both time and  space1 a
 consciousness whose centre is          
everywhere and its  circumference       
nowhere1 a consciousness which is pure  
disembodied  thought1 thought without   
any thinker1 thought contemplating      
itself as thought1 thought in an        
absolutely empty void4    ,when to this 
ultimate unity of apperception1         
suspended  in a vacuum1 consciousness of

 self is added2 when this               
consciousness-in-the-abstract is        
regarded as an universal                
self-consciousness1 the resultant ,i am 
,i of such an omnipresent  being becomes
 an infinite ,i am ,i which is nothing  
less than the  unfathomable universe    
conscious of itself in its totality4    
,whether  consciousness of self be added
 to this consciousness-in-the-abstract  
or not1 it is hard to see how out of    
this unruffled ocean of identity  the   
actual multifarious world which we feel 
around us1 this world of  plants and    
planets and birds and fishes and mortal 
men and immortal  gods1 ever succeeded  
in getting itself produced at all4      
,the vague metaphysical phrases about   
the ,one issuing forth into  the ,many1 
in order to make ,itself more completely
 ,itself than it  was before1 seem to   
us1 when under the influence of our     
complex  vision1 no other than the      
meaningless playing with cosmic tennis  
balls of some insane universal ,juggler4

    ,the second way in which reason1    
left to itself1 has distorted what  the 
complex vision reveals to us about the  
,i am ,i1 is the scientific  or         
evolutionary way4 ,according to this    
view which assumes that  the objective  
process of evolution is our only        
knowable reality1 the  individual       
personal ,i am ,i finds itself resolved 
into a fatal  automatic phenomenon of   
cause and effect2 a phenomenon which    
has as its cause nothing1 but the       
prehistoric chemical movements  of      
matter or energy4 ,the personal self    
thus considered  becomes a momentary    
vortex in a perpetually changing stream 
of  states of consciousness or ripples  
of sensation to each of  which vast     
anterior tides of atavistic forces have 
contributed their  mechanical quota4    
,the chemical fatality of our           
nerve-tissues1 the psychological        
fatality of our motive-impulses1 leave  
no space1 when they have all  been      
summed up1 for any free arbitrary action

 of an independent  self4    ,and so1   
just as according to the metaphysical   
view1 the soul  disappears in a blur of 
ideal fatality1 according to the        
scientific  view the soul disappears in 
a nexus of mechanical determinism4  ,as 
against both these errors1 to the       
complex vision this soul  within us     
appears to be something altogether      
different from the  physical body4 ,the 
experience we have of it1 the feeling we
 have  of it1 is that it is a definite  
something dwelling within the  physical 
body4    ,this revelation with regard to
 it is as unmistakable as it is         
difficult  to analyze4 ,that it is here1
 within us1 we feel and know2 but as    
soon as we attempt to subject it to any 
exact scrutiny it seems to  melt away   
under our hands4 ,the situation is      
indeed a kind of  philosophical         
tragic-comedy2 and is only too          
indicative of the  baffling whimsicality
 of the whole system of things4         
,contradiction  and paradox at the very 

basis of life mock our attempt to utter 
one  intelligible word about the thing  
which is the most real of all  things to
 us4    ,we are vividly aware of this   
mysterious personality within us1 the   
guest and companion of the body1 but    
directly we attempt to lay  hold upon   
the actual substance of it it seems to  
vanish into thin air4  ,but at least our
 complex vision1 which is its complex   
vision1  reveals to us the fact of its  
existence2 and with its existence once  
acknowledged1 however impossible        
analysis of it may be1 we are  able to  
give a plain and unequivocal denial to  
all the impersonal  conclusions reached 
by metaphysic and science4    ,this     
categorical pronouncement of the complex
 vision with regard  to the ,i am ,i1   
namely that it is the voice of a living 
concrete soul  within us1 is supported  
historically by an immense weight of    
human tradition4 ,belief in the reality 
of the soul is older and more  tenacious
 than any other human doctrine which our

 race has ever  held4 ,the use of the   
term soul is no more than a bare        
recognition  that behind the            
consciousness which says ,i am ,i there 
is a living  entity whose consciousness 
this is4    ,with this bare recognition 
the revelation of the complex vision    
abruptly stops4 ,it stops with that     
peculiar and disconcerting  suddenness  
with which it seems to be its nature to 
stop1 whenever  it reaches the limit of 
its scope in any direction4 ,it stops   
here1  with regard to the soul1 just as 
it stops when confronted with the       
conception of limitlessness1 both with  
regard to space and with  regard to     
time4 ,but the soul at least is ours2 a 
fact that cannot be  explained away4    
,and although we have no right to go a  
step beyond the bare  recognition of its
 existence and although all words       
regarding it are  misleading if used in 
any other than a symbolic sense1 we must
  remember that since the complex vision
 is conscious of itself as a  unity1    

whatever this something may be which is 
the centre and  core of our living      
personality1 it must at least be a      
definite  irreducible monad1 something  
that cannot be resolved into  anything  
else1 or accounted for by anything else1
 or explained in  terms of anything     
else1 or caused by anything else2       
something  that may1 perhaps1 at last be
 annihilated2 but that while it lives   
must remain the vividest reality we     
know4    ,insanity and disease may      
obstruct and cloud the soul4 ,outward   
circumstances may drive the soul back   
upon itself4 ,but while it  lives it    
lives in its totality and when it       
perishes1 if it be its  destiny to      
perish1 it perishes in its totality4    
,while the soul lives we may sink into  
it and have no fear2 and yet  all the   
while we have no right to say anything  
about it except that  it exists4 ,truly 
it is a tragic commentary upon the drama
 that we  call our life1 that we should 
find our ultimate rest and peace in  so 

bare1 so stark1 so austere1 so          
irrational a revelation as this6    ,but
 surrounded as we are by the menace of  
eternal nothingness it  is at least     
something to have at the background of  
our life a living  power of this kind1 a
 power which can endure unafraid the    
very  breaking point of disaster1 a     
power which can contemplate the         
possibility of annihilation itself with 
equanimity and unperturbed  calm4    ,it
 will be noted that ,i have been        
compelled to use once and again  the    
term eternal nothingness4 ,this is      
indeed an inevitable aspect  of what the
 soul visualizes as possible4 ,for since
 the soul is the  creator and discoverer
 of all life1 when once the soul has    
ceased to  exist1 non-existence takes   
the place of existence1 and nothingness 
takes the place of life4                
,speculatively we have the right1       
although the complex vision is  silent  
on that tremendous question1 to dally   
with the idea of the  survival of the   

soul after the death of the body4 ,but  
this must for  ever be an open question1
 not to be answered either negatively or
  affirmatively1 not to be answered by  
the intelligence of any living  man4    
,all we can say is that it seems as if  
the death of the body  destroyed the    
complex vision2 and if the complex      
vision is  destroyed it seems as though 
non-existence were bound to take the    
place of existence1 and as though       
nothingness were bound to take  the     
place of everything4 ,the oriental      
conception of ,nirvana is no  more than 
a soothing opiate administered to a soul
 that has grown  weary of its complex   
vision and weary of its irreducible     
personality4 ,to imagine oneself freed  
from the burden of personal             
consciousness1 and yet in some          
mysterious way conscious of being  freed
 from consciousness1 is a delicious and 
delicate dream of  life-exhausted souls4
    ,as a speculation it has a curious  
attraction2 as a reality it has  nothing

 that is intelligible4 ,but though the  
tragedy of life to all  sensitive       
spirits is outrageous and obscene1 at   
least we may say  that the worst        
conceivable possibility is not likely to
 occur4 ,the  worst conceivable         
possibility would be to be doomed to an 
immortal personal life without losing   
the restrictions and  limitations of our
 present personal life4 ,if the soul    
survives the  body it must do so on the 
strength of its possession of some      
transforming energy which shall enable  
it to supply the place in its  organic  
being which is at present occupied by   
the attribute of  sensation4 ,it is     
quite obvious that if the life of the   
soul depends  upon the active           
functioning of all its attributes2 and  
if one of its  attributes1 namely       
sensation1 is entirely dependent for its
 active  functioning upon the life of   
the body2 the life of the soul itself   
must also depend upon the life of the   
body1 unless1 as ,i have  hinted1 it can

 transmute its attribute of sensation   
into some other  attribute suitable to  
some unknown plane of spiritual         
existence4    ,there are indeed certain 
ecstatic moments when the soul feels as 
if  such a power of liberation from the 
bodily senses were actually  within its 
grasp2 but it will inevitably be found1 
when the great  rhythmic concentration  
of the apex-thought is brought to bear  
upon such a feeling as this1 that it    
either melts completely away1 or  is    
relegated to unimportance and           
insignificance4 ,such a feeling1        
ecstatic and intense though it may have 
been1 has been nothing  more than a     
disproportioned activity of the         
attribute of intuition2  intuition      
misled in favour of the immortality of  
the soul1 even as  the pure reason is   
often misled in the direction of the    
denial of the  soul's existence4    ,the
 revelation of the complex vision has no
 word to say1 on either  side1 with     
regard to whether the soul does or does 

not survive the  death of the body2 but 
it has a very distinct word to say as to
 the  importance of this whole question2
 and what it says in regard to  this    
is--that it is not important at all6    
,the revelation of the complex  vision  
implies clearly enough that what man    
were wise to  assume--leaving always the
 ultimate question as an open           
question--is that the individual soul   
and the individual body perish          
together4    ,this assumption is in     
direct harmony with what we actually    
see2  even though it is in frequent     
collision with what we sometimes  feel4 
,but the essence of the matter is to be 
found in this1 that our  assumption as  
to the soul's perishing1 when the body  
perishes1 is  an assumption1 untrue     
though it may turn out to be1 which the 
soul  itself1 when under the power of   
its apex-thought1 is compelled to  make4
 ,and it is compelled to make this      
assumption by reason of  the inherent   
nature of love4 ,for it is of the nature

 of love when  confronted by two        
alternatives one of which lays the      
stress upon  personal advantage and the 
other upon love itself apart from any   
personal advantage1 whether one's own or
 another's1 to choose1 as  the          
assumption upon which it shall live1 the
 latter of these two  alternatives4 ,for
 it is the nature of love to seek love  
and nothing  else than love4 ,and as    
long as the assumption which the soul   
makes is the assumption that it survives
 the death of the body1 that  emotion of
 love which is the soul's creative      
essence is debarred  from the full and  
complete integrity of its desire4       
,for the desire of love is not for      
immortality but for the eternal2 and    
the eternal is not something that       
depends upon the survival of any        
individual soul1 whether our own or     
another's4 ,the eternal is  something   
which can be realized in one single     
moment2 something  which completely     
destroys in us any desire for survival  

after  death2 something which reconciles
 us to existence considered in  the     
light of love alone2 something that does
 not assume anything  at all about the  
universe1 except that love exists4      
,thus we return to that assumption about
 the soul1 which it is  better--leaving 
the open question still an open         
question--for the  mind to accept as its
 working assumption2 namely that the    
soul  uses the body in its own ends1 is 
conscious of its existence through  the 
senses of the body1 lives in the body1  
and perishes when the  body perishes4   
,nor is it only the emotion of love     
which rejects the  dogma of the         
immortality of the soul4 ,were the soul 
proved  beyond all possibility of doubt 
to be immortal1 there would at once     
fall upon us a despair more appalling   
than any which we have  known4 ,for just
 as the idea of the eternal satisfies   
the very depths  of our soul with an    
infinite peace1 so the idea of          
immortality  troubles the very depths of

 our soul with an infinite doubt4       
,something unutterable in our aesthetic 
sense demands that life  should be      
surrounded by death and ended by death4 
,thus and not  otherwise should we      
ourselves have created the world at the 
beginning4 ,thus and not otherwise by   
the rhythmic play of the  complex       
vision1 do we create the world4    ,but 
meanwhile1 whatever happens1 as long as 
we live we possess  the reality of the  
soul4 ,this is1 and always has been1 the
  rallying-ground of heroic and         
sensitive personalities1 struggling with
  the demons of circumstance and chance4
 ,this is that unconquerable            
mind-within-themselves into which the   
great ,stoics of ,antiquity  withdrew at
 their will1 and were happy1 beyond the 
reach of  hope and fear4 ,this is the   
citadel from the security of which all  
the  martyrs for human liberty have     
mocked their tormentors4 ,this is  the  
fortress from which the supreme artists 
of the world have  looked forth and     

moulded the outrage of life's dilemma   
into  monumental forms of imaginative   
beauty4 ,this is the sanctuary  from    
which all human personalities1 however  
weak and helpless1  have been permitted 
to endure the cruelty and pitilessness  
of fate4    ,after all1 it does not so  
greatly matter that we are unable to do 
more than know that this thing1 this    
indescribable something1  really exists4
 ,perhaps it is because its existence is
 more real than  anything else that we  
are unable to define it4 ,perhaps we can
 only  define those attributes which are
 the outward aspects of our real  being4
 ,perhaps it is simply because the soul 
is nothing less than  our very self1    
that our analytical power stops1        
helpless1 in its  presence4 ,we are what
 it is2 and for this very cause it      
perpetually evades and escapes us4      
,the reality of the soul1 therefore1 is 
the first revelation of the  complex    
vision4 ,the second revelation is the   
objective reality of  the outward       

visible universe4 ,left to itself1 in   
its isolated activity1  our logical     
reason is capable of throwing doubt upon
 this  revelation also4 ,for it is      
logically certain that what we are      
actually  conscious of is no more than a
 unified stream of various mental       
impressions1 reaching us through our    
senses1 and never interrupted  except in
 moments of unconscious sleep4    ,it is
 therefore quite easy for the logical   
reason1 functioning in its  isolation   
from the other attributes1 to maintain  
that this stream of  mental impressions 
is all that there is1 and that we have  
no right  to call the universe real and 
objective1 except in the ambiguous      
sense of a sort of permanent illusion4  
,but as soon as the complex  vision1 in 
its totality1 contemplates the          
situation1 the thing takes on  a very   
different aspect4 ,the pure reason may  
be as sceptical as it  pleases about the
 static solidity of what is popularly   
called  matter4 ,it may use the term    

energy1 or movement1 or ether1 or       
force1 or electricity1 or any other name
 to describe that permanent  sensation  
of outward reality which our complex    
vision reveals4    ,but one thing it has
 no right to do4 ,it has no right to    
utter the word  illusion with regard to 
this objective universe4 ,the apparent  
solidity of matter may be rationally    
resolved into energy or  movement1 just 
as the apparent objectivity of matter   
may be  rationally resolved into a      
stream of mental impression4 ,but the   
complex vision still persists in        
asserting that this permanent  sensation
 of outward reality1 which1 except in   
dreamless sleep1 is  never normally     
interrupted1 represents and bears       
witness to the real  existence1 outside 
ourselves1 of something which           
corresponds to  such a sensation4 ,it is
 just at this point that the            
soul--helped by  instinct1 imagination1 
and intuition--makes its great          
inevitable  plunge into the act of      

primordial faith4    ,this act of       
primordial faith is the active belief of
 the soul not only  in an objective     
universe outside itself1 but also in the
 objective  existence of other          
individual souls4 ,without this         
primordial act of  faith the individual 
soul can never escape from itself4 ,for 
the pure  reason not only reduces the   
whole universe to an idea in the mind2  
but it also reduces all other minds to  
ideas in our mind4 ,in  other words the 
logical reason imprisons us fatally and 
hopelessly  in a sort of cosmic         
nut-shell of our own mentality4    ,and 
there would1 actually1 be no escape from
 this appalling  imprisonment1 according
 to which the individual soul becomes a 
solitary circle1 the centre and         
circumference of all possible           
existence1 if it were not that the soul 
possesses other organs of  research1 in 
addition to reason and                  
self-consciousness4 ,directly we  temper
 reason with these other activities the 

whole situation has a  different look4  
,it is a thing of small consequence what
 word we  use to describe that external 
cause of the flowing stream of mental   
impressions4 ,the important point is    
that we are compelled to  assume1 as    
representing a real outward fact1 this  
permanent sense  of objectivity from    
which there is no escape4    ,and as the
 existence of the objective universe is 
established by a  primordial act of     
faith1 so it is also established that   
these alien  bodily personalities1 whose
 outward appearance stands and falls    
with the objective universe1 possess    
souls1 or what we have  come to name    
complex visions1 comparable with our    
own4 ,and  this is the case not only    
with regard to other human beings1 but  
with regard to all living entities      
whether human or non-human4 ,as  to how 
the souls of plants1 birds1 and animals1
 or of planets or  stars1 differ in     
their nature from human souls we can    
only vaguely  conjecture4 ,but to refuse

 some degree of consciousness1 some     
measure of the complex vision1 to any   
living thing1 is to be false to  that   
primordial act of faith into which the  
original revelation of the  complex     
vision compels us to plunge4    ,the    
inevitableness of this act of faith may 
be perhaps more vividly  realized when  
we remember that it includes in its     
revelation the  objective reality of our
 own physical body4 ,our evidence for   
the  real outward existence of our own  
body is no surer and no more  secure    
than our evidence for the outward       
existence of other  bodies4    ,they    
stand or fall together4 ,if the universe
 is an illusion then our  own physical  
body is an illusion also4    ,and       
precisely as the stuff out of which the 
universe is made may  be named energy or
 ether or force or electricity1 rather  
than matter1 so also the stuff out of   
which the body is made  may be named by 
any scientific term we please4 ,the term
 used is  of no importance as long as   

the thing represented by it is accepted 
as a permanent reality4    ,we are now  
able to advance a step further in regard
 to the  revelation of the complex      
vision4 ,granting1 as we are compelled  
to  grant1 that the other souls in the  
universe possess1 each of them1  its own
 vision of this same universe2 and      
assuming that each  vision is so        
coloured by the individuality of the    
visionary as to  be1 in a measure1      
different from all the rest1 it becomes 
obvious  that in a very important sense 
there is not only one universe1 but     
many universes4 ,these many universes1  
however1 are caused1 or  evoked1 or     
created1 or discovered1 by the encounter
 of various  individual souls with that 
one objective mystery which confronts   
them all4    ,what a naive confession it
 is of the limitation of the human mind 
that we should be driven1 after all our 
struggles to articulate the  secret of  
life1 to accept1 as our final estimate  
of such a secret just  the mysterious   

something which is the substratum of our
 own  soul1 confronted by that other    
mysterious something which is the       
substratum of all possible universes6   
,with the complex vision's  revelation  
that the objective universe really      
exists comes the  parallel revelation   
that time and space really exist4 ,here1
 for the  third time1 are we faced with 
critical protests from the isolated     
activity of the logical reason4         
,metaphysic reduces both time and space 
to categories of the mind4              
,mathematical speculation hints at the  
existence of some  mysterious           
fourth-dimensional space4 ,bergsonian   
dialectic regards  ordinary spatial time
 as an inferior category2 and finds the 
real  movement of life in a species of  
time called duration1 which can  only be
 detected by the interior feeling of    
intuition4    ,but while we listen with 
interest to all these curious           
speculations1  the fact remains that for
 the general vision of the combined     

energies of the soul the world in which 
we find ourselves is a  world entirely  
dependent upon what must be recognized  
as a  permanent sensation of ordinary   
space and ordinary time4  ,and as we    
have shown in the case of the objective 
existence of  what we call ,nature1 when
 any mental impression reaches the      
level of becoming a permanent sensation 
of all living souls it  ceases to be    
possible to speak of it as an illusion4 
,it is well that we should become       
clearly conscious of this               
reality-destroying tendency of the      
logical reason1 so that whenever  it    
obsesses us we can undermine its limited
 vision by an appeal to  the complex    
vision4 ,shrewdly must we be on our     
guard against  this double-edged trick  
of logic1 which on the one hand seeks to
  destroy the basis of its own activity1
 by disintegrating the unity of  the    
soul1 and on the other hand seeks to    
destroy the material of its  own        
activity by disintegrating the unity of 

the objective mystery4    ,the original 
revelation of the complex vision not    
only puts us on  our guard against this 
disintegrating tendency of the pure     
reason1  but it also explains the       
motive-force behind this tendency4 ,this
  motive-force is the emotion of malice1
 which naturally and  inevitably seeks  
to hand us over to the menace of        
nothingness2 in  the first place of     
nothingness within us1 and in the second
 place  of nothingness without us4 ,that
 the logic of the pure reason  quickly  
becomes the slave of the emotion of     
malice may be proved  by both           
introspection and observation4 ,for we  
note1 both in  ourselves and others1 a  
peculiar glow of malicious satisfaction 
when such logic strikes its deadliest   
blows at what it would  persuade us to  
regard as the illusion of life4         
,life1 just because its deepest secret  
is not law1 determined by fate1  but    
personality struggling against fate1 is 
always found to display a  certain      

irrationality4 ,and the complex vision  
becomes false to  itself as soon as it  
loses touch with this world-deep        
irrationality4    ,we have now therefore
 reached the conception of reality as   
consisting of the individual soul       
confronted by the objective  mystery4   
,that this objective mystery would be   
practically the  same as nothing1 if    
there were no soul to apprehend it1 must
 be  admitted4 ,but it would not be     
really the same as nothing2  since as   
soon as any kind of soul reappeared upon
 the scene the  inevitable material of  
the objective mystery would at once     
re-appear with it4 ,the existence of the
 objective mystery as a  permanent      
possibility of material for             
universe-building is a fact  which      
surrounds every individual soul with a  
margin of  unfathomable depth4    ,at   
its great illuminated moments the       
complex vision reduces the              
limitlessness of space to a realizable  
sensation of liberty1 and the           

flowingness of time to an eternal now2  
but even at these  moments it is        
conscious of an unfathomable background1
 one  aspect of which is the immensity  
of space and the other the  flowingness 
of time4    ,the revelation of the      
complex vision which ,i have thus       
attempted  to indicate will be found    
identical with the natural conclusions  
of  man in all the ages of his history4 
,the primeval savage1 the ancient       
,greek1 the mediaeval saint1 the        
eighteenth century philosopher1 the     
modern psychologist1 are all brought    
together here and are all  compelled to 
confess the same situation4    ,that we 
are now living personalities1 possessed 
of soul and body1  and surrounded by an 
unfathomable universe1 is a revelation  
about  which all ages and all           
generations agree1 whenever the complex 
vision is allowed its orchestral        
harmony4 ,the primeval savage  looking  
up at the sky above him might regard the
 sun and moon as  living gods exercising

 their influence upon a fixed unmoving  
earth4 ,in this view of the sun and the 
moon and the stars such a  savage was   
perfectly within his right1 because     
always along with it  even to the most  
anthropomorphic1 there came the vague   
sense of  unfathomableness4    ,the     
natural ,necessity of the ancient       
,greeks1 the trinitarian ,god  of the   
mediaeval school-man1 the great ,first  
,cause of the  eighteenth-century deist1
 the primordial ,life-,force of the     
modern  man of science1 are all on      
common ground here in regard to the     
unfathomableness of the ultimate        
mystery4    ,but the revelation of the  
complex vision saves us from the logical
  boredom of the word infinite4 ,the    
idea of the infinite is merely a        
tedious mathematical formula1 marking   
the psychological point  where the mind 
finds its stopping-place4 ,all that the 
complex  vision can say about infinite  
space is that it is a real experience1  
and that we can neither imagine space   

with an end nor without an  end4    ,the
 ,infinite is the name which logic gives
 to this psychological  phenomenon4 ,the
 fact that the mind stops abruptly and  
breaks into  irreconcilable             
contradictions when it is confronted    
with  unfathomable space is simply a    
proof that space without an end is  as  
unimaginable as space with an end4 ,it  
is no proof that space is  merely a     
subjective category of the human mind4  
,one1 thing1  however1 it is a proof of4
 ,it is a proof that the universe can   
never  be satisfactorily explained on   
any materialistic hypothesis4    ,the   
fact that we all of us1 at every hour of
 our common day1 are  surrounded by this
 unthinkable thing1 space without end1  
is an  eternal reminder that the forms1 
shapes and events of habitual           
occurrence1 which we are inclined to    
take so easily for granted1 are  part of
 a staggering and inscrutable enigma4   
,the reality of this thing1 actually    
there1 above our heads and under  our   

feet1 lodges itself1 like an ice cold   
wedge of annihilating  scepticism1 right
 in the heart of any facile explanation4
 ,we cannot  interpret the world in     
terms of what we call matter when what  
we call matter has these unthinkable    
horizons4 ,we may take into  our hands a
 pebble or a shell or a grain of sand2  
and we may feel  as though the universe 
were within our grasp4 ,but when we     
remember that this little piece of the  
earth is part of a continuous  unity    
which recedes in every direction1 world 
without end1 we are  driven to admit    
that the universe is so little within   
our grasp that  we have to regard it as 
something which breaks and baffles the  
mind as soon as the mind tries to take  
hold of it at all4    ,the reason does  
not advance one inch in explaining the  
universe  when it utters the word       
evolution and it does not advance one   
thousandth part of an inch--indeed it   
gives up the task altogether--  when it 
informs us that infinite space is a     

category of the human  mind4 ,we must   
regard it1 then1 as part of the original
 revelation of  the complex vision1 that
 we are separate personal souls         
surrounded  by an unfathomable mystery  
whose margins recede into unthinkable   
remoteness4    ,the ancient dilemma of  
the ,one and the ,many obtrudes itself  
at  this point2 and we are compelled to 
ask how the plurality of these  separate
 souls can be reconciled with the unity 
of which they form  a part4 ,that they  
cannot be regarded as absolutely        
separate is clear  from the fact that   
they can communicate with one another1  
not  only in human language but in a    
thousand more direct ways4 ,but         
granting this communication between     
them1 does the mere  existence of       
myriads of independent personalities1   
living side by  side in a world common  
to all1 justify us in speaking of the   
original system of things as being      
pluralistic rather than monistic8       
,human language1 at any rate1 founded on

 the fact that these  separate souls can
 communicate with one another1 seems    
very  reluctant to use any but monistic 
terms4 ,we say the system of  things1   
not the systems of things4 ,and yet it  
is only by an act of  faith that human  
language makes the grand assumption that
 the  complex vision of all these myriad
 entities tells the same story4    ,we  
say the universe2 yet may it not be that
 there are as many  universes as there  
are conscious personalities in this     
unfathomable world8 ,if there were no   
closer unity between the  separate souls
 which fill the universe than the fact  
that they are  able1 after one          
primordial act of faith1 to communicate 
with one  another1 these monistic       
assumptions of language might perhaps be
  disregarded and we might have a right 
to reject such expressions  as system of
 things and cosmos and universe and     
nature4    ,but it still remains that   
they are connected1 in space and in     
time1  by the medium1 whatever it may   

be1 which fills the gulfs between  the  
planets and the stars4 ,as long as these
 separate souls are  invariably         
associated as they are1 with physical   
bodies1 and as long  as these physical  
bodies are composed of the same         
mysterious  force which we may call     
earth1 fire1 water1 air1 ether1         
electricity1  energy1 vibration1 or any 
other technical or popular name1 so long
  will it be legitimate to use these    
monistic expressions with which  human  
language is1 so to speak1 so deeply     
stained4 ,as a matter of  fact we are   
not left with only this limited measure 
of unity4 ,there  are also certain      
psychological experiences--experiences  
which ,i  believe ,i have a right to    
regard as universal--which bring these  
separate souls into much closer         
connection4    ,such experiences can be1
 and have been1 ridiculously            
exaggerated4  ,but the undeniable fact  
that they exist is sufficient to prove  
that in  spite of the pluralistic       

appearance of things1 there is still    
enough  unity available to prevent the  
,many from completely devouring  the    
,one4 ,the experiences to which ,i am   
referring are experiences  which the    
complex vision owes to the intuition4   
,and though this  experience has been   
made unfair use of1 by both mystics and 
metaphysicians1 it cannot be calmly     
disregarded4    ,the intuition1 which   
is1 as ,i have already pointed out1 the 
feminine  counterpart to the            
imagination1 is found1 with regard to   
this  particular problem1 uttering so   
frequent and impressive an oracle  that 
to neglect its voice1 would be to       
nullify and negate the whole  activity  
of the intuition and deny it its place  
among the ultimate  energies of vision4 
,there is always more difficulty in     
putting into words a revelation  which  
the complex vision owes to intuition    
than in regard to any  other of its     
attributes4 ,reason in his matter1 and  
sensation and  imagination also1 have an

 unfair advantage when it comes to      
words4 ,for human language is compelled 
to draw its images  from sensation and  
its logic from reason4 ,but             
intuition--the  peculiarly feminine     
attribute of the soul--finds itself     
dealing with  what is barely            
intelligible and with what is profoundly
 irrational4  ,thus it naturally        
experiences a profound difficulty in    
getting itself  expressed in words at   
all4    ,and1 incidentally1 we cannot   
avoid asking ourselves the curious      
question whether it may not be that     
language1 which is so  dependent upon   
the peculiarly masculine attributes of  
reason and  sensation1 has not become an
 inadequate medium for the  expression  
of what might be called the feminine    
vision of the  world8 ,may we not indeed
 go so far as to hazard the suggestion  
that when this fact1 of the masculine   
domination of language1  has been       
adequately recognized1 there will emerge
 upon the  earth women-philosophers and 

women-artists who will throw  completely
 new light upon many problems8 ,the     
difficulty which  women experience in   
getting expressed in definite terms1    
whether  in philosophy or art1 the      
co-ordinated rhythm of their complex    
vision1 may it not be largely due to the
 fact that the attribute of  intuition  
which is their most vital organ of      
research has remained  so inarticulate8 
,and may not the present wave of        
psychological  mysticism1 which just now
 is so prominent a psychic phenomenon1  
be due to the vague and1 in many cases1 
the clumsy attempt1 which  women are now
 making to get their intuitive          
contribution into  line with the complex
 vision of the rest8    ,when the       
universe is referred to as ,nature1 may 
it not be that it  is this very element1
 this strange wisdom of the abysmal     
,mothers1 which humanity thinks of as   
struggling to utter its  unutterable    
secret8    ,how1 then1 for the sake of  
its contribution to the ultimate rhythm1

  does the complex vision articulate    
this mysterious oracle from the         
feminine principle in life1 as it       
brokenly and intermittently lifts up    
its voice8    ,one aspect of this       
oracle's voice is precisely what we are 
concerned with now4 ,i mean the problem 
of the relation of the ,one  to the     
,many4 ,the merely logical conception of
 unity is misleading  because the       
wavering mass of impression which makes 
up our life  has a margin which recedes 
on every side into unfathomableness4    
,this conception has two aspects4 ,in   
the first place it implies  continuity1 
by which ,i mean that everything in the 
world is in  touch with everything else4
    ,in the second place it implies     
totality1 by which ,i mean that         
everything in the world can be          
considered as one rounded-off and       
complete whole4 ,according to this      
second aspect of the case1 we  think of 
the world as an integral ,one surrounded
 by nothingness1  in the same way that  

the individual soul is surrounded by the
  universe4    ,the revelation of the   
complex vision finds the second of these
 two  aspects entirely misleading4 ,it  
accepts the conception of  continuity1  
and rejects the conception of totality4 
,it rejects the  conception of totality1
 because totality1 in this cosmic sense1
 is  a thing of which it has no         
experience2 and the revelation of the   
complex vision is entirely based on     
experience4 ,the margins of the  world1 
receding without limit in every         
direction1 prevent us from  ever        
arriving at the conception of totality4 
,what right have we to regard the       
universe as a totality1 when all  we are
 conscious of is a mass of wavering     
impression continued  unfathomable in   
every direction8 ,in only one sense1    
therefore1  have we a right to speak of 
the unity of the system of things2 and  
that is in the sense of continuity4     
,since this mass of impression1  which  
we name the universe1 is on all sides   

lost in a margin of  unfathomableness1  
it is1 after all1 only a limited portion
 of it which  comes into the scope of   
our consciousness4 ,it is one of the    
curious  exaggerations of our logical   
reason that we should be tempted to     
round off this mystery4 ,the combined   
voices of imagination and  intuition    
protest against such an enclosed circle4
    ,the same revelation of the complex 
vision which gives objective  reality to
 what is outside our individual soul    
insists that this  objective reality    
extends beyond the limited circle of our
  consciousness4 ,the device by which   
the logical reason rounds  off the      
conception of continuity by the         
conception of totality  is the device of
 the mathematical formula of infinity4  
,the imaginative movement by which the  
complex vision of the  soul plunges into
 the abysses of stellar space1 seeking  
to fathom1 at  least in a mental act1   
immensity beyond immensity1 and gulf    
beyond gulf1 is a definite human        

experience4 ,it is the actual           
experience of the soul itself1 dropping 
its plummet into immensity1  and finding
 immensity unfathomable4 ,but as soon as
 the logical  reason dominates the      
situation1 in place of this palpable    
plunge  into a real concrete experience1
 with its accompanying sensation of     
appalling wonder and terrible freedom1  
we are offered nothing but  a thin1 dry1
 barren mathematical formula called     
infinity1 the mere  mention of which    
freezes the imagination at its source4  
,what1 in fact1 the complex vision      
reveals to us is that all these arid    
formulae1 such as infinity1 the         
,absolute ,being1 and the ,universal    
,cause1 are conceptions projected into  
the real and palpable bosom  of         
unfathomable life by the very enemy and 
antagonist of life1 the  aboriginal     
emotion of inert malice4 ,this is why so
 often in the  history of the human race
 the conception of ,god has been the    
worst enemy of the soul4 ,the conception

 of ,god by its alliance  with the      
depressing mathematical formula of      
infinity has indeed  done more than any 
other human perversion to obliterate the
  beauty and truth of the emotional     
feeling which we name  religion4    ,the
 revelation of the complex vision makes 
it clear to us that the  idea of ,god1  
in alliance with the idea of ,infinity1 
is a  projection1 into religious        
experience1 of the emotion of inert     
malice4 ,as soon as the palpable        
unfathomableness of space is  reduced to
 the barren notion of a mathematical    
infinity all the  free and terrible     
beauty of life is lost4 ,we have pressed
 our hands  against our prison-gates and
 found them composed of a material  more
 rigid than adamant1 the material of    
thought-in-the-abstract4    ,now        
although our chief difficulty in regard 
to this insistent  problem of the ,one  
and the ,many has been got rid of by    
eliminating  from the notion of the ,one
 all idea of totality1 it is still  true

 that something in us remains           
unsatisfied while our individual  soul  
is thought of as absolutely isolated    
from all other souls4 ,it is  here1 as  
,i have already said1 that the          
peculiarly feminine attribute  of       
intuition comes to our rescue4 ,the fact
 that we can  communicate together by   
human and sub-human language1 does  not1
 though it implies a basic similarity in
 our complex vision1  really satisfy us4
    ,a strange unhappiness1 a vague     
misery1 a burden of unutterable         
nostalgia1 troubles the loneliness of   
our soul4 ,and yet it is not1 this      
vague longing1 a mere desire to break   
the isolating circle of the ,i  am ,i   
and to invade1 and mingle with1 other   
personalities4 ,it is  something deeper 
than this1 it is a desire to break the  
isolation of  all personalities1 and to 
enter1 in company with all1 some larger1
  fuller1 freer level of life1 where    
what we call the limits of  personality 
are surpassed and transcended4          

,this underlying misery of the soul is1 
in fact1 a constant  recognition that by
 the isolated loneliness of our deepest 
self we  are keeping at a distance      
something--some unutterable flow of     
happiness--which would destroy for us   
all fears and all weariness1  and would 
end for ever the obscene and sickening  
burden of the  commonplace4 ,it is      
precisely at this point that the        
intuition comes  to the rescue2         
supplying our complex vision with that  
peculiar  note1 or strain of music1     
without which the orchestral harmony    
must remain incomplete4    ,in seeking  
to recall those great moments when the  
apex-thought  of the complex vision     
revealed to us the secret of things1 we 
find  ourselves remembering how1 when in
 the presence of some  supreme work of  
art1 or of some action of heroic        
sacrifice1 or of  some magical effect of
 nature1 or of some heart-breaking      
gesture  of tragic emotion in some      
simple character1 we have suddenly  been

 transported out of the closed circle of
 our personal life into  something that 
was at once personal and impersonal4 ,at
 such a  moment it seems as if we       
literally died to ourself1 and became   
something other than ourself2 and yet at
 the same time found  ourself1 as we had
 never found ourself before4    ,what   
the complex vision seems to reveal to us
 about this great  human experience is  
that it is an initiation into an eternal
 vision1  into a vision of the          
immortals1 into a mood1 a temper1 a     
music  of the spheres1 wherein the      
creative mystery of the emotion of  love
 finds its consummation4 ,the peculiar  
opportunity of an  experience of this   
kind1 its temporal occasion1 shall we   
say1  seems to be more often supplied by
 the intuition1 than by any other       
attribute of the complex vision4        
,intuition having this power1 it is not 
surprising that many souls  should      
misuse and abuse this great gift4 ,the  
temptation to allow  the intuition to   

absorb the whole field of consciousness 
is to  certain natures almost           
irresistible4 ,and yet1 when intuition  
is  divorced from the other aspects of  
the rhythm of life1 its tendency        
towards what might be called the passion
 of identity very easily  lapses into a 
sort of spiritual sensuality1           
destructive to the creative  freedom of 
the soul4 ,woe to the artist who falls  
into the quagmire  of unbalanced        
intuition6 ,it is as if he were drugged 
with a spiritual  lust4    ,to escape   
from self-loathing1 to escape from the  
odious monotony  and the indecent       
realism of life--what a relief6 ,how    
desirable to be  confronted no longer by
 that impassable gulf between one's own 
soul and all other living souls6 ,how   
desirable to cross the abyss  which     
separates the something which is the    
substance of our  being from the        
something which is the substance of the 
objective mystery6    ,and yet1         
according to the revelation of the      

complex vision1 this  spiritual ecstasy 
is a perversion of the true art of life4
 ,the true  art of life finds in the    
vision of the immortals1 and in the     
vision  of the immortals alone1 its real
 escape from evil4 ,this passion of     
identity1 offered us by the vice1 by the
 madness of intuition1 is not  in       
harmony with the great moments of the   
soul4 ,its identity is but  a gross1    
mystical1 clotted identity2 and its     
heaven is not the  heaven of the        
,christ4    ,if the ecstasy of identity1
 as the unbalanced attribute of         
intuition  forces it upon us1 were in   
very truth the purpose of life1 how     
grotesque a thing life would be6 ,it    
would then be the purpose of  life to   
create personality1 only in order to    
drown it in the  impersonal4 ,in other  
words it would be the purpose of life to
 create  the higher in order that it    
should lose itself in the lower4 ,at its
  very best this ecstasy of identity is 
the expression of what might  be called 

the lyrical element in things4 ,but the 
secret of life is  not lyrical1 as many 
of the prophets have supposed1 but      
dramatic1  as all the great artists have
 shown4 ,for the essence of life is     
contradiction4 ,and contradiction       
demands a for and an against1  a        
protagonist and an antagonist4 ,what the
 revelation of the  complex vision      
discloses is the inherent duality of all
 things4  ,pleasure and pain1 night and 
day1 man and woman1 good and evil1      
summer and winter1 life and death1      
personality and fate1 love and  malice1 
the soul and the objective mystery1     
these are the threads  out of which the 
texture of existence is woven2 and there
 is no  escape from these1 except in    
that eternal nothingness which  itself  
is the contradiction or opposite of that
 all1 which it  reduces to chaos and    
annihilation4 ,thus runs the revelation 
of the  complex vision4    ,this        
integral soul of ours1 made of a stuff  
which for ever defies  analysis2 this   

objective mystery1 made of a stuff which
 for ever  defies analysis2 these two   
things perpetually confront one another 
in a struggle that only annihilation can
 end4 ,the vision of the  eternal       
implies the passing of the transitory4  
,for what cannot cease  from being      
beautiful has no real beauty2 and what  
cannot cease  from being true has no    
real truth4 ,the art of life according  
to the  revelation of the complex       
vision1 consists in giving to the       
transitory the form of the eternal4 ,it 
is the art of creating a rhythm1  a     
music1 a harmony1 so passionate and yet 
so calm1 that the mere  fact of having  
once or twice attained it is sufficient 
to redeem all  sorrows4    ,the         
assumption that death ends it all1 is an
 assumption which the  very nature of   
love calls upon us to make2 for1 if we  
did not make  it make it1 something     
different from love would be the object 
and  purpose of our life4 ,but the      
revelation of the complex vision1 in    

our supreme moments1 discloses to us    
that love itself is the only            
justification for life2 and therefore1  
by making the assumption that  the soul 
perishes1 we put once and for all out of
 our thought that  formidable revival of
 love1 the idea of personal immortality4
    ,for the idea of personal           
immortality1 like the idea of an        
,absolute  ,god1 is a projection of the 
aboriginal inert malice4 ,it must be    
remembered that the revelation of the   
complex vision1 by laying  stress upon  
the creative energy of the soul in its  
grappling with the  objective mystery1  
implies an element of indeterminism1 or 
free  choice1 in regard to the ultimate 
nature of the world4 ,man1 in a  very   
profound sense1 perpetually creates the 
world according to his  will and desire4
 ,nor can he ever know at what point1 in
 the  struggle between personality and  
destiny1 the latter is bound to  win4   
,such a point may seem to be reached2   
until some astounding  act of faith on  

the part of the soul flings that point  
into a yet further remoteness4 ,and this
 creative power in the soul  of man may 
apply in ways which at present our own  
race has  hardly dared to contemplate4  
,it may apply1 for instance1 to the idea
  of personal immortality4    ,personal 
immortality may be a thing which the    
soul1 by a  concentrated act of creative
 will1 can secure for itself1 or can    
reject for itself4 ,it may be1 if we    
take the whole conscious and            
subconscious purpose of a man's life1 a 
matter of choice4    ,but when a man    
makes a choice of such a kind1 when a   
man  concentrates his energy upon       
surviving the death of his body1 he is  
deliberately selecting a lower purpose  
for his life in place of a  higher4 ,in 
other words1 instead of concentrating   
his will upon the  evocation of the     
emotion of love1 he is concentrating his
 will upon  self-realization or         
self-continuance4 ,what he is really    
doing is even  worse than this4 ,for    

since what we call emotion is an actual 
projection into the matrix of the       
objective mystery1 of the very          
substance and stuff of the soul1 when   
the will thus concentrates  upon        
personal immortality1 it takes the very 
substance of the soul  and perverts it  
to the satisfaction of inert malice4 ,in
 other words it  actually transforms the
 stuff of the soul from its positive to 
its  negative chemistry1 and produces a 
relative victory of malice over  love4  
,the soul's desires for personal        
immortality is one of the aspects of    
the soul's possessive instinct4 ,the    
soul desires to possess  itself--itself 
as it exactly is1 itself in its precise 
and complete  status quo--without       
interruption for ever4 ,but love has a  
very  different desire from this4 ,love 
is not concerned with time at all--  for
 time has a future2 and any             
contemplation of a future  implies the  
activity of something in the soul which 
is different  from love1 implies        

something which is concerned with       
outward  events and occurrences and     
chances4 ,but love is not concerned     
with outward events1 whether past or    
future4 ,love desires eternity  and     
eternity alone4 ,or rather it does not  
desire eternity4 ,it is  eternity4 ,it  
is an eternal ,now1 in which what will  
happen and  what has happened are       
irrelevant and unimportant4    ,all this
 offers us an intelligible explanation  
of a very bewildering  phenomenon in    
human life4 ,i mean the instinctive     
disgust  experienced by the aesthetic   
sense when men1 who otherwise seem      
gentle and good1 display an undue and   
unmeasured agitation about  the fate of 
their souls4    ,love never so much as  
even considers the question of the fate 
of  the soul4 ,love finds1 in the mere  
act of loving1 a happiness so  profound 
that all such problems seem tiresome and
 insignificant4  ,the purpose of life is
 to attain the rhythmic ecstasy of all  
love's  intrinsic potentialities4 ,this 

desire for personal immortality is not  
one of love's intrinsic potentialities4 
,when a human soul has lost  by death   
the one person it has loved1 the        
strength of its love is  measured by the
 greater or less emphasis it places upon
 the  problem of the lost one's         
survival4    ,the disgust which the     
aesthetic sense experiences when it     
encounters a certain sort of mystical   
and psychic agitation over the  question
 as to whether the lost one lives still 
somewhere is a  disgust based upon our  
instinctive knowledge that this         
particular  kind of inquiry would never 
occur to a supreme and self-forgetful   
love4 ,for this enquiry1 this agitation1
 this dabbling in psychic  evidences1 is
 a projection of the baser nature of the
 soul2 is1 in  fact1 a projection of the
 possessive instinct1 which is only     
another name for the original inert     
malice4    ,in the ave atque vale of the
 ,roman poet1 there is much more of  the
 absolute quality of great love than in 

all these psychic  dabblings4 ,for in   
the austere reserve of that passionate  
cry there is  the ultimate acceptance1  
by ,love itself1 of the tragedy of      
having  lived and loved at all4 ,there  
is an acceptance of that aspect of the  
vision of the immortals which implies   
that the possessive  instinct has no    
part or lot in the eternal4    ,the     
inhuman cruelties which have been       
practised by otherwise  good men under  
the motive of saving other people's     
souls1 and  the inhuman cruelties which 
have been practised by otherwise  good  
men under the motive of saving their own
 souls1 have1  each of them1 the same   
evil origin4 ,love sweeps aside1 in one 
great  wave of its own nature1 all these
 doubts and ambiguities4 ,it lifts the  
object of its love into its own         
eternity2 and in its own eternity the   
ultimate tragedy of personal separation 
is but one chord of its  unbroken       
rhythm4    ,the tragedy of personal     
separation is not a thing which love    

realizes for the first time when it     
loses the object of its love4 ,it is  a 
thing which is of the very nature of the
 eternity in which love  habitually     
dwells4 ,for the eternity in which love 
habitually dwells  is its vision of the 
tragedy of all life4    ,this1 then1 is 
the original revelation of the complex  
vision4 ,the  soul is confronted by an  
ultimate duality which extends through  
the whole mass of its impressions4 ,and 
because this duality  extends through   
every aspect of the soul's universe and 
can be  changed and transformed by the  
soul's will1 it is inevitable that  what
 the world has hitherto named philosophy
 and has regarded  as the effort of     
getting hold of a reality which exists  
already1  should be named by the complex
 vision the art of life and should  be  
regarded as the effort of reducing to   
harmony the unruly  impulses and        
energies which perpetually transform and
 change the  world4      ,,chapter ,v4  
,,the ,,ultimate ,,duality    ,what we  

are really1 all of us1 in search of1    
whether we know it or  not1 is some     
concrete and definite symbol of life and
 the object  of life which shall gather 
up into one living image all the broken1
  thwarted1 devious1 and discordant     
impressions which make up our           
experience4 ,what we crave is something 
that shall1 in some  permanent form and 
yet in a form that can grow and enrich  
itself1  represent and embody the whole 
circle of the joy and pain of           
existence4 ,what we crave is something  
into which we can throw  our personal   
joys and sorrows1 our individual        
sensations and ideas1  and know of a    
certainty that thrown into that         
reservoir1 they will  blend with all the
 joys and sorrows of all the dead and   
all the  living4    ,such a symbol in   
order to give us what we need must      
represent the  ultimate reach of insight
 to which humanity has attained4 ,it    
must  be something that1 once having    
come into existence1 remains            

independent of our momentary subjective 
fancies and our passing  moods4 ,it must
 be something of clearer outlines and   
more definite  lineaments than those    
vague indistinct ecstasies1             
half-physiological  and half-psychic1   
which the isolated intuition brings us4 
,such a symbol must represent the       
concentrated struggle of the  human soul
 with the bitterness of fate and the    
cruelty of fate1 its  long struggle with
 the deadly malice in itself and the    
deadly  malice in nature4    ,there is  
only one symbol which serves this       
purpose2 a symbol  which has already by 
the slow process of anonymous creation  
and  discovery established itself in the
 world4 ,i mean the symbol of the       
figure of ,christ4    ,this symbol would
 not have sufficed to satisfy the       
craving of  which ,i speak if it were   
only a discovery of humanity4 ,the      
,god-man may be discovered in nature2   
but the ,man-god  must be created by    
man4    ,we find ourselves approaching  

this symbol from many points of  view1  
but the point of view which especially  
concerns us is to note  how it covers   
the whole field of human experience4 ,in
 this symbol  the ultimate duality      
receives its eternal form and becomes an
  everlasting standard or pattern of    
what is most natural and most  rhythmic4
 ,as ,i advance in my analysis of the   
relation of the  ultimate duality to    
this symbolic figure of ,christ1 it     
becomes  necessary to review once more1 
in clear and concise order1 the  various
 stages of thought by means of which ,i 
prove the necessity  of some sort of    
universal symbol1 and the necessity of  
moulding  this symbol to fit the drama  
of ,one ultimate duality4    ,a summary 
of the stages of thought through which  
we have  already passed will thus be    
inevitable2 but it will be a summary of 
the situation from the view-point of a  
different angle4    ,philosophy then is 
an attempt to articulate more vividly   
the nature  of reality than such reality

 can get itself articulated in the      
confused pell-mell of ordinary          
experience4 ,the unfortunate thing  is  
that in this process of articulating    
reality philosophy tends to  create an  
artificial world of its own1 which in   
the end gets so far  away from reality  
that its conclusions when they are      
confronted  with the pell-mell of       
ordinary experience appear remote1      
strange1  fantastic1 arbitrary1 and even
 laughable4    ,this philosophical      
tendency to create an artificial world  
which  when confronted with the real    
world appears strange and remote is  due
 to the fact that philosophers1 instead 
of using as their  instrument of        
research the entire complex vision1 use 
first one and  then another of its      
isolated attributes4 ,but there must    
come  moments when1 in the analysis of  
so intricate and elaborate a thing  as  
reality by means of so intricate and    
elaborate an instrument1  as the complex
 vision1 the most genuine and the least 

artificial of  philosophies must appear 
to be following a devious and serpentine
  path4    ,these moments of difficulty 
and obscurity are not1 however--as  long
 as such a philosophy attaches itself   
closely to reality and  flows round     
reality like a tide flowing round       
submerged rocks or  liquid metal flowing
 round the cavities of a mould--a sign  
that  philosophy has deserted reality1  
but only a sign that the curves and     
contours and jagged edges of reality are
 so intricate and involved  that only a 
very fluid element can follow their     
complicated shape4  ,but these moments  
of difficulty and obscurity1 these vague
 and  impalpable links in the chain1 are
 only to be found in the  process by    
which we arrive at our conclusion4 ,when
 our  conclusion has been once reached  
it becomes suddenly manifest to  us that
 it has been there1 with us1 all the    
while1 implicit in our  whole argument1 
the secret and hidden cause why the     
argument  took the form it did rather   

than any other4 ,the test of any        
philosophy is not that it should appeal 
immediately and directly to  what is    
called common-sense1 for common-sense is
 no better  than a crude and premature  
synthesis of superficial experiences2 a 
synthesis from which the supreme and    
culminating experiences of  a person's  
life have been excluded4 ,for in our    
supreme and  culminating experiences    
there is always an element of what might
  be called the impossible or of what   
must be recognized as a  matter of faith
 or imagination4 ,it is therefore quite 
to be expected  that the conclusions of 
a philosophy like the philosophy of the 
complex vision1 which derives its       
authority from the exceptional  and     
supreme experiences of all souls1 should
 strike us in our  moments of practical 
common-sense as foolish1 impossible1    
ridiculous and even insane4 ,all        
desperate and formidable efforts        
towards creation have struck and will   
strike the mood of practical            

common-sense as ridiculous and insane4  
,this is true of every  creative idea   
that has ever emanated from the soul of 
man4    ,for the mood of practical      
common-sense is a projection of the     
baser instinct of self-preservation and 
is penetrated through and  through with 
that power of inert malice which itself 
might be  called the instinct of        
self-preservation of the enemy of life4 
,practical common-sense is the name we  
give to that superficial  synthesis of  
our baser self-preservative instincts1  
which1 when it is  reinforced and       
inspired by the will of malice out of   
the evil  depths of the soul1 is the    
most deadly of all antagonists of new   
life4    ,we need suffer1 therefore1 no 
surprise or pain if we find the         
conclusions of the philosophy of the    
complex vision ridiculous  and          
impossible to our mood of practical     
common-sense4 ,if on  the contrary they 
did not seem insane and foolish to such 
a mood  we might well be profoundly     

suspicious of them4 ,for although  there
 are very few certainties in this world1
 one thing at least is  certain1 namely 
that for any truth or reality to satisfy
 the creative  spirit in us it must     
present itself as something dangerous1  
destructive1 ridiculous and insane to   
that instinct in us which  resists      
creation4    ,but although the appeal to
 common-sense is no test of the truth   
of a philosophy1 since common-sense is  
precisely the thing in us  which has a  
malicious hostility to the creative     
spirit1 yet no  philosophy can afford to
 disregard an appeal to actual          
experience  as long as actual experience
 includes the rare moments of our life  
as well as all the rest4 ,here is indeed
 a true and authentic test of           
philosophic validity4 ,if we take our   
philosophical conclusions1 so  to speak1
 in our hands1 and plunge with them into
 the very depths  of actual experience1 
do they grow more organic1 more palpable
  and more firm1 or do they melt away   

into the flowing waters8    ,who is not 
able to recall the distress of bitter   
disillusionment  which has followed the 
collapse of some plausible system of    
sweet reasonableness under the          
granite-like impact of a rock of        
reality which has knocked the bottom out
 of it and left it a derelict  upon the 
waves8 ,this collapse of an ordered and 
reasonable  system under the impact of  
some atrocious projection of crass      
casuality is a proof that if a          
philosophy has not got in it some  iron 
of its own1 if it has not got in it     
something formidable and  unfathomable1 
something that can destroy as well as   
create1 it is  not of much avail against
 the winds and storms of destiny4       
,for a philosophy to be a true          
representation of reality1 for it to be 
that reality itself1 become conscious   
and articulate1 it is necessary  that it
 should prove most vivid and actual at  
those supreme  moments when the soul of 
man is driven to the ultimate wall and  

is at the breaking-point4    ,the truth 
of a philosophy is not to be tested by  
what we feel about  it in moods of      
practical common-sense2 for in these    
moods we  have1 for some superficial    
reason1 suppressed more than half of the
  attributes of our soul4 ,the truth of 
a philosophy can only be tested  in     
those moments when the soul1 driven to  
the wall1 gathers itself  together for  
one supreme effort4 ,but there is1 even 
in less stark and  drastic hours1 an    
available test of a sound and organic   
philosophy  which must not be forgotten4
 ,i refer to its capacity for being     
vividly and emphatically summed up and  
embodied in some  concrete image or     
symbol4    ,if a philosophy is so       
rationalistic that it refuses to lend   
itself to  a definite and concrete      
expression we are justified in being    
more  than suspicious of it4    ,and we 
are suspicious of it not because its    
lack of simplicity  makes it intricate  
and elaborate1 for reality is intricate 

and  elaborate2 but because its         
inability to find expression for its    
intricacy in any concrete symbol is a   
proof that it is too simple4  ,for the  
remote conclusions of a purely logical  
and rationalistic  philosophy are made  
to appear much less simple than they    
really  are by reason of their use of   
remote technical terms4    ,what the    
soul demands from philosophy is not     
simplicity but  complexity1 for the soul
 itself is the most complex thing we    
know4  ,the thin1 rigid1 artificial     
outlines of purely rationalistic systems
  can never be expressed in ritual or   
symbol or drama1 not because  they are  
too intricate1 but because they are not 
intricate enough4    ,a genuine symbol1 
or ritualistic image1 is a concrete     
living organic  thing carrying all      
manner of magical and subtle            
associations4 ,it is  an expression of  
reality which comes much nearer to      
reality than  any rationalistic system  
can possibly do4 ,a genuine symbolic or 

ritualistic image is a concrete         
expression of the complexity of life4   
,it has the creative and destructive    
power of life4 ,it has the  formidable  
mysteriousness of life1 and with all    
this it has the  clear-cut directness of
 life's terrible and exquisite          
tangibility4    ,when suddenly          
confronted1 then1 in the mid-stream of  
life1 by the  necessity of expressing   
the starting-point1 which is also the   
conclusion1 of the philosophy of the    
complex vision1 what  synthetic image or
 symbol or ritualistic word are we to   
use in  order to sum up its concrete    
reality8    ,the revelation of life1    
offered to us by the complex vision1 is1
 as  we have seen1 no very simple or    
logical affair4 ,we axe left with  the  
spectacle of innumerable souls1 human1  
sub-human and  super-human1 held        
together by some indefinable medium     
which  enables them to communicate with 
one another4 ,each one of these  souls  
at once creates and discovers its own   

individual universe  and then by an act 
of faith assumes that the various       
universes  created and discovered by all
 other souls are identical with its     
own4    ,that they are identical with   
its own the soul is led to assume  with 
more and more certainty in proportion as
 its communion with  other souls grows  
more and more involved4 ,this identity  
between  the various universes of alien 
souls is rendered more secure and  more 
objective by the fact that time and     
space are found to be  essential        
peculiarities of all of them alike4 ,for
 since time and space  are found to     
enter into the original character of all
 these  universes1 it becomes a natural 
and legitimate conclusion that all      
these universes are in reality the same 
universe4    ,we are left1 then1 with   
the spectacle of innumerable souls      
confronting a universe which in their   
interaction with one  another they have 
half-created and half-discovered4 ,there
 is no  escape from the implication of  

this phrase half-discovered4 ,the       
creative activity of the complex vision 
perpetually modifies1  clarifies and    
moulds the mystery which surrounds it2  
but that there  is an objective mystery 
surrounding it1 of which time and space 
are  permanent aspects1 cannot be       
denied4    ,the pure reason's peculiar  
power of thinking time and space away1  
or of lodging itself outside of time and
 space1 is an abstraction  which leads  
us out of the sphere of reality2        
because1 in its resultant  conception1  
it omits the activity of the other      
attributes of the  complex vision4      
,the complex vision reveals to us1      
therefore1 three aspects of  objective  
mystery4 ,it reveals to us in the first 
place the presence of  an objective     
something outside the soul1 which the   
soul by its  various energies moulds and
 clarifies and shapes4 ,this is that    
something which the soul at one and the 
same moment half-discovers  and         
half-creates4 ,it reveals to us1 in the 

second place1 the presence  of an       
indefinable objective something which is
 the medium  that makes possible the    
communion of one soul with another and  
with  the invisible companions4    ,this
 is the medium which holds all these    
separate personalities  together while  
each of them half-creates and           
half-discovers his  own universe4    ,in
 the third place it reveals to us the   
presence1 in each individual  soul1 of a
 sort of substratum of the soul or      
something beyond  analysis which is the 
vanishing point of sensation and the    
vortex-point or fusion-point where the  
movement which we call  matter loses    
itself in the movement which we call    
mind4    ,in all these three aspects of 
objective mystery1 revealed to us by    
the united activities of the complex    
vision1 we are compelled1 as  has been  
shown1 to use the vague and obscure word
 something4  ,we are compelled to apply 
this unilluminating and tantalizing     
word to all these three aspects of      

objective mystery1 because no  other    
word really covers the complex vision's 
actual experience4    ,the soul         
recognizes that there is something      
outside itself which  is the clay upon  
which its energy works in creating its  
universe1 but it cannot know anything   
about this something  except that it is 
there2 because1 directly the soul       
discovers it1 it  inevitably moulds it  
and recreates it4 ,there is not one     
minutest  division of time between this 
discovery and this creation2 so  all    
that one can say is that the resultant  
objective universe is  half-created and 
half-discovered2 and that whatever this 
mysterious something may be1 apart from 
the complex vision1 it  at any rate has 
the peculiarity of being forced to      
submit to the  complex vision's creative
 energy4    ,but not only are we        
compelled to apply the provoking and    
unilluminating word something to each of
 these three aspects of  objective      
mystery which the complex vision        

reveals2 we are also  compelled to      
assume that each one of these is        
dominated by time  and space4    ,this  
implication of time and space is        
necessitated in a different  way in each
 of these three aspects of what was     
formerly called  matter4 ,in the first  
aspect of the thing we have time and    
space as  essential characteristics of  
all the various universes1 reduced by   
an act of faith to one universe1 of the 
souls which fill the world4    ,in the  
second aspect of it we have time and    
space as essential  characteristics of  
that indefinable medium which holds all 
these  souls together1 and which by     
holding them together makes it easier   
to regard their separate universes as   
one universe1 since they  find their    
ground or base in one universal medium4 
,in the third aspect of it we have time 
and space as essential  characteristics 
of that substratum of the soul which is 
the  vanishing-point of sensation and   
the fusion-point of mind and  matter4   

,we are thus inevitably led to a further
 conclusion2 namely1 that all  these    
three aspects of objective reality1     
since they are all  dominated by time   
and space1 are all dominated by the same
  time and the same space4 ,and since it
 is unthinkable that three  coexistent  
forms of objective reality should be all
 dominated by  the same time and space  
and remain absolutely distinct from one 
another1 it becomes evident that these  
three forms of objective  mystery1 these
 three indefinable somethings1 are not  
separate  from one another but are in   
continual contact with one another4     
,thus the fact that all these three     
aspects of objective reality are  under 
the domination of the same time and     
space is a further  confirmation of the 
truth which we have already assumed by  
an act of faith1 namely that all the    
various universes1  half-discovered and 
half-created by all the souls in the    
world1 are  in reality one universe4    
,the real active and objective existence

 of this one universe is  made still    
more sure and is removed still further  
from all  possibility of illusion1 by   
the fact that we are forced to regard it
  as being not only our universe but the
 universe also of those  invisible      
companions whose vision half-creates it 
and  half-discovers it1 even as our own 
vision does4 ,it is true that to        
certain types of mind1 for whom the     
definite recognition of mystery is      
repugnant1 it must seem absurd and      
ridiculous to be driven to the          
acknowledgment of a thing's existence1  
while at the same time we  have to      
confess complete inability to predicate 
anything at all  about the thing except 
that it exists4    ,it must seem to such
 minds still more absurd and ridiculous 
that  we should be driven to recognize  
no less than three aspects of this      
mysterious something4    ,but since they
 are included in the same time and      
space1 and since1  consequently1 they   
are intimately connected with one       

another1 it  becomes inevitable that we 
should take the yet further step and    
regard them as three separate aspects of
 one and the same mystery4  ,thus we are
 once more confronted with the          
inescapable trinitarian  nature of the  
system of things2 and just as we have   
three ultimate  aspects of reality in   
the monistic truth of the one time and  
space1  in the pluralistic truth of the 
innumerable company of living souls  and
 the dualistic truth of the             
contradictory nature of all existence2  
so we have three further ultimate       
aspects of reality1 in the              
incomprehensible something which holds  
all souls together2 in  the             
incomprehensible something out of which 
all souls create the  universe2 and in  
the incomprehensible something which    
forms  the substratum both of the souls 
of the invisible companions of  men and 
of the soul of every individual thing4  
,the supreme unity1 therefore1 in this  
complicated world1 thus  revealed to us 

by the activity of the complex vision is
 the unity of  time and space4 ,this    
unity is eternally reborn and eternally 
re-discovered every time any living     
personality contemplates the  system of 
things4 ,and since the sons of the      
universe must be  regarded as           
continually contemplating the system of 
things1  struggling with it1 moulding   
it1 and changing it1 according to their 
pre-existent ideal1 we are compelled to 
assume that time and space  are eternal 
aspects of reality and that their       
eternal necessity gives  the system of  
things its supreme unity4    ,no        
isolated speculation of the logical     
reason1 functioning apart  from the     
other attributes of the complex vision1 
can undermine this  supreme unity of    
time and space4 ,the a priori unity of  
apperception is an unreality compared   
with this reality4 ,the  all-embracing  
cosmic monad1 contemplating itself as   
its eternal  object1 is an unreality    
compared with this reality4    ,we are  

left with a pluralistic world of        
individual souls1 finding  their pattern
 and their ideal in the vision of the   
immortal gods  and perpetually          
rediscovering and recreating together a 
universe  which like themselves is      
dominated by time and space and which   
like themselves is for ever divided     
against itself in an eternal and        
unfathomable duality4    ,the ultimate  
truth of the system of things according 
to the  revelation of the complex vision
 is thus found to consist in the        
mystery of personality confronting      
something which seems  impersonal4 ,over
 both these things1 over the personal   
soul and  over the primordial clay or   
energy or movement or matter  out of    
which the personal soul creates its     
universe1 time and  space are dominant4 
,but since we can predicate nothing of  
this  original plasticity except that it
 is plastic and that time and  space    
rule over it1 it is in a strict sense   
illegitimate to say that  this          

primordial clay or world stuff is in    
itself divided into a  duality4 ,we know
 nothing1 and can never know anything   
about it1 beyond  the bare fact of its  
existence4 ,its duality comes from the  
duality in  us4 ,it is we who create the
 contradiction upon which its life      
depends4 ,it is from the unfathomable   
duality in the soul of the  companions  
of men that the universe is brought     
forth4    ,the ultimate duality which   
perpetually creates the world is the    
ultimate duality in all living souls and
 in the souls of the sons of  the       
universe4 ,but although it is we        
ourselves who in the primal  act of     
envisaging the world endow it with this 
duality1 it would be  an untrue         
statement to say that this duality in   
the material universe  is an illusion4  
,it is no more an illusion than the     
objective  material world itself is an  
illusion4 ,both are created by the      
inter-action between the mystery of     
personality and the mystery of what     

seems the impersonal4 ,thus it remains  
perfectly true that what we  sometimes  
call brute matter possesses an element  
of malignant  inertness and malicious   
resistance to the power of creation4    
,this  malice of the impersonal1 this   
malignant inertness of matter1 is  an   
ultimate fact2 and is not less a fact   
because it depends upon the  existence  
of the same malice and the same inert   
resistance in our  own souls4    ,nor   
are we able to escape from the          
conclusion that this malignant  element 
in the indefinable world-stuff exists   
independently of  any human soul4 ,it   
must be thought of as dependent upon the
 same  duality in the souls of the sons 
of the universe as that which  exists in
 the souls of men4 ,for although the    
primordial ideas of  truth and nobility 
and beauty1 brought together by the     
emotion of  love1 are realized in the   
gods with an incredible and immortal    
intensity1 yet the souls of the gods    
could not be souls at all if  they were 

not subject to the same duality as that 
which struggles  within ourselves4      
,it follows from this that we are forced
 to recognize the presence of  a        
potentiality of evil or malice in the   
souls of the sons of the  universe4 ,but
 although we cannot escape from the     
conclusion that  evil or malice exists  
in the souls of the immortals as in all 
human  souls1 yet in their souls this   
evil or malice must be regarded as      
perpetually overcome by the energy of   
the power of love4 ,this  overcoming of 
malice by the power of love1 or of evil 
by good1  in the souls of the sons of   
the universe1 must not be regarded as  a
 thing once for all accomplished1 but as
 a thing eternally  re-attained as the  
result of an unceasing struggle1 a      
struggle so  desperate1 so passionate   
and so unfathomable1 that it surpasses  
all  effort of the mind to realize or   
comprehend it4    ,it must not1         
moreover1 be forgotten that what the    
complex vision  reveals about this      

eternal struggle between love and malice
 in the  souls of the sons of the       
universe and in the souls of all living 
things1 is not that love and malice are 
vague independent  elemental forces     
which obsess or possess or function     
through  the soul which is their arena1 
but rather that they themselves are  the
 very stuff and texture and essence of  
the individual soul itself4    ,their   
duality is unfathomable because the soul
 is unfathomable4  ,the struggle between
 them is unfathomable because the       
struggle  between them is nothing less  
than the intrinsic nature of the soul4  
,the soul is unthinkable without this   
unfathomable struggle in its  inherent  
being between love and malice or between
 life and what  resists life4 ,we are   
therefore justified in saying that the  
universe  is created by the perpetual   
struggle between love and malice or     
between life and what resists life4 ,but
 when we say this we must  remember that
 this is only true because the universe 

is  half-discovered and half-created by 
the souls of the sons of the  universe  
and by the souls of all living things   
which fill the  universe4 ,this         
unfathomable duality which perpetually  
re-creates  ,nature1 does not exist in  
,nature apart from living things1       
although  it does exist in nature apart 
from any individual living thing4       
,all those aspects of the objective     
universe which we usually call          
inanimate1 such as earth1 water1 air1   
fire1 ether1 electricity1  energy1      
movement1 matter and the like1 including
 the stellar and  planetary bodies and  
the chemical medium1 whatever it may be1
  which unites them1 must be regarded as
 sharing1 in some  inscrutable way1 in  
this unfathomable struggle4 ,we are     
unable to  escape from this conception  
of them1 as thus sharing in this        
struggle1 because they are themselves   
the creation and discovery  of the      
complex vision of the soul2 and the soul
 is1 as we have seen1  dependent for its

 every existence upon this struggle4    
,in the same way1 all those other       
aspects of the universe which are       
animate but sub-human1 such as grass1   
moss1 lichen1 plants1  sea-weed1 trees1 
fish1 birds1 animals and the like1 must 
be regarded  as sharing in a still more 
intimate sense in this unfathomable     
struggle4 ,this conception has a double 
element of truth4 ,for not  only do     
these things depend for their form and  
shape and reality  upon the complex     
vision of the soul which contemplates   
them2 but  they are themselves1 since   
they are things endowed with life1      
possessed of some measure or degree of  
the complex vision4    ,and if the souls
 of men and the ,souls of the sons of   
the universe  are inextricably made up  
of the very stuff of this unfathomable  
struggle1 between life and what resists 
life1 we cannot escape from  the        
conclusion that the souls of plants and 
birds and animals and  all other living 
things are inextricably made up of the  

stuff of the  same unfathomable         
struggle4 ,for where there is life there
 must be  a soul possessed of life4     
,life1 apart from some soul possessed   
with  life1 is an abstraction of the    
logical reason and a phantom of no  more
 genuine reality than the a priori unity
 of apperception or  the universal      
self-conscious monad4    ,what we call  
reality1 or the truth of the system of  
things1 is  nothing less than an        
innumerable company of personalities    
confronting an objective mystery2 and   
while we are driven to  regard the      
inanimate1 such as earth and air and    
water and fire1 as  the bodily          
expressions of certain living souls1 so 
are we much  more forcibly driven to    
regard the animate1 wherever it is      
found1  as implying the existence of    
some measure of personality and  some   
degree of consciousness4    ,life1 apart
 from a soul possessing life1 is not    
life at all4 ,it is an  abstraction of  
the logical reason which we cannot      

appropriate to  our instinct or         
imagination4 ,a vague phrase1 like the  
phrase  life-force1 conveys to us whose 
medium of research is the complex       
vision1 simply no intelligible meaning  
at all4 ,it is on a par with the        
over-soul2 and1 to the philosophy of the
 complex vision1 both the  life-force   
and the over-soul are vague1            
materialistic1  metaphorical expressions
 which do not attain to the dignity of a
  legitimate symbolic image4    ,they do
 not attain to this1 because a          
legitimate symbolic image  must appeal  
to the imagination and the aesthetic    
sense by the  possession of something   
concrete and intelligible4    ,any      
individual personal soul is concrete and
 intelligible4 ,the  personal souls of  
the sons of the universe are concrete   
and  intelligible4 ,but the over-soul   
and the life-force are neither  concrete
 nor intelligible and therefore cannot  
be regarded as  legitimate symbols4 ,one
 of the most important aspects of the   

method of philosophical enquiry which   
the philosophy of the  complex vision   
adopts is this use of legitimate        
symbolic images in  place of            
illegitimate metaphorical images4       
,this use of concrete1 tangible1        
intelligible images is a thing which    
has to pay its price4 ,and the price    
which it has to pay is the price  of    
appearing childish1 absurd and          
ridiculous to the type of mind  which   
advocates the exclusive use of the      
logical reason as the sole  instrument  
of philosophical research4 ,this price  
of appearing  naive1 childish and       
ridiculous has to be paid shamelessly   
and in  full4    ,the type of mind which
 exacts this price1 which demands in    
fact  that the concrete intelligible    
symbols of the philosophy of the        
complex vision should be regarded as    
childish and ridiculous1 is  precisely  
the type of mind for whom truth is a    
smoothly  evolutionary affair1 an affair
 of steady progress1 and for whom1      

therefore1 the mere fact of an idea     
being a modern idea implies  that it is 
true and the mere fact of an idea being 
a classical idea  or a mediaeval idea   
implies that it is crude and inadequate 
if not  completely false4    ,to the    
philosophy of the complex vision truth  
does not present  itself as an affair of
 smooth and steady historical evolution 
but as  something quite different from  
this--as a work of art1 in fact1        
dependent upon the struggle of the      
individual soul with itself1 and  upon  
the struggle of the souls of the sons of
 the universe with  themselves4 ,and    
although the struggle of the souls of   
the sons of  the universe towards a     
fuller clarifying of the mystery of life
 must  be regarded as having its        
concrete tangible history in time and   
space1 yet this history is not at all   
synonymous with what is  usually called 
progress4    ,an individual human soul1 
the apex-thought of whose complex       
vision has attained an extraordinary and

 unusual rhythm1 must be  regarded as   
having approached nearer to the vision  
of the sons of  the universe although   
such an one may have lived in the days  
of  the patriarchs or in the ,greek days
 or in the days of mediaevalism  or of  
the renaissance1 than any modern        
rationalistic thinker who is  obsessed  
by the latest tendencies of modern      
thought4    ,the souls of the immortals 
must certainly be regarded as           
developing and changing and as          
constantly advancing towards the        
realization of their hope and           
premonition4 ,but this advance is  also1
 as we have seen1 in the profoundest    
sense a return1 because  it is a        
movement towards an idea which already  
is implicit and  latent4 ,and in the    
presence of this advance1 which is also 
a  return1 all historic ages of         
individual human souls are equal and    
co-existent4    ,all real symbols are   
true1 wherever and whenever they are    
invoked1 because all real symbols are   

the expression of that rare  unity of   
the complex vision which is man's       
deepest approximation  to the mystery of
 life4 ,the symbol of the cross1 for    
instance1 has  far more truth in it than
 any vague metaphorical expression such 
as the over-soul4 ,the symbolic ritual  
of the ,mass1 for instance1  has far    
more truth in it than any metaphorical  
expression such as  the life-force4 ,and
 although both the ,cross and the ,mass 
are  inadequate and imperfect symbols   
with regard to the vision of the  sons  
of the universe1 because they are       
associated with the idea of  an historic
 incarnation1 yet in comparison with any
 modern  rationalistic or chemical      
metaphor they are supremely true4       
,the philosophy of the complex vision1  
just because it is the  philosophy of   
personality1 must inevitably use images 
which  appear to the rationalistic mind 
as naive and childish and  ridiculous4  
,but the philosophy of the complex      
vision prefers to  express itself in    

terms which are concrete1 tangible and  
intelligible1  rather than in terms     
which are no more than vague projections
 of  phantom logic abstracted from the  
concrete activity of real  personality4 
,in completing this general picture of  
the starting point of the  philosophy of
 the complex vision there is one further
 implication  which ought to be brought 
fully into the light4 ,i refer to a     
doctrine  which certain ancient and     
mediaeval thinkers adopted1 and which   
must always be constantly re-appearing  
in human thought because  it is an      
inevitable projection of the human      
conscience when the  human conscience   
functions in isolation and in disregard 
of the  other attributes4 ,i mean the   
doctrine of the essentially evil1       
character of that phenomenon which was  
formerly called matter  but which ,i    
prefer to call the objective mystery4   
,according to this doctrine--which might
 be called the eternal  heresy of       
puritanism--this objective mystery1 this

 world-stuff1 this  eternal energy or   
movement1 this flesh and blood through  
which the soul expresses itself and of  
which the physical body is  made1 is    
evil2 and the opposite of this1 that is 
to say mind or  thought or consciousness
 or spirit is alone good4    ,according 
to this doctrine the world is a struggle
 between the  spirit which is entirely  
good and the flesh which is entirely    
evil4  ,to the philosophy of the complex
 vision this doctrine appears  false and
 misleading4 ,it detects in this        
doctrine1 as ,i have hinted1  an attempt
 of the conscience to arrogate to itself
 the whole field of  experience and to  
negate all the other attributes1        
especially  emotion and the aesthetic   
sense4    ,such a doctrine negates the  
whole activity of the complex vision    
because it assumes the independent      
existence of flesh and blood  as opposed
 to mind4 ,but flesh and blood is a     
thing which has  no existence apart from
 mind1 because it is a thing            

half-created  as well as half-discovered
 by mind4    ,it negates the aesthetic  
sense because the aesthetic sense       
requires  the existence of the body or  
of flesh and blood or of what we  call  
matter1 and cannot exert its activity   
without the reality of  this thing4     
,it negates emotion1 because the emotion
 of love demands1 for its  full         
satisfaction1 nothing less than the     
eternal idea of flesh and  blood4 ,and  
since love demands the eternal idea of  
flesh and  blood1 flesh and blood cannot
 be evil4    ,this doctrine of the evil 
nature of matter is obviously a         
perversion of what the complex vision   
reveals to us about the  eternal        
duality4 ,according to this doctrine1   
which ,i call the puritan  heresy1 the  
duality resolves itself into a struggle 
between the spirit  and the flesh4 ,but 
according to the revelation of the      
complex  vision the true duality is     
quite different from this4 ,in the true 
duality there is an evil aspect of      

matter and also an evil aspect of  mind4
    ,in the true duality spirit is by no
 means necessarily good4 ,for  since the
 true duality lies in the depths of the 
soul itself1 what we  call spirit must  
very often be evil4 ,according to the   
revelation of  the complex vision1 evil 
or malice is a positive force1 of       
malignant  inertness1 resisting the     
power of creation or of love4 ,it is1 as
 we  have seen1 the primordial or       
chaotic weight which opposes itself to  
life4    ,but flesh and blood or any    
other definite form of matter has       
already in large measure submitted to   
the energy of creation and is  therefore
 both good and evil4 ,that original     
shapeless clay or  objective mystery out
 of which the complex vision creates the
  universe certainly cannot be regarded 
as evil1 for we can never  know anything
 at all about it except that it exists  
and that it lends  itself to the        
creative energy of the complex vision4  
,and in so far as  it lends itself to   

the creative energy of the complex      
vision it  certainly cannot be regarded 
as entirely evil1 but must obviously  be
 both good and evil2 even as the complex
 vision itself1 being the  vision of the
 soul1 is both good and evil4           
,according to the philosophy of the     
complex vision then1 what we  call mind 
is both good and evil and what we call  
matter being  intimately dependent upon 
mind is both good and evil4 ,we are     
forced1 therefore1 to recognize the     
existence of both spiritual evil  and   
spiritual good in the unfathomable      
depths of the soul4 ,but  just because  
personality is itself a relative triumph
 of good over  evil it is possible to   
conceive of the existence of a          
personality in  whom evil is perpetually
 overcome by good1 while it is          
impossible  to conceive of a personality
 in whom good is perpetually  overcome  
by evil4    ,in other words1 all        
personalities are relatively good2 and  
some  personalities namely those of the 

immortals are1 as far as we are         
concerned1 absolutely good4 ,all        
personalities including even the        
personalities of the immortals have evil
 in them1 but no  personality can be the
 embodiment of evil1 in the sense in    
which  the sons of the universe are the 
embodiment of good4    ,i thus reach the
 conclusion of this complicated summary 
of the  nature of the ultimate duality  
and the necessity of finding a clear    
and definite symbol for it4             
,,chapter ,,vi4    ,,the ,,ultimate     
,,ideas    ,it now becomes necessary to 
consider in greater detail those        
primary human conceptions of truth1     
beauty1 and goodness1 which  ,i have    
already referred to as the soul's       
ultimate ideas4 ,let no one  think that 
any magical waving of the wand of modern
 psychology  can explain away these     
universal human experience4 ,they may be
  named by different appellations2 but  
considering the enormous  weight of     
historical tradition behind these names 

it would seem  absurd and pedantic to   
attempt to re-baptize them at this late 
hour4    ,human nature1 in its          
essentials1 has undergone no material   
change  since we have any record of it2 
and to use any other word than  beauty  
for what we mean by beauty1 or than     
goodness for what  we mean by goodness1 
would seem a mere superstition of       
originality4  ,the interpretation       
offered1 in what follows1 of the        
existence  of these experiences is      
sufficiently startling to require no    
assistance from novelty of phrasing to  
give it interest and  poignancy4 ,that  
our souls are actually able to touch1 in
 the  darkness which surrounds us1 the  
souls of super-human beings1  and that  
the vision of such super-human beings is
 the eternal  vision wherein the mystery
 of love is consummated1 is a doctrine  
of such staggering implications that it 
seems wise1 in making our  way towards  
it1 to use the simplest human words and 
to avoid any  stylistic shocks4    ,it  

seems advisable also to advance with    
scrupulous leisureliness in  this       
formidable matter and at certain        
intervals to turn round as it  were1 and
 survey the path by which we have come4 
,the existence  of super-human beings1  
immeasurably superior to man1 is in     
itself  a harmless and natural          
speculation4 ,it is only when it        
presents itself  as a necessary link in 
philosophical discussion that it appears
  startling4 ,and the mere fact that it 
does appear startling when  introduced  
into philosophy shows how1 lamentably   
philosophy has  got itself imprisoned in
 dull1 mechanical1 mathematical         
formulae2  in formulae so arid and so   
divorced from life1 that the conception 
of personality1 applied to man or to the
 gods1 seems to us as  exciting as an   
incredible fairy story when brought into
 relation  with them4    ,as the souls  
of men1 then1 each with its own complex 
vision1 move  side by side along the    
way1 or across one another's path1 they 

are  driven by the necessity of things  
to exchange impressions with  regard to 
the nature of life4 ,in their           
communications with one  another they   
become aware of the presence1 at the    
back of their  consciousness1 of an     
invisible standard of truth1 of beauty1 
of  goodness4 ,it is from this standard 
of beauty and truth and  goodness1 from 
this dream1 this vision1 this hope1 that
 all these  souls seem to themselves to 
draw their motive of movement4  ,but    
though they seem to themselves to be    
moving into an  indetermined future     
still to be created by their wills1 they
 also  seem to themselves to be         
returning towards the discovery of that 
invisible standard of beauty1 truth and 
goodness1 which has as their            
motive-impulse been with them from the  
beginning4 ,this implicit  standard1    
this invisible pattern and test and     
arbitrament of all  philosophizing1 is  
what ,i call the vision of the          
immortals4 ,some  minds1 both           

philosophical and religious1 seem driven
 to think of  this invisible pattern1   
this standard of truth and beauty1 as   
the  parent of the universe rather than 
as its offspring4 ,i cannot bring       
myself to take this view because of the 
fact that the ultimate  revelation of   
the world as presented1 to man's complex
 vision is  essential and unfathomably  
dualistic4    ,a parent of the universe 
can only be thought of as a             
stopping-place of all thought4 ,he can  
only be imagined--for  strictly speaking
 he cannot be thought of at all--as some
 unutterable  mystery out of which the  
universe originally sprang4 ,from this  
unutterable mystery1 to which we have no
 right to attribute either a  monistic  
or a pluralistic character1 we may1 ,i  
suppose1 imagine to  emerge a perpetual 
torrent of duality4    ,towards this    
unutterable mystery1 about which even to
 say it is  seems to be saying too much1
 it is impossible for the complex       
vision to have any attitude at all4 ,it 

can neither love it nor hate it4  ,it   
can neither reject it nor accept it4 ,it
 can neither worship it nor  revolt     
against it4 ,it is only imaginable in   
the illegitimate sense of  metaphor and 
analogy4 ,it is simply the              
stopping-place of the  complex vision2  
that stopping-place beyond which        
anything is  possible and nothing is    
thinkable4    ,this thing1 which is at  
once everything and nothing1 this thing 
which is no thing but only the          
unutterable limit where all things  pass
 beyond thought1 cannot be accepted by  
the complex vision as  the parent of the
 universe4 ,the universe has therefore  
no parent1 no  origin1 no cause1 no     
creator4 ,eternally it re-creates itself
 and  eternally it divides itself into  
that ultimate duality which makes       
creation possible4    ,that monistic    
tendency of human thought1 which is     
itself a  necessary projection of the   
monistic reality of the individual soul1
  cannot1 except by an arbitrary act of 

faith1 resolve this ultimate  duality   
into unity4 ,such a primordial act of   
faith it can and must  make with regard 
to the objective reality of other souls4
 ,but such  an act of faith is not      
demanded with regard to the unutterable 
mystery behind the universe4 ,we have   
not1 strictly speaking1 even  the right 
to use the expression an unutterable    
mystery4 ,all we  have a right to do is 
just to titter the final                
judgment--beyond this  limit neither    
thought nor imagination can pass4       
,what the complex vision definitely     
denies to us1 therefore1 is the  right  
to regard this thing1 which is no thing1
 with any emotion at  all4 ,the         
expression unutterable mystery is a     
misleading one  because it appears to   
justify the emotions of awe and         
reverence4  ,we have no right to regard 
this thin simulacrum1 this mathematical 
formula1 this stopping-place of thought1
 with any feelings of awe  or reverence4
 ,we have not even a right to regard it 

with humorous  contempt2 for1 being     
nothing at all1 it is beneath contempt4 
,humanity has a right to indulge in that
 peculiar emotional attitude  which is  
called worship towards either side of   
the ultimate  duality4 ,it has a right  
to worship1 if it pleases--though to do 
so  several attitudes of the complex    
vision must be outraged and             
suppressed--the resistant power of      
malice4 ,it has even a right to  worship
 the universe1 that turbulent arena of  
these primal  antagonists4 ,what it has 
no right to worship is the unutterable  
mystery behind the universe2 for the    
simple reason that the  universe is     
unfathomable4    ,human thought has its 
stopping-place4 ,the universe is        
unfathomable4  ,human thought has a     
definite limit4 ,the universe has no    
limit4 ,the universe is unutterably     
mysterious2 and so also  is the human   
soul2 but as far as the soul's complex  
vision is  concerned there can be no    
reality behind the appearances of       

things except the reality of the soul   
itself4 ,thus there is no  parent of man
 and of the universe4 ,but the immortal 
companions  of men are implied from     
man's most intimate experiences of life4
  ,for if there were no invisible       
watchers1 no arbiters1 no standards1  no
 tests1 no patterns1 no ideals2 our     
complex vision1 in regard to  certain   
basic attributes1 would be refuted and  
negated4    ,every soul which exists    
must be thought of as possessing the    
attribute of emotion with its duality of
 love and malice1 the  attribute of     
taste with its duality of beauty and    
hideousness1 of  conscience with its    
duality of good and evil1 and the       
attribute of  reason with its duality of
 the true and the false4 ,every one of  
these basic attributes would be reduced 
to a suicidal confusion of  absolute    
sceptical subjectivity if it could not  
have faith in some  objective reality to
 which it can appeal4    ,such an       
appeal1 to such an objective reality1 it

 does1 as a matter of  fact1 continually
 make1 whether it makes it consciously  
or  sub-consciously4 ,and just as the   
soul's basic attributes of emotion1     
taste1 conscience1 and reason indicate  
an implicit faith in the  objective     
reality of the ideas of beauty and      
nobility and truth2 so  the soul's basic
 attribute of self-consciousness        
indicates an implicit  demand that the  
objective reality of these ideas should 
be united  and embodied in actual living
 and self-conscious souls external  to  
other souls4    ,the most dangerous     
mistake we can make1 and the most deadly
 in  its implications1 is to reduce     
these companions of men to a  monistic  
unity and to make this unity what the   
metaphysicians call  absolute in its    
embodiment of these ultimate ideas4     
,in comparison with the fitful and moody
 subjectivity of our  individual        
conceptions of these ideas the vision of
 the immortals  may be thought of as    
embodying them absolutely4 ,but in      

itself it  certainly does not embody    
them absolutely2 otherwise the whole    
movement of life would end4 ,it is      
unthinkable that it should ever  embody 
them absolutely4 ,for it is in the      
inherent nature of such a  vision that  
it should be growing1 living1           
inexhaustible4 ,the most  withering and 
deadly of all conceivable dogmas is the 
dogma that  there is such a thing as    
absolute truth1 absolute beauty1        
absolute  good and absolute love4       
,the attraction of such a dogma for the 
mind of man is undoubtedly  due to the  
spirit of evil or of malice4 ,for       
nothing offers a more  frozen resistance
 to the creative power than such a      
faith4  ,compared with our human visions
 of these ideas the vision of  these    
companions of men must be thought of as 
relatively  complete4 ,and complete it  
is1 with regard to its general synthesis
  and orientation4 ,but it is not really
 complete2 and can never be so4  ,for   
when we consider the nature of love     

alone1 it becomes  ridiculous to speak  
of an absolute or complete love4 ,if the
 love of  these companions of men became
 at any moment incapable of a  deeper   
and wider manifestation1 at that very   
moment the whole  stream of life would  
cease1 the malice of the adversary would
  prevail1 and nothingness would swallow
 up the universe4 ,it is  because we are
 compelled to regard the complex vision1
 including  all its basic attributes1 as
 the vision of a personal soul1 that it 
is  a false and misleading conception to
 view these companions of  men as a mere
 ideal4    ,an ideal is nothing if not  
expressed in personality4 ,subjectively 
every ideal is the ideal of some one1 an
 ideal of a conscious1  personal1 and   
living entity4 ,objectively every ideal 
must be  embodied in some one3 and must 
be a standard1 a measure1 a  rhythm1 of 
various energies synthesized in a living
 soul4 ,this is  really the crux of the 
whole matter4 ,vaguely and obscurely do 
we  all feel the pressure of these deep 

and secret impulses4 ,profoundly  do we 
feel that these mysterious ideas1 which 
give life its  dramatic intensity1 are  
part of the depths of our own soul and  
part  of the depths of the souls of the 
immortals4 ,and yet though they  are so 
essentially part of us and part of the  
universe1 they remain  vague1 obscure1  
contradictory1 confused1 inchoate2 only 
gradually  assuming coherent substance  
and form as the rapport between  man and
 his invisible companions grows clearer 
and clearer4    ,we are confronted at   
this point by one of the most difficult 
of all  dilemmas4 ,if by reason of the  
fact that we are driven to regard       
personality as the most real thing in   
the universe we are compelled  toward   
the act of faith which recognizes one   
side of the eternal  duality of things  
as embodied in actual living souls1 how 
is it that  we are not equally compelled
 to a similar act of faith in relation  
to  the other side of this duality8 ,in 
simpler words1 how is it that while  we 

are compelled to an act of faith with   
regard to the existence of  powers which
 embody the spirit of love1 we are not  
compelled to  an act of faith with      
regard to the existence of powers which 
embody the spirit of malice8    ,how is 
it that while we have a right to regard 
the ideas of truth1  beauty1 goodness as
 objectively embodied in living         
personalities  we have no right to      
regard the ideas of falseness1          
hideousness1 evil  and malice1 as       
objectively embodied in living          
personalities8 ,to  answer this question
 it is necessary to define more clearly 
the  essential duality which we discover
 as the secret of the universe4    ,one 
side of this duality is the creative    
power of life1 the other side  is the   
resistant power which repels life4 ,the 
emotion of love is the  motive-force of 
the power of creation1 a force which we 
have to  recognize as containing in     
itself the power of destruction2 for    
destruction is necessary to creation and

 is inspired by the creative  energy4   
,the other side of the eternal duality  
is not a destructive force1 but a       
resistant force4 ,that is why it is     
necessary to define the opposite of     
love1 not as hate--but as malice1 which 
is a resistant thing4 ,thus it  becomes 
clear why it is that we are not driven  
by the necessity of  the situation to   
any act of faith with regard to the     
existence of  living souls which embody 
evil and malice4 ,we are not compelled  
towards this act of faith because the   
nature of the other side of  the eternal
 duality is such that it cannot be      
embodied1 in any  complete or objective 
way1 in a living personality4 ,it can   
and it  does appear in every personality
 that has ever existed4 ,we are         
compelled to assume that it exists1     
though in a state of  suppression1 even 
in the souls of the immortals4 ,if it   
did not exist1  in some form or other1  
in the souls of the immortals1 the ideas
 of  truth1 beauty1 and goodness would  

be absolute in them1 and the life  of   
the universe would cease4    ,for the   
nature of this eternal duality is such  
that the life of the  universe depends  
upon this unending struggle between what
  creates and what resists creation4    
,the power that creates must be         
regarded as embodied in personality1 for
 creation always implies  personality4  
,but the power that resists             
creation--though present in  every      
living soul--cannot be embodied in      
personality because  personality is the 
highest expression of creation4         
,every soul born into life must possess 
the attributes of taste1  reason1       
conscience and emotion4 ,and each of    
these attributes  implies this          
fundamental duality2 being resolvable   
into a choice  between hideousness1     
falsehood1 evil1 malice1 and the        
opposites of  these4 ,but the soul      
itself1 being a living and personal     
thing1 can  never1 however deeply it    
plunges into evil1 become the embodiment

  of evil1 because by the mere fact of  
existing at all it has  already defeated
 evil4    ,any individual soul may give 
itself up to malice rather than to      
love1 and may do its utmost to resist   
the creative power of love4  ,but one   
thing it cannot do4 ,it cannot become   
the embodiment of  evil1 because1 by    
merely being alive1 it is the eternal   
defiance of  evil4 ,personality is the  
secret of the universe4 ,the universe   
exists  by reason of a struggle between 
what creates and what resists  creation4
 ,therefore personality exists by reason
 of a struggle  between what creates and
 what resists creation4 ,and the        
existence  of personality1 however      
desperate the struggle within itself may
  be1 is a proof that the power of life 
is stronger than the power  which       
resists life4    ,but we have to        
consider another and yet deeper dilemma4
 ,since  the existence of the universe  
depends upon the continuance of this    
unfathomable struggle and since the     

absolute victory of life over  death1 of
 love over malice1 of truth over        
falsehood1 of beauty over  hideousness  
and of nobility over ignobility1 would  
mean that the  universe would end1 are  
we therefore forced to the conclusion   
that  evil is necessary to the fuller   
manifestation of good8    ,undoubtedly  
we are forced to this conclusion4 ,not  
one of these  primordial ideas1 which   
find their synthesis in the invisible   
companions of men1 can be conceived     
without its opposite4 ,and  it is in the
 process of their unending struggle that
 the fuller  realization of all of them 
is attained4 ,and this struggle must    
inevitably assume a double character4   
,it must assume the character  of a     
struggle within the individual soul and 
of a struggle of the  individual soul   
with other souls and with the universe4 
,such a  struggle must be thought of as 
continually maintained in the soul  of  
the invisible companions of men and     
maintained there with a  depth of       

dramatic intensity at which we can only 
guess4    ,only less false and dangerous
 than the dogma that the absolute       
victory of good over evil has already   
been achieved1 is the dogma  that these 
two eternal antagonists are in reality  
one and the same  thing4 ,they are only 
one and the same thing in the sense that
  neither is thinkable without the      
other2 and in the sense that they       
create the universe by their conflict4  
,it is important in a matter as crucial 
as this matter1 concerning the          
invisible companions of men1 not to     
advance a step beyond our               
starting-point till we have apprehended 
it from several different  aspects and  
have gone over our ground again and     
again--even as  builders of a bridge    
might test the solidity of their fabric 
stone by  stone and arch by arch4 ,by   
that conscience in reason which  never  
allows us pleasantly to deceive         
ourselves1 we are bound to  touch1 as it
 were with our very hands1 every piece  

of stone work  and every patch of cement
 which holds this desperate bridge      
together over the dark waters4    ,we   
have not1 then1 a right to say that     
every energy of the complex  vision     
depends for its functioning upon the    
existence of these  invisible           
companions4 ,we have not a right to     
say--if there were  no such beings these
 energies could not function2 but they  
do  function2 therefore there are such  
beings4 ,what we have a right to  say is
 simply this1 that it is an actual      
experience that when two or  more       
personalities come together and seek to 
express their various  subjective       
impressions of these ultimate ideas     
there is always a  tacit reference to   
some objective standard4    ,this       
objective standard cannot be thought of 
apart from  personalities capable of    
embodying it4 ,for these ultimate ideas 
are  only real and living when embodied 
in personality4 ,apart from  personality
 we are unable to grasp them2 although  

we must  recognize that the universe    
itself is composed of the very stuff of 
their contention4 ,we have in the first 
place1 then1 completely  eliminated from
 our discussion that inscrutable mystery
  behind the universe4 ,in every        
direction we find the universe          
unfathomable2 and though our power of   
thought stops abruptly at a  certain    
limit1 we have no reason to think that  
the universe stops  there2 and we have  
every reason to think that it           
continues--together  with the           
unfathomable element in our souls--into 
impenetrably  receding depths4    ,the  
universe1 as we apprehend it1 presents  
itself as a congeries of  living souls  
united by some indefinable medium4      
,these living  souls are each possessed 
of that multiform activity which ,i have
  named the complex vision4 ,among the  
basic energies of this  vision are some 
which in their functioning imply the    
pre-existence  of certain primordial    
ideas4    ,these ideas are at once the  

eternally receding horizon and the      
eternally receding starting-point--the  
unfathomable past and the  unfathomable 
future--of this procession of souls4    
,the crux of the  whole situation is    
found in the evasive and tantalizing    
problem of  the real nature of these    
primordial ideas4 ,can truth1 can       
beauty1  can goodness be conceived of as
 existing in the universe apart  from   
any individual soul8    ,they are       
clearly not completely exhausted or     
totally revealed by  the vision of any  
individual human soul or of any number  
of  human souls4 ,the sense which we all
 have when we attempt to  exchange our  
individual feelings with regard to these
 things is that  we are appealing to    
some invisible standard or pattern which
  already exists and of which we each   
apprehend a particular facet  or aspect4
    ,all human intercourse depends upon 
this implicit assumption2 of  which     
language is the outward proof4    ,the  
existence of language goes a long way in

 itself to destroy that  isolation of   
individual souls which in its extreme   
form would  mean the impossibility of   
any objective truth or beauty or        
nobility4  ,language itself is founded  
upon that original act of faith by which
  we assume the independent existence of
 other souls4 ,and the same  act of     
faith which assumes the existence of    
other souls assumes  also that the      
vision of other souls does not          
essentially differ from  our own vision4
    ,once having got as far as this1 the
 further fact that these other  visions 
do vary considerably1 though not        
essentially1 differ from  our own leads 
us by an inevitable1 if not a logical1  
step to the  assumption that all our    
different visions are the imperfect     
renderings of one vision1 wherein the   
ideas of truth1 beauty and  nobility    
exist in a harmonious synthesis4        
,there is no reason why we should think 
of this objective synthesis  of truth1  
beauty1 and goodness as absolute or     

perfect4 ,indeed there  is every reason 
why we should think of it as imperfect  
and  relative4 ,but it is imperfect and 
relative only in its relation to its    
own dream1 its own hope1 its own        
prophecy1 its own premonition1  its own 
struggle towards a richer and fuller    
manifestation4 ,in its  relation to our 
broken1 baffled1 and subjective visions 
it is already  so complete as to be     
relatively absolute4 ,to this objective 
ideal of  our aesthetic and emotional   
values1 ,i have given the name the      
vision of the immortals because we are  
unable to disassociate it  from         
personality2 and because1 while the     
generations of man pass  away1 this     
vision does not pass away4    ,have ,i1 
in giving to this natural human ideal1  
such a formidable  name--a name with so 
many bold and startling                 
implications--been  merely tempted into 
an alluring metaphorical image1 or have 
,i  been driven to make use of this     
expression by reason of the  intrinsic  

nature of life itself8    ,i think that 
the latter of these two alternatives is 
the true one4 ,the  logic by which this 
conclusion is reached differs from the  
logic of the abstract reason in the     
sense of being the organic1  dynamic1   
and creative logic of the complex vision
 itself1 using  the very apex-thought of
 its pyramidal activity in apprehending 
a  mystery which is at once the secret  
of its own being and the secret  of the 
unfathomable universe into the depths of
 which it forces its  way4    ,the      
expression1 then1 the vision of the     
immortals is not a mere  pictorial image
 but is the definite articulation of a  
profound reality  from which there is no
 escape if certain attributes of the    
human  soul are to be trusted at all4   
,we cannot get rid of this dilemma1 one 
of those dilemmas which offer           
alternative possibilities so            
appallingly opposite1 that the choice   
between them seems like a  choice       
between two eternities4    ,is the      

vision of these immortals1 the existence
 of which as a  standard of all         
philosophical discussion seems to be    
implied by the  very nature of man's    
soul1 to be regarded or not to be       
regarded as  the vision of real and     
living personalities8    ,in other      
words1 to put the case once more in its 
rigid outlines1 is  that objective      
vision of truth1 beauty1 and goodness of
 which our  individual subjective       
visions are only imperfect              
representations1  the real vision of    
actual living gods or only the          
projection1 upon  the evasive medium    
which holds all human souls together1 of
 such  beauty and such truth and such   
goodness as these souls find that  they 
possess in common8    ,this is the crux 
of the whole human comedy4 ,this is the 
throw of  the dice between a world      
without hope and a world with hope4     
,philosophers are capable of treating   
this subject with quiet  intellectual   
curiosity2 but all living men and       

women--philosophers  included--come1 at 
moments1 to a pitiless and adamantine   
impasse where the eternal two ways      
branch off in unfathomable  perspective4
    ,in our normal and superficial moods
 we are able to find a plausible  excuse
 for our struggles with ourselves1 in a 
simple acceptance of  the ultimate      
duality4    ,it is enough for us1 in    
these moods1 that we have on the one    
hand a  consciousness of love and on the
 other a consciousness of  malice4 ,it  
is enough for us1 in these moods1 that  
we have on the  one hand a consciousness
 of truth and beauty and nobility2 and  
on  the other a consciousness of        
unreality1 of hideousness1 and of evil4 
,but there come other1 deeper1 more     
desperate moods1 when1 out of           
intolerable and unspeakable loneliness  
our soul sinking back into  its own     
depths refuses to be satisfied with a   
mere recognition of  this ultimate      
duality4    ,at these moments the soul  
seems to rend and tear at the very roots

  of this duality4 ,it takes these ideas
 of beauty and truth and  goodness and  
subjects them to a savage and merciless 
analysis4 ,it  takes the emotion of love
 and the emotion of malice and tries to 
force its way behind them4 ,it turns    
upon itself1 in its insane  trouble1 and
 seeks to get itself out of its own way 
and to efface  itself1 so that something
 beyond itself may flow into its place4 
,at these moments the soul's complex    
vision is roused to a supreme  pitch of 
rhythmic energy4 ,the apex-thought of   
its focussed  attributes gathers itself 
together to pierce the mystery4 ,like a 
strain  of indescribable music the      
apex-thought rests upon itself and      
brings each element of its being into   
harmony with every other4    ,this      
ultimate harmony of the complex vision  
may be compared to  a music which is so 
intense that it becomes silence4 ,and in
 this  silence1 wherein the apex-thought
 becomes at once a creator and  a       
discoverer1 the pain and distress of the

 struggle seems suddenly  to disappear  
and an indescribable happiness flows in 
upon the  soul4 ,at this moment when    
this consummation is reached the  soul's
 complex vision becomes aware that the  
ideas of beauty1  truth and goodness are
 not mental abstractions or material    
qualities  or evolutionary by-products1 
but are the very purpose and meaning  of
 life4 ,it becomes aware that the       
emotion of love is not a mental         
abstraction or a psychological accident 
or a biological necessity  but the      
secret of the whole struggle and the    
explanation of the  whole drama4    ,it 
becomes aware that this truth1 this     
beauty1 this nobility find their  unity 
and harmony in nothing less than in the 
emotion of love4 ,it  becomes aware that
 these three primordial ideas are only  
varying  facets and aspects of one      
unfathomable secret which is the        
activity  of love4 ,it becomes aware    
that this activity of love is the       
creative  principle of life itself2 that

 it alone is life1 and the force which  
resists it is the enemy of life4        
,such1 then1 is the ultimate reality    
grasped in its main outlines by  the    
rhythmic energy of the soul's           
apex-thought when1 in its  desperate and
 savage struggle with itself1 the       
complex vision  reaches its             
consummation4 ,and this reality1 thus   
created and thus  discovered by the     
apex-thought of the complex vision1     
demands  and requires that very         
revelation1 towards which we have been  
moving by so long a road4    ,it        
requires the revelation1 namely1 that   
the emotion of love of  which we are    
conscious in the depths of our being1 as
 an emotion  flowing through us and     
obsessing us1 should be conceived of as 
existing in a far greater completeness  
in these silent watchers  and companions
 whom we name the immortal gods4 ,it    
requires1  therefore1 that these        
immortal ones should be regarded as     
conscious and living souls2 for the     

ultimate reach of the complex  vision   
implies the idea of personality and     
cannot interpret life  except in terms  
of personality4    ,as ,i said above1   
there come moments in all our lives1    
when1  rending and tearing at the very  
roots of our own existence1 we seek  to 
extricate ourselves from ourselves and  
to get ourselves out of  the way of     
ourselves1 as if we were seeking to make
 room for  some deeper personality      
within us which is ourself and yet not  
ourself4 ,this is that impersonal       
element which the aesthetic sense       
demands in all supreme works of art so  
that the soul may find at  once its     
realization of itself and its liberation
 from itself4    ,the watchers and      
companions of men must therefore be     
immortal and living souls existing side 
by side with our human  souls and side  
by side with all other souls1           
super-human or  sub-human1 which the    
universal medium of the world holds     
together4 ,in arriving at this          

conclusion which seems to me to be  the 
consummation vouched for and attested by
 the rhythmic  energy of the complex    
vision1 ,i have refused to allow any    
particular attribute of this vision1    
such as the will or the intuition  or   
the conscience1 to claim for its        
isolated discoveries any  universal     
assent4    ,the soul's emotion of love  
passionately craves for the real        
existence of these invisible companions4
 ,the soul's emotion of  malice displays
 an abysmal resistance to such a        
reality4 ,this is  naturally a fact that
 we cannot afford to disregard4 ,but in 
our final  decision in so high and      
difficult a matter nothing can be       
allowed to  claim an universal assent   
except the rhythmic activity of the     
soul's  apex-thought in its supreme     
moments4    ,at this point in our       
argument it is advisable to glance      
backward  over the way we have come2    
because the reality of this eternal     
vision depends1 more than has as yet    

been understood1 upon our  whole        
attitude to the mystery of personality1 
and to the place of  personality1 as the
 secret of the world4    ,the feeling   
which we have about the emotion of love1
 as if it were  a thing pouring through 
us from some unfathomable depth1 does   
not imply that the invisible companions 
are themselves that  depth4 ,the        
invisible companions are not in any     
sense connected  with the conception of 
an over-soul4 ,that depth1 from which   
the power of creative love pours forth1 
is not the depth of any  over-soul but  
is the depth of our own unfathomable    
nature4    ,the introduction of         
something behind the universe1 the      
introduction of some parent or first    
cause of the universe1 from  which we   
have to suppose this secret of love as  
emerging1 is as  unnecessary as it is   
unbeautiful4 ,it does nothing but fling 
the  mystery one step further back      
without in the least elucidating it2    
and in thus throwing it back it thins it

 out and cheapens it4 ,there is  nothing
 which appeals to the aesthetic sense   
about this hypothesis  of an over-soul  
from whose universal being the ideas of 
beauty  and truth and goodness may be   
supposed to proceed4 ,it is a clumsy    
and crude speculation1 easy to be       
grasped by the superficial mind1  and   
with an air of profundity which is      
entirely deceptive4    ,so far from     
being a spiritual conception1 this      
conception of an  over-soul1 existing   
just behind the material universe and   
pouring  forth indiscriminately its     
truth1 beauty1 nobility and love1  is an
 entirely materialistic one4 ,it is a   
clumsy and crude metaphor  or analogy   
drawn from the objective world and      
projected into that  region of sheer    
unfathomableness which lies beyond human
  thought4    ,when the conception of   
the over-soul is submitted to analysis  
it is  found to consist of nothing else 
than vague images drawn from  material  
sensation4 ,we think of the world for   

instance as a vast  porous sponge       
continually penetrated by a flood of    
water or air or  vapour drawn from some 
hidden cistern or reservoir or cosmic   
lake4 ,the modern theological expression
 immanent has done  harm in this        
direction4 ,there is nothing profound   
about this  conception of immanence4 ,it
 is an entirely materialistic           
conception drawn from sense analogy4    
,the same criticism applies to much of  
the vague speculation  which is usually 
called mysticism4 ,mysticism is not a   
spiritual  attitude4 ,it is often no    
more than the expression of thwarted    
sex-desire directed towards the universe
 instead of towards the person  who has 
repulsed it4 ,the basic motive of       
mysticism1 although in  the highest     
cases it springs from intuition1 is very
 often only an  extension into the      
unknown of physiological misery or of   
physiological well-being4    ,the word  
spiritual retains1 by some instinctive  
wisdom in human  language1 a far nobler 

significance than the word mystical4    
,it is1 so to speak1 a purer word1 and  
has succeeded1 in its progress  down the
 ages1 in keeping itself more clear of  
physiological  associations than any    
other human word except the word soul4  
,it  must1 however1 be recognized1 when 
we submit the two words to  analysis1   
that the word spirit is less free from  
metaphorical  materialism than the word 
soul4    ,the word spirit is a          
metaphorical word derived from the      
material  phenomenon of breath4 ,for the
 purest and least tangible of all       
natural phenomena1 except perhaps ether 
or electricity1 is  obviously nothing   
less than the wind4 ,the wind bloweth   
where it  listeth1 and this elementary  
freedom of the wind1 combined  with our 
natural association of breath and       
breathing with all  organic life1       
accounts for the traditional nobility of
 the word spirit4    ,spirit and life   
have become almost interchangeable      
terms4 ,the  modern expression the      

life-force is only a metaphorical       
confusion of the idea conveyed by the   
word spirit or breath  with the idea    
conveyed by the word consciousness when 
abstracted from any particular conscious
 soul4 ,the use of the term  spirit as  
applied to what metaphysical idealists  
name the  absolute is the supreme       
example of this metaphorical confusion4 
,according to this use of the term      
spirit we have an arbitrary  association
 of the ultimate fact of                
self-consciousness--a fact drawn  from  
the necessity of thought--with that     
attenuated and etherial  materialism    
implied in the words breath or breathing
 and in  the elemental freedom of the   
wind4 ,the word spiritual is a  purer   
and nobler word than the word mystical  
for the same  reason that the word soul 
is a purer and nobler word than the     
word spirit4    ,the historic fact must1
 however1 be recognized that in the     
evolution of human thought and in the   
evolution of philosophical  systems the 

word spirit has in large measure usurped
 the  position that ought to belong to  
the word soul as the highest and  purest
 expression of what is most essential   
and important in life4    ,the history  
of this usurpation is itself a curious  
psychological  document4 ,but ,i cannot 
help feeling that the moment has arrived
  for reinstating the word soul in its  
rightful place and altering this  false 
valuation4    ,the word soul is the name
 given by the common consent of         
language to that original monad or      
concrete unity or living self  which    
exists1 according to universal          
experience1 within the  physical body   
and is the indescribable substratum of  
self-consciousness and the unutterable  
something which gives a  real concrete  
permanence to what we call personality4 
,here also we are confronted by the     
metaphorical danger1 which is  a danger 
springing from the necessity of thought 
itself2 the  necessity under which      
thought labours of being compelled to   

use  sense-impressions if it is to      
function at all4 ,but though thought    
cannot exist as thought without the use 
of sense-impressions it can  at least   
concentrate its attention upon this     
primal necessity and be  aware of it and
 cautious of it and hypercritical in its
 use4 ,it can do  more than this4 ,it   
can throw back1 so to speak1 the whole  
weight of  the mystery and drive it so  
rigorously to the ultimate wall1 that   
the  materialistic and metaphorical     
element is reduced to a mere gap or     
space or lacuna in the mind that only a 
material element can fill  and yet that 
we cannot imagine being filled by any   
material  element which we are able to  
define4    ,this is precisely what we   
have to do with regard to that          
vanishing-point of sensation which is   
the substratum of the soul4  ,the       
situation resolves itself into this4    
,the highest1 deepest1 most  precious   
thing we know or can imagine is         
personality4  ,personality is and must  

be our ultimate synthesis1 our final    
ideal1  and the origin of all our       
ideals4 ,nothing can be conceived more  
true1 more real1 more spiritual than    
personality4    ,all conceptions1       
qualities1 principles1 forces1 elements1
 thoughts1  ideas1 are things which we  
abstract from personality1 and project  
into the space which surrounds us1 as if
 they could be independent  of the      
personal unity from which they have been
 taken4 ,we are  compelled by the       
inevitable necessity of thought itself1 
which  cannot escape from the world of  
sense-impressions1 to think of          
personality as possessing for its       
substratum something which  gives it    
concrete reality4 ,this something which 
is utterly  indefinable1 is the last    
gesture1 so to speak1 made by the       
sense-world before it vanishes away4    
,this something which is the substratum 
of the soul and the thing  which gives  
unity and concreteness to the soul is   
the thinnest and  remotest attenuation  

of the world of sense-impression4 ,it is
 far  thinner and more remote than the  
sense-element in our conception  of     
spirit4 ,why1 it may be asked1 can we   
not get rid of this  something which    
fills that gap or lacuna in the identity
 of the  soul which can only be thought 
of in material terms8    ,we cannot get 
rid of it because directly we attempt to
 do so we are  left with that vague     
idealistic abstraction upon our hands   
which we  call                          
thought-in-the-abstract--or pure thought
 or pure  self-consciousness4 ,but it   
may be asked--,why cannot the physical  
body serve this necessary purpose of    
giving personality a local and  concrete
 identity8    ,first--and this is the   
psychological reason--it cannot do so   
because  our feeling of the soul as     
something within our physical body is   
an ultimate fact of experience which    
would then remain as an  experience     
denied and contradicted4                
,secondly--and this is the metaphysical 

reason--it cannot do so  because our    
physical body is itself only a part of  
that objective  universe of             
sense-impressions which the soul is     
conscious of as  essentially distinct   
from its own inmost identity4           
,metaphysical idealism seems to hold    
that the ultimate monad of              
self-consciousness is not this personal 
micro-cosmic monad which  ,i am         
conscious of as the empirical self or   
soul but an impersonal  macrocosmic     
monad or unity of apperception which    
underlies  the whole field of           
impressions and is unable1 by reason of 
its  inherent nature1 to contemplate    
itself as an object at all4    ,what the
 complex vision seems to me to disclose1
 is a revelation  which includes at one 
and the same moment the universal  monad
 and the personal monad2 but it         
indicates clearly enough  that the      
former is an abstraction from the       
latter4 ,my thought can  certainly think
 of the whole universe1 including time  

and space1 as  one enormous mass of     
impressions or ideals presenting itself 
inside the circle of my mind4    ,of    
this mass of impressions1 including time
 and space1 my  thought1 thus abstracted
 from my personal soul1 becomes the     
circumference4 ,outside my thought there
 is nothing at all4 ,inside  my thought 
there is all that is4 ,the metaphysical 
reason insists that  this               
all-comprehensive thought or            
all-embracing consciousness  cannot     
contemplate itself as an object but is  
compelled to remain  an universal       
subject whose object can only be the    
mass of  impressions which it contains4 
,if it is possible to speak of this a   
priori background of all  possible      
perception as a monad at all1 it is a   
monad which  certainly lacks the        
essential power of the individual monad 
which  we know as our real self1 for    
this latter can and does contemplate    
itself as an object4    ,but as ,i have 
hinted before1 the complex vision's     

attribute of  self-consciousness        
projects a second abstraction1 which    
takes its place  between this ultimate  
monad which is pure subject and our real
  personal self which is so much more   
than subject and object  together4      
,this second abstraction1 thrown off by 
our pure self-consciousness  just as the
 first one is thrown off by our pure    
reason1  becomes therefore an           
intervening monad which exists midway   
between the monad which is pure         
subject--if that can be  called a monad 
at all--and the actual individual soul  
which is the  living reality of both    
these thought-projections4    ,the whole
 question resolves itself into a        
critical statement of the  peculiar play
 of thought when thought is considered  
in its own  inherent nature apart from  
concrete objects of thought4 ,this      
original play of thought1 apart from    
what it may think1 can result in        
nothing better than isolated            
abstractions2 because thought1 apart    

from concrete objects of thought1 is    
itself nothing more than one  attribute 
of the complex vision1 groping about in 
a vacuum and  finding nothing4 ,we are1 
however1 bound by the conscience of     
reason1 and by what might be called     
reason's sense of honour to  articulate 
as clearly as we can all these movements
 of pure thought  working in the void2  
but we certainly are forbidden by the   
original  revelation of the complex     
vision to accept them as the starting   
point of our philosophical enquiry4 ,and
 we cannot accept them as  a starting   
point1 because the complex vision       
includes much more  than                
self-consciousness and reason4 ,it      
includes indeed so much  more than      
these1 that these1 when indulging in    
their isolated  conjuring-tricks1 seem  
like irrelevant and tiresome clowns who 
insist upon interrupting with their     
fantastic pedantry the great            
tragic-comedy wherein the soul of man   
wrestles with its fate4    ,as ,i have  

already indicated1 it is necessary in   
dealing with a matter  as dramatic and  
fatal as this whole question of ultimate
 reality1 to  risk the annoyance of     
repetition4 ,it is important to go over 
our  tracks again so that no crevice    
should be left in this perilous bridge  
hung across the gulf4 ,reason1 then1    
working in isolation1 provides  us with 
the recognition of an ultimate universal
 subject or1 in  metaphysical language1 
with an a priori unity of apperception4 
,simultaneously with this recognition1  
self-consciousness1 also  working in    
isolation1 provides us with the         
recognition of an  universal            
self-conscious monad or cosmic self     
which is not  only able but is compelled
 to think of itself as its own object4  
,both these recognitions imply a        
consciousness which is outside  time and
 space2 but while the first1 the outer  
edge of thought1 can  only be regarded  
as pure subject1 the second can be      
regarded as  nothing else than the whole

 universe contemplating itself as its   
own object4    ,in the third place the  
complex vision1 working with all its    
attributes together1 provides us with   
the recognition of a personal  or       
empirical self which is the real ,i am  
,i of our integral soul4  ,this personal
 self1 or actual living soul1 must be   
thought of as  possessing some          
substratum or vanishing point of        
sensation as  the implication of its    
permanence and continuous identity4     
,this  vanishing point of sensation1 or 
in other words this attenuated  form of 
matter or energy or movement1 must not  
be allowed  to disappear from our       
conception of the soul4 ,if it were     
allowed  to disappear1 one of the basic 
attributes of the soul's complex        
vision1 namely its attribute of         
sensation1 would be negated and         
suppressed4    ,directly we regarded the
 ,i am ,i within us as independent of   
such  a vanishing point of sensation and
 as being entirely free from  any1 even 

from the most attenuated form1 of what  
is usually called  matter1 then1 at that
 very moment1 the complex vision's      
revelation would be falsified4 ,then1 at
 that very moment1 the  integrity of the
 soul would dissolve away1 and we should
 be  reduced to a stream of sensations  
with nothing to give them  coherence and
 unity1 or to that figment of abstract  
self-consciousness1  thought-in-itself1 
apart from both the thing thinking  and 
the thing thought4 ,the soul1 therefore1
 must be conceived  if we are to be true
 to the original revelation of the      
complex  vision1 as having an           
indefinable something as its substratum 
or implication of identity4 ,and this   
something1 although  impossible to be   
analysed1 must be regarded as existing  
within that mysterious medium which is  
the uniting force of the  universe4 ,the
 soul must1 in fact1 be thought of as   
possessing some  sort of spiritual body 
which is the centre of its complex      
vision  and which1 therefore1 expresses 

itself in reason1 self-consciousness1   
will1 sensation1 instinct1 intuition1   
memory1 emotion1 conscience1  taste1 and
 imagination4 ,all this must necessarily
 imply that the  soul is within1 and not
 outside1 time and space4 ,it must      
further  imply that although the        
physical body1 which the soul uses at   
its  will1 is only one portion of the   
objective universe which confronts  it1 
this physical body is more immediately  
connected with the soul's  complex      
vision and more directly under the      
influence of it than  any other portion 
of the external universe4    ,the       
question then arises1 can it be said    
that this vanishing point of  sensation1
 this substratum composed of something  
which we  are only able to define as the
 limit where the ultimate attenuation   
of what we call matter or energy passes 
into unfathomableness1  this centre of  
the soul1 this spiritual body1 this     
invisible  pyramid base of the complex  
vision1 is also1 just as the physical   

body is1 a definite portion of that     
objective universe which we  apprehend  
through our senses8    ,the physical    
body is entirely and in all its aspects 
a portion of this  objective universe4  
,is the substratum of the soul a portion
 of it  also8 ,i think the answer to    
this question is that it is and also is 
not a portion of this universe4 ,this   
spiritual body1 this  vanishing point of
 sensation1 which is the principle of   
permanence and continuity and identity  
in the soul1 is obviously  the very     
centre and core of reality4 ,being this1
 it must necessarily  be a portion of   
that objective world whose reality1     
after the reality  of the soul itself1  
is the most vivid reality which we know4
    ,the complex vision demands and     
exacts the reality of the  objective    
world4 ,the whole drama of its life     
depends upon this4  ,without this the   
complex vision would not exist4 ,and    
just as the  complex vision could not   
exist without the reality of the        

objective  world1 so the objective world
 could not exist without the reality of 
the complex vision4 ,these two depend   
upon one another and  perpetually       
recreate one another4    ,any           
metaphysical system which denies the    
existence of the  objective world1 or   
uses the expression illusion with regard
 to it1  is a system based1 not upon the
 complex vision in its entirety1 but    
upon some isolated attribute of it4 ,the
 substratum of the soul1  then1 must be 
a portion of the objective world so as  
to give  validity1 so to speak1 and     
assurance that this objective world with
  its mysterious medium crowded with    
living bodies and inanimate  objects is 
not a mere illusion4 ,but the substratum
 of the soul  must be something else in 
addition to this4 ,being the essential  
meeting-point between what we call      
thought on the one hand1 and  what we   
call matter or energy on the other1 the 
substratum of  the soul must be a point 
of perpetual movement where the life of 

thought passes into the life of         
sensation4    ,the substratum of the    
soul must be regarded as the ultimate   
attenuation of matter on the one hand1  
and on the other as  perpetually passing
 into mind4 ,for since it is the        
centre-point of  life it must be        
composed of a stuff woven1 so to speak1 
out all the  threads of life4 ,that is  
to say it must be the very centre and   
vortex  of all the contradictions in the
 universe4    ,since the substratum or  
spiritual body of the soul is the most  
real thing in the universe it must1 in  
its own nature1 partake of  every kind  
of reality which exists in the universe4
 ,it must therefore  be1 quite          
definitely1 a portion of the objective  
world existing  within time and space4  
,but it must also be the ultimate unity 
of  the life of thought4 ,and since1 as 
we have seen1 it is within the  power of
 reason and self-consciousness to       
isolate themselves from  the other      
attributes of the soul and to project   

themselves outside of  space and time1  
it must be the perpetual fatality of the
  substratum of the soul to recall these
 wanderers back to the true  reality of 
things1 which does not lie outside of   
space and time but  within space and    
time1 and which must justify time and   
space as  something very different from 
illusion4    ,but because1 within time  
and space1 the universe is unfathomable1
  and because1 also within time and     
space1 personality is  unfathomable1 the
 substratum of the soul1 which is the   
point  where the known and the unknown  
meet1 must be unfathomable  also1 and   
hence must sink away beyond the limit of
 our thought  and beyond the limit of   
our sensation4    ,since it does this1  
since it sinks away beyond the limit of 
our  thought1 it must be regarded as    
something whose reality is partly  known
 and partly unknown4 ,thus it is true to
 say that the  substratum of the soul is
 and is not a portion of the  objective 
universe4 ,the substratum of the soul   

is1 in fact1 the  essential and ultimate
 reality1 where all that we know loses  
itself in  all that we do not know4     
,because we are compelled to admit that 
only one aspect of the substratum of the
 soul is a portion of the  objective    
universe as we know it1 this does not   
justify us in  asserting that the       
substratum of the soul is at once within
 space  and time and outside of space   
and time4    ,nothing is outside of     
space and time4 ,this conception of     
outside  is1 as we have seen1 an        
abstraction evoked by the isolated      
activity  of the logical reason4 ,the   
fact that only one aspect of the        
substratum of the soul--and even that   
one with the barest limit of            
definition--can be regarded as a portion
 of the objective universe  does not    
give the soul any advantage over the    
universe4 ,for the  universe1 like the  
soul1 has also its unfathomable depths4 
,that  indefinable medium1 for instance1
 which we are compelled to think  of as 

making it possible that various souls   
should touch one  another and           
communicate with one another1 is in     
precisely the  same position as regards 
any ultimate analysis as is the soul    
itself4  ,it also sinks away into       
unfathomableness4 ,it also becomes a    
portion of that part of reality which we
 do not know4    ,at this point in our  
enquiry it is not difficult to imagine  
some  materialistic objector asking the 
question how we can conceive  such a    
vaguely denned entity as the soul       
possessing such very  definite          
attributes as those which make up the   
complex vision4    ,is it not1 such an  
one might ask1 a fantastic and          
ridiculous  assumption to endow so      
obscure a thing as this soul with such  
very definite powers as reason1         
instinct1 will1 intuition1  imagination1
 and the rest8 ,surely1 such an one     
might protest1 it is  in the physical   
body that these find their unity8       
,surely1 if we must  have a             

meeting-place where thought and the     
objects of thought  lose themselves in  
one another1 such a meeting-place can be
  nothing else than the cells of the    
brain8    ,the answer to this objection 
seems to me quite a final one4 ,the     
physical body cannot supply us with the 
true meeting-place  between the life of 
thought and the life of sensation       
because the physical body does not in   
itself sink away into  unfathomablenesss
 as does the substratum of the soul4    
,the  physical body can only be regarded
 as unfathomable when  definitely       
included in the whole physical universe4
 ,but the  substratum of the soul is    
doubly unfathomable4 ,it is unfathomable
  as being the quintessence or          
vanishing-point of matter or  energy1   
and it is unfathomable as being the     
quintessence of that  personal self     
which confronts not only the objective  
universe but  the physical body also as 
part of that universe4 ,it is           
undoubtedly  true that this real self   

which is the centre of its own universe 
is  bound to contemplate itself as      
occupying a definite point in space  and
 time4    ,this is one of its eternal   
contradictions2 that it should be at the
  same time the creator of its universe 
and an unfathomable portion  of the very
 universe it creates4 ,the answer which 
the philosophy  of the complex vision   
makes to the materialistic questioner   
who  points to the little cells of the  
brain may be briefly be put thus4       
,the soul functions through the physical
 body and through the cells  of the     
brain4 ,the soul is so closely and so   
intimately associated  with the physical
 body that it is more than possible that
 the death  of the physical body implies
 the annihilation of the soul4 ,but when
  it comes to the question as to where  
we are to look for the essential  self  
in us which is able to say ,i am ,i it  
is found to be much more  fantastic and 
ridiculous to look for it in the little 
cells of the  brain than in some obscure

 something1 or vanishing point of       
sensation1 where mind and matter are    
fused together4 ,that this  something   
which is able to say ,i am ,i should    
possess instinct1  reason1 will1        
intuition1 conscience and the rest1 may 
be hard to  imagine4 ,but that the      
little cells of the brain should possess
 these  is not only hard to imagine--it 
is unimaginable4 ,the mysterious        
relation which exists between our soul  
and our body lends itself to  endless   
speculation2 and much of this           
speculation tends to become  far more   
fantastic and ridiculous than any       
analysis of the attributes  of the soul4
 ,experiment and experience alone can   
teach us how far  the body is actually  
malleable by the soul and amenable to   
the  soul's purpose4    ,the arbitrary  
symbol which ,i have made use of to     
indicate the  nature of the soul's      
essential reality1 the image of a       
pyramidal  wedge of flames1 is certainly
 felt to be but a thin and rigid fancy  

when we consider how in the actual play 
of life the soul expresses  itself      
through the body4    ,as ,i have already
 indicated1 the original revelation of  
the complex  vision accepts without     
scruple the whole spectacle of natural  
life4  ,the philosophy of the complex   
vision insists that no rationalistic    
necessity of pure logic gives it the    
right to reject this natural  objective 
spectacle4 ,the philosophy of the       
complex vision insists  that this       
obvious1 solid1 external1 so-called     
materialistic spectacle  of common life1
 be accepted1 included and continually  
returned to4  ,it insists that the word 
illusion be no more used about this     
spectacle4 ,it insists that this vast   
unfathomable universe of time  and space
 be recognized as an ultimate reality1  
and that all these  projected images of 
the pure reason1 all these circles1     
cubes1  squares and straight lines1 all 
these unities of apperception1          
universal monads and the like1 be       

recognized as by-products of  the       
abstracting energy of human logic and as
 entirely without  reality when compared
 with this objective spectacle4 ,my own 
symbolic or pictorial image of the      
activity of the complex vision1  this   
pyramidal wedge or arrow-head of        
concentrated and focussed  flames1 must 
be recognized as no more adequate or    
satisfactory  than any of these4    ,the
 complex vision1 with its rhythmic      
apex-thought1 is not really a  pyramid  
or a wedge of flame any more than it is 
a circle or a  cube or a square or an a 
priori synthetic unity of apperception  
or  an universal self-conscious monad4  
,it is the vision of a living           
personality1 surrounded by an           
unfathomable universe4    ,to keep our  
thoughts firmly and harmoniously fixed  
on the real  objective spectacle of life
 and on the real subjective soul1 or    
personality1 contemplating this         
spectacle1 it is advisable to revert  to
 the magical and mysterious associations

 called up by the  classical word       
,nature4 ,the mere utterance of the word
 ,nature  serves to bring us back to the
 things which are essential and         
organic1 and to put into their proper   
place of comparative unreality  all     
these unities and circles1 all these    
pyramids and monads4  ,when we think of 
the astounding beauty and intricacy of  
the  actual human body2 when we think of
 the astounding beauty and  intricacy of
 the actual living soul which animates  
this body1 and  when we think of the    
magical universe which surrounds them   
both1 we are compelled to recognize that
 in the last resort ,nature  herself is 
the great mystery4 ,the word ,nature    
conveys a more  living and less         
metaphysical connotation than the word  
universe1  and may be regarded as       
implying more of that in-determined     
future of all living souls1 which is    
still in the process of creation4       
,the universe is a static conception4   
,nature is a dynamic  conception4 ,when 

we speak of ,nature we think of the     
whole  struggle towards a fuller life of
 all the living entities which the      
indefinable medium of the universe      
contains4 ,nature from this  point of   
view becomes the whole unfathomable     
spectacle1 seen as  something living and
 growing and changing4    ,the invisible
 companions of men who supply the       
pattern and  standard of all human      
ideas1 become in this way the immortal  
children of ,nature4 ,the creative      
energy of the complex vision is  itself 
an integral portion of the creative     
energy of ,nature2 for  ,nature is no   
more than the beautiful and classical   
word which  recalls us to the objective 
spectacle which is the ultimate         
revelation of the complex vision4       
,nature is the supreme artist2 but  the 
apex-point of her artistry is nothing   
less than the apex-point of  the        
artistry of the immortal gods4    ,the  
artistry of the human soul1 when its    
rhythm is most  harmonious and complete1

 implies the magical artistry of        
,nature1  for ,nature is nothing more   
than the whole objective spectacle      
finding its myriad creative centres of  
new life in all living souls4  ,the     
value of the word ,nature1 the value of 
the conception of  ,nature1 is that it  
reminds us that1 held together by the   
indefinable  medium which fills the     
universe1 there are innumerable entities
  both subhuman and super-human1 all of 
whom1 in their various  degrees1 possess
 living souls4    ,nature's supreme art 
is nothing more than the natural        
impulses of  all these1 as they are thus
 held together1 and to return to ,nature
 is  nothing more than to return to the 
objective spectacle of real life1  and  
to the objective ideal of real life as  
it is embodied in the  invisible        
companions4    ,these invisible         
companions just because they are the    
most  natural of all living             
personalities1 are the supreme          
manifestation  of the secret of ,nature4

 ,it is because the objective spectacle 
of life1  the spectacle which includes  
the stars1 the planets1 plants1 trees1  
grass1 moss1 lichen1 earth1 birds1 fish1
 animals1 is a spectacle  continually   
shifting and changing under the pressure
 of  innumerable conscious and          
sub-conscious souls1 that we find       
ourselves turning to these invisible    
companions whose supreme  naturalness is
 the test and pattern of all ,nature4   
,and it is because our physical bodies  
in their magical mysteriousness  are so 
much more real than any rationalistic   
symbols1 such as  circles1 cubes1       
squares1 wedges1 pyramids1 and the like1
 that  when we seek to visualize the    
actual appearance of these  invisible   
companions1 it seems much more          
appropriate to  image their souls as    
clothed1 like the souls of plants1      
trees1 grass1  planets1 animals and men1
 in some tangibleness of physical form1 
than in nothing but the insubstantial   
stuff of air or wind or vapour1  or     

spirit4    ,but since all that we call  
,nature continually changes1 passes     
away in dissolution and is reborn again 
in other forms2 and since  no physical  
body is exempted from death1 it is      
apparent that if the  immortals         
possessed physical bodies such as our   
own1 they also  would be subject to this
 law along with the rest of the         
universe4  ,but the generations of      
mankind come and go and the invisible   
companions of men remain2 therefore the 
invisible companions  cannot be         
supposed1 except pictorially and in a   
symbolic sense1 to  be subject to the   
laws which govern our mortal bodies4    
,it is this freedom from the laws which 
govern the physical body  and from all  
the intimate and intricate relations    
which exist  between our human soul and 
our human body1 which makes it  possible
 for these companions of men to remain  
in perpetual  contact with every living 
soul born into the world4 ,the          
difficulty  we experience in realizing  

the nearness to our individual souls of 
these invisible companions1 is due to a 
false and exaggerated  emphasis laid    
upon the material spectacle of nature4  
,this spectacle of the objective        
universe is undoubtedly one of the      
ultimate realities revealed to us by the
 complex vision2 but it is  only one of 
these ultimate realities4 ,the complex  
vision is itself  another one of these2 
and the real existence of the soul is   
implied  in the activity of the complex 
vision4 ,the reality of the external    
universe1 the reality of ,nature1 is so 
closely associated with the  activity of
 the soul that it is impossible to think
 of the one apart  from the other4      
,the soul's attribute of sensation is   
alone responsible for the greater       
portion of this objective spectacle2 for
 apprehended through any  other senses  
than the ones we possess the whole      
universe would be  transformed4 ,it is  
only when the soul's essential part in  
the creation  of ,nature is fully       

realized that we see how false and      
exaggerated  an emphasis we are placing 
upon this externality when we  permit it
 to hinder our recognition of the       
nearness of the immortal  gods4    ,the 
laws which govern the physical body and 
the thousand ills  that flesh is heir to
 obstruct1 confuse1 conceal1 and distort
 the soul  and hold the gods at a       
distance4 ,but although the brain and   
the  senses may be tortured1 atrophied1 
perverted2 and although the soul  may be
 driven back into its unfathomable      
depths and held there as  if in prison2 
and although madness intervene between  
the soul's  vision and the world1 and   
sleep may fling it into oblivion1 and   
death may destroy it utterly2 tortured  
or perverted or atrophied or            
semi-conscious or unconscious1 while the
 soul lives1 the  invisible companions  
of men remain nearer to it than any     
outward accident1 chance1 circumstance1 
fatality or destiny1 and  are still the 
arbiters of its hope4    ,retracing once

 more our steps over this perilous      
bridge of ultimate  thought1 we may thus
 indicate the situation4 ,our           
starting-point  cannot be the a priori  
synthetic unity of apperception1 because
  this is an abstraction of the pure    
reason1 and if accepted as a real  fact 
would contradict and negate all the     
other attributes of the soul4    ,our   
starting-point cannot be the universal  
monad of  self-consciousness1 because   
this is an abstraction of the ,i am ,i  
and  if accepted as a real fact would   
negate and suppress every attribute  of 
the soul except the attributes of       
self-consciousness and emotion4    ,our 
starting-point cannot be the objective  
world1 considered in its  evolutionary  
externality1 because this external world
 depends for  its very existence upon   
the attributes of the soul1 especially  
upon  the attribute of sensation4       
,our starting-point can therefore be    
nothing less than the complex  vision1  
which on the one hand implies the       

reality of the soul and  on the other   
the reality of the external world1 and  
which itself is  the vision of a real   
concrete personality4 ,the individual is
 thus  disclosed as something more than 
the universal1 the microcosm as         
something more than the macrocosm1 and  
any living personality as  something    
more than any conceivable absolute      
being4    ,by an original act of faith1 
towards which we are helped by the      
soul's attribute of imagination1 we are 
compelled to conceive of  every other   
soul in the world as being the centre of
 a universe  more or less identical in  
character with the universe of which our
  own soul is the centre4 ,these        
separate universes we have to  conceive 
as being subjective impressions of the  
same objective  reality1 the beauty1    
truth1 and goodness of which are        
guaranteed for  us by those invisible   
companions of men in whose eternal      
vision  they find their synthesis4      
,the tragedy of our life consists in the

 fact that it is only in rare  exalted  
moments1 when the rhythmic harmony of   
the complex  vision is most intense and 
yet most calm1 that the individual soul 
feels the presence of those supreme     
companions whose real and  personal     
existence ,i have attempted to indicate4
 ,these ideal and  yet most real        
companions of humanity make their       
presence felt by  the soul in just the  
same immediate1 direct and equivocal way
 in  which we feel the influence of a   
friend or lover whose spirit1 in his    
bodily absence1 is concentrated upon our
 spirit1 even as ours is  upon his4     
,to the larger vision of these invisible
 companions we find  ourselves          
consciously and sub-consciously turning 
whenever the  burden of our flesh       
oppresses us more than we can bear4 ,we 
are  compelled to turn to them by reason
 of the profound instinct in us  which  
recognizes that our ideas of truth1 of  
beauty1 and goodness  are not mere      
subjective fancies but are actual       

objective realities4  ,these ideas do   
not spring from these companions or find
 their  origin and cause in them1 any   
more than they spring from some         
imaginary parent of the universe and    
find their origin and cause  in         
something behind life4 ,they do not     
spring from anything at  all2 but are   
the very stuff and texture of our own   
unfathomable  souls1 just as they are   
the very stuff and texture of the       
unfathomable souls of the immortal gods4
 ,what we are conscious  of1 when our   
complex vision gathers itself together1 
is the fact that  the inevitable element
 of subjectivity in our individual      
feeling  about these things is          
transcended and supplemented by an      
invisible  pattern or standard or ideal 
in which these things are reconciled    
and fused together at a higher pitch of 
harmony than we individually1  or even  
in contact with one another1 are capable
 of attaining4    ,the vision of these  
invisible companions--absolute enough in

  relation to our own tragic            
relativity--is itself relative to its   
own  hope1 its own dream1 its own       
prophecy1 its own premonition4 ,the     
real evolution of the world1 the real   
movement of life1 takes  therefore a    
double form4 ,it takes the form of an   
individual return  to the fulness of    
ideas which have always been implicit   
and latent  in our individual souls4    
,and it takes the form of a co-operative
  advance towards the fulness of ideas  
which are foreshadowed  and prophesied  
in the vision of these immortals'       
companions4 ,thus  for us1 as well as   
for them1 the eternal movement is at    
once an  advance and a return4 ,thus for
 us1 as well as for them1 the eternal   
inspiration is at once a hope and a     
reminiscence4    ,it will be seen from  
what ,i have said that this philosophy  
of the  complex vision finds a place for
 all the nobler and more desperate      
struggles of the human race towards a   
solution of the mystery of  life4 ,it   

accepts fully the fact that the human   
reason playing isolated  games with     
itself1 is driven by its own nature to  
reduce all objects  of all thought to   
the circle of one synthetic unity which 
is the  implied a priori background of  
all actual vision4 ,it accepts fully    
the fact that human self-consciousness1 
playing isolated games  with itself1 is 
driven by the necessity of its own      
nature to reduce all  separate selves to
 one all embracing world self which is  
the  universe conscious of itself as the
 universe4    ,it accepts fully the fact
 that we have to regard the apparent    
objectivity of the external universe1   
with its historic process1 as an        
essential and unalterable aspect of     
reality1 so grounded in truth that  to  
call it an illusion is a misuse of      
language4 ,but although it  accepts both
 the extreme materialistic view and the 
extreme  idealistic view as inevitable  
revelations of reality1 it does not     
regard either of them as the true       

starting-point of enquiry1 because  it  
regards both these extremes as the      
result of the isolated play of  one or  
the other of the complex vision's       
attributes4    ,the philosophy of the   
complex vision refuses to accept as its 
starting-point any synthetic unity other
 than the synthetic unity  of           
personality2 because any other than this
 it is compelled to  regard as          
abstracted from this by the isolated    
play of some  particular attribute of   
the mind4 ,the philosophy of the complex
  vision refuses to accept as its       
starting-point any attenuated           
materialistic hypothesis1 such as may be
 indicated by the arbitrary  words life 
or movement or ether or force or energy 
or  atoms or molecules or electrons or  
vortices or evolutionary  progress1     
because it recognizes that all these    
hypothetical  origins of life are only  
projected and abstracted aspects  of the
 central reality of life1 which is1 and 
always must be1  personality4    ,but   

what is the relation of the philosophy  
of the complex vision to  that modern   
tendency of thought which calls itself  
pragmatism  and which also finds in     
personality its starting-point and      
centre8  ,the philosophy of the complex 
vision seems to detect in the  pragmatic
 attitude something which is profoundly 
unpleasing to its  taste4 ,its own view 
of the art of life is that it is before 
everything  else a matter of rhythm and 
harmony and it cannot help discerning   
in pragmatism something piece-meal1     
pell-mell and hand-to-mouth4  ,it seems 
conscious of a certain outrage to its   
aesthetic  sense in the method and the  
attitude of this philosophy4 ,the       
pragmatic attitude1 though it would be  
unfair to call it superficial1  does not
 appeal to the philosophy of the complex
 vision as being  one of the supreme1   
desperate struggles of the human race to
  overcome the resistance of the        
,sphinx4 ,the philosophy of the  complex
 vision implies the difficult attainment

 of an elaborate  harmony4 ,it regards  
philosophy as the most difficult of all 
works of art4 ,what it seems to be      
suspicious of in pragmatism is  a       
tendency to seek mediocrity rather than 
beauty1 and a certain  humorous         
opportunism rather than the quiet of an 
eternal vision4 ,it  seems to look in   
vain in ,pragmatism for that element of 
the  impossible1 for that strain of     
,quixotic faith1 in which no high  work 
of art is found to be lacking4 ,it seems
 unable to discover in  the pragmatic   
attitude that note of tragedy which the 
fatality of  human life demands4    ,it 
certainly shares with the pragmatic     
philosophy a tendency to lay  more      
stress upon the freedom of the will than
 is usual among  philosophies4 ,but the 
will of the complex vision moves in     
closer  association with the aesthetic  
sense than does the will of  pragmatism4
 ,it is perhaps as a matter of taste    
that pragmatism  proves most            
unsatisfactory to it4 ,it seems to be   

conscious of  something in pragmatism1  
which1 though itself perhaps not        
precisely commercial1 seems curiously   
well adapted to a  commercial age4 ,it  
is aware1 in fine1 that certain high and
  passionate intimations are roused to  
unmitigated hostility by the  whole     
pragmatic attitude4 ,and it refuses to  
outrage these  intimations for the sake 
of any psychological contentment4    ,in
 regard to the particular kind of truth 
championed by  pragmatists1 the truth   
namely which gives one on the whole the 
greatest amount of practical efficiency1
 the philosophy of the  complex vision  
remains unconvinced4 ,the pragmatic     
philosophy  judges the value of any     
truth by its effective application to   
ordinary moments4 ,the philosophy of the
 complex vision judges  the value of any
 truth by its relation to that rare and 
difficult  harmony which can be obtained
 only in extraordinary moments4  ,to the
 pragmatic philosopher a shrewd1        
efficient and healthy-minded  person1   

with a good working religion1 would seem
 the lucky  one1 while to the philosophy
 of the complex vision some  desperate1 
unhappy suicidal wastrel1 who by the    
grace of the  immortals was allowed some
 high unutterable moment1 might         
approach much more closely to the vision
 of those sons of the  universe who are 
the pattern of us all4    ,this         
comparison of the method we are         
endeavouring to follow  with the method 
of pragmatism helps to throw a clear    
light upon  what the complex vision     
reveals about these ultimate ideas in   
the  flow of an indiscriminate mass of  
mental impression4    ,to the passing   
fashion of modern thought there is      
something stiff1  scholastic1 archaic1  
rigid1 and even ,byzantine1 about the   
words  truth1 beauty1 goodness1 thus    
pedestalled side by side4 ,but  just as 
with the old-fashioned word matter and  
the old-fashioned  word soul1 we must   
not be misled by a mere superstition of 
novelty in these things4    ,modern     

psychology has not been able1 and never 
can be able1 to  escape from the        
universal human experiences which these 
old-fashioned words cover2 and as long  
as the experiences are  recognized as   
real1 it surely does not make much      
difference what  names we give to them4 
,it seems1 indeed1 in a point so human  
and dramatic as this1 far better to use 
words that have already  acquired a     
clear traditional and natural           
connotation than to invent  new words   
according to one's own arbitrary fancy4 
,it would not be  difficult to invent   
such words4 ,in place of truth one could
 say  the objective reality of things   
rhythmically apprehended by the  complex
 vision4 ,instead of beauty one could   
say the world seen  under the light of a
 peculiar creative power in the soul    
which  reveals a secret aspect of things
 otherwise concealed from us4  ,instead 
of goodness one could say the power of  
the conscious  and living will1 when    
directed towards love4 ,and in place of 

love itself one could say the projection
 of the essence of the  soul upon the   
objective plane2 when such an essence is
 directed  towards life4    ,but it     
would be futile to continue this        
fancy-work1 of definition  by an        
individual temperament4 ,the general    
traditional meaning of  these words is  
clear and unmistakable2 though there may
 be  infinite minute shades of          
difference between one person's         
interpretation of such a meaning and    
another's4 ,what it all really  amounts 
to is this4 ,no philosophic or          
scientific interpretation of  life1     
which does not include the verdict of   
life's own most  concentrated moments1  
can possibly be adequate4    ,human     
nature can perfectly well philosophize  
about its normal  stream of impressions 
in cold blood1 so to speak1 and         
according  to a method that discounts   
all emotional vision4 ,but the resultant
  conclusions of such philosophizing1   
with their easy-going  assumption that  

what we call beauty and goodness have no
  connection with what we call truth1   
are conclusions so  unsatisfying to more
 than half of our being that they carry 
their  refutation on the face of them4  
,to be an interpretation of life a      
philosophical theory cannot  afford to  
disregard the whole turbulent desperate 
dramatic content  of emotional          
experience4 ,it cannot disregard the    
fact1 for instance1  that certain       
moments of our lives bring to us certain
 reconciliations  and revelations that  
change the whole perspective of our     
days4 ,to  interpret life from the      
material offered by the uninspired      
unconcentrated unrhythmical average     
moods of the soul is like  trying to    
interpret the play of ,hamlet from a    
version out of  which every one of      
,hamlet's own speeches have been        
carefully  removed4 ,or1 to take a      
different metaphor1 such                
pseudo-psychological  philosophy is like
 an attempt to analyse the nature of    

fire  by a summary of the various sorts 
of fuel which have been  flung into the 
flame4    ,the act of faith by which    
these ultimate ideas are reduced to the 
vision of living personalities is a     
legitimate matter for critical          
scepticism4 ,but that there are such    
ultimate ideas and that life  cannot be 
interpreted without considering them is 
not a matter for  any sort of           
scepticism4 ,it is a basic assumption1  
without which  there could be no        
adequate philosophy at all4 ,it is the  
only  intelligible assumption which     
covers the undeniable human  experience 
which gathers itself together in these  
traditional words4      ,,chapter ,,vii4
    ,,the ,,nature ,,of ,,art    ,the   
only adequate clue to the historic      
mystery of that thing which  the human  
race has come to call beauty1 and that  
other thing--the  re-creation of this   
through individual human minds--which we
  have come to call art--is found1 if   
the complex vision is to be  trusted at 

all1 in the contact of the emotion of   
love with the  objective mystery1 and   
its consequent dispersion1 as the other 
aspects of the soul are brought to bear 
upon it1 into the three  primordial     
ideas of goodness1 beauty1 and truth4   
,the reason why this one particular     
aspect of the soul which we  call       
emotion is found to be the synthesis of 
what is discovered by  all the other    
aspects of the soul functioning together
 is that the  nature of emotion differs 
radically from reason1 conscience1 will1
  imagination1 taste1 and the rest1 in  
that it is not only a clarifying1       
directing and discriminating activity   
but is also--as none of these  others   
are--an actual mood1 or temper1 or state
 of the soul1  possessing certain       
definite vibrations of energy and a     
certain sort  of psychic fluidity or    
outflowing which seems perpetually to   
spring up from an unfathomable depth4   
,this synthetic role played by emotion  
in unifying the other  activities of the

 complex vision and preparing the       
psychic material  for the final activity
 of the apex-thought may perhaps be     
understood better if we think of emotion
 as being an actual  outflowing of the  
soul itself1 springing up from          
unfathomable  depths4 ,thinking of it in
 this way we may conceive the actual    
size  or volume of the soul monad to be 
increased by this centrifugal           
expansion4    ,by such an increase of   
the soul's volume we do not mean an     
actual  increase2 because the depths of 
all souls are equally unfathomable  when
 their recession inwards is considered4 
,by such an increase  we refer to the   
forth-flowing of the soul as it         
manifests itself  through the physical  
body4 ,thus our theory brings us back1  
as all  theories must if they are       
consonant with experience1 to the       
traditional language of the human race4 
,for in ordinary language  there is     
nothing strange about the expression a  
great soul4 ,such  an expression simply 

refers to the volume of the soul's      
outflowing  through the body4 ,and this 
outflowing is the fulness1 more or less1
  of the soul's well-spring of emotion4 
,a great soul is thus a soul whereof the
 outflowing emotion--on  both sides of  
its inherent duality--is larger in      
volume as it  manifests itself through  
the body than in normal cases2 and a    
small soul is a soul whose volume of    
outflowing emotion is less  than in     
normal cases4    ,it must be remembered1
 however1 when we speak of the          
outflowing  emotion of the soul that we 
do not mean that there pours through    
the soul from some exterior source a    
stream of emotion distinct  from the    
integral being of the soul itself4 ,what
 we mean is that  the soul itself finds 
itself divided against itself in an     
eternal  contradiction which may be     
compared to the positive and negative   
pole of electricity4    ,this outflowing
 of emotion is not1 therefore1 the      
outflowing of  something which emerges  

from the soul but is the outflowing1 or 
the expansion and dilation through the  
body1 or the soul itself4  ,what we are 
now indicating1 as to the less or       
greater degree of  volume in the soul's 
manifestation through the body1 is borne
  witness to in the curious fact that   
the bodies of persons under  strong     
emotion--whether it be the emotion of   
love or the emotion  of malice--do      
actually seem to dilate in bulk and     
stature4    ,all that we have been      
saying has a clear bearing upon the     
problem  of the relation between the    
emotional aspect of the soul and the    
other aspects4 ,the emotion of the soul 
is the outflowing of the soul  itself1  
on one side or other of its inherent    
duality2 while the other  aspects of the
 soul--such as will1 taste1 imagination1
 reason1 and so  forth--are the         
directing1 selecting1 clarifying1       
interpreting  activities of the soul as 
it flings itself upon the objective     
mystery4  ,thus1 while it is by means of

 that activity of the soul which we call
  conscience that we distinguish between
 good and evil2 and by  means of that   
activity called the aesthetic sense that
 we distinguish  between beauty and     
hideousness2 and by means of that       
activity  called reason that we         
distinguish between reality and         
unreality2 it  is all the while from its
 own emotional outflowing that the soul 
directed and guided by these critical   
energies1 creates the universe  which   
becomes its own1 and then discovers that
 the universe  which it has created is  
also the universe of the immortals4     
,it is because this emotional duality of
 love and malice is the  inherent       
psychic stuff of all living souls       
whether mortal or  immortal that the    
soul of man comes at last to comprehend 
that  those primordial ideas of         
goodness1 beauty and truth1 out of which
  the universe is half-created and      
half-discovered1 draw1 so to speak  the 
sanction of their objective reality from

 the eternal vision of the  immortals4  
,the distinction we have thus insisted  
upon between the nature of  emotion and 
the nature of the other aspects of the  
soul makes it  now clear how it is that 
we are compelled to regard these three  
primordial ideas of beauty1 truth and   
goodness as finding their  unity and    
their original identity in the emotion  
of love4    ,it has been necessary to   
consider these ultimate movements of the
  soul in order that we may be in a     
position to understand the  general     
nature of this mysterious thing we call 
art1 and be able to  track its          
river-bed1 so to speak1 up to the       
original source4 ,from a  consideration 
of the fact that the outflowing of the  
soul takes the  form of emotion1 and    
that this emotion is at perpetual war   
within  itself and is for ever          
contradicting itself1 we arrive at our  
first  axiomatic principle with regard  
to art1 namely that art is1 and must    
always be1 penetrated through and       

through by the spirit of  contradiction4
 ,whatever else art may become1 then1   
one thing we  can predicate for certain 
with regard to it1 namely that it       
springs  from an eternal conflict       
between two irreconcilable opposites4   
,we are1 further than this1 able to     
define the nature of these  opposites as
 the everlasting conflict between       
creation and what  resists creation1 or 
between love and malice4 ,it is just    
here1 in  regard to the character of    
these opposites1 that the philosophy of 
the complex vision differs from the     
,bergsonian philosophy of the  lan      
vital4    ,according to ,bergson's      
monistic system the only genuine reality
 is  the flux of spirit ,the spirit of  
some primordial self-expansion  projects
 what we call matter as its secondary   
manifestation and  then is condemned to 
an unending and exhausting struggle with
  what it has projected4    ,spirit1    
therefore1 is pure energy and movement  
and matter is pure  heaviness and       

resistance4 ,out of the necessity of    
this conflict  emerge all those rigid   
logical concepts and mathematical       
formulae1 of which space and time1 in   
the ordinary sense of those  words1 are 
the ultimate generalization4    ,our    
criticism of this theory is that both   
these things--this spirit  and this     
spirit-evoked matter--are themselves    
meaningless  concepts1 concepts which1  
in spite of ,bergson's contempt for     
ordinary metaphysic1 are in reality     
entirely metaphysical1 being in  fact1  
like the old-fashioned entities whose   
place they occupy1  nothing but empty   
bodiless generalizations abstracted from
 the  concrete living reality of the    
soul4 ,but quite apart from our         
criticism of the ,bergsonian spirit and 
matter on the ground of  their being    
unreal conceptions illegitimately       
abstracted from real  personality we are
 compelled to note a second vivid       
difference  between our point of view   
and his in regard to this matter of     

opposites and their contradiction4      
,bergson's monism1 as we have  seen1    
resolves itself into a duality which may
 be defined as  conscious activity      
confronted by unconscious inertness4    
,our duality1 on the contrary1 which has
 behind it1 not monism1 but  pluralism1 
may be denned as conscious creation1 or 
conscious love1  confronted by conscious
 resistance to creation1 or conscious   
inert  malice4 ,thus while ,bergson     
finds his ultimate axiomatic data in    
philosophical abstractions1 we find our 
ultimate axiomatic data  in the         
realities of human experiences4 ,bergson
 seeks to interpret  human life in terms
 of the universe4 ,we seek to interpret 
the  universe in terms of human life4   
,and we contend that we are  justified  
in doing this since what we call the    
universe1 as soon as  it is submitted to
 analysis1 turns out to be nothing but  
an act of  faith according to which an  
immense plurality of separate personal  
universes find a single universe of     

inspiration and hope in the  vision of  
the immortal gods4    ,the ultimate     
duality revealed by the complex vision  
is a  duality on both sides of which we 
have unfathomable abysses of            
consciousness4 ,on the one side this    
consciousness is eternally  creative4   
,on the other side this consciousness is
 eternally  malicious1 in its deliberate
 inert resistance to creation4 ,it is   
natural enough1 therefore1 that while   
,bergson's creative evolution  resolves 
itself into a series of                 
forward-movements which are as  easy and
 organic as the growth of leaves on a   
tree1 our advance  toward the real      
future which is also a return to the    
ideal past1  resolves itself in a series
 of supremely difficult rhythms1 wherein
  eternally conscious good overcomes    
eternally conscious evil4    ,our       
philosophy1 therefore1 may1 in the      
strictest sense1 be called  a human     
philosophy in contra-distinction to a   
cosmic  philosophy2 or1 if you please1  

it may be called a dramatic  philosophy 
in contra-distinction to a lyric        
philosophy4 ,from all  this it will be  
clearly seen that it would be impossible
 for us to  hypostasize a super-moral or
 sub-moral universe in complete         
disregard of the primordial conscience  
of the human soul4 ,it will  be equally 
clearly seen that it would be impossible
 for us to project  a theoretical       
universe made up of cosmic streams of   
tendency1  whether spiritual or         
material1 in complete disregard of the  
soul's primordial aesthetic sense4      
,the logical scrupulosity and           
rationalistic passion which drive a     
cosmic philosopher forward1 in his      
attempt to construct a universe  in     
disregard of the human conscience and   
the human aesthetic  sense1 are         
themselves evidence that while he has   
suppressed in  himself the first two of 
the three primordial ideas of which we  
speak1 he has become an all-or-nothing  
slave of the last of these  three       

ideas--namely1 the idea of truth4 ,he   
has sacrificed his  conscience and his  
taste to this isolated and abstracted   
truth1 the  quest of pure reason alone1 
and1 as a result of this fanaticism1 the
  real true truth1 that is to say the   
complete rhythmic vision of the         
totality of man's nature1 has been      
suppressed and destroyed4    ,it must be
 fully admitted at this point that the  
fanaticism of the  so-called pure saint 
and the so-called pure artist who       
suppress1  the one for the sake of      
goodness and the other for the sake of  
beauty1 the third great primordial idea 
which we have called  truth1 is a       
fanaticism just as one sided and just as
 destructive of  the complete harmonious
 vision as those other kinds4    ,that  
this is the case can easily be proved by
 recalling how thin1  how strained1 how 
morbid1 how ungracious1 how inhuman1    
those  so-called saints and artists     
become1 when1 in their neglect of       
reason and truth1 they persist in       

following their capricious1  subjective1
 fantastic1 individual dreams1 out of   
all concrete relation  to the actual    
world we live in4    ,we arrive1        
therefore1 at a point from which we are 
able to detect  the true inner spirit of
 the nature of art2 and what we discover
 may  thus be stated4 ,art is the       
expression1 through the medium of an    
individual temperament1 of a beauty     
which is one of the primordial  aspects 
of this pluralistic world4 ,the eternal 
duality of things  implies that this    
beauty is always manifested as something
 in  perpetual conflict with its        
opposite1 namely with that antagonistic 
aspect of the universe which we name the
 hideous or the ugly4    ,this duality  
exists as the eternal condition of each 
one of the three  primordial ideas out  
of which the universe is evoked4 ,each  
of  these three ideas is only known to  
us as the result of a relative  victory 
over its opposite4 ,beauty is known to  
us as a relative  victory over          

hideousness4 ,goodness is known to us as
 a relative  victory over evil4 ,truth  
is known to us as a relative victory    
over  the false and the unreal4 ,the    
fact that each of these ideas can only  
be known in a condition of conflict with
 its opposite and in a  condition of    
relative victory over its opposite is   
due to the fact that  all three of them 
are in their own nature only clarifying1
 selecting1  and value-giving           
activities2 whereas the actual material 
upon  which they have to work1 as well  
as the energy from which they  derive   
their motive-power1 is nothing else but 
that mysterious  outflowing of the soul 
itself which we call emotion4    ,for   
since emotion is eternally divided      
against itself into love and  malice1   
the three primordial ideas which deal   
this emotion are also  eternally divided
 against themselves1 into beauty and    
hideousness1  into goodness and evil1   
into reality and unreality4 ,and since  
the  very existence of emotion depends  

upon the struggle between love  and     
malice1 in the same way the very        
existence of our aesthetic  sense       
depends upon the struggle between beauty
 and hideousness2  and the very         
existence of reason depends upon the    
struggle  between reality and unreality4
 ,the only love we can possibly have  to
 deal with is a love which is for ever  
overcoming malice4 ,the  only beauty we 
can possibly have to deal with is a     
beauty which is  for ever overcoming    
hideousness4    ,and the same assertion 
must be made both with regard to        
goodness and with regard to truth4 ,if  
any one of them absolutely  overcame the
 other1 so as completely to destroy it1 
the ebb and  flow of life would at that 
moment cease4    ,a world where all     
minds could apprehend all truth without 
any  illusion or admixture of unreality1
 would not be a world at all1 as  we    
know the world4 ,it would be the        
colourless dream of an  immobile        
plurality of absolutes4 ,as far as we   

are concerned it  would be synonymous   
with death4 ,thus the ultimate nature of
 the  world is found to be unfathomably 
dualistic4 ,a sharp dividing line  of   
irreconcilable duality intersects every 
living soul2 and the secret  of life    
turns out to be the relatively          
victorious struggle of  personality with
 the thing that in itself resists its   
fuller life4    ,this verdict of the    
complex vision is in unison with the    
natural  feeling of ordinary humanity   
and it is also in unison with the       
supreme illuminated moments when we seem
 to apprehend the  vision of the gods4  
,when once we have apprehended the      
inherent  nature of beauty1 we are in a 
position to understand what the spirit  
of art must be1 whose business it is to 
re-create this beauty in terms  of      
personality4 ,the idea of beauty itself 
is profoundly personal  even before art 
touches it1 since it is one of the three
 primordial  ideas with which every     
conscious soul sets forth4    ,but it is

 not only personal4 ,it is also         
objective and impersonal4 ,for  it is   
not only the reaction of a particular   
soul to its own universe2  it is also   
felt1 in the rare moments when the      
apex-thought of the  complex vision is  
creating its world rhythm1 to be nothing
 less  than the vision of the immortals4
    ,art1 therefore1 which is the       
representation in terms of some         
particular personal temperament1 of that
 sense of beauty which is  the          
inheritance of all souls born into the  
world1 must be profoundly  penetrated by
 the victorious struggle of the emotion 
of love with  the emotion of malice4    
,for although the human sense of the    
beauty  of the world1 which may be      
called the objective sense of the       
beauty of the world1 since the vision of
 the immortals lies behind  it1 is the  
thing which art expresses1 it must be   
remembered that this  sense is not an   
actual substance or concrete entity1 but
 is only a  principle of selection or a 

process of mental reaction1 in regard to
  life4    ,the thing which may be      
called an actual substance is that      
outflowing  of the soul itself in       
centrifugal waves of positive and       
negative vibration which we have chosen 
to name by the name  emotion4 ,this may 
indeed be called an actual concrete     
extension  of the psychic-stuff of the  
substantial soul4 ,none of the three    
primordial ideas resemble it in this4   
,they are all attitudes of the  soul2   
not conscious enlargements or lessenings
 of the very stuff2 of  the soul4       
,the idea of beauty is a particular     
reaction to the universe4 ,the idea  of 
truth is a particular reaction to the   
universe4 ,the idea of  goodness is a   
particular act of the will with regard  
to our relation  to the universe4 ,but  
the emotion of love1 in its struggle    
with the  emotion of malice1 is much    
more than this4 ,it is the actual       
outflowing  of the soul itself2 and it  
offers1 as such1 the very stuff and     

material out of which truth and beauty  
and goodness are  distinguished and     
discerned4    ,some clear hints and     
intimations as to the nature of art may 
be  arrived at from these               
considerations4 ,we at any rate reach a 
general criterion1 applicable to all    
instances1 as to the presence or        
absence in any particular case of the   
authentic and objective note  of true   
art4 ,this note is the presence in a    
work of art of the  decisive relative   
victory of love over malice4 ,when1 on  
the  contrary1 in any work of art1 the  
original struggle of love with  malice  
issues in a relative overcoming of love 
by malice1 then such  a work of art     
belongs1 ipso facto1 to an inferior     
order of excellence4    ,this criterion 
is one of easy intuitive application1   
although any  exact analysis of it1 in a
 particular case1 may be difficult and  
obscure4 ,roughly and generally         
expressed it amounts to this4 ,in  the  
great works of art of the world1 wherein

 the subjective vision  of the artist   
expresses itself in mysterious          
reciprocity with the  objective vision  
of the immortals1 there is always found 
a certain  large humanity4 ,this        
humanity1 wherein an infinite pity never
  for a moment degenerates into weak    
sentiment1 reduces the  co-existence of 
cruelty and malice to the lowest        
possible minimum1  consonant with the   
ebb and flow of life4    ,some residuum 
of such malice and cruelty there must   
be1 even in  the supremest work of art1 
else the eternal contradictions upon    
which life depends would be destroyed4  
,but the emotion of love1  in such      
works1 will always be found to have its 
fingers1 as it were1  firmly upon the   
throat of its antagonist1 so that the   
resultant  rhythm shall be felt to be   
the ultimate rhythm of life itself1     
wherein  the eternal struggle of love   
with malice issues in the relative      
overcoming of the latter by the former4 
,it would be invidious perhaps to name1 

in this place1 any particular  works of 
art in which the predominant element is 
malice rather  than love4 ,but such     
works of art exist in considerable      
number1 and  the lacerated and distorted
 beauty of them remains as a perpetual  
witness to what they have missed4 ,in   
speaking of these inferior  works of art
 the aesthetic psychologist must be on  
his guard  against the confusion of such
 moods as the creative instinct of      
destruction or the creative instinct of 
simple sensuality with the  inert malice
 we are considering4    ,the instinct of
 destruction is essentially connected   
with the  instinct of creation and      
indeed must be regarded as an indirect  
expression of that instinct2 for1 as one
 can clearly understand1  almost every  
creative undertaking implies some kind  
of destructive  or at least some kind of
 suppressive or renunciant act which    
renders such an undertaking possible4   
,in the same way it is not difficult to 
see that the simple impulse of  natural 

sensuality1 or direct animal lust1 is   
profoundly connected  with the creative 
instinct1 and is indeed the expression  
of the  creative instinct on the plane  
of purely material energy4 ,but it must 
be understood1 however1 that neither the
 will to destruction nor the  will to   
sensuality are by any means always as   
innocent as the  forms of them ,i have  
indicated above4    ,it often happens   
indeed that this destructive instinct is
 profoundly  penetrated by malice and   
derives the thrill of its activity from 
malice2 and this may easily be observed 
in certain famous but not  supreme works
 of art4 ,it must also be understood    
that the impulse  to sensuality or lust 
is not always the direct simple animal  
instinct  to which ,i have referred4    
,what has come to be called ,sadism is  
an instance of this aberration of an    
innocent impulse4    ,the instinct of   
sadism1 or the deriving of voluptuous   
pleasure  from sensual cruelty1 has its 
origin in the legitimate association of 

the impulse to destroy with the impulse 
to create1 as these things  are         
inseparably linked together in the      
normal possession of a  woman by a man4 
,in such possession the active masculine
  principle has to exercise a certain   
minimum of destruction with a  view to a
 certain maximum of creation2 and the   
normal resistance  of the female is the 
mental corollary of this4    ,the normal
 resistance of the artist's medium to   
the activity of his  energy is a sort of
 aesthetic parallel to this situation2  
and it is  easy to see how1 in the      
creation of a work of art1 this         
aesthetic  overcoming of resistance may 
get itself mentally associated with  the
 parallel sensation experienced on the  
sensual plane4 ,the point  we have to   
make is this3 that while in normal cases
 the impulse to  sensuality is perfectly
 direct1 innocent1 animal1 and          
earth-born2 in  other cases it becomes  
vitiated by the presence in it of a     
larger  amount of destructive energy    

than can be accounted for by the        
original necessity4    ,thus in a great 
many quite famous works of art there    
will be found  an element of sadism4    
,but it will always remain that in the  
supreme works of art this sadistic      
element has been overcome and           
transformed by the pressure upon it of  
the emotion of love4 ,there  exists1    
however1 other instances1 when the work 
of art in question  is obviously        
inferior1 in which we are confronted by 
something  much more evil than the mere 
presence of the sadistic impulse4  ,what
 ,i refer to is a very subtle and       
complicated mood wherein the  simple    
sadistic impulse to derive sensual      
pleasure from the  contemplation of     
cruelty has been seized upon and taken  
possession of by the emotion of malice4 
,the complicated mood resulting from    
this association of sadistic  cruelty   
with inert malice is perhaps the most   
powerful engine of  evil that exists in 
the world2 although a pure unmitigated  

condition  of unsensualized1            
unimpassioned1 motiveless malice is1 in 
its  inmost self1 more essentially and  
profoundly evil4 ,for while the  energy 
of sadism renders the actual destructive
 power of malice  much more formidable1 
we must remember that what really       
constitutes the essence of evil is never
 the energy of destruction  but always  
the malicious inertness of resistance to
 creation4 ,we  have thus arrived at    
some measure of insight as to the nature
 of art  and we find that whatever else 
it may be it must be penetrated  through
 and through by the overcoming of malice
 by love4 ,it must1  in other words1    
have the actual outflowing of the soul  
as the  instrument of its expression and
 as the psycho-material medium  with    
which it inscribes its vision upon the  
objective mystery that  confronts it4   
,we have at least arrived at this point 
in our search for a definite  criterion3
 that when in any work of art a vein of 
excessive cruelty  or1 worse still1 a   

vein of sneering and vindictive malice1 
dominates  the emotional atmosphere1    
such a work of art1 however admirable   
it may be in other respects1 falls below
 the level of the most  excellent4 ,the 
relation between the idea of beauty as  
expressed by  the aesthetic sense and   
those other ideas1 namely of truth and  
goodness1 which complete the circle of  
human vision1 is a relation  which may  
be suggested thus4    ,since all three  
of these primordial ideas are unified by
 the emotion  of love it is clear that  
the emotion of love is the element in   
which  each of them severally moves4    
,and since it is impossible that love   
should be antagonistic to itself we must
 conclude that the love  which is the   
element or substratum of beauty is the  
same love that  is the element or       
substratum of goodness and truth4 ,and  
since all  these three elements are in  
reality one element1 which is indeed    
nothing less than the dominant          
outflowing of the soul itself1 it       

follows that those portions of the      
soul's outflowing which have  been      
directed by reason and by conscience1   
which we call the idea  of truth and the
 idea of goodness1 must have an ultimate
 identity  with that portion of the     
soul's outflowing which has been        
directed  by the aesthetic sense and    
which we call the idea of beauty4       
,this identity between truth and        
goodness on the one hand and  beauty on 
the other cannot be regarded as an      
absolute identity4 ,the  idea of truth  
continues to represent one facet of the 
universe1 the  idea of goodness another1
 and the idea of beauty another or a    
third4  ,what we mean by the use of the 
term identity is simply this3 that  the 
universe revealed by each one of these  
three ideas is the same  universe as is 
revealed by the others1 and the         
emotional  out-flowing of the individual
 soul1 which reveals each of these      
separate facets or aspects of the       
universe1 is the same in each of  the   

three ideas which govern its direction4 
,it is1 however1 only at their supreme  
point1 when they are fused  together by 
the apex-thought of the complex vision1 
that the  activity of these separate    
ideas is found to be in complete        
harmony4 ,short of this extreme limit   
they tend to deviate from  each other   
and to utter contradictory oracles4 ,we 
may therefore lay  it down as an        
unalterable law of their activity that  
when any one of  these ideas contradicts
 another it does so because of a        
weakness  and imperfection in its own   
intensity or in the intensity of the    
idea  it contradicts4    ,thus if an    
idea of goodness is found irreconcilable
 with an idea of  beauty1 something is  
wrong with one or the other of these    
ideas1 or  perhaps with both of them4   
,and we are not only able to say that   
something is wrong with such ideas when 
they contradict one  another1 we are    
able to predicate with certainty as to  
what  precisely is wrong4 ,for the      

something wrong which leads to this     
contradiction1 the something wrong which
 stands in the way of  the rhythmic     
activity of the soul's apex-thought1    
will invariably be  found to be a       
weakening of the outflowing of the      
emotion of love  in one or other or     
perhaps all three of the implicated     
ideas4    ,for the outflowing of the    
soul's emotion is not only the life of  
the  root of this tree of knowledge2 it 
is also the life of the sap of the      
uttermost branches2 it is the force that
 makes the fragrance of each  topmost   
leaf mingle with that of all the rest1  
in that unified breath  of the whole    
tree which loses itself in the air4     
,thus we arrive at our final conclusion 
as to the nature of art4 ,and  when we  
apply our criterion to any of the       
supreme works of art of  the world we   
find it does not fail us4 ,the figure of
 ,christ1 for  instance1 remains the    
supreme incarnation of the idea of      
goodness  in the world2 and few will    

deny that the figure of ,christ         
represents  not only the idea of        
goodness but the ideas of truth and     
beauty  also4 ,if one contemplates many 
another famous good man of  history1    
such as easily may be called to mind1   
one is at once  conscious that the      
goodness of these admirable persons is a
 thing  not altogether pleasing to the  
aesthetic taste1 and a thing which in   
some curious way seems to obscure our   
vision of the real truth of  life4    ,a
 great work of art1 such as ,leonardo's 
,virgin of the ,rocks1 or               
,dostoievsky's ,idiot1 is intuitively   
recognized as being not only  entirely  
satisfying to the aesthetic sense but   
also entirely satisfying  to our craving
 for truth and our longing for the      
inmost secret of  goodness4 ,every great
 work of art is the concentrated essence
 of a  man's ultimate reaction to the   
universe4 ,it has an undertone of       
immense tragedy2 but in the depths of   
this tragedy there is no  despair1      

because an infinite pity accompanies the
 infinite sorrow1  and in such pity love
 finds itself stronger than fate4 ,no   
work of art1  however appealing or      
magical1 can carry the full weight of   
what it  means to be an inheritor of    
human tradition1 of what it means to be 
a living soul1 until it has arrived at  
that rhythm of the apex-thought  which  
is a fusion of what we call the good    
with what we call the  beautiful and the
 true4    ,it is only when our notion of
 what is good and what is true falls    
short of the austere demands of the     
aesthetic sense that a certain          
uneasiness and suspicion enters into a  
discussion of this kind4 ,and  such an  
uneasiness is justified by reason of the
 fact that the  popular notion both of  
goodness and truth does so often fall   
lamentably short of such demands4 ,the  
moral conscience of  average humanity is
 a thing of such dull sensibility1 of   
such  narrow and limited vision1 that it
 is inevitable that its goodness  should

 clash with so exacting a censor as the 
aesthetic sense4    ,the rational       
conscience of average humanity is a     
thing of such  dense and rigid and      
unimaginative vision that it is         
inevitable that  its truth should clash 
with the secrets revealed by the        
aesthetic  sense4 ,the cause1 why the   
aesthetic sense seems to come on the    
scene with an apparatus of valuation so 
much more advanced and  refined than    
that possessed by the conscience or by  
the reason1 is  that both conscience and
 reason are continually being applied to
  action1 to conduct1 to the            
manipulation of practical affairs1 and  
are  bound in this commerce with        
superficial circumstance to grow a      
little blunt and gross and to lose      
something of their fine edge4           
,conscience and reason1 in the          
hurly-burly and pell-mell of life1 are  
driven to compromise1 to half-measures1 
to the second-best4    ,conscience is   
compelled to be satisfied with something

 less than  its own rigid demands4      
,reason is compelled to accept something
  less than its own rigid demands4 ,both
 of these things tend  to become1 under 
the pressure of the play of             
circumstance1  pragmatical1             
time-serving1 and opportunist4 ,but the 
aesthetic  sense1 although in itself it 
has always room for infinite growth1 is 
in its inherent nature unable to        
compromise2 unable to bend this  way and
 that2 unable to dally with             
half-measures4    ,any action1 in a     
world of this kind1 necessarily implies 
compromise2 and since goodness is so    
largely a matter of action1  goodness is
 necessarily penetrated by a spirit of  
compromise4  ,indeed it may be said that
 a certain measure of common-sense is   
of the very essence of goodness4 ,but   
what has common-sense to  do with art8  
,common-sense has never been able1 and  
never will be  able1 to understand even 
the rudiments of art4 ,for art is the   
half-discovery of something that must   

always seem an impossibility to         
common-sense2 and it is the             
half-creation of something that must    
always render common-sense irrelevant   
and unimportant4 ,truth1  again1 in a   
world of so infinite a complication1    
must frequently  have to remain an open 
question1 a suspended judgment1 an      
antinomy of opposites4 ,the agnostic    
attitude--as1 for instance1 in  the     
matter of the immortality of the        
soul--may in certain cases  come to be  
the ultimate gesture of what we call the
 truth4    ,but with the aesthetic sense
 there can never be any suspension of   
judgment1 never any open question1 never
 any antinomy of  opposites1 never the  
least shadow of the pragmatic1 or       
working  test4 ,it is therefore natural 
enough that when persons possessed of   
any degree of cultivated taste hear     
other persons speak of  goodness or     
truth they grow distrustful and         
suspicious1 they  feel uneasy and very  
much on guard4 ,for they know well that 

the  conscience of the ordinary person  
is but a blunt and clumsy  instrument1  
quite as likely to distort and pervert  
the essential spirit  of goodness as to 
reveal it1 and they know well that the  
truth  of the ordinary person's reason  
is a sorry compound of logical  rigidity
 and practical opportunism2 with but    
small space left in it  for the vision  
of imagination4    ,it is because of    
their primary importance in the sphere  
of practical  action that the conscience
 and the reason have been developed out 
of all proportion to the aesthetic      
sense4 ,and it is because the           
deplorable environment of our present   
commercial system has  emphasized action
 and conduct1 out of all proportion to  
contemplation and insight1 that it is so
 difficult to restore the  balance4 ,the
 tyranny of machinery has done untold   
evil in  increasing this lack of        
proportion2 because machinery1 by       
placing  an unmalleable and inflexible  
material--a material that refuses to  be

 humanized--between man's fingers and   
the actual element he  works in1 has    
interrupted that instinctive aesthetic  
movement of  the human hands1 which1    
even in the midst of the most utter     
clumsiness and grossness1 can never fail
 to introduce some touch  of beauty into
 what it creates4    ,we have thus      
arrived at a definite point of view from
 which we  are able to observe the      
actual play of man's aesthetic sense as1
 in  its mysterious fusion with the     
energy of reason and conscience1 it     
interprets the pervading beauty of the  
system of things1 according  to the     
temperament of the individual4 ,it      
remains to note how in the  supreme     
works of art this human temperamental   
vision is caught  up and transcended in 
the high objectivity of a greater and   
more  universal vision2 a vision which  
is still personal1 because  everything  
true and beautiful in the universe is   
personal1 but  which1 by the rhythm of  
the apex-thought1 has attained a sort of

  impersonal personality or1 in other   
words1 has been brought into  harmony   
with the vision of the immortals4       
,the material upon which the artist     
works is that original objective        
mystery1 confronting every individual   
soul1 out of which every  individual    
soul creates its universe4 ,the medium  
by means of  which the artist works is  
that outflowing of the very substance of
  the soul itself which we name by the  
name of emotion4 ,this actual  passing  
of the substantial substance of the soul
 into whatever form  or shape of        
objective mystery the soul's vision has 
half-discovered  and half-created is the
 true secret of what happens both in the
 case  of the original creation of the  
artist and in case of the reciprocal    
re-creation of the person enjoying the  
work of art4    ,for ,benedetto ,croce1 
the ,italian philosopher1 is surely     
right when  he asserts that no one can  
enter into the true spirit of a work of 
art  without exercising upon it         

something of the same creative impulse  
as that by the power of which it        
originally came into existence4 ,in  the
 contemplation of a statue or a picture 
or a piece of bric-a-brac1  in the      
enjoyment of a poem or an exquisite     
passage of prose1 just  as much as in   
the hearing of music1 the soul of the   
recipient is  projected beyond its      
normal limitation in the same way as the
 soul  of the creator was projected     
beyond its normal limitation4    ,the   
soul which thus gives itself up to      
,beauty is actually extended  in a      
living ecstasy of vibration until it    
flows into1 and through1 and  around1   
the thing it loves4 ,but even this is an
 inadequate  expression of what happens2
 for this outflowing of the soul is the 
very force and energy which actually is 
engaged in re-creating this  thing out  
of what at present ,i confine myself to 
calling the  objective mystery4    ,the 
emotion of the soul plays therefore a   
double part4 ,it  half-discovers and    

half-creates the pervading beauty of    
things2 and it  also loses itself in    
receptive ecstasy1 in embracing what it 
has  half-created and half-found4    ,we
 have now reached a point from which we 
are able to advance  yet another step4  
,since what we call beauty is the       
evocation of these two confronted       
existences1 the existing thing which we 
call the soul and the  existing thing   
which we call the objective mystery1 it 
follows that  there resides1 as a       
potentiality1 in the nature of the      
objective  mystery1 the capacity for    
being converted into ,beauty at the     
touch  of the soul4 ,there is thus a    
three-fold complication of reality in   
this thing we call the beauty of the    
universe4    ,there is the individual1  
human1 subjective reality of it1        
dependent  upon the temperament of the  
observer4 ,there is the universal       
potential reality of it1 existing in the
 objective mystery4 ,and finally  there 
is the ideal reality of it1 objective   

and absolute as far as we  are          
concerned1 in the vision that ,i have   
called the vision of the  immortals4 ,if
 it be asked why1 in all these ultimate 
problems1 it is  necessary to introduce 
the vision of the immortals1 my answer  
is  that the highest human experience   
demands and requires it4    ,at those   
rare moments when the apex-thought      
reaches its  rhythmic consummation the  
soul is conscious that its subjective   
vision of ,truth and ,beauty merges     
itself and loses itself in an  objective
 vision which carries the imprimatur of 
eternity4 ,this is  a definite universal
 experience which few introspective     
minds will  dare to deny4    ,but since1
 as we have already proved1 the ultimate
 reality of things  is personality1 or1 
to be more exact1 is personality1       
confronting the  objective mystery1 it  
is clear that if the subjective vision  
of the  soul is to correspond with an   
objective reality outside the soul1 that
  objective reality outside the soul    

must itself be the vision of            
personality4 ,it may be asked1 at this  
point1 why it is that the  potentiality 
or the capacity for being turned into   
beauty at the  touch of the soul1 which 
resides in the objective mystery is not 
enough to explain this recognition by   
the soul of an eternal  objective       
validity in its ultimate ideas4    ,it  
is not enough to explain it1 because    
this potentiality remains  entirely     
unrecognized until it is touched by     
personality1 and it is  therefore quite 
as much a potentiality of inferior      
beauty1  inadequate truth1 and          
second-rate goodness1 as it is a        
potentiality  of the rarest of these    
things4    ,the objective mystery by    
itself cannot explain the soul's        
experience of an eternal validity in its
 deepest ideas because the  objective   
mystery in its role of pure potentiality
 is capable of  being moulded into the  
form of any ideas1 whether deep or      
shallow4 ,thus our proof of the real    

existence of the vision of the          
immortals depends upon two facts4    ,it
 depends upon the fact that the soul    
experiences an intuitive  assurance of  
objective reality in its ideas4 ,and it 
depends upon the  fact that there is no 
other reality in the world1 with any    
definite  form or outline1 except the   
reality of personality4 ,for an idea to 
be  eternal1 therefore1 it must be the  
idea of a personality1 or of many       
personalities1 which themselves are     
eternal2 and since we have no  evidence 
that the human soul is eternal and does 
not perish with  the body we are        
compelled to assume that somewhere in   
the  universe there must exist beings   
whose personality is able to resist     
death and whose vision is an immortal   
vision4    ,it might be objected at this
 point1 by such as follow the philosophy
  of ,epicurus1 that1 even though such  
beings exist1 we have no right  to      
assume that they have any regard for us4
 ,my answer to this is  that in such    

moments as ,i have attempted to         
describe1 when the  rhythmic activity of
 the soul is at its highest1 we become  
directly  and intuitively conscious of  
an immense unutterable harmony          
pervading all forms of life1 whether    
mortal or immortal2 a  harmony which    
could not be felt if there were not some
 mysterious  link binding all living    
souls together4    ,we become aware at  
such moments that not only are all      
living  souls thus bound together but   
that all are bound together by the  fact
 that the ideal vision of them all is   
one and the same4 ,this is  not only my 
answer to such as maintain that though  
there may be  ,beings in the system of  
things superior to man1 such ,beings    
have  no necessary connection with man2 
it is also my answer to the  question as
 to how1 considering the capricious     
subjectivity of our  human vision1 we   
can be assured that the ideal vision of 
the  immortals does not vary in the same
 way among themselves4 ,we  are assured 

against both these possibilities2       
against the possibility  of the         
immortals being indifferent to humanity1
 and against the  possibility of the    
immortals being divided among           
themselves1 by  the fact that1 according
 to the very basic revelation of the    
complex  vision1 wherever there is a    
living soul1 that living soul is        
dependent  for its continued existence  
upon the overcoming of malice by love4  
,this duality is so much the essence of 
what we call personality  that we cannot
 conceive of personality without it4    
,if1 therefore1 the  immortals are      
possessed of personality they must be   
subject to this  duality2 and the fact  
that they are subject to it puts them   
necessarily in at least a potential     
rapport with all other living  souls1   
since the essence of every living soul  
is to be found in the  same unfathomable
 struggle4    ,but granting that there  
are superior ,beings1 worthy to be      
called  ,gods1 who in their essential   

nature resemble humanity1 how can  we be
 assured that there is any contact      
between them and  humanity8 ,we are     
assured of this in the intuitive        
revelation of a  most definite human    
experience1 an experience which few     
philosophers have been sceptical enough 
to deny1 although their  explanations of
 it may have been different from mine4  
,william ,james1 for instance1 whose    
psychological investigations  into the  
phenomena of religious feeling are so   
thorough and  original1 describes the   
sense we have of the presence of these  
unseen ,powers in a very interesting and
 curious way4 ,he points  out that the  
feeling we experience at such moments is
 that there  exists below the level of  
our ordinary consciousness a deep and   
limitless reservoir or cistern          
containing more of the same stream  of  
spiritual emotion which we are conscious
 of as being our very  inmost self or   
soul of our soul4    ,on the waves of   
this subconscious ocean of deeper life  

we are1 so  to speak1 able to ride2 if  
once1 in a sudden revolution of absolute
  humility1 we can give ourselves up to 
it4    ,it is needless to indicate how  
the ,ideas of ,plato1 the sub specie    
aeternitatis of ,spinoza1 the           
,liberation from the ,will of           
,schopenhauer1 the ,beatific ,vision of 
the ,catholic saints are all  analogues 
and parallels1 expressed under different
 symbols1 of the  same universal        
feeling4 ,the difference between these  
philosophic  statements of the situation
 and mine1 is that1 whereas these are   
content1 with the doubtful exception of 
,plato1 to eliminate from  this         
subconscious more of what is best in our
 own soul1 every  trace and element of  
personality1 ,i am unable to escape from
 the  conviction that compared with     
personality no power in the  universe1  
whether it be called ,idea or ,substance
 or a ,will to  annihilate ,will or     
,life ,force or ,stream of consciousness
 or  any other name1 is worthy to be    

regarded as the cause and origin of     
that intimation of something more by    
which our soul comes into  contact with 
the secret of the system of things4     
,to assume that the vision of           
unutterable truth which is reached in   
the supreme works of art is anything    
less than the vision of  super-human    
,personality is to assume that something
 other than  ,peripety is the secret of 
life4 ,and how can man1 who feels so    
profoundly conscious that his own       
personal ,i am ,i is the inmost  essence
 of his being1 when it comes to the     
question of the cause of  his sensation 
of riding on the waves of this something
 more1 be  content to find the cause in 
mere abstractions from personality1     
such as streams of consciousness or     
life-force or ,absolute  ,substance8    
,what we know for certain1 in this      
strange imbroglio1 is that  what we call
 ,beauty is a complex of two mysteries1 
the mystery of  our own ,i am ,i and the
 mystery of the objective something     

which this ,i am ,i confronts4 ,and if1 
as is the case1 our most  intense and   
passionate experience1 when the rhythm  
of our nature  is at the fullest1 is the
 intuition of some world-deep authority 
or  sanction giving an eternal validity 
to our ideas1 this authority or         
sanction cannot be interpreted in mere  
metaphors or similes  abstracted from   
personality1 or in any material         
substance without a  mind1 or in any    
stream of thought without a thinker3 but
 can only  be interpreted in terms of   
what alone we have an inside            
consciousness of1 namely in terms of    
personality itself4    ,to some         
temperaments it might seem as though    
this reduction of  the immense          
unfathomable universe to a congeries of 
living  souls were a strangling         
limitation4 ,there are certain human    
temperaments1 and my own is one of them1
 whose aesthetic sense  demands the     
existence of vast interminable spaces of
 air1 of water1  of earth1 of fire1 or  

even of blank emptiness4 ,to such a     
temperament it might seem as though to  
be jostled throughout  eternity by other
 living souls were to be shut up in an  
unescapable  prison4 ,and when to this  
unending population of fellow-denizens  
of space we add this doctrine that our  
deepest ideas of ,beauty  remain        
subjective and ephemeral until they have
 received the  imprimatur of some       
mysterious superhuman ,being or ,beings1
  such rebellious temperaments as ,i am 
speaking of might  conceivably cry aloud
 for the ,psalmist's wings of a dove4   
,but the aspect of things which ,i have 
just suggested is after all  only a     
superficial aspect of the situation4    
,those hollow spaces  of unplumbed      
darkness1 those gulfs filled with       
primordial  nothingness1 those caverns  
of midnight where the hoary chemistry   
of matter swirls and ferments in eternal
 formlessness2 these indeed  are taken  
away from us4 ,but as ,i have indicated 
again and again1  no movement of human  

logic1 no energy of human reason1 can   
destroy the unfathomableness of ,nature4
 ,the immense spectacle  of the material
 universe1 with its perpetually receding
 background  of objective mystery1 is a 
thing that cannot be destroyed4 ,those  
among us who reluct at every human      
explanation of this panorama  of        
shadows1 are only too easily able to    
flee away and be at rest in  the        
bottomless gulf they crave4    ,the fact
 that man's apex-thought reveals the    
presence of an  unending procession of  
living souls1 each of whose creative    
energy  moulds this mystery to its own  
vision1 does not remove the             
unfathomableness of the world-stuff     
whereof they mould it4 ,as we  have     
already seen1 this aboriginal           
world-stuff1 so impenetrable to  all    
analysis1 assumes as far as we are      
concerned a three-fold form4  ,it       
assumes the form of the material element
 in that fusion of matter  and          
consciousness which makes up the        

substance of the soul4 ,it  assumes the 
form of the universal medium which binds
 all souls  together4 ,and it assumes   
the form of the objective mystery which 
confronts the vision of all souls4 ,over
 these three forms of the  world-stuff  
hangs irrevocably the great world-curve 
or  world-circle of omnipresent ,space1 
which gives the final and  ultimate     
unity to all possible universes4    ,the
 temperamental revolt1 however1 which ,i
 am endeavouring to  describe1 against  
our doctrine of personality1 does not   
stop with a  demand for de-humanized air
 and space4 ,it has a passionate        
penchant for the projection of such     
vague imaginative images as  spirit and 
life4 ,forgetful that no man has ever   
seen or touched  this spirit1 apart from
 a personal soul1 or this life1 apart   
from  some living thing1 the temperament
 ,i am thinking of loves to make        
imaginative excursions into what it     
supposes to be vast receding  abysses of
 pure spirit and of impersonal inhuman  

life4    ,it gains thus a sense of      
liberation from the boundaries of its   
own  personality and a sense of         
liberation from the boundaries of all   
personality4 ,the doctrine1 therefore1  
that the visible universe  is a         
mysterious complex of many concentrated 
mortal visions1  stamped1 so to speak1  
with the imprimatur of an ideal immortal
  vision1 is a doctrine that seems to   
impede and oppose such a  temperament in
 this abysmal plunge into the ocean of  
existence4  ,but my answer to the       
protest of this temperament--and it is  
an  answer that has a certain measure of
 authority1 since this  temperament is  
no other than my own--is that this      
feeling of  imprisonment is due to a    
superficial understanding of the        
doctrine against which it protests4 ,it 
is superficial because it does  not     
recognize that around1 above1 beneath1  
within1 every form of  personality that 
the curve of space covers1 there is     
present the  aboriginal world-stuff1    

unfathomable and inexplicable1 out of   
which all souls draw the material       
element of their being1 in which  all   
souls come into contact with one        
another1 and from which all  souls      
half-create and half-discover their     
personal universe4    ,it was necessary 
to introduce this question of           
temperamental  reaction just here1      
because in any conclusion as to the     
nature of  ,beauty it is above all      
things important to give complete       
satisfaction to every great recurrent   
exigency of human desire4  ,and this    
desire for liberation from the bonds of 
personality is one  of the profoundest  
instincts of personality4    ,we have   
now arrived at a point of vantage from  
which it is  possible to survey the     
outlines of our final problem2 the      
problem1  namely as to what it really is
 which renders one object in nature     
more beautiful than another object1 and 
one work of art more  beautiful than    
another work of art4 ,we know that in   

the intuitive  judgment which affixes   
these relative valuations there must be 
the  three elements of mortal subjective
 vision1 of immortal objective  vision1 
and of the original world-stuff out of  
which all visions  are made4    ,but    
upon what criteria1 by what rules and   
standards1 do we  become aware that one 
tree is more beautiful than another     
tree1  one landscape than another       
landscape1 one poem or person or        
picture than another of the same kind8  
,the question has already  been lifted  
out of the sphere of pure subjective    
taste by what has  been said with regard
 to the eternal ,ideal vision4 ,but are 
there any  permanent laws of ,beauty by 
which we may analyse the verdict of     
this objective vision8 ,or are we made  
aware of it1 in each  individual case1  
by a pure intuitive apprehension8    ,i 
think there are such laws4 ,but ,i think
 the science1 so to say1  of the        
aesthetic judgment remains at present in
 so rudimentary a  stage that we are not

 in a position to do more than indicate 
their  general outline4 ,the following  
principles seem1 as far as ,i am able   
to lay hold upon this evasive problem1  
of more comprehensive  application than 
any others4    ,a thing to be beautiful 
must form an organic totality1 even     
though  in some other sense it is only a
 portion of a larger totality4    ,it   
must carry with it the impression1      
illusive or otherwise1 that it  is the  
outward form or shape of a living       
personal soul4    ,it must satisfy1 at  
least by symbolic association1 the      
physical  desires of the body4    ,it   
must obey certain hidden laws of rhythm1
 proportion1 balance1  and harmony1 both
 with regard to colour and form1 and    
with  regard to magical suggestiveness4 
,it must answer1 in some degree1 the    
craving of the human mind for  some     
symbolic expression of the fatality of  
human experience4    ,it must have a    
double effect upon us4 ,it must arouse  
the excitement  of a passion of         

attention1 and it must quiet us with a  
sense of  eternal rest4    ,it must     
thrill us with a happiness which goes   
beyond the pleasure  of a passing       
physical sensation4    ,it must convey  
the impression of something unique and  
yet  representative2 and it must carry  
the mind through and beyond  itself1 to 
the very brink and margin of the        
ultimate objective  mystery4    ,it must
 suggest inevitableness1 spontaneity1 a 
certain monumental  ease1 and a general 
feeling of expansion and liberation4    
,it must1 if it belong to nature1 convey
 that magical and world-deep  sadness   
which springs from an inarticulate      
appeal2 or1 if it belong  to art1 that  
wistful loneliness which springs from   
the creation of  immortality by the     
hands of mortality4    ,the above       
principles are not offered as in any way
 exhaustive4  ,they are outlined as a   
temporary starting point and suggestion 
for  the more penetrating analysis which
 the future will surely provide4  ,and  

,i have temporally excluded from them1  
as can be seen1 all  references to those
 auxiliary elements drawn from reason   
and  conscience which1 according to the 
philosophy of the complex  vision1 must 
be included in the body of art1 if art  
is to be the final  expression of human 
experience4    ,but after gathering     
together all we have accumulated among  
these  various paths leading to the edge
 of the mystery of art1 what we  are    
compelled to recognize1 when we confront
 the palpable thing  itself1 is that1 in
 each unique embodiment of it1 it       
arrests and  entrances us1 as with a    
sudden transformation of our entire     
universe4    ,out of the abysses of     
personality--human or super-human--every
  new original work of art draws us1 by 
an irresistible magnetism1  into itself1
 until we are compelled to become what  
it is1 until we  are actually           
transformed into its inmost identity4   
,what hitherto has seemed to us mere    
refuse and litter and  dreariness and   

debris--all the shards and ashes and    
flints and  excrement of the margins of 
our universe--take upon themselves1  as 
they are thus caught up and             
transfigured1 a new and ineffable       
meaning4    ,the terrible1 the ghastly1 
the atrocious1 the abominable1 the      
apparently meaningless and dead1        
suddenly gather themselves  together and
 take on strange and monumental         
significance4    ,what has hitherto     
seemed to us floating jetsom and blind  
wreckage1 what has hitherto seemed to us
 mere brutal lumps of  primeval clay    
tossed to and fro by the giant hands of 
chaos1 what  has hitherto seemed to us  
slabs of inhuman chemistry1 suddenly    
assumes under the pressure of this great
 power out of the abyss a  strange and  
lovely and terrible expressiveness4     
,deep calls to ,deep2 and the mysterious
 oceans of ,personality  move and stir  
in a terrific reciprocity4    ,the      
unfathomable gulfs of the eternal       
duality within us are roused  to        

undreamed-of response in answer to this 
abysmal stirring of the  powers that    
create the world4    ,what is good in us
 is enlarged and heightened2 what is    
evil in us is  enlarged and deepened2   
while1 under the increasing pressure of 
this new wave of the perilous stuff of  
emotion1 slowly1 little by  little1 as  
we give ourselves up to the ecstasy of  
contemplation1 the  intensified good    
overcomes the intensified evil4    ,it  
is then that what has begun in agitation
 and disturbance sinks by  degrees into 
an infinite peace2 as1 without any      
apparent change or  confusion1 the waves
 roll in1 one after another1 upon our   
human  shore1 and we are lifted up and  
carried out on that vast tide into the  
great spaces1 beneath the morning and   
the evening1 where the  eternal vision  
awaits us with its undescribable calm4  
,let art be as bizarre1 as weird1 as    
strange1 as rare1 as fantastic1 as  you 
please1 if it be true art it must spring
 from the aboriginal  duality in the    

human soul and thus must remain         
indestructibly  personal4 ,but since the
 two elements of personality wrestle    
together in every artist's soul1 the    
more personal a work of art  becomes the
 more comprehensive is its              
impersonality4    ,for art1 by means of 
the personal and the particular1 attains
 the  impersonal and the universal4 ,by 
means of sinking down into the          
transitory and the ephemeral1 by means  
of moulding chance and  accident to its 
will1 it is enabled to touch the eternal
 and the  eternally fatal4    ,from     
agitation to peace2 from sound to       
silence2 from creation to               
contemplation2 from birth and death to  
that which is immortal2  from movement  
to that which is at rest--such is the   
wayfaring of  this primordial power4    
,it is from the vantage-ground of this  
perception that we are able  to discern 
how the mysterious beauty revealed in   
apparently  inhuman arrangements of line
 and colour and light and shade is      

really a thing springing from the depths
 of some personal and  individual       
vision4    ,the controversy as to the   
superior claims of an art that is just  
art1  with an appeal entirely limited to
 texture and colour and line and  pure  
sound1 and an art that is imagistic1    
symbolic1 representative1  religious1   
philosophical1 or prophetic1 is rendered
 irrelevant and  meaningless when we    
perceive that all art1 whether it be a  
thing of  pure line and colour or a     
thing of passionate human content1 must 
inevitably spring from the depths of    
some particular personal  vision and    
must inevitably attain1 by stressing    
this personal  element to the limit1    
that universal impersonality which is   
implied  in the fact that every living  
soul is composed of the same  elements4 
,it may require no little subtlety of   
vision to detect in the pure  beauty of 
line1 colour1 and texture that compose1 
say1 some lovely  piece of bric-a-brac1 
the hidden presence of that primordial  

duality  out of which all forms of      
beauty emerge1 but the metaphysical     
significance latent in the phrase the   
sense of difficulty overcome  points us 
towards just this very interpretation4  
,the circumstantial  and the sexual     
motifs in art1 so appealing to the mob1 
may or  may not play an aesthetic part  
in the resultant rhythm4 ,if they do1   
they do so because such interest and    
such eroticism were an  integral portion
 of the original vision that gave unity 
to the work  in question4 ,if they do   
not1 but are merely dragged in by the   
un-aesthetic observer1 it is easy enough
 for the genuine virtuoso to  disregard 
such temptation and to put story1       
message1  sentiment1 and sex-appeal     
rigidly aside1 as he seeks to respond   
to the primordial vision of an unstoried
 non-sexual beauty  springing from those
 deeper levels of the soul where story1 
sentiment1 and sex have no longer any   
place4    ,more dangerous1 however1 to  
art1 than any popular craving for  human

 interest or for the comfort of amorous 
voluptuousness1 is  the unpardonable    
stupidity of puritanical censorship4    
,such  censorship1 in its crass         
impertinence1 assumes that its miserable
  and hypocritical negations represent  
that deep1 fierce1 terrible  imperative 
uttered by the soul's primordial        
conscience4    ,they represent nothing  
of the sort4    ,the drastic revelations
 of conscience are1 as ,i have pointed  
out  again and again1 fused and blended 
in their supreme moments with  the      
equally drastic revelations of reason   
and the aesthetic sense4    ,they are   
inevitably blended with these1 because1 
as we have  proved1 they are all three  
nothing less than divergent aspects of  
the  one irresistible projection of the 
soul itself which ,i have named         
creative love4    ,thus it comes about  
that in the great1 terrible moments of  
tragic art  there may be an apparent    
catastrophic despair1 which in our      
normal moods seems hopeless1 final1     

absolute4    ,it is only when the       
complex rhythm of the apex-thought is   
brought  to bear upon these moments of  
midnight that a strange and  unutterable
 healing emerges from them1 a shy1      
half-hinted whisper  or something deeper
 than hope1 a magical effluence1 a      
still1 small  voice from beneath the    
disastrous eclipse1 which not only      
purges  our passions by pity and terror 
but evokes an assured horizon1  beyond  
truth1 beyond beauty1 beyond goodness1  
where the mystery  of love1 in its      
withdrawn and secret essence1 transforms
 all things  into its own likeness4     
,the nature of art is thus found to be  
intimately associated with the          
universal essence of every personal     
life4 ,art is not1 therefore1 a  thing  
for the coteries and the cliques2 nor is
 it a thing for the  exclusive leisure  
of any privileged class4 ,it is a thing 
springing  from the eternal stuff of the
 soul1 of every conceivable soul1       
whether human1 sub-human1 or            

super-human4    ,art is nearer than     
philosophy or morality to the creative  
energy2 because1 while it is impossible 
to think of art as  philosophy or       
morality1 it is inevitable that we      
should think of  both of these as being 
themselves forms and manifestations of  
art4    ,all that the will does1 in     
gathering together its impressions of   
life  and its reactions to life1 must1  
even in regard to the most vague1       
shadowy1 faint and obscure filcherings  
of contemplation1 be  regarded as a kind
 of intimate work of art1 with the soul 
as the  artist and the flow of life as  
the artist's material4    ,every        
personal soul1 however inartistic1 is an
 artist in this sense2  and every       
personal life thus considered is an     
effective or  ineffective work of art4  
,the primal importance of what in the   
narrow and restricted sense  we have    
come to call art can only be fully      
realized when we  think of such art as  
concentrating upon a definite material  

medium the creative energy which is for 
ever changing the world  in the process 
of changing our attitude to the world4  
,the deadly enemy of art--the power that
 has succeeded1 in these  commercial    
days1 in reducing art to a pastime for  
the leisured and  wealthy--is the       
original inert malice of the abyss4     
,this inert malice assumes1 directly it 
comes in contact with  practical        
affairs1 the form of the possessive     
instinct4 ,and the  attitude towards art
 of the collector or the leisured       
epicurean1  for whom it is merely a     
pleasant sensation among other          
sensations1  is an attitude which       
undermines the basis of its life4 ,the  
very  essence of art is that it should  
be a thing common to all1 within the    
reach of all1 expressive of the inherent
 and universal nature of all4  ,and that
 this is the nature of art is proved by 
the fact that art is  the personal      
expression of the personal centrifugal  
tendency in all  living souls2 an       

expression which1 when it goes far      
enough1  becomes impersonal1 because1 by
 expressing what is common to  all1 it  
reaches the point where the particular  
becomes the  universal4    ,it thus     
becomes manifest that the true nature of
 art will only be  incidentally and     
occasionally manifested1 and manifested 
among  us with great difficulty and     
against obstinate resistance1 until the 
hour comes when1 to an extent as yet    
hardly imaginable1 the  centripetal     
tendency of the possessive instinct in  
the race shall  have relinquished       
something of its malicious resistance to
 the  out-flowing force which ,i have   
named love4 ,and this yielding of the   
centripetal power to that which we call 
centrifugal can only take  place in a   
condition of human society where the    
idea of  communism has been accepted as 
the ideal and1 in some effective        
measure1 realized in fact4    ,for every
 work of art which exists is the        
rhythmic articulation1 in  terms of any 

medium1 of some personal vision of life4
 ,and the  more entirely original such a
 vision is1 the more closely--such is   
the ultimate paradox of things--will it 
be found to approximate  to a           
re-creation1 in this particular medium1 
of that eternal vision  wherein all     
souls have their share4      ,,chapter  
,,viii4    ,,the ,,nature ,,of ,,love   
,the secret of the universe1 as by slow 
degrees it reveals itself to  us1 turns 
out to be personality4 ,when we         
consider1 further1 the  form under which
 personality realizes1 itself1 we find  
it to consist  in the struggle of       
personality to grapple with the         
objective  mystery4 ,when1 in a still   
further movement of analysis1 we        
examine the nature of this struggle     
between the soul and the  mystery which 
surrounds the soul1 we find it          
complicated by the  fact that the soul's
 encounter with this mystery reveals the
  existence1 in the depths of the soul  
itself1 of two conflicting  emotions1   

the emotion of love and the emotion of  
malice4    ,the word love has been used 
so indiscriminately in its surprising   
history that it becomes necessary to    
elucidate a little the particular       
meaning ,i give to it in connection with
 this ultimate duality4 ,a  strange and 
grotesque commentary upon human life1   
these various  contradictory feelings   
that have covered their multitude of    
sins  under this historic name6    ,the 
lust of the satyr1 the affectionate glow
 of the domestic  habitu1 the rare      
exalted passion of the lover1 the cold1 
clear  attraction of the intellectual   
platonist1 the will to possession of the
  sex-maniac1 the will to voluptuous    
cruelty of the sex-pervert1 the         
maternal instinct1 the race-instinct1   
the instinct towards  fetish-worship1   
the instinct towards art1 towards       
nature1 towards the  ultimate           
mystery--all these things have been     
called love that we  should follow them 
and pursue them2 all these things have  

been  called love that we should avoid  
them and fly from them4    ,the emotion 
of love in which we seem to detect the  
ultimate  creative force is not         
precisely any of these things4 ,of all  
normal  human emotions it comes nearest 
to passionate sympathy4 ,but it is  much
 more than this4 ,the emotion of love is
 not a simple nor an  easily defined    
thing4 ,how should it be that1 when it  
is one aspect  of the outpouring of the 
very stuff of the soul itself8 ,how     
should it  be that when it is the       
projection1 into the heart of the       
objective  mystery1 of the soul's       
manifold and complicated essence8       
,the best definition of love is that it 
is the creative apprehension of  life1  
or of the objective mystery1 under the  
form of an eternal  vision4 ,at first   
sight this definition might seem but a  
cold and  intellectual account of love2 
an account that has omitted all         
feeling1 all passion1 all ecstasy4      
,but when we remember that what we call 

the eternal vision is  nothing less than
 the answer of love to love1 nothing    
less than the  reciprocal rhythm of all 
souls1 in so far as they have overcome  
malice1 with one another and with the   
mystery which surrounds  them1 it will  
be seen that the thing is something in  
which what we  call intellect and what  
we call feeling are both transcended4   
,love1 in this sense1 is an ecstasy2 but
 it is an ecstasy from which  all       
troubling1 agitating1 individual        
exactions have been obliterated4  ,it is
 an ecstasy completely purged of the    
possessive instinct4 ,it is  an ecstasy 
that brings to us a feeling of          
indescribable peace and  calm4 ,it is an
 ecstasy in which our personal self1 in 
the fullest  realization of its inmost  
identity1 loses itself1 even at the     
moment  of such realization1 in         
something which cannot be put into      
words4 ,at one moment our human soul    
finds itself harassed by a  thousand    
vexations1 outraged by a thousand       

miseries4 ,physical  pain torments it1  
spiritual pain torments it2 and a great 
darkness  of thick1 heavy1 poisonous    
obscurity wraps it round like a         
grave-cloth4 ,then1 in a sudden movement
 of the will1 the soul cries  aloud upon
 love2 and in one swift turn of the     
ultimate wheel1 the  whole situation is 
transformed4    ,the physical pain seems
 to have no longer any hold upon the    
soul4  ,the mental misery and trouble   
falls away from it like an  unstrapped  
load4 ,and a deep1 cool1 tide--calm and 
still and full of  infinite             
murmurs--rolls up around it1 and pours  
through it1 and  brings it healing and  
peace4 ,the emotion of love in which    
personality1 and therefore in which the 
universe1 finds the secret of  its life1
 has not the remotest connection with   
sex4 ,sexual passion  has its place in  
the world'2 but it is only when sexual  
passion  merges itself in the sort of   
love we are now considering that it     
becomes an instrument of real           

clairvoyance4    ,there is a savage     
instinct of cruel and searching         
illumination in  sexual passion1 but    
such an instinct is directed towards    
death  rather than towards life1 because
 it is dominated1 through all its  masks
 and disguises1 by the passion of       
possession4    ,like the passion of     
hate1 to which it is so closely allied1 
sexual  passion has a kind of furious   
intensity which is able to reveal  many 
deep levels of human obliquity4 ,but one
 thing it cannot  reveal1 because of the
 strain of malice it carries with it1   
and that is  the spring of genuine love4
 ,like unto like is the key to the      
situation2 and the deeper the           
clairvoyance of malice digs into the    
subterranean poison of life1 the more   
poison it finds4 ,for in finding  poison
 it creates poison1 and in finding      
malice it doubles malice4    ,the great 
works of art are not motivated by the   
clairvoyance of  malice2 they are       
motivated by the clairvoyance of love4  

,it is only  in the inferior levels of  
art that malice is the dominant note2   
and  even there it is only effective    
because1 mixed with it1 there is an     
element of destructive hatred springing 
from some perversion of  the sexual     
instinct4 ,whatever difficulty we may   
experience in  finding words wherewith  
to define this emotion of love1 there is
  not one of us1 however sceptical and  
malign1 who does not  recognize it when 
it appears in the flesh4 ,malice        
displays its  recognition of it by a    
passion of furious hatred2 but even this
  hatred cannot last for ever1 because  
in every personality that exists  there 
must be a hidden love which answers to  
the appeal of love4    ,the feeling     
which love has1 at its supreme moments1 
is the feeling  of unity in difference  
with all forms of life4 ,love may       
concentrate itself with a special       
concentration upon one person or  upon  
more than one2 but what it does when it 
so concentrates itself  is not to make  

an alliance of attack and defence with  
the person  it loves1 but to flow       
outwards1 through them and beyond them1 
until it includes every living thing4   
,let it not1 however1 be for a  moment  
supposed that the emotion of love       
resembles that vague  emotion of        
humanity which is able to satisfy itself
 in its own  remote sensationalism      
without any contact with the baffling   
and  difficult mystery of real flesh and
 blood4    ,the emotion of love holds   
firmly and tightly to the pieces and    
fragments of humanity which destiny has 
thrown in its way4 ,it  does not ask    
that these should be different from what
 they are1  except in so far as love    
inevitably makes them different4 ,it    
accepts  them as its universe1 even as  
it accepts1 without ascetic dismay1  the
 weakness of the particular form of     
humanity in which it  finds itself      
incarnated4    ,by gradual degrees it   
subdues these weaknesses of the flesh1  
whether in its own form or in the form  

of others2 but it is quite  contrary to 
the emotion of love to react against    
such weaknesses of  the flesh with      
austere or cruel contempt4 ,it is       
humorously  indulgent to them in the    
form of its own individual incarnation  
and it is tenderly indulgent to them in 
the form of the incarnation  of other   
souls4    ,the emotion of love does not 
shrink back into itself because in the  
confused pell-mell of human life the    
alien souls which destiny has  chosen   
for its companions do not satisfy1 in   
this detail or the other  detail1 the   
desire of its heart4 ,the emotion of    
love is always  centrifugal1 always     
outflowing4 ,it concentrates itself upon
 this  person or the other person1 as   
the unaccountable attractions of        
likeness and difference dictate or as   
destiny dictates2 but the  deepest      
loyalty of love is always directed to   
the eternal vision2 for  in the eternal 
vision it not only becomes one with all 
living souls  but it also becomes       

one--though this is a high and difficult
  mystery--with all the dead that have  
ever loved and with all the  unborn that
 will ever love4 ,for the apprehension  
of the eternal  vision is at once the   
supreme creation and the supreme        
discovery  of the soul of man2 and not  
of the soul of man alone1 but of all    
souls1 whether of beasts or plants or   
demi-gods or gods1 who fill  the        
unfathomable circle of space4    ,the   
secret of this kind of love1 when it    
comes to the matter of  human           
relationships1 may perhaps best be      
expressed in those  words of ,william   
,blake which imply the difficulty which 
love  finds in overcoming the murderous 
exactions of the possessive  instinct   
and the cruel clairvoyance of malice4   
,and throughout all  eternity1 ,i       
forgive you3 you forgive me3 ,as our    
dear ,redeemer  said--,this is the wine3
 this is the bread4    ,this forgiveness
 of love does not imply that love1 as   
the old  saying runs1 is blind4 ,love   

sees deeper than malice2 for malice  can
 only recognize its own likeness in     
everything it approaches4 ,it  must be  
remembered too that this process of     
laying bare the faults  of others is not
 a pure process of discovery4 ,like all 
other forms of  apprehension it is also 
a reproduction of itself4 ,the          
situation1 in  fact1 is never a static  
one4 ,these faults which malice1 in its 
reproductive discoveries lays bare1 are 
not fixed1 immobile1  dead4 ,they are   
organic and psychic conditions of a     
living soul4  ,they are themselves in a 
perpetual state of change1 of growth1 of
  increase1 of withering1 of fading4    
,they are affected at every  moment by  
the will and by the emotion of the      
subject of them4  ,they project         
themselves2 they withdraw themselves4   
,they dilate2  they diminish4 ,thus it  
happens that at the very touch of this  
discovering1 the malice which is thus   
discovered dilates with  immediate      
reciprocity to meet its discoverer2 and 

this can  occur--such is the curious    
telepathic vibration between living     
things--without any articulate act of   
consciousness4    ,the art of           
psychological investigation is therefore
 a very  dangerous organ of research in 
the hands of the malicious2 for it  goes
 like a reproductive scavenger through  
the field of human  consciousness       
increasing the evil which it is its     
purpose to collect4  ,the apostolic     
definition of charity as the thing which
 thinketh  no evil is hereby completely 
justified2 and the profound ,goethean   
maxim1 that the way to enlarge the      
capacities of human beings is  to assume
 that such capacities are larger than   
they really are1 is  justified also4    
,malice naturally assumes that the      
faults of people are static1  immobile1 
and unchanging4 ,it assumes this even in
 the very act of  increasing these      
faults4 ,for the ,i static and          
unchanging is precisely  what malice    
desires and seeks to find2 for death is 

its ideal2 and1  short of pure          
nothingness1 death is the most static   
thing we know4    ,love is not blind or 
fooled or deluded when it waives aside  
the  faults of a person and plunges into
 the unknown depths of such a  person's 
soul4 ,it is not blind1 when1 in the    
energy of the creative  vision1 such    
faults subside and fall away and cease  
to exist4 ,it is  completely justified  
in its declaration that what it sees and
 feels in  such a person is a hidden    
reservoir of unsatisfied good4 ,it does 
see  this2 it does feel this2 because   
there arises1 in answer to its          
approach1 an upward-flowing wave of its 
own likeness2 because in  such a        
person's inmost soul love1 after all1   
remains the creative  impulse which is  
the life of that soul and the very      
substance of that  soul's personality4  
,the struggle between the emotion of    
love and the emotion of  malice goes on 
perpetually1 in the depths of life1     
below a thousand  shifting masks and    

disguises4 ,what we call the universe is
  nothing but a congeries of innumerable
 souls1 manifested in  innumerable      
bodies1 each one confronted by the      
objective  mystery1 each one surrounded 
by an indescribable ethereal  medium4   
,what we call the emotion of love is the
 outflowing of any one of  these souls  
towards the body and soul of any other1 
or again1 in a  still wider sense1      
towards all bodies and souls covered by 
the  unfathomable circle of space4    ,i
 will give a concrete example of what ,i
 mean4 ,suppose a man to  be seated in  
the yard of a house with a few patches  
of grass in  front of him and the trunk 
of a solitary tree4 ,the slanting       
sunshine1  we will suppose1 throws the  
shadows of the leaves of the tree and   
the shadows of the grass-blades upon a  
forlorn piece of trodden  earth-mould or
 dusty sand which lies at his feet4     
,something about  the light movement of 
these shadows and their delicate play   
upon  the ground thrills him with a     

sudden thrill2 and he finds he loves    
this barren piece of earth1 these       
grass-blades1 and this tree4 ,he does   
not only love their outward shape and   
colour4 ,he loves the soul  behind them1
 the soul that makes them what they are4
 ,he loves  the soul of the grass1 the  
soul of the tree1 and that dim1         
mysterious1 far-off soul of the planet1 
of whose body this  barren patch of     
earth is a living portion4    ,what does
 this love of his actually imply8 ,it   
implies an  outflowing of the very stuff
 and substance of his own towards the   
thing he loves4 ,it implies1 by a       
mysterious vibration of reciprocity1  an
 indescribable response to his love from
 the soul of the tree1  the plant1 and  
the earth4 ,let an animal enter upon the
 scene1 or a  bird1 or a windblown      
butterfly1 or a flickering flight of    
midges or  gnats1 their small bodies    
illumined by the sun4 ,these new comers 
he also loves2 and is obscurely         
conscious that between their  souls and 

his own there vibrates a strange        
reciprocity4 ,let a  human being enter1 
familiar or unfamiliar1 and if his will 
be set  upon love1 the same phenomenon  
will repeat itself1 only with a  more   
conscious interchange4    ,but what of  
malice all this time8 ,well6 ,it is not 
difficult to  indicate what malice will 
seek to do4 ,malice will seek to find   
its  account in some physical or mental 
annoyance produced in us by  each of    
these living things4 ,this annoyance1   
this jerk or jolt to our  physical or   
mental well-being1 will be what to      
ourselves we name  the fault of the     
offending object4    ,the shadows will  
tease us by their incessant movement4   
,the tree  will vex us by the swaying of
 its branches4 ,the grass will present  
itself to us as an untidy intruder4 ,the
 barren patch of earth will fill  us    
with a profound depression owing to its 
desolate lack of life and  beauty4 ,the 
dog will worry us by its fuss1 its      
solicitation1 its desire  to be petted4 

,the gnats or midges will stir in us an 
indignant  hostility2 since their tribe 
have been known to poison the blood of  
man4 ,the human invader1 above all2 how 
loud and unpleasing his  voice is6 ,the 
eternal malice in the depths of our soul
 pounces upon  this tendency of grass to
 be a common weed1 of gnats to bite1 of 
dogs to bark1 of shadows to flicker1 of 
a man to have an evil  temper1 of a     
woman to have an atrocious shrewishness1
 or an  appalling sluttishness2 and out 
of these annoyances or faults it  feeds 
its desire2 it satisfies its            
necrophilistic lust2 and it rouses  in  
the grass1 in the earth1 in the tree1 in
 the dog1 in the human  intruder1       
strange and mysterious vibrations of    
response which add  to the general      
poison of the world4 ,but the example ,i
 have selected  of the activity of      
emotion may be carried further than     
this4 ,all  these individual souls of   
human1 animal1 vegetable1 planetary     
embodiment1 are confronted by the same  

objective mystery and  surrounded by the
 same ethereal medium4    ,by projecting
 a vision poisoned by malice into the   
matrix of the  objective mystery1 the   
resultant universe becomes itself a     
poisoned thing1 a thing penetrated by   
the spirit of evil4 ,it is  because the 
universe is always penetrated by the    
malice of the  various visions whose    
universe it is1 that we suffer so       
cruelly  from its ironic diablerie4 ,a  
universe entirely composed of the       
bodies and souls of beings whose        
primordial emotion is so largely  made  
up of malice is naturally a malicious   
universe4 ,the age-old  tradition of the
 witchery and devilry of malignant      
,nature is a proof  as to how deep this 
impression of the system of things has  
sunk4  ,certain great masters of fiction
 draw the motive of their art from  this
 unhappy truth4    ,and just as the     
universe is penetrated through and      
through by the  malice of those whose   
universe it is1 so we may suppose that  

the  ethereal medium which surrounds all
 souls1 before they have  visioned their
 various universes and found them to be 
one1 is a  thing which also may be      
affected by malice4 ,it is an open      
question  and one which1 in the words of
 ,sir ,thomas ,browne1 admits a  wide   
solution1 whether or not this ethereal  
medium1 which in a  sense is of one     
stuff both with the objective mystery   
and with the  substratum of the soul1 is
 itself the elemental body1 as it were1 
of  a living ubiquitous soul4    ,if    
this should be the case--and it is no   
fantastic hypothesis--we are  then      
provided with an explanation of the     
curious malignant  impishness of those  
so-called elementals who tease1 with    
their  enigmatic oracles1 the minds of  
unwise dabblers in psychic              
manifestations4    ,but what we are     
concerned with noting now is that just  
as the  primordial malice of all the    
souls it contains continually poisons   
the universe1 so the primordial love of 

all the souls it contains  continually  
redeems and transforms the universe4 ,in
 other words it  is no exaggeration to  
say that the unfathomable universe is   
continually undergoing the same ebb and 
flow between love and  malice1 as are   
the souls and bodies of all the living  
things whereof  it is composed4    ,and 
what precisely is the attitude of love  
towards the physical  body8 ,does it    
despise the physical body8 ,does its    
activity imply  an ascetic or a         
puritanical attitude towards the body   
and the  appetites of the body8 ,the    
truth is quite the contrary of this4    
,what  the revelation of the complex    
vision indicates is that this loathing  
of the body1 this revulsion against the 
body1 this craving to escape  from the  
body1 is a mood which springs up out of 
the eternal  malice4 ,it is from the    
emotion of love in its attitude to the  
body  that we arrive at the idea of the 
sacredness of the body and at the  idea 
of what might be called the eternal     

reality of the body4    ,this idea of   
the eternal reality of the body springs 
directly from  those ideas of truth1    
beauty and goodness which are           
pre-existent in  the universe and       
therefore springs directly from that    
emotion of  love which is the synthesis 
of these4    ,the forms and shapes of   
stars and plants and rivers and hills   
are  all realized and consummated in the
 form and shape of the human  body4 ,the
 magic of the elements1 the mystery of  
earth and air and  water and fire1 are  
incarnated in this miracle of flesh and 
blood4 ,in  the countenance of a human  
child1 in the countenance of a man or  a
 woman1 the whole unfathomable drama of 
life is expressed4 ,the  most evil of   
the children of men1 asleep or dead1 has
 in his face  something more tragic and 
more beautiful than all the waters and  
all the land4    ,not to love flesh and 
blood1 not to will the eternal existence
 of  flesh and blood1 is not to know    
love at all4 ,to loathe flesh and       

blood1 to will the annihilation of flesh
 and blood1 is to be a victim  of that  
original motiveless malignity which     
opposes itself to the  creative force4  
,this insistence upon the eternal idea  
of the body does not  necessarily limit 
the idea of the body to the idea of the 
human  body2 but practically it does so4
 ,and it practically does so because    
the human body evidently incarnates the 
beauty and the nobility of  all other   
forms and shapes and appearances which  
make up our  existing universe4         
,there may be other and different bodies
 in the unfathomable  spaces of the     
world2 but for those among us who are   
content to  deal with the actual        
experiences which we have1 the human    
body1  summing up the magical qualities 
of all other terrestrial forms and      
shapes1 must1 as far as we are          
concerned1 remain our permanent         
standard of truth and beauty4    ,the   
substitution in art1 in philosophy1 and 
in religion1 of other  symbols1 for this

 natural and eternal symbol of the human
 body is  always a sign of a weakening  
of the creative impulse4 ,it is a sign  
of a relative disintegration of the     
power of love and a relative            
concentration of the power of malice4   
,thus when1 by an abuse of  the         
metaphysical reason1                    
thought-in-the-abstract assumes the     
rights of a personality the principle of
 love is outraged1 because  the eternal 
idea of the body is denied4    ,and     
when1 by an abuse of the psychological  
reason1 the other  activities of the    
soul are so stressed and emphasized that
 the  attribute of sensation is         
forgotten1 the principle of love is     
outraged1  because the eternal idea of  
the body is denied4 ,the principle of   
love1 by the necessity of its own       
nature1 demands that the  physiological 
aspect of reality should retain its     
validity4    ,when1 therefore1 we come  
to consider the relation of this eternal
  idea of the body to those invisible   

sons of the universe whose  power of    
love is inconceivably greater than our  
own1 we are  compelled1 by the necessity
 of the complex vision1 to encounter    
one of those ultimate dilemmas from     
which there appears to be no  escape4   
,the dilemma to which we are thus led   
may be defined in  the following manner4
    ,because the secret of the universe 
and the ultimate harmony  between the   
pre-existent ideas by which all souls   
must live can be  nothing less than     
what1 in this rarified and heightened   
sense1 we  have named love and because  
the objective pattern and standard  of  
this love is the creative energy of     
those personal souls we have  named the 
sons of the universe1 therefore the sons
 of the  universe must be regarded as   
directing their desire and their will   
towards what satisfies the inherent     
nature of such love4 ,and  because the  
inherent nature of such love demands    
nothing less  than the eternalizing of  
the idea of flesh and blood1 therefore  

the  sons of the universe must be       
regarded as directing their desire  and 
their will towards the eternalizing of  
the idea of flesh and  blood4    ,and   
just as the will and desire of these    
invisible companions of  men must be    
regarded as directed towards the        
eternalizing of this  idea whose magical
 stuff of dreams is one of the objects  
of their  love1 so the will and desire  
of all living souls must be directed    
towards the eternalizing of this same   
reality4 ,and because the love  of all  
living souls remains restless and       
unsatisfied when directed to  any object
 except the eternal vision and because  
when directed  to the eternal vision    
such love loses the misery of its       
craving and  becomes satisfied1         
therefore the eternal vision must be    
regarded  as the only object which can  
ultimately and really satisfy the       
eternal restlessness of the love of all 
living souls4    ,but the inherent      
nature of love demands1 as we have seen1

 the  permanent reality of the          
physiological aspect of the universe4   
,that  is to say1 the inherent desire of
 the love of all living souls is        
directed towards the eternalizing of the
 idea of flesh and blood4  ,from this it
 follows that since the eternal vision  
satisfies the  desire of love the       
eternal vision must include within it   
the  eternal idea of the body4    ,both 
the sons of the universe1 therefore1 and
 all other living  souls are compelled1 
in so far as they give themselves up to 
the  creative energy1 to direct their   
will towards the eternalization of  this
 idea4 ,but is there not an inevitable  
frustration and negation of  this desire
 and this will8    ,are not both the    
companions of men and men themselves    
denied  by the very nature of things the
 realization of this idea8 ,is not the  
love of man for the sons of the universe
 frustrated in its desire in  so far as 
the sons of the universe cannot be      
embodied in flesh  and blood8 ,and is   

not the love of the sons of the universe
 for  man frustrated in its desire in so
 far as the physical form of each       
individual soul is destroyed by death8  
,it seems to me that this dilemma cannot
 be avoided4 ,love insists  on the      
eternity of the idea of the body4       
,therefore every soul who  loves the    
sons of the universe desires their      
incarnation4 ,but if  the sons of the   
universe could appear in flesh and blood
 for the  satisfaction of any one of    
their lovers1 all other souls in the    
wide  world would lose them as their    
invisible companions4 ,but although     
this dilemma cannot in its literal      
outlines be avoided1 it seems that  the 
same inherent nature of love which leads
 to this dilemma leads  also to the     
vanishing point or gap or lacuna in     
thought where the  solution1 although   
never actually realized1 may conceivably
 exist4    ,what love desires is the    
eternalizing of the idea of flesh and   
blood4  ,it desires this because the    

idea of flesh and blood is a necessary  
aspect of the fulness and completeness  
of personality4 ,but though  the idea of
 flesh and blood is a necessary aspect  
of personality1  every actual           
incarnation of personality leaves us    
aware that the  particular soul we love 
has something more of beauty and        
nobility  than is expressed4    ,this   
something more is not a mere            
hypothetical quality but is an  actual  
and real quality which we must assume to
 exist in the very  stuff and texture of
 the soul4 ,it exists1 therefore1 in    
that  vanishing-point of sensation1 as  
,i called it1 which we have to think    
of1 although we cannot define it1 as    
constituting the soul's essential  self4
 ,those pre-existed ideas which find    
their synthesis in the  emotion of love 
are undoubtedly part of the unfathomable
  universe4 ,but they are this only     
because they are interwoven  with the   
unfathomable soul which exists in each  
of us4 ,the  something1 therefore1 which

 is the substratum of the soul and its  
centre of identity is a thing woven out 
of the very stuff of these  ideas4      
,this is the vanishing point of         
sensation to which ,i have referred1    
the point namely where what we call mind
 blends indissolubly  with what we call 
matter4 ,the emotion of love which      
desires the  eternalization of the idea 
of flesh and blood would be on the way  
to satisfaction1 even if it never       
altogether reached it1 if it were able  
to feel that this beauty and nobility   
and reality which exist in this         
vanishing point of sensation which is   
the very self of the soul  were actually
 the living essence of flesh and blood1 
were1 in fact1 a  real spiritual body1  
of which the material body was the      
visible  expression4    ,it is the      
inherent nature of love itself1 with its
 craving for reality1  which leads us to
 the verge of this conception2 and      
although this  conception can never1 as 
we have seen1 become more than a        

vanishing-point of sensation we have at 
least the satisfaction of  knowing that 
if we were able to define the thing more
 clearly it  would cease at once to be  
the object of love2 because it would    
cease to be that mysterious fusion of   
mind and matter which it  is the nature 
of love to crave4    ,without the       
necessity then that these immortal ones 
whom ,i call  the sons of the universe  
should satisfy the love of human souls  
by any physical incarnation1 they may be
 considered as leading  such love upon  
the true way by simply being what they  
are2 that is  by being living souls4    
,for1 as living souls1 they also must   
possess  as the centre of their being1 a
 spiritual body1 or fusion-point of     
mind and matter1 which is the inner     
reality of flesh and blood4    ,this    
spiritual body of the gods or the sons  
of the universe  must necessarily be    
more noble and more beautiful than any  
visible embodiment of them could        
possibly be2 though human  imagination  

and human art have a profound right to  
attempt to  visualize such an impossible
 embodiment2 and the purest and most    
natural form of religion would be the   
form which struggled most  successfully 
to appropriate such a visualization4    
,and just as the human soul can satisfy 
something1 though not all1  of its      
desire for the eternalizing of flesh and
 blood in the spiritual  bodies of these
 invisible companions1 so the gods can  
themselves satisfy something1 though not
 all1 of their love for the  individual 
soul in the reality of the soul's       
spiritual body4    ,all this may carry  
to certain minds an ambiguous and even  
distasteful association2 but ,i think it
 will only do so to such minds  as are  
reluctant to analyse1 to the furthest   
limit1 their own capacity  for the kind 
of love ,i have attempted to describe2  
and possibly  also such minds as are    
debarred1 by some sub-conscious element 
of malice in them1 from even desiring to
 develop such a  capacity4    ,the      

ambiguity and unsatisfactory vagueness  
in what ,i have been  attempting to     
indicate may perhaps be in a measure    
dissipated by a  direct appeal to       
concrete experience4 ,when one analyses 
this  emotion of love in relation to any
 actual human object ,i think it        
becomes clear that in our attitude to   
the physical body of the  person we love
 there is a profound element of pity4   
,the sexual emotion may destroy this    
pity2 and any emotion which  is sensual 
as well as sexual may not only destroy  
it but turn it into  a very different   
kind of pity2 into the pity1 namely1 of 
a torturer  for his victim4 ,but ,i feel
 ,i am not wrong in my analysis of the  
kind  of love ,i have in my mind1 when  
,i say that the element of pity  enters 
profoundly into our attitude towards the
 body of the person  we love4    ,it    
enters into it for this reason2 namely  
because the physical body  of the person
 we love does so inadequately and so    
imperfectedly  express the beauty of    

such a person's soul4 ,love is not love 
when the blemishes and defects and      
maladies of the physical form  of the   
person loved interfere with our love and
 cause it to  diminish4 ,and such       
blemishes and defects and maladies would
  interfere with love if love were not  
in its essence profoundly  penetrated by
 pity4    ,it may be asked--how can     
love1 which is naturally associated with
  beauty and nobility1 endure for a     
moment in the presence of such          
lamentable hideousness and repulsiveness
 and offensiveness1 as  exists in some  
degree in the physiological aspects of  
us all8 ,it is  able to endure because  
in the presence of this what it desires 
is1 as  ,i have said1 not so much the   
actual physical body of the object of   
its love as the eternal idea of such a  
body4    ,when the individual soul      
allows itself to demand with too        
desperate a craving the actual          
incarnation of these sons of the        
universe it is in reality false to its  

desire for the eternal idea of  the     
body1 because no actual incarnation of  
these immortal ones  could realize in   
any complete sense this eternal idea4   
,in the same way when we feel the       
emotion of love towards any  human soul1
 our attitude towards the physical form 
of such a soul  must of necessity be    
profoundly penetrated by pity and by a  
tender  and humorous recognition that   
such a physical form only  expresses a  
very limited portion of the unfathomable
 soul which  we love4    ,if1 with a    
desperate craving to contradict the     
essential nature of  love1 we insist    
upon regarding the physical body as the 
complete  expression of the soul1 we    
fall into the same fatal weakness as    
that  into which those fall who demand a
 physical incarnation of the  companions
 of men1 and along with such as these we
 are false to  love's true craving for  
the eternal idea of flesh and blood4    
,in other words1 this craving of love   
for the eternal idea of the  body does  

not imply that we are false to love when
 we are unable  to change our natural   
repugnance in the presence of the       
repulsive  and the offensive into       
attraction to these things4 ,love       
certainly  does not mean a morbid       
attraction to what is unattractive4 ,the
  sexual emotion1 the emotion which we  
call being in love1 does  sometimes     
include this morbidity1 just because1 by
 reason of its  physiological origin1 it
 tends to remain the slave of the       
physiological4 ,but although love does  
not imply a morbid  attraction to the   
repulsive and the offensive1 and        
although the  presence of the repulsive 
and offensive in connection with those  
we love is a proof to us that the       
eternal idea of the body1 is not        
realized in the actual body1 it is clear
 that love is not love when  it allows  
itself to be diminished or destroyed by 
the presence of  these things4    ,what 
love really demands1 both with regard to
 the universe and  with regard to any   

individual soul in the universe1 is not 
so much  the retention of the           
physiological aspect of these things1 as
 we  know them now1 but of the          
physiological aspect of them implied  in
 such a phrase as the eternal idea of   
matter or the eternal idea  of flesh and
 blood4    ,it may be put still more    
simply by saying that what love demands 
is the existence of something in what we
 call matter or the  body which         
guarantees the eternal reality of these 
aspects of life4  ,it does not demand   
that we should love the repulsive1 the  
offensive1 the false1 or the evil1      
because these exist in the bodies  and  
the souls of those we love4             
,everything in the universe partakes of 
the eternal duality4 ,the  hideous1 the 
false and the evil are not confined to  
what we call  mind but exist in what we 
call matter also4 ,consequently love1   
when in its craving for complete reality
 it demands the eternal  idea of the    
body does not demand that this eternal  

idea should be  realized in any actual  
body4    ,when a demand of this kind is 
made1 it is not made by love but by  the
 sexual instinct1 and it is invariably  
doomed to a ghastly  disillusion4 ,for  
it is just this very craving1 namely    
that in some  actual human body the     
eternal idea of the body should be      
realized1 that the sweet and terrible   
madness of sexual love  continually     
implies4 ,but real love1 the love which 
is the supreme  synthesis of those ideas
 which represent the creative power in  
the  ultimate duality1 can never be     
disillusioned4    ,and it cannot be     
disillusioned because it is able to see1
 beneath the  chaotic litter and        
unessential debris of matter1 the       
eternal idea of  matter and because it  
is able to see1 under the lamentable    
repulsiveness and offensiveness of so   
much actual flesh and  blood1 the       
eternal idea of flesh and blood4        
,love's attitude toward this element of 
litter and chaos in the  universe is    

sometimes an attitude of humorous       
toleration and  sometimes an attitude of
 destructive fire4 ,love's attitude     
towards  the repulsive and the offensive
 in human souls and bodies is  sometimes
 an attitude of humorous toleration and 
sometimes an  attitude of destructive   
fire4    ,but along with this passion of
 destruction1 which is so essential a   
part of the passion of creation1 and    
along with this humorous  indulgence1   
there necessarily mingles1 where human  
beings are  concerned1 an element of    
profound pity4 ,the best concrete       
example of the mood ,i am trying to     
indicate is the emotion which  any one  
would naturally feel in the presence of 
some torturer or  tyrant whom he had    
slain1 or even whom he had surprised    
asleep4  ,for the prerogative of both   
sleep and death is that they obliterate 
the repulsive elements of flesh and     
blood and set free its eternal  idea4   
,and this is true of death even after   
the ghastly process of chemical         

dissolution has actually begun4 ,a      
loathing of matter as matter1 a  hatred 
and contempt for the body as the body1  
is therefore a  manifestation not of    
love but of the opposite of love4 ,such 
a  loathing of the physiological is a   
sign of a weakening of the  creative    
energy4 ,it is also a sign of the       
stiffening of the resistant  malice1 or 
motiveless malignity1 which opposes     
creation4 ,what  the energy of love     
directs its desire and its will towards1
 is first the  eternal idea of the soul1
 the idea of the rhythmic harmony of    
mind and matter fused and lost in one   
another1 and then the  eternal idea of  
the body1 the idea of the rhythmic      
projection of  this invisible harmony   
upon the visible fabric of the world4   
,thus we arrive at the only definition  
of the nature of love which is          
satisfactory to the deepest moments of  
feeling experienced by the  human soul4 
,in such moments the soul gathers itself
 together on  the verge and brink of the

 unknown4 ,something beyond the power   
of our will takes possession then of all
 that we are4 ,in our  momentary and    
transitory movement of the complex      
vision we are  permitted to pass across 
the ultimate threshold4    ,we enter    
then that mysterious rhythm which ,i    
have called ,the  ,eternal ,vision2 and 
in place of our desire for personal     
immortality1 in place of our desire for 
the possession of any person  or thing1 
in place of our contemplation of forces 
and energies  and evolution or          
dissolution1 in place of our struggle   
for  existence or for power1 we become  
suddenly aware that in the  outflowing  
and reciprocal inter-action of the      
emotion of love there  is something that
 reduces all these to insignificance1   
something  that out of the very depths  
of the poisonous misery of the world    
and the irony of the world and the      
madness of the world utters its  defiant
 ,rabelaisian signal1 ,bon espoir y gist
 au fond4      ,,chapter ,,ix4    ,,the 

,,nature ,,of ,,the ,,gods    ,we must  
now return to our original definition of
 the true  philosophical instrument of  
research in order to see if we can      
secure from it a clearer notion as to   
the nature of the ,gods4 ,such  an      
instrument is1 as we have seen1 the     
apex-thought of the complex  vision     
using all its attributes in rhythmic    
unison4 ,for the complex  vision using  
all its attributes in unison is only    
another name for the  soul using the    
body and using something more than the  
body4    ,if the soul could use no      
attributes except those given to it by  
the  body1 it might1 or it might not1   
arrive at the idea of the sons of the   
universe4 ,it certainly could not enter 
into any relation with such  immortal   
beings4 ,but since it has arrived at    
such a conception it is  impossible for 
it ever to fall entirely away from what 
it has  reached4 ,for the same          
unfathomable duality which gave birth to
  the sons of the universe has given    

birth to men2 and between these  two1   
between the ideal figures who cannot    
perish and the  generations of souls who
 for ever appear and for ever pass away 
there is an eternal understanding4 ,and 
the understanding between  these two    
depends upon the fact that they are both
 children of the  same unfathomable     
duality4    ,but this duality which is  
the cause why the universe is the       
universe  and not something other than  
the universe1 must remain as great a    
mystery to the souls of the companions  
of men as it is to all the  souls in the
 world who recognize them as their      
ideal4    ,we cannot escape the         
impression that this complex vision of  
ours1 which is our instrument of        
research and which leaves us in  the    
presence of an unfathomable duality1    
finds a parallel in the  complex vision 
of the sons of the universe which is    
their  instrument of research and which 
leaves them also in the presence  of an 
unfathomable duality4 ,we cannot escape 

from the impression  that to these      
children of the eternal duality the     
mystery of this  duality is as dark as  
it is to ourselves4    ,they find       
themselves struggling to overcome malice
 with love1  even as we find ourselves  
struggling to overcome malice with      
love4 ,they find themselves driven to   
creation and destruction4 ,the  complex 
vision1 which is their instrument of    
research1 is baffled in  the same way as
 the complex vision which is our        
instrument of  research4    ,if1        
therefore1 in our desperate struggle    
with the unfathomable  nature of this   
duality1 we demand why it is that the   
gods have  failed1 in spite of their    
love1 to give us any clue to some       
ultimate  reconciliation1 the answer    
must be that such an ultimate           
reconciliation is as much beyond the    
reach of their vision as it is  beyond  
the reach of ours4 ,the attainment of   
such a reconciliation  would seem to    
mean the absolute end of life as we know

 it and of  creation as we know it4     
,such a reconciliation would seem to    
mean  nothing less than the swallowing  
up of the universe in unthinkable       
nothingness4    ,the truth is that in   
this ultimate revelation of the complex 
vision  we are confronted with an       
inevitable triad1 or trinity1 of        
primordial  aspects4 ,we are compelled  
to think of a plurality of living souls 
of which our own is one2 of certain     
ideal companions of all souls  whose    
vision gives to our vision its objective
 value2 and of an  external universe    
which is the creation of this vision4   
,what the complex vision indicates1     
therefore1 is a system of things  which 
has a monistic aspect1 for there is only
 one space and only  one succession of  
time2 a pluralistic aspect1 for the     
system of  things gives birth           
continually to innumerable individual   
souls2 and  a dualistic aspect1 for the 
universe itself is created by the       
struggle  between love and malice4      

,what the complex vision does not       
indicate is any ultimate  principle     
which reduces this complex system of    
things to the  unbroken mass of one     
integral unity4 ,the nearest approach to
 such  an unbroken1 integral unity is to
 be found in that indefinable  medium   
which makes it possible for the         
innumerable souls  which compose the    
universe to communicate with one another
 and  with their invisible pre-existent 
companions4 ,it is only the  existence  
of this indefinable medium which makes  
it possible for  us to speak of a       
universe at all4 ,for this medium is the
 objective  ground1 or basis1 so to say1
 from the midst of which each           
individual vision creates its own       
universe1 always appealing as it  does  
so to that objective standard or pattern
 of truth offered by the  vision of     
man's invisible companions4 ,what we    
roughly and  loosely call the universe  
or nature is therefore an accumulated   
projection or creation of all the souls 

which exist1 held together by  this     
pervading medium which enables them to  
communicate with  one another4 ,in this 
eternal process of creating the universe
 by  their united visions1 all these    
souls must inevitably appeal1           
consciously or unconsciously1 to the    
vision of their pre-existent            
companions4    ,the best justification  
which can be offered for the expression 
sons of the universe as applied to these
 invisible companions is  to be found in
 the inevitable anthropomorphism of all 
human  thought4 ,the breaking point1 so 
to speak1 of man's vision1 that  ecstasy
 of comprehension which ,i call his     
apex-thought1 is the  moment which makes
 him aware of these companions'         
existence4  ,and1 at this ecstatic      
moment1 all individual souls find their 
personality deepened to such a point    
that they feel themselves  possessed of 
the very secret of the ultimate duality1
 feel  themselves to be1 in fact1       
unfathomable personifications of that   

duality4 ,and their intimation or vision
 with regard to the gods  presents      
itself to them at that moment as the    
very nature and true  being of the gods4
 ,yet it must be remembered that this   
intimation  is a thing which we reach   
only by pain and exquisite effort2 is a 
thing1 in fact1 which is the culminating
 point of an elaborate and  difficult   
work of art requiring a rhythm and a    
harmony in our  nature attained by no   
easy road4    ,since1 therefore1 the    
reality of these invisible companions   
though  implied in all our intercourse  
with one another1 is only visualized  as
 actual and authentic when our          
subjective vision is at its highest     
point1 and since when our subjective    
vision is at its highest point it       
conveys the sensation1 rightly or       
wrongly1 that what we call our  universe
 is their universe also1 it is not      
without justification  that we use the  
anthropomorphic expression the sons of  
the  universe to describe these         

invisible companions4    ,this          
expression1 the sons of the universe1   
this idea of an objective  standard of  
all ideas1 is something that we attain  
with difficulty  and not something that 
we just pick up as we go along4 ,the    
objective1 in this sense1 is the supreme
 attainment of the  subjective4 ,and    
although when we have found these       
companions  they become real and actual1
 we must not forget that1 in the long   
process of escaping from the            
subjectivity of ourselves into the      
objectivity of their existence1 it was  
our own subjective vision  with the     
rhythmic ecstasy of its apex-thought    
which led us to the  brink of this      
discovery4 ,thus the expression the sons
 of the  universe finds its             
justification4 ,for they are the        
objective  discovery1 as well as the    
objective implication1 of all our human 
and subjective visions4 ,we and they    
together create the universe  and       
together become the children of the     

world we create4    ,and although the   
universe when thus created remains the  
creation  of man1 assisted by the gods1 
it now presents itself to us1 in its    
acquired and attained objectivity1 as a 
pre-existent thing which is  rather our 
parent than our creation4 ,this         
objective reality of it1  with the      
inevitable implication that it existed  
before we came on  the scene at all1 and
 will exist after we have disappeared   
from the  scene1 is a truth towards     
which our subjective vision has led us1 
but which1 when once we reach it1 seems 
to become independent  of our subjective
 vision4    ,here again1 therefore1 in  
connection with the universe as in      
connection with the gods1 the creation  
of our subjectivity is found  to be     
something independent of our            
subjectivity and something  that1 all   
the while1 has been implicit in the     
energy of our subjective  vision4 ,and  
precisely as the subjective vision of   
man creates the  companions of men and  

then discovers them to be an objective  
reality1 so the subjective vision of man
 creates the universe and  then         
discovers the universe to be an         
objective reality4 ,and in both  cases  
this discovering finds its justification
 in a recognition that  the idea of this
 resultant objectivity was implicit in  
the subjective  energy from the         
beginning4 ,but the universe once       
created or  discovered1 is found to be  
the eternal manifestation of that       
ultimate  duality which is the essence  
of our own souls and of the souls of    
the immortals4    ,in no other way can  
we think of the objectivity of the      
universe2 for  in no other way can we   
think of ourselves4 ,and because it is  
the  evocation of that ultimate duality 
which is the very stuff and  texture of 
our creative vision1 the universe       
becomes naturally the  parent of man's  
invisible companions as it becomes the  
parent of  man himself4 ,and thus are we
 justified in speaking of these         

mysterious ones as the sons of the      
universe4    ,it is out of pain and     
grief that we arrive at the conception  
of the  nature of the gods4 ,those who  
have not eaten their bread with  tears1 
they know them not1 the ,heavenly       
,powers6 ,pain and  sorrow1 both        
physical and mental1 seem to soften the 
porous shell1  so to speak1 of the human
 intelligence1 seem to throw back       
certain  shutter-like shards or scales  
with which it protects its malignant    
ignorance4    ,it is when our loneliness
 becomes intolerable1 it is when the    
poisonous teeth of the eternal malice in
 ,nature have us by the  throat1 it is  
when our malice rises up1 in the        
miserable torture of  hatred1 to answer 
the malice of the system of things1     
that1 out of  the depths1 we cry to the 
darkness which surrounds us for some    
voice or some signal that shall give us 
an intimation of help4  ,merely to know 
that our wretched pain is known to some 
one  besides ourselves is an incredible 

relief4 ,merely to know that some  sort 
of superhuman being1 even without       
special preoccupation  with human fate1 
can turn an amused or an indulgent      
clairvoyance  towards our wretchedness1 
can note it with dispassionate          
sympathy1 as we note the hurts of       
animals or plants1 is a sort of         
consolation4 ,it is a relief to know    
that what we feel when we are  hurt to  
the breaking-point is not absolutely    
wasted and lost in the  void1 but is    
stored up in an immortal memory along   
with many  other pains of the same kind4
 ,that cry1 ,only ,he do know what ,i   
do suffer of the ,wessex peasant is a   
cry natural to the whole  human race4   
,it is not that we ask to be confronted 
and healed by  our immortal friend4 ,we 
ask merely that our sorrows should not  
be altogether drowned in the abyss as   
though they had never been4  ,there is a
 certain outrage about this annihilation
 of the very  memory of pain against    
which humanity protests4    ,but it is  

necessary at this point to beware of the
 old pathetic  fallacy of human thought1
 the fallacy of assuming that to be     
true1  which we desire to be true4 ,what
 our complex vision reveals as to  the  
nature of the gods does not satisfy in  
any obvious or facile  manner this      
bitter need of humanity4 ,if it did so  
satisfy it1 then for  some profound and 
mysterious reason man's own aesthetic   
sense  would revolt against it1 would   
indignantly reject it1 as too smooth  an
 answer to life's mystery4    ,for man's
 aesthetic sense seems in some strange  
way to be in  league with a certain     
inveterate tragedy in things1 which no  
facile  optimism can ever cajole or     
melt4    ,that the gods are aware of our
 existence can hardly be doubted4 ,that 
they feel pity for us1 in this or that  
significant hour1 can easily  be        
imagined4 ,that the evil in us draws    
towards us what is evil in  them seems  
likewise a not unnatural possibility4   
,that the love in  us draws towards us  

the love in them is a thing in complete 
accordance with our own relation to     
forms of life lower than  ourselves4    
,that even at certain moments the gods  
may1 by a kind  of celestial            
vampirizing1 use the bodily senses of   
men to fill out1  as it were1 what is   
lacking in their own materiality1 is a  
conceivable speculation4    ,but it is  
not in any definite relation between the
 individual soul of  man and the        
individual soul of any one of the       
immortals that our  hope lies4 ,if this 
were all that we could look for1 our    
condition  would be as miserable as the 
condition of those unhappy ones who     
seek intermittent and fantastic relief  
in attempted intercourse with  the      
psychic and the occult4    ,our hope    
lies in that immemorial and traditional 
human gesture  which has1 in the unique 
figure of ,christ1 gathered up and      
focussed1  as it were1 all the vague and
 floating intimations of super-human    
sympathy1 all the shadowy rumours and   

intimations of super-human  help1 which 
move to and fro in the background of our
 apprehension4    ,the figure of ,christ
 has thus become something more than a  
mere  name arbitrarily given by us to   
some nameless god4 ,the figure of       
,christ has become a symbol1 an         
intermediary1 a kind of cosmic          
high-priest1 standing between all that  
is mortal and all that is  immortal in  
the world1 and by means of the love and 
pity that is in  him partaking of the   
nature of every living thing4    ,when1 
therefore1 out of the bitterness of our 
fate we cry aloud  upon the ,unknown1   
the answer to our cry comes from the    
heart  of ,christ4 ,in other words it   
comes from the epitome and              
personification of all the love in the  
universe4 ,for to the figure of  ,christ
 has been brought1 down the long ages of
 the world1 all the  baffled1 thwarted1 
broken1 unsatisfied love in every soul  
that has  ever lived4 ,it is in the     
heart of ,christ that all the nameless  

sorrows  and miseries1 of the           
innumerable lives that ,nature gives    
birth to1  are stored up and remembered4
 ,not one single pang1 felt by plant  or
 animal or bird or fish or man or       
planet1 but is embalmed for  ever in    
that mysterious store-house of the      
universal pity4 ,thus1 if  there were no
 other superhuman ,beings in the world  
and if apart  from the creative energy  
of all souls ,christ would never have   
existed1 as it is now ,he does exist    
because ,he has been  created by the    
creative power of all souls4    ,but    
while in one sense the figure of ,christ
 is the supreme work of  art of the     
world1 the culminating achievement of   
the anonymous  creative energy of all   
souls1 the turning of the transitory    
into the  eternal1 of the mortal into   
the immortal1 of the human into the     
divine2 in another sense the figure of  
,christ is a real and living            
personality1 the one personality among  
the gods1 whose nature we  may indeed   

assume that we understand and know4     
,how should we not understand it1 when  
it has been in so large a  measure      
created by our sorrow and our desire8   
,but the fact that the anonymous        
striving of humanity with the  objective
 mystery has in a sense created the     
figure of ,christ does  not reduce the  
figure of ,christ to a mere ,ideal4 ,as 
we have seen  with regard to the        
primordial ideas of truth1 beauty1 and  
goodness1  nothing can be an ,ideal     
which has not already1 in the eternal   
system of things1 existed as a reality4 
,what we call the pursuit of truth1 or  
the creation of truth1 what we  call the
 pursuit of beauty or the creation of   
beauty1 is always a  return to something
 which has been latent in the eternal   
nature  of the system of things4 ,in    
other words1 in all creation there is a 
rediscovery1 just as in all discovery   
there is creation4    ,the figure of    
,christ1 therefore1 the everlasting     
intermediary  between mortality and     

immortality1 has been at once created   
and  discovered by humanity4 ,when any  
living soul approaches the  figure of   
,christ1 or cries aloud upon ,christ out
 of the depths of its  misery1 it cries 
aloud upon all the love that has ever   
existed in the  world4 ,it enters at    
such a moment into definite communion   
with all  the suffering of all the dead 
and with all the suffering of all the   
unborn4    ,for in the heart of ,christ 
all the dead are gathered up into       
immortality1 and all their pain         
remembered4 ,in the heart of ,christ    
all the unborn live already1 in their   
pain and in their joy2 for such  pain   
and such joy are latent in the ultimate 
duality of love and  malice1 and in the 
heart of ,christ this ultimate duality  
struggles  with such terrible           
concentration that all the antagonisms  
which the  procession of time evokes1   
all the moments of this abysmal  drama1 
in the past1 in the present1 in the     
future1 are summed up and  comprehended 

in what that heart feels4    ,the       
ancient human doctrine of vicarious     
suffering1 the doctrine  that upon the  
person of ,christ all the sins and      
sorrows of the world  are laid1 is not a
 mere logical conclusion of a certain   
set of  theological axioms2 but is a    
real and true secret of life1 discovered
  by our most intimate experience4      
,the profoundest of all the oracles1    
uttered out of the depths1 is that      
saying of ,jesus about the losing of    
life to save it4 ,this losing  of life  
for ,christ's sake is that ultimate act 
of the will by which  the lusts of the  
flesh1 the pride of life1 the possessive
 instinct1 the  hatred of the body1 the 
malice which resists creation1 the power
 of  pride1 are all renounced1 in order 
that the soul may enter into that       
supreme vision of ,christ1 wherein by a 
mysterious movement of  sympathy1 all   
the struggles of all living things are  
comprehended  and shared4    ,thus it is
 true to say that the object of life for

 all living souls is  the eternal       
vision4 ,towards the attainment of the  
eternal vision the  love in all living  
souls perpetually struggles2 and against
 the  attainment of the eternal vision  
the malice in all living souls          
perpetually struggles4 ,we arrive1      
therefore1 at the only adequate         
conception of the nature of the gods    
which the complex vision  permits us4   
,the nature of the gods1 or of the      
immortals1 or1 as ,i have preferred  to 
call them1 the sons of the universe1 is 
a nature which  corresponds to our      
nature1 even as our nature corresponds  
to the  nature of animals or of plants4 
,the ultimate duality is embodied in    
the nature of the gods more richly1 more
 beautifully1 more terribly1  in a more 
dramatic and articulate concentration1  
than it is  embodied in our nature4     
,between us and the gods there must be a
  reciprocal vibration1 as there is a   
reciprocal vibration between us  and    
plants and beasts and oceans and hills4 

,the precise nature of  such reciprocity
 may well be left a matter for vague and
  unphilosophical speculation2 because  
the important aspect of it1 in  regard  
to the mystery of life and the object of
 life1 is not the  method or manner of  
its functioning but the issue and the   
result of  its functioning4 ,and this   
issue and result of the reciprocity     
between mortal and immortal1 between man
 and his invisible  companions1 is the  
eternal vision which they both share1   
the vision  in which love attains its   
object4    ,and the eternal vision1     
which was1 and is1 and is to come1 is   
the  vision in which ,christ1 the       
,intermediary between the transitory and
  the permanent1 contemplates the       
spectacle of the unfathomable  world2   
and is able to endure that spectacle1 by
 reason of the  creative power of love4 
,,chapter ,x4    ,,the ,,figure ,,of    
,,christ    ,in considering the figure  
of that great ,intermediary between     
mortality and immortality whom we have  

come to name ,christ1  the question     
arises1 in view of the historic         
existence of other  world-saviours1 such
 as the ,indian ,buddha1 whether it     
would not  be better to invent1 out of  
our arbitrary fancy1 some completely    
new symbol for the eternal vision which 
should be entirely free  from those     
merely geographical associations which  
have limited  the acceptance of this    
,figure to so much less than one-half of
 the  inhabitants of our planet4    ,the
 question arises--can there be invented 
any concrete1 tangible  symbol which    
shall appeal to every attribute of the  
complex vision  and be an accumulated   
image of that side of the unfathomable  
duality from which we draw our ideas of 
truth1 beauty1 and  goodness8    ,for   
the complex vision itself ,i have       
projected my own arbitrary  image of an 
arrow-head of many concentrated flames2 
but when  we approach a matter as       
important as the choice of a symbolic   
image for the expression of the ultimate

 synthesis of the good as  contrasted   
with the evil something very different  
from a mere  subjective fancy is        
required4    ,if it were possible for   
me1 the present writer1 to give myself  
up so  completely to the creative spirit
 as to become suddenly inspired  with   
the true idea of such a symbolic image1 
even then my image  would remain        
detached1 remote and individualistic4   
,if it were  possible for me to gather  
up1 as it were1 and to bring into focus 
all  the symbolic images used by all the
 supreme prophets and artists  and poets
 of the world1 my synthetic symbol1     
including all these  different symbols1 
would still remain remote and distant   
from the  feelings and experiences of   
the mass of humanity4    ,but the ideas 
of truth1 beauty1 goodness1 together    
with that  emotion of love which is     
their synthesis1 are not confined to the
  great artists and prophets of the     
world4 ,they are felt and  experienced  
by the common mass of humanity4 ,they   

have indeed  an even wider scope than   
this1 since they exist in the depths of 
the  souls of the sons of the universe1 
and in the depths of that  unfathomable 
universe whose objective reality depends
 upon their  energy4 ,they have the     
widest scope which it is possible for   
the  complex vision to grasp4 ,wherever 
time and space are1 they are2  and1 as  
we have seen1 time and space make up the
 ultimate unity  within whose limits the
 drama of life proceeds4    ,although   
the universe depends for its objective  
reality upon the  vision of the         
immortals and incidentally upon all the 
visions of all  the souls born into the 
world1 it is not true to say that either
 the  vision of the immortals or the    
visions of all souls1 or even both of   
these together1 exhaust the             
possibilities of the universe and sound 
the depths of its unfathomableness4 ,the
 complex vision of man  stops at a      
certain point2 but the unfathomable     
nature of the  universe goes on beyond  

that point4 ,the complex vision1 of the 
immortals stops at a definite point2 but
 the unfathomable nature of  the        
universe goes on beyond that point4     
,if it be asked1 how can it be said that
 an universe1 which depends  for its    
objective reality upon the complex      
vision1 goes on beyond  the point where 
the complex vision stops8 ,i would      
answer that  the complex vision does not
 only create reality2 it discovers      
reality4 ,there is always the primordial
 objective mystery outside  the complex 
vision2 that objective mystery1 or      
world-stuff1 or  world-clay1 out of     
which1 in its process of half-creation  
and  half-discovery1 the complex vision 
evokes the universe4    ,and although   
apart from the activity of the complex  
vision this  primordial world-clay or   
objective mystery is almost nothing     
because it is only of its bare existence
 that we are aware1 yet it is  not      
altogether nothing1 because it is1 in a 
sense1 the origin of  everything we     

discover4 ,when1 therefore1 we speak of 
the  unfathomable as receding into      
depths beyond the point where the       
vision of man stops and beyond the point
 where the vision of the  immortals     
stops1 we do not contradict the         
statement that the vision  of man and   
the vision of the immortals create the  
universe4 ,they  create the universe in 
so far as they discover the universe2   
but the  universe must be thought of as 
always capable of being further         
discovered and further created4 ,perhaps
 the most adequate way of  putting the  
situation would be to image the         
objective mystery as a  kind of         
colourless screen across which a        
coloured picture is slowly  moved4 ,this
 coloured picture is the universe as we 
know it4  ,without the white screen as a
 background there could be no picture4  
,all the colours of the picture are     
latent and potential in the  whiteness  
of the screen2 but they require the     
focussed lime-light of  the             

magic-lantern to call them forth4 ,the  
lantern from which the  light comes1    
half-creates1 so to speak1 and          
half-discovers the  resultant colours4  
,when we say1 therefore1 that the       
universe1 although created by the       
complex vision1 recedes into            
unfathomable depths beyond the  reach of
 the complex vision1 what we mean is    
that the boundary  line between the     
moving colour-picture1 which is the     
universe1 and  the original whiteness of
 the screen across which the picture is 
moved1 which is the objective mystery1  
is capable of endless  recession4 ,the  
blank whiteness of the part of the      
screen over  which the picture has not  
yet moved is capable of revealing every 
kind of colour as soon as the focussed  
lime-light of the complex  vision       
reaches it4 ,the colours are in the     
whiteness of the screen as  well as in  
the lime-light which is thrown upon the 
screen2 but  neither the lantern which  
throws the light nor the screen upon    

which the light is thrown1 can1 in      
isolation from one another1  produce    
colour4    ,the universe1 therefore1 is 
half-created and half-discovered by the 
complex vision2 and it may be said to go
 on beyond the point  where the complex 
vision stops1 although strictly speaking
 what  goes on beyond the stopping place
 of the complex vision is not the       
universe as we know it but a potential  
universe as we may come to  know it2 a  
universe1 in fact1 which is at present  
held in suspense in  the unfathomable   
depths of the objective mystery4        
,this potential universe1 this universe 
which will come into  existence as soon 
as the complex vision discovers it and  
creates it1  this universe across which 
gathers already the moving shadow of    
the complex vision1 is not a new        
universe but only an extension  into a  
further depth of the objective mystery1 
of the universe which  we already know4 
,we are not justified in saying of this 
objective mystery or of this  white     

screen across which the colours will    
presently flow1 that it is  outside time
 and space4 ,we are not justified in    
saying anything at  all about it1 except
 that it exists and that it lends itself
 to the  advance of the complex vision4 
,if in place of a white screen we  could
 figure to ourselves this objective     
mystery as a mass of  impenetrable      
darkness1 we should thus be able to     
envisage the  complex vision as ,i have 
tried to envisage it1 namely as a moving
  arrow-head of focussed flames with the
 point of it1 or what ,i have  named the
 apex-thought of it1 illuminating that  
mass of darkness  with all the colours  
of life4    ,but1 as ,i have said1 none 
of these subjective images can serve as 
the sort of symbol we are in search of1 
because by reason of their  being       
arbitrary and individualistic they lack 
the organic and  magical associations   
which cling round such symbols as have  
become objective and historical4 ,we can
 content ourselves with  such fanciful  

symbols as white screens and arrow-heads
 and  pyramids of fire in regard to the 
organ of our research and the  original 
protoplasmic stuff out of which this    
organ of research  creates the world2   
but when it comes to the purpose of life
 and the  meaning of life1 when it comes
 to that unfathomable duality which  is 
the essence of life1 we require for our 
symbol something that has  already      
gathered about it the whole desperate   
stream of life's tears  and blood and   
dreams and ecstasies and memories and   
hopes4    ,we can find no symbol for the
 adversary of life1 no symbol for the   
malignant obscurantism and the sneering 
malice that resist  creation4 ,to endow 
this thing which is in the way1 this    
unfathomable  depth of spiritual evil1  
with the vivid and imaginative life  of 
a symbolic image would be to change its 
inherent nature4  ,no adequate symbol   
can be found for evil1 any more than a  
complete embodiment can be found for    
evil4 ,directly evil  becomes personal  

it ceases to be evil1 because           
personality  is the supreme achievement 
of life4 ,and directly evil is expressed
 in  a living1 objective1 historic1     
mythological image it ceases to be      
evil1 because such an image             
instantaneously gathers to itself some  
potency of creative energy4 ,evil is a  
positive thing1 a spiritual  thing1 an  
eternal thing2 but it is positive only  
in its opposition to  creation1 in its  
corruption of the soul1 and in its      
subtle undermining  of the divine       
moments of the soul by the power of     
eternal  dreariness and disillusion4    
,what we need above everything is a     
symbolic image which shall  represent   
the creative energy of life1 the        
creative power of love1  and those      
eternal ideas of truth and beauty and   
nobility which  seem in some mysterious 
way derogated from1 rendered less       
formidable and unfathomable1 by being   
named the good4    ,the desire for a    
symbol of this kind1 which shall gather 

together  all the tribes and nations of 
men and all conflicting ideals of       
humanity1 is a desire so deep and       
universal as to be perhaps the  supreme 
desire of the human race4 ,no symbol    
arbitrarily invented  by any one man1   
even though he were the greatest genius 
that ever  lived1 could supply this want
 or satisfy this desire4 ,and it could  
not  do so because it would lack the    
organic weathering and bleaching1  so to
 speak1 of the long panorama of time4   
,an individual  genius might hit upon a 
better symbolic image1 an image more    
comprehensive1 more inclusive1 more     
appealing to the entire  nature of the  
complex vision2 but without having been 
subjected to  the sun and rain of actual
 human experience1 without having       
endured the passion of the passing of   
the generations1 such an  image would   
remain1 for all its appropriateness1    
remote1  intellectual and barren of     
magical suggestiveness4    ,i do not    
mean to indicate that there is          

necessarily any determined  or          
fatalistic process of natural selection 
in these things by which  one symbol    
rather than another gathers about it the
 hopes and fears  of the generations4   
,chance no doubt plays a strange part in
 all this4  ,but the concrete           
necessities of living human souls play a
 greater  part than chance2 and without 
believing in any steady evolutionary    
process or even in any law of natural   
selection among the  evocations of human
 desire1 it must still remain that the  
symbol  which survives will be the      
symbol adapted to the deepest instincts 
of complicated souls and at the same    
time palpable and tangible to  the touch
 of the crudest and most simple4    ,it 
cannot be denied that there are serious 
difficulties in the way of  the         
acceptance of any historic symbol1 the  
anonymous evocation  of the generations 
of men4 ,just because it has a definite 
place in  history such a symbol will    
necessarily have gathered to itself much

  that is false and much that is        
accidental and unessential4 ,it will    
have entered into bitter controversies4 
,it will have been hardened  and        
narrowed by the ferocious logic of      
rationalistic definition4 ,it  will have
 been made the rallying cry of savage   
intolerances and  the mask for strange  
perversions4 ,evil will naturally have  
attached  itself to it and malice will  
have left its sinister stain upon it4   
,because chance and accident and even   
evil have had much to do  with its      
survival1 it may easily happen that some
 primary attribute  of the complex      
vision1 such for instance as the        
aesthetic sense with  its innate        
awareness of the humorous and the       
grotesque1 will have  been forgotten    
altogether in the stuff out of which it 
is made4    ,considering such things1   
considering above all this final fact   
that it  may not satisfy every attribute
 of the complex vision1 and may  even   
completely suppress and negate some     

essential attribute1 it  remains still a
 perilous question whether it were not1 
after all1  better to invent a new      
symbol that shall be deliberately       
adapted to  the entire complex vision1  
than to accept an already existing      
symbol1 which in the shocks and jolts   
and casualties1 of history has  been    
narrowed1 limited and stiffened by the  
malice of attack and  defence4    ,this 
narrowing and hardening process by which
 such a symbol1  the anonymous creation 
of humanity under the shocks of         
circumstance1  becomes limited and      
inadequate1 is a process frequently     
assisted  by those premature and violent
 syntheses of the ultimate              
contradiction which we name dogmatic    
religions4 ,to make such  a symbol once 
more fluid and flexible1 to restore it  
to its  place in the organic life of the
 soul1 it is necessary to extricate it  
from the clutch of any dogmatic         
religion4 ,i do not say that it is      
necessary to extricate it from religion1

 or even from every aspect  of dogma2   
for it is of the very essence of such   
symbol to be a  stimulus to the         
religious ecstasy and there are many    
dogmas which  are full of imaginative   
poetry4    ,but it is necessary to      
extricate it from dogmatic religion     
because  dogmatic religion may be       
defined as a premature metaphysical     
synthesis1 masquerading beneath a system
 of imaginative ritual4  ,the truth of  
religion is in its ritual and the truth 
of dogma is in its  poetry4 ,where a    
dogmatic religion becomes dangerous to  
any  human symbol is when it tries to   
rationalize it and interpret it         
according to a premature metaphysical   
synthesis4 ,in so far as it  remains    
purely symbolic and does not attempt to 
rationalize its  symbolism1 a dogmatic  
religion must always contain within the 
circle of its creed many profound and   
illuminating secrets4 ,the  false and   
ephemeral portion of a dogmatic religion
 is its  metaphysical aspect1 because   

the whole science of metaphysics is  an 
ambiguity from the start1 since it is a 
projection of one isolated  attribute of
 the complex vision4    ,what the       
apex-thought of the complex vision does 
is to undermine  metaphysic2 not by the 
use of metaphysic but by the use of the 
rhythmic totality of all the attributes 
of the soul4 ,the philosophy of  the    
complex vision has its metaphysical1 as 
it has its psychological  and its       
physiological aspect1 but its real      
starting point must  transcend all      
these1 because it must emanate from     
personality4 ,and  personality is       
something super-metaphysical2 as it is  
something  super-psychological1 and     
super-physiological4    ,the creed of a 
dogmatic religion is not to be condemned
 because it  calls upon us to believe   
the impossible4 ,some sort of belief in 
the  impossible1 some primordial act of 
faith is an essential part of the       
process of life and1 without it1 life   
could not continue4 ,it is where        

dogmatic religion attempts to justify   
its belief in the impossible by  the use
 of metaphysical reason that we must    
regard it as an enemy  of the truth of  
its own symbolism4    ,the supreme      
example of the evil and dangerous       
influence of  metaphysic upon religion  
is to be found in connection with that  
inscrutable nothingness behind the      
universe1 and also behind the  objective
 mystery out of which the soul creates  
the universe4 ,i  refer to that         
ambiguous and unbeautiful phantom1 which
 has  acquired for itself the name of   
the absolute1 or the parent or first    
cause of life4    ,that the conception  
of the sons of the universe1 to which   
certain  basic facts and experiences in 
regard to the intercourse between       
living human souls has led humanity1 is 
not a metaphysical  conception1 is      
proved by the fact that it is a         
conception of a reality  existing inside
 and not outside the ultimate unity of  
time and  space4 ,any pure metaphysical 

conception must1 as we have seen1       
remain outside the categories of time   
and space1 and remaining  there bear    
perpetual witness to its essential      
unreality4    ,the sons of the universe 
are living personal souls2 and being    
this1  they must be1 as all             
personalities are1 super-metaphysical1  
super-psychological1 and                
super-physiological4    ,the perilous   
choice between the invention of an      
arbitrary symbol  which shall represent 
in its full complexity this idea of the 
sons of  the universe1 and the          
acceptance of a symbol already supplied 
by  that chaotic mixture of accident and
 human purpose which we call  history is
 a choice upon which more than we can   
imagine or  surmise may ultimately      
depend4 ,it is necessary in all matters 
of  this kind1 wherein the rhythmic     
totality of the complex vision is       
involved1 to remain rigorous in our     
suppression of any particular           
usurpation of the whole field by any    

isolated attribute of the soul4  ,it is 
a most evil usurpation1 for instance1 an
 usurpation of which  the sinister      
history of dogmatic religion is full1   
when the  conscience is allowed to      
introduce the conception of a duty1 of  
an ought1 of a categorical imperative1  
into such a choice as  this4 ,there is  
no ought in philosophy4 ,there is no    
ought in faith4  ,and there can be1 in  
no possible way1 any ought of the       
usurping  conscience1 in regard to this 
choice of an appropriate symbol  which  
shall represent a thing so entirely     
beyond the conception of  any single    
attribute1 as this eternal protagonist  
of the ultimate  struggle4 ,the risk of 
choosing for our symbol a mere arbitrary
  invention is that it should remain    
thin and cold and unappealing4    ,the  
risk of choosing for our symbol a form1 
a figure1 a gesture1 a  name1 offered us
 by history1 is that it should carry    
with it too many  of the false          
accretions of accident1 chance1 the     

passions of  controversy and the        
hypocrisies of malice4 ,but after all   
the  anonymous creative spirit of the   
generations is so full of the  wisdom of
 the earth and so involved with the     
rhythmic inspiration  of innumerable    
souls1 that it would seem better to risk
 the presence  of certain sinister      
accretions1 than to risk the loss of so 
much  magical suggestiveness4    ,if we 
do select for our symbol such a form1   
such a shape1 such a  gesture and such a
 name1 as history may offer1 we shall at
 any rate  be always free to keep it    
fluid and malleable and organic4 ,we    
shall  be free to plunge it1 so to      
speak1 again and again into the living  
reality which it has been selected to   
represent4 ,we shall be free to         
extricate it completely from all its    
accretions of chance and  circumstance  
and material events4 ,we shall be free  
to extricate it  from all premature     
metaphysical syntheses4 ,we shall be    
free to  draw it from the clutches of   

dogmatic religion4 ,we shall be free  to
 make it1 as all such symbols should be 
made1 poetical  and mythological and1 in
 the aesthetic sense1 shamelessly       
anthropomorphic4 ,above all we shall be 
completely free1 since it  represents   
for us those sons of the universe who   
are the  embodiment of the creative     
energy1 to associate it with every      
aspect of the life of the soul4 ,we     
shall be free to associate it with      
those aspects of the soul which in the  
process of its slow invention  by the   
generations have1 it may be1 been       
disassociated from it and  separated    
from it4 ,we shall be free to use it as 
a symbol for the  fuller1 complete life 
of the future1 and for every kind of    
revolt1  into which the spirit of       
creation may drive us1 against the evil 
obscurantism and malicious inertness    
which resist the power of  love4 ,the   
conclusion to which we are thus led1 the
 choice which  we are thus compelled to 
make1 is one that has been anticipated  

from the beginning4 ,no other name      
except the name of ,christ1 no  other   
figure except the figure of ,christ1 can
 possibly serve1 if we  are to make any 
use of history at all1 as our symbol for
 the sons of  the universe4    ,the     
choice of ,christ as our symbol for     
these invisible companions  does not    
imply that we are forced to accept in   
their entirety the  scriptural accounts 
of the life of ,jesus1 or even that we  
are forced  to assume that the historic 
,jesus ever lived at all4 ,the desire   
which  the soul experiences for the     
incarnation of ,christ does not prove   
that ,christ has already been           
incarnated1 or ever will be incarnated4 
,and it does not prove this because1 in 
the greater1 nobler1 and  more spiritual
 moods of the soul1 there is no need for
 the  incarnation of ,christ4 ,in these 
rare and indescribable moments1  when   
the past and future seem annihilated and
 we experience the  sensation of        
eternity1 ,christ is felt to be so close

 to us that no  material incarnation    
could make him any closer4    ,the      
association of ,christ with the figure  
of ,jesus is a sublime  accident which  
has had more influence upon the human   
soul than  any other historic event2 and
 it must be confessed that the idea of  
,christ has been profoundly affected by 
this association4 ,it has been  so      
deepened and enlarged and clarified by  
it that the substitution  of the        
religion of ,jesus for the religion of  
,christ has been an  almost entirely    
fortunate event1 since it has furnished 
the soul with  a criterion of the true  
nature of love which otherwise it might 
never have gained4    ,jesus undoubtedly
 came so much nearer than any other to  
the  understanding of the nature of     
love1 and consequently of the nature  of
 the immortals1 that the idea of the    
incarnation--that beautiful  concession 
to the weakness of the flesh--emanated  
with an almost  inevitable naturalness  
from their association4 ,jesus himself  

felt in  his own soul the presence of   
the invisible companions2 although he   
was led1 by reason of his peculiar      
religious bent1 and by reason of  the   
influences that surrounded him1 to speak
 of these companions  as a heavenly     
father4    ,but the words of ,jesus     
which carry with them the very magic of 
truth are not the words in which he     
speaks of his father1 but the  words in 
which he speaks of himself as if he were
 the very  incarnation of ,love itself4 
,there is no doubt that the sons of the 
universe found in ,jesus a soul so      
uniquely harmonious with  their own that
 there existed between them a sympathy  
and an  understanding without parallel  
in the history of humanity4    ,it is   
this sympathy which is the origin of    
those unequalled words  used by the son 
of ,mary in which he speaks as if he    
were himself  in very truth an          
incarnation of the vision of the        
immortals4 ,the  whole situation is one 
which need have little mystery for those

  who understand the nature of love4 ,in
 moment after moment of  supreme ecstasy
 ,jesus felt himself so given up to the 
will of the  invisible companions that  
this own identity became lost4 ,in      
speaking for himself he spoke for them2 
in suffering for himself he  suffered   
for them1 and in the great hours of his 
tragic wayfaring he  felt himself so    
close to them that1 by reason of his    
love1 he knew  himself able to speak of 
the secret of life even as the immortals
  themselves would speak4    ,we are    
permitted indeed in reading the divine  
narrative to  distinguish between two   
moods in the soul of ,jesus4 ,in one of 
these moods he refers to his father as  
if his father were distinct  and        
separate from him and even very distant4
 ,in the other mood he  speaks as if he 
himself were in very truth a god2 and   
were able1  without any appeal to any   
other authority1 to heal the wounds of  
the world and to reveal to mankind the  
infinite pity of the love  which is     

beyond analysis4    ,it is towards the  
words and gestures of the son of ,mary1 
when he  spoke of himself rather than of
 his father that we are inevitably      
drawn1 in our search for an adequate    
symbol for the eternal vision4  ,it is  
when he speaks with authority as if he  
himself were an  immortal god1 as if he 
himself were one of the invisible       
companions1 that his words and gestures 
carry the very breath and  fragrance of 
truth4    ,as the drama of his life     
unfolds itself before us we seem to grow
  more and more aware of these two      
aspects of his soul4 ,it was his        
reason1 brooding upon the traditions of 
his race1 that led him into  that       
confusion of the invisible witnesses    
with the jealous tribal  ,god of his    
father ,david4 ,it was the rhythmic     
harmony of his soul1  rising up out of  
the depths of his struggle with himself1
 that led  him1 in his passionate       
submission to the will of his invisible 
friends1 to feel as if he were identical

 with those friends1 as if he  were     
himself the son of man and the          
incarnation of man's  supreme hope4     
,it is the emphasis laid by ,jesus upon 
his identity with his father  which has 
produced the tragic results we know4    
,for although this  was the personal    
conception of the noblest of all human  
souls1 it  remains a proof of how much  
even the soul of ,jesus was limited  and
 restricted by the malicious power which
 opposes itself to love4    ,the living 
companions of men are as we have seen a 
necessary  answer to the craving of the 
complex vision for some objective       
standard of beauty and reality1 which   
shall give these things an  eternal     
unity and purpose4 ,such a vision is an 
answer to our desire  that the spirit of
 creative love1 which is one side of the
  unfathomable duality1 should be       
embodied in personality4    ,and we have
 a right to use the name of ,christ in  
this sense2 and to  associate it with   
all that immortal anonymous company1 so 

beautiful1 so pitiful1 so terrible1     
which the name of the gods  has1 in its 
turbulent and dramatic history1 gathered
 about itself4    ,the idea of ,christ  
is older than the life of ,jesus2 nor   
does the life  of ,jesus1 as it has come
 down to us in ecclesiastical tradition1
  exhaust or fulfil all the             
potentialities latent in the idea of    
,christ4  ,what the complex vision seems
 to demand is that the invisible        
companions of men should be regarded as 
immortal gods4 ,if1  therefore1 we throw
 all hesitancy and scruple aside and    
risk the  application of the name of    
,christ to this vision of the sons of   
the  universe1 then we shall be         
compelled to regard ,christ as an       
immortal ,god4    ,the fact that there  
must be some objective standard which   
shall  satisfy all the passionate       
demands of the complex vision is the    
path by which we reach this conception  
of ,christ4 ,but once having  reached   
him he ceases to be a mere conception of

 the intellect1 and  becomes an         
objective reality which we can touch and
 appeal to  with our emotion1 our       
imagination1 and our aesthetic sense4   
,but although ,christ as our symbolic   
image of the invisible  companions1 must
 be assumed to be the objective standard
 of all  our ideas of truth1 it is      
obvious that we cannot escape from      
subjectivity in our individual          
interpretation of his deeper and truer  
vision4    ,thus there are two parallel 
streams of growth and change4 ,there is 
growth and change in the soul of ,christ
 as he continually  approximates nearer 
and nearer to his eternally receding    
ideal4  ,and there is growth and change 
in the accumulated harmony of  our      
individual ideas about his ideal1 as    
each human soul and each  generation of 
human souls restates this ideal in terms
 of its own  limited vision4    ,each   
new restatement of this accumulated     
interpretation of the  ideal of the son 
of man brings necessarily with it an    

innate  conviction of its truth because 
it finds an immediate response in  every
 individual soul in so far as such      
individual souls are able to  overcome  
their intrinsic evil or malice4    ,what
 ,jesus did for the universe was to     
recognize in it the peculiar  nature of 
that love which is its essential life4  
,he would have done  yet more for it had
 he been able to disassociate his vision
 from the  conception of an imaginary   
father of the universe and from his     
traditional interest in the tribal god  
of his ancestors4 ,but ,jesus  remains  
the one human soul who has revealed to  
us in his own  subjective vision the    
essential secret of the vision of the   
immortals4 ,and that he has done so is  
proved by the fact that all  his words  
and actions have come to be inextricably
 associated with  the ,christ-idea4     
,in this way ,jesus remains the         
profoundest of all human philosophers   
and the subtlest of all human           
psychologists2 and although  we have the

 right to disassociate the ,christ-idea 
from the  sublime illusion of ,jesus    
which led him to confuse the invisible  
companions of humanity with the tribal  
,god of the ,hebrews1 we  are compelled 
to recognize that ,jesus has done so    
much for  humanity by the depth of his  
psychological insight that we do not    
experience any shock when in the ritual 
of the ,church the name of  the son of  
,david becomes identical with the name  
of ,christ4    ,the essential thing to  
establish is that there are greater     
depths in  the ,christ-idea than even   
,jesus was able to fathom2 and that     
compared with the soul of ,jesus or with
 the soul of any other man  or god or   
spiritual entity1 the figure of ,christ 
has come now at last  to be for humanity
 the only god we need2 for he is the    
only god  whose love for all living     
things is beyond question and dispute1  
and whose existence is assumed and      
implied when any soul in the  universe  
loves any other soul4    ,it is         

necessary then to do two things4 ,to    
accept without reserve the  vision which
 ,jesus had as to the secret of love2   
because to nothing  less than this does 
the love which we possess in our own    
souls  respond4 ,and in the second place
 to be merciless and drastic1 even  at  
the risk of pain to the weakness of our 
human flesh1 in  separating the         
personality of ,christ1 the immortal    
god1 from the  historic figure of the   
traditional ,jesus4 ,by doing these two 
things1  and by this alone1 we establish
 what the complex vision desires1  upon 
a firm ground4 ,for we retain what the  
vision of ,jesus has  revealed to us as 
to the inherent nature of the invisible 
companions  and we are saved from all   
controversy as to the historic reality  
of  the life of ,jesus4    ,it does not 
matter to us whether ,jesus really      
lived2 or whether1  like other great    
figures1 his personality has been       
created by the  anonymous instinct of   
humanity4 ,what matters to us is that   

humanity itself1 using the vision of    
,jesus as its organ of research  or as  
the focus point of its own passionate   
clairvoyance has in  some way or another
 recognized that the secret of the      
universe is  to be found in the         
unfathomable duality of love and malice4
 ,from  this point1 now it has been once
 reached1 the intrinsic nature of all   
human souls makes sure that humanity    
cannot go back4 ,and it is  because1    
either by his own sublime insight or by 
the accident and  chance of history1 the
 figure of ,jesus has become associated 
with  the reality of the immortal gods  
that we are justified in using for  our 
symbol of these sons of the universe no 
other name than the  name of ,christ4   
,we shall1 however1 be doing wrong to   
our conception of ,christ1 if1  while   
recognizing that the kind of love1 of   
which ,jesus revealed  the secret1 is   
the essence of ,christ's soul1 we refuse
 to find in him  also many aspects and  
attributes of life which occupy but     

little  place or no place at all in the 
traditional figure of ,jesus4    ,all   
that is most beautiful and profound1 all
 that is most magical  and subtle1 in   
the gods of the ancient world1 must be  
recognized as  existent in the soul of  
,christ who is our true ,son of the     
,morning4  ,the earth-magic of the      
ancient gods must be in him2 and the    
,titanic spirit which revolted against  
such gods must be in him  also4 ,the    
mystery of the elements must be         
interwoven with the  very stuff of his  
being and the unfathomable depths of    
,nature  must be a path for his feet4   
,in him all mythologies and all         
religions  must meet and be transcended4
 ,he is ,prometheus and ,dionysus4  ,he 
is ,osiris and ,balder4 ,he is the great
 god ,pan4 ,all that we have  been1 all 
that we are1 and all that we hope to be1
 is centred in him  alone4 ,his spirit  
is the creative spirit which moves for  
ever upon  the face of the waters4 ,in  
him all living souls find the object of 

their love4 ,against him the            
unfathomable power of evil struggles    
with eternal demonic malice4 ,in his own
 soul it struggles against  him2 and in 
the universe which confronts him it     
struggles against  him4 ,his inmost     
being is made up of the duality of this 
struggle  even as is the inmost being of
 all that exists4 ,if it were not for   
the  presence of evil in him his passion
 of love would be as nothing4  ,for     
without evil there can be no good1 and  
without malice there  cannot be love4   
,his soul and our human souls remain the
 ultimate  reality4 ,these alone are    
concrete1 definite1 actual and personal4
 ,all  except these is ambiguous1       
half-real and unstable as water4 ,these 
and the universe which they create are  
the true truth2 and  compared with these
 every other truth is dubious1 shadowy  
and  unsubstantial4    ,these are the   
true truth1 because these are personal2 
and we know  nothing in life1 and can   
know nothing1 with the interior         

completeness with which we know         
personality4 ,and the essence of  that  
interior knowledge with which we know   
personality is our  recognition of the  
unfathomable duality within ourselves4  
,we  cannot imagine the good in us as   
existing without the evil in us2  and we
 cannot imagine the evil in us as       
existing without the good  in us4       
,and this ultimate essence of reality   
must apply to the soul of  ,christ4 ,and
 this duality has no reconciliation     
except the  reconciliation that it is a 
duality in ourselves and a duality in   
him4  ,for both the good and the evil in
 us recede into unfathomable  depths4   
,so that the ultimate reality of the    
universe is to be found in  the two     
eternal emotions which perpetually      
contradict and oppose  one another2 of  
which the only unity and reconciliation 
is to be  found in the fact that they   
both belong to every separate soul2 and 
are the motive power which brings the   
universe into existence2 and  in        

bringing the universe into existence    
find themselves under the  domination of
 time and space4    ,every individual   
soul in the world is composed of two    
unfathomable  abysses4 ,from the        
limitless depths of each of these       
emanates  an emotion which is able to   
obsess and preoccupy the whole  field of
 consciousness4 ,every individual soul  
has depths1  therefore1 which descend   
into unfathomable recesses2 and we are  
forced into the conclusion that the     
unfathomable recesses in the  soul of   
,christ are subject to the same eternal 
duality as the souls of  men4    ,every 
movement of thought implies an evocation
 of the opposing  passion of these two  
emotions4 ,for no movement of thought   
can  take place without the activity of 
the complex vision2 and since  one of   
the basic attributes of the complex     
vision is divided into  these two       
primary emotions1 we are compelled to   
conclude that it  is impossible to think
 any thought at all without some        

evocation of  the emotion of love and   
some evocation of the emotion of malice4
    ,the emotion of love is the power   
that brings together and  synthesizes   
those eternal ideas of truth and beauty 
and nobility  which find their objective
 standard in the soul of ,christ4 ,the  
emotion of malice is the power that     
brings together and  synthesizes and    
harmonizes those eternal ideas of       
unreality and  hideousness and evil with
 which the love of ,christ struggles    
desperately in the unfathomable depths  
of his soul4 ,it matters to us  little  
or nothing that we have no name to give 
to any among the  gods except to this   
god2 for in this god1 in this companion 
of men1  in this immortal helper1 the   
complex vision of man finds all it      
needs1 the embodiment of ,love itself4  
,we arrive1 therefore1 at the very      
symbol we desire1 at the symbol  which  
in tangible and creative power satisfies
 the needs of the  soul4 ,we owe this   
symbol to nothing less than the free    

gift  of the gods themselves2 and to the
 anonymous strivings of  the            
generations4 ,and once having reached   
this symbol1 this  name of ,christ1 the 
same phenomenon occurs as occurs in the 
establishment of the real existence of  
the external universe4  ,that1 like     
this1 was at first only a daring        
hypothesis1 only a  supreme act of      
faith1 reached by the subjective effort 
of the  innumerable individual souls4   
,but once having been reached1 it       
became1 as this has become1 a definite  
objective fact1 whose reality  turns out
 to have been implicit from the         
beginning4    ,thus the name1 the word1 
which we arrive at as the only possible 
symbol of our hope is found to be1 as   
soon as we reach it1 no  longer merely a
 symbol but the outward sign of an      
invisible and  eternal truth4 ,and thus 
although it remains that we are forced  
to  recognize that the world is full of 
gods and that the ,person we  name      
,christ is only one of an innumerable   

company of invisible  companions to whom
 in our loneliness we have a right to   
turn1 yet  just because the vision of   
humanity has found in ,christ a         
completer1 subtler1 more beautiful1 more
 revolutionary figure upon  which to fix
 its hope than it has found in ,buddha  
or ,confucius or  ,mahomet1 or any other
 name1 the figure of ,christ has become 
the  supreme and solitary embodiment of 
the ,ideal to which we look1  and about 
this figure has come to gather itself   
and focus itself all  the hopeless      
longing with which the soul of man turns
 to the souls  of the immortals4        
,these divine people of the abyss1 these
 sons of the universe1 are  for us      
henceforth and must be now for us for   
ever summed up and  embodied in this one
 figure1 the only one among them all    
whose  nature and being has been drawn  
so near to us that we can  appropriate  
it to ourselves4    ,it remains that the
 unity of time and space contains an    
immeasurable company of immortals2 but  

of these immortals only  one has been   
articulated and outlined1 and so to     
speak touched  with the hand1 by the    
troubled passion of humanity4           
,henceforth1  therefore1 while the      
necessity of the complex vision compels 
us to  think of the invisible company of
 the sons of the universe as a vast     
hierarchy of supernatural beings1 the   
necessity of the complex  vision compels
 us also to recognize1 that of this     
company1 only  one--only one until the  
end of time--can be the true symbol of  
what our heart desires4    ,it is better
 to think of the evocation of this      
figure as due to the pity  of the gods  
themselves and to the anonymous craving 
of humanity  than to think of him as    
dependent upon the historic evidence as 
to  the personality of ,jesus4 ,the soul
 requires something more certain  than  
historic evidence upon which to base its
 faith4 ,it requires  something closer  
and more certain even than the divine   
logoi  attributed to the historic       

,jesus4 ,it requires a living and a     
personal  soul for ever present to the  
depths of its own nature4 ,it requires a
  living and a personal soul for ever   
ready to answer the cry of its  love4   
,the misery and unhappiness1 the        
restlessness and pain of all  our human 
loves1 is due to the fact that the only 
eternal response  to ,love as it beats  
its hands against the barriers set up   
against it1  is the embodiment of ,love 
itself as we feel it present with us in 
the  figure of ,christ4    ,the love    
which draws two human souls together can
 only become  eternal and indestructible
 when it passes beyond the love of the  
two for one another into the love of    
both of them for the ,lover  who is     
immortal4 ,this merging of the love of  
human lovers into  the love of the      
immortal ,lover does not imply the      
lessening or  diminishing of the love   
which draws them together4 ,the nature  
of  this love cries out against their   
separation1 cries out that they two     

shall become one4 ,and yet if they      
actually and in very truth  became one1 
that unity in difference which is the   
very essence of  love would be          
destroyed4 ,but though they know this   
well enough  there still remains the    
desperate craving of the two that they  
should become one2 and this is of the   
very nature of love itself4  ,thus it   
may be seen that the only path by which 
human lovers can  be satisfied is by    
merging their love for one another into 
their love  for ,christ4 ,in this way1  
in a sense profounder than mortal flesh 
can  know1 they actually do become one4 
,they become so completely  one that no 
power on earth or above the earth can   
ever separate  them4 ,for they are bound
 together by no mortal link but by the  
eternal love of a soul beyond the reach 
of death4 ,thus when one of  them comes 
to die the love which was of the essence
 of that soul  lives on in the soul of  
,christ2 and when both of them are dead 
it  can never be as though their love   

had not been1 for in the eternal  memory
 of ,christ their love lives on1        
increasing the love of ,christ  for     
others like themselves and continually  
drawing the transitory  and the mortal  
nearer to the eternal and the immortal4 
,it therefore becomes evident why it is 
that the vision of the  invisible       
companions which remains our standard of
 reality and of  beauty is not broken up
 into innumerable subjective visions but
 is  fixed and permanent and sure4 ,all 
the unfathomable souls of the  world1   
and all souls are unfathomable whether  
they are the souls of  plants or animals
 or planets or gods or men1 are found1  
the closer  they approach one another1  
to be in possession of the same vision4 
,for this immortal vision1 in which what
 we name beauty1 and what  we name      
reality1 finds its synthesis1 is found  
to be nothing less  than the secret     
love4 ,and while the great company of   
the immortal  companions are only known 
to us by the figure of one among  them1 

namely by the figure of ,christ1 this   
figure alone is sufficient  to contain  
all that we require of life2 for being  
the embodiment of  love this figure is  
the embodiment of life1 of which love is
 the  creator and the sustainer4        
,thus what the apex-thought of man's    
complex vision reveals is not  only the 
existence of the gods but the fact that 
the vision of the  gods is not broken up
 and divided but is one and the same2   
and is  yet for ever growing and        
deepening4 ,and the only measure of the 
vision of the gods which we possess is  
the figure of ,christ2 for it  has come 
about by reason of the anonymous        
instinct of humanity1  by reason of the 
compassion of the immortals1 and by     
reason of  the divine insight of ,jesus1
 that the figure of ,christ contains    
within  it every one of those primordial
 ideas from which and towards  which1 in
 a perpetual advance which is also a    
perpetual return1 the  souls of all     
living things are for ever journeying4  

,whether the souls of men and of beasts1
 of plants and of planetary  spheres    
survive in any form after they are dead 
we know not and  can never know4 ,but   
this at least the revelation of the     
complex  vision makes clear1 that the   
secret of the whole process is to be    
found in the mystery of love2 and to the
 mystery of love we can1 at  the worst1 
constantly appeal2 for the mystery of   
love has been at  last embodied for us  
in a living figure over whom ,death has 
no  control4      ,,chapter ,,xi4       
,,the ,,illusion ,,of ,,dead ,,matter   
,the philosophy of the complex vision is
 based1 as ,i have shown1  upon nothing 
less than the whole personality of man  
become  conscious of itself in the      
totality of its rhythmic functioning4   
,this  personality1 although capable of 
being analysed in its constituent       
elements1 is an integral and            
unfathomable reality4 ,and just because 
it is such a reality it descends and    
expands on every side into  immeasurable

 depths and immeasurable horizons4      
,we know nothing as intimately and      
vividly as we know personality  and     
every knowledge that we have is either a
 spiritual or  a material abstraction   
from this supreme knowledge4 ,this      
knowledge of personality which is our   
ultimate truth1 implies a  belief in the
 integral and real existence of what we 
call the soul4  ,and because personality
 implies the soul and because we have no
  ultimate conception of any other      
reality in the world except the  reality
 of personality1 therefore we are       
compelled to assume that  every separate
 external object in ,nature is possessed
 of a soul4    ,the peculiar            
psychological melancholy which sometimes
 seizes us  in the presence of inanimate
 natural objects1 such as earth and     
water and sand and dust and rain and    
vapour1 objects whose  existence may    
superficially appear to be entirely     
chemical or  material1 is accounted for 
by the fact that the soul in us is      

baffled  and discouraged and repulsed by
 these things because by reason of      
their superficial appearance they convey
 the impression of  complete            
soullessness4 ,in the presence of plants
 and animals and  all animate things we 
are also vaguely conscious of a strange 
psychological melancholy4 ,but this     
latter melancholy is of a  less poignant
 character than the former because what 
we seem  superficially conscious of is  
not soullessness but a psychic life     
which is alien from our life1 and       
therefore baffling and obscure4    ,in  
both of these cases1 however1 as soon as
 we are bold enough to  apply the       
conclusions we have arrived at from the 
analysis of the  knowledge which is most
 vivid and real to us1 namely1 the      
knowledge of our own soul1 this peculiar
 psychological melancholy  is driven    
away4 ,it is a melancholy which descends
 upon us   when in any disintegrated    
moment the creative energy in  us1 the  
energy of love in us1 is overcome by the

 evil and inertness  of the aboriginal  
malice4 ,under the influence of this    
inert malice1  which takes advantage of 
some lapse or ebb of the creative energy
  in us1 the rhythmic activity of our   
complex vision breaks down2  and we     
visualize the world through the         
attributes of reason and  sensation     
alone4 ,and the world1 visualized       
through reason and  sensation alone1    
becomes a world of uniform1 and         
homogeneous  monotony1 made up either of
 one all-embracing material substance1  
or of one all-embracing spiritual       
substance4 ,in either case  that living 
plurality of real separate souls which  
correspond  to our own soul vanishes    
away1 and a dreary and devastating      
oneness1 whether spiritual or chemical1 
fills the whole field4 ,the  world which
 is the emanation of this atrophied and 
distorted vision  is a world of crushing
 dreariness2 but it is an unreal world  
because  the only vivid and unfathomable
 reality we know is the reality of      

innumerable souls4 ,the curious thing   
about this world of  superficial        
chemical or spiritual uniformity is that
 it seems the  same identical world in  
the case of all separate souls whose    
complex vision is thus distorted by the 
prevalence of that which  opposes itself
 to creation and by the consequent ebb  
and  weakening of the energy of love4   
,it is impossible to be assured that    
this is the case2 but all evidence of   
language points towards such  an        
identity of desolation between the      
innumerable separate  universes of the  
souls which fill the world1 when such   
souls  visualize existence through      
reason and sensation alone4    ,this    
also is a portion of the same illusion  
of impersonality into  which the inert  
malice of the ultimate resistance       
betrays us with  demonic cunning4 ,what 
man is there among us who does not      
recall some moment of visionary         
disintegration1 when1 in the  presence  
of both these mysteries1 an unspeakable 

depression of  this kind has overtaken  
him8 ,he has stood1 perhaps1 on some wet
  autumn evening1 watching the soulless 
reflection of a dead moon  in a pond of 
dead water2 while above him the         
motionless distorted  trunk of some     
goblinish tree mocks him with its       
desolate  remoteness from his own life4 
,at that moment1 with his abortive and  
atrophied complex vision1  all he sees  
is the eternal soullessness and deadness
 of matter2 dead  moonlight1 dead water1
 dead mud and slime and refuse1 dead    
mist  and vapour1 dead earth-mould and  
dead leaves4 ,and while the  desolate   
chemistry of nothingness grips him with 
its dead fingers  and he turns          
hopelessly to the silent tree-trunk at  
his side1 that also  repels him with the
 chill breath of psychic remoteness2 and
 it  seems to him that that also is     
strange and impersonal and  unconscious2
 that that also is only a blind         
pre-determined portion  of some huge    
planetary life-process that has no place

 for a living  soul1 but only a place   
for automatic impersonal chemistry4     
,brooding in this way1 with the eternal 
malice of the system of  things         
conquering the creative impulse in the  
depths of his soul1 he  becomes obsessed
 with the idea that not only these      
isolated  portions of ,nature1 but the  
whole of ,nature1 is thus alien and     
remote and thus given up to a desolate  
and soulless uniformity4  ,unutterable  
loneliness takes possession of him and  
he feels  himself to be an exile in a   
dark and hostile assemblage  of         
elemental forces4 ,if at such a moment  
by means of some  passionate invocation 
of the immortal gods1 or by means of    
some  desperate sinking into his own    
soul and gathering together of the      
creative energy in him1 he is able to   
resist this desolation1 how  strange and
 sudden a shifting of mood occurs6 ,he  
then1 by a bold  movement of            
imagination1 restores the balance of his
 complex  vision2 and in a moment the   

spectacle is transfigured4    ,the      
apparently dead pond takes to itself the
 lineaments of some  indescribable      
living soul1 of which that particular   
portion of  elemental being is the      
outward expression4 ,the apparently dead
  moonlight becomes the magical         
influence of some mysterious  lunar soul
 of which the earth's silent companions 
is the external  form4 ,the apparently  
dead mud of the pond's edge becomes a   
living portion of that earth-body which 
is the visible manifestation  of the    
soul of the earth4 ,the motionless      
tree-trunk at his side seems  no longer 
the desolate embodiment of some vague   
psychic life  utterly alien from his own
 life but reveals to him the immediate  
magical presence of a real soul there1  
whose personality1 though  not conscious
 in the precise manner in which he is   
conscious1 has  yet its own measure of  
complex vision and is mutely struggling 
with the cruel inertness and resistance 
which blocks the path of the  energy of 

life4 ,when once1 by the bold synthesis 
of reason and  sensation with those     
other attributes of the complex vision  
which  we name instinct1 imagination1   
intuition1 and the like1 the soul       
itself comes to be regarded as the      
substratum of personal  existence1 that 
desolating separation between humanity  
and ,nature  ceases to baffle us4 ,as   
long as the substratum of personal life 
is  regarded as the physical body there 
must always be this desolating          
difference and this remoteness4    ,for 
in such a case the stress is inevitably 
laid upon the  physiological and        
biological difference between the body  
of a man  and the body of the earth or  
the moon or the sun or any plant or     
animal4 ,but as soon as the substratum  
of personal life is regarded  not as the
 body but as the sour it ceases to be   
necessary to lay so  merciless a stress 
upon the difference between man's       
elaborate  physiological constitution   
and the simpler chemical constitution of

  organic or inorganic objects4    ,if  
the complex vision is the vision of the 
soul1 if the soul uses its  bodily      
sensation as only one among its other   
instruments of  contact with life1 then 
it is obvious that between the soul of a
 man  and the soul of a planet or a     
plant there need be no such appalling   
and desolating gulf as that which fills 
us with such profound  melancholy when  
we refuse to let the complex vision have
 its  complete rhythmic play and insist 
on sacrificing the revelations  made by 
instinct and intuition to the falsifying
 conclusions of  reason and sensation1  
energizing in arbitrary solitude4       
,the mort-main or dead-hand of that     
aboriginal malice which  resists life is
 directly responsible for this illusion 
of unconscious  matter through the midst
 of which we grope like outlawed        
exiles4 ,reason and the bodily senses1  
conspiring together1 are  perpetually   
tempting us to believe in the reality of
 this desolate  phantom-world of blind  

material elements2 but the unreality of 
this  corpse-life becomes evident       
directly we consider the revelation of  
the  complex vision4    ,for the complex
 vision reveals to us that what we call 
the  universe is a thing which is for   
ever coming newly and freshly  into     
life1 for ever being re-born and        
re-constituted by the interplay  between
 the individual soul and the objective  
mystery4 ,of the  objective mystery     
itself1 apart from the individual soul1 
we are able  to say nothing4 ,but since 
the universe is the discovery and       
creation of the individual soul1 there  
must be as many different  universes as 
there are living souls4    ,our belief  
in one universe1 whose characteristics  
are relatively  identical in the case of
 all the souls which contemplate it1 is 
a  belief which in part results from an 
original act of faith and in part       
results from an implicit appeal to those
 invisible companions  whose            
concentrated will towards reality and   

beauty and  nobility offers us our only 
objective standard of these ideas4      
,from the ground1 therefore1 of this    
trinity of incomprehensible  substances1
 namely the substance which is the      
substratum of the  individual soul1 the 
substance which is the objective mystery
 out  of which the individual soul      
creates its universe1 and the substance 
which is the medium or link which       
enables these individual  souls to      
communicate with one another1 emerge the
 only realities  which we can know4 ,and
 since this trinity of incomprehensible 
substances1 thus divided one from       
another1 must be thought of as          
dominated by the same unity of time and 
space1 it is inconceivable  that they   
should be anything else than three      
aspects of one and the  same            
incomprehensible substance4 ,from this  
it follows that from  the ground of one 
incomprehensible substance which in its 
first  aspect is the substratum of the  
soul1 in its second aspect is the       

objective mystery confronting the soul1 
in its third aspect is the  medium which
 holds all souls together1 there must be
 evoked all  the reality which we can   
conceive4    ,and this reality must1    
from the conclusions we have already    
reached1 take two forms4 ,it must take  
the form of a plurality of  subjective  
universes answering to the plurality of 
living souls4  ,and it must take the    
form of one objective universe1         
answering  to the objective standard of 
truth1 beauty1 and nobility1 together   
with the opposites of these1 which is   
implied in the tacit appeal of  all     
individual souls to their invisible     
companions4    ,in this double reality2 
the reality of one objective universe   
identical in its appearance to all souls
 but dependent for its identity  upon an
 implicit reference to the invisible    
companions1 and the  reality of as many 
subjective universes as there are living
 souls2 in  this double reality there is
 obviously no place at all for that     

phantom-world of unconscious matter1    
which in the form of  soulless elements1
 or soulless organic automata1 fills the
 human  mind with such devastating      
melancholy4    ,the dead pond with its  
dead moonlight1 with its dead mud and   
its  dead snow1 is therefore no better  
than a ghastly illusion when  considered
 in isolation from the soul or the souls
 which look forth  from it4 ,to the soul
 of which those elements are the body   
neither  mud nor water nor rain nor     
earth-mould can appear desolate or      
dead4 ,to the soul which contemplates   
these things there can be no  other way 
of regarding them1 as long as the rhythm
 of its vision is  unimpeded1 than as   
the outward manifestation of a personal 
life1 or  of many personal lives1       
similar in creative energy to its own4  
,between the soul1 or the souls1 of the 
elements of the earth1 and the  soul of 
the human spectator there must be1 if   
our conclusions are  to be held good at 
all1 a natural and profound reciprocity4

 ,the  apparent deadness1 the apparent  
automatism of matter1 which  projects   
itself between these two and resists    
with corpse-like  opacity their         
reciprocal understanding1 must be one of
 the ghastly  illusions with which the  
sinister side of the eternal duality    
undermines the magic of life4    ,but   
although in its objective isolation1 as 
an absolute entity1 this  material      
deadness of earth and water and rain and
 snow and of  all disintegrated organic 
chemistry must be regarded as an        
illusion1 it would be a falsifying of   
the reality of things to deny  that it  
is an illusion to which the visions of  
all souls are  miserably subject4 ,they 
are for ever subject to it because it is
  precisely this illusion which the     
unfathomable power hostile to  life for 
ever evokes4    ,nor must we for a      
moment suppose that this material       
objectivity1  this pond1 these leaves1  
this mud1 this snow1 are altogether     
unreal4  ,their reality is demanded by  

the complex vision and to deny their    
reality would be the gesture of madness4
 ,they are only unreal1  they are only  
an illusion1 when they are considered as
 existing  independently of the souls of
 which they are the body4 ,as the       
expression and manifestation of such    
souls they are entirely real4  ,they are
 indeed1 in this sense1 as real as our  
own human body4    ,the human soul1 when
 it suffers from that malignant power   
which has  its positive and external    
existence in the soul itself1 feels     
itself  to be absolutely alone in the   
midst of a dark chaotic welter of       
monstrous elemental forces4 ,in a mood  
of this kind the thought of  the huge   
volumes of soulless water which we call 
oceans and  seas crushes us with a      
devastating melancholy4 ,the thought of 
the interminable deserts of dead sand   
and the vast polar ice  fields and the  
monstrous excrescences that we call     
mountains  have the same effect4 ,but   
the supreme example of the kind of      

material ghastliness which ,i am trying 
to indicate1 is1 as may easily  be      
surmised1 nothing less than the         
appalling thought of the  unfathomable  
spatial gulfs through which our whole   
stellar system  moves4 ,here also1 in   
this supreme insistence of objective    
deadness1 the situation is relieved when
 we realize that this  unthinkable space
 is nothing more than the material      
expression of  that indefinable medium  
which holds all souls together4         
,moreover we must remember that these   
stellar gulfs cannot be  thought of     
except as the habitation of innumerable 
living souls1  each one of which is     
using this very space as the ground of  
its  creation of the many-coloured      
impassioned universe which is its  own  
dwelling4 ,in all these instances of    
objective deadness1  whether great or   
small1 we must not forget that the thing
 which  desolates us and fills us with  
so intolerable a nostalgia is a thing   
only half real1 a thing whose full      

reality depends upon the soul  which    
contemplates it and upon the soul's     
implicit assumption that  its truth is  
the truth of those invisible companions 
who supply us  with our perpetually     
renewed and reconstituted standard of   
what is  good and what is evil4         
,there is an abominably vivid example of
 the kind of melancholy  ,i have in my  
mind1 which1 although obviously less    
common to  normal human experience than 
the forms of it ,i have so far          
attempted to suggest1 is as a rule even 
more crushing in its cruelty4  ,i refer 
to the sight of a dead human body2 and  
in a less degree to  the sight of a dead
 animal or a dead plant4    ,a human    
corpse laid out in its coffin1 or nailed
 down in its coffin1  how exactly does  
the particular attitude towards life1   
which for  convenience sake ,i name the 
philosophy of the complex vision1  find 
itself regarding that8 ,such a body1    
deserted by its living  soul1 is        
obviously no longer the immediate and   

integral expression  of a personal life4
 ,is it therefore no more than a shred  
or shard or  husk or remnant of         
inconceivably soulless matter8 ,the gods
  forbid6 ,certainly and most assuredly 
it is more than that4    ,an isolated   
heterogeneous mass of dead chemistry is 
a monstrous  illusion which only exists 
for us when the weakness of our         
creative energy and the power of the    
original malice in the soul  destroys   
our vision4 ,this dead body lying in its
 wooden coffin is  certainly possessed  
of no more life than the inanimate      
boards of  the coffin in which it lies4 
,but the inanimate boards of the coffin1
  together with the inanimate furniture 
of the house or room that  contains it1 
and the bricks and stones and mortar of 
such a house1  are themselves nothing   
less than inevitable portions of the    
vast  earth-body of our planetary globe4
    ,and this planetary globe1 this     
earth upon which we live1 cannot  under 
any conceivable kind of reasoning to    

which imagination has  contributed its  
share1 be regarded as a dead or a       
soulless thing4 ,in  its isolated       
integrity1 as a separate integral       
personality1 the soul  has deserted the 
body and left it dead4 ,but it is only  
dead when  considered in isolation from 
the surrounding chemistry of  planetary 
life4 ,and to consider it in this way is
 to consider it  falsely4 ,for from the 
moment it ceases to be the expression of
 the  life of an individual human soul1 
it becomes the expression--  through    
every single phase of its chemical      
dissolution--of the life  of the planet4
    ,in so far as the human soul1 which 
has deserted it1 is concerned it  is    
assuredly no better than a dead husk2   
but in so far as the soul of  the planet
 is concerned it is an essential portion
 of that planet's  living body and in   
this sense is not dead at all4      ,its
 chemical elements1 as they resolve     
themselves slowly back into  their      
planetary accomplices1 are part and     

parcel of that general  body of the     
earth which is in a state of constant   
movement1 and  which has the soul of the
 earth as its animating principle of    
personality4 ,and just as the human     
corpse1 when the soul has  deserted it1 
becomes a portion of those chemical     
elements which  are the body of the     
planet's personal soul1 so do the dead  
bodies  of animals and plants and trees 
become portions of the same  terrestrial
 bodies4    ,thus strictly speaking     
there is no single moment when any      
material form or body can be called     
dead4 ,instantaneously with  the        
departure of its own individual soul it 
is at once possessed by  the soul of    
that planetary globe from whose         
chemistry it drew its  elemental life   
and from whose chemistry1 although the  
form of it  has changed1 it still draws 
its life4 ,for it is no fantastic       
speculation to affirm that every living 
thing whether human or  otherwise plays1
 while it lives1 a triple part upon the 

world stage4    ,it is in the first     
place the vehicle of the individual     
soul4 ,it is in  the second place the   
medium of the spiritual vampirizing of  
the  invisible planetary spirits4 ,and  
it is in the third place a living       
portion of that organic elemental       
chemistry which is the body of  the     
terrestrial soul4 ,thus it becomes      
manifest that that illusion of  dead    
matter which fills the human soul with  
so profound a  melancholy is no more    
than an everlasting trick of the malice 
of  the abyss4    ,and the despair which
 sometimes results from it is a despair 
which issues from no dead matter but    
from the terrible living  depths of the 
soul itself4 ,it is from a consideration
 of the especial  kind of melancholy    
evoked in us by the illusion of         
objective  deadness that we are enabled 
to analyse those peculiar  imaginative  
feelings which sometime or another      
affect us all4 ,i  refer to the         
extraordinary tenacity with which we    

cling to our  bodily form1 however      
grotesque it may be1 and the difficulty 
we  experience in disassociating our    
living soul from its particular         
envelope or habitation2 and the tendency
 which we have1 in spite  of this1 to   
imagine ourselves transferred to an     
alien body4 ,for the  soul in us has the
 power of thinking itself into any other
 body it  may please to select4    ,and 
there is no reason why we should be     
alarmed at such an  imaginative power2  
or even associate its fantastic         
realization with  any terror of madness4
 ,the invisible entity within us which  
says ,i  am ,i can easily be conceived  
as suddenly awakening out of sleep  and 
discovering1 to its astonishment1 that  
its visible body has  suffered a        
bewildering transformation4    ,such a  
transformation can be conceived as      
almost unlimited in  its humorous and   
disconcerting possibilities4 ,but no    
such  transformation of the external    
envelope of the soul1 whether into  the 

form of an animal or a plant or a god1  
need be conceived of as  necessarily    
driving us into insanity4 ,the ,i am ,i 
would remain the  same in regard to its 
imagination1 instinct1 intuition1       
emotion1  self-consciousness and the    
rest4 ,it would be only changed in      
regard  to sensation1 which is a thing  
immediately dependent upon the          
particular and special senses of the    
human body4    ,this is a truth to the  
reality of which the wandering fancies  
of  every human child bear ample        
witness2 not to speak of the dreams  of 
those childlike tribes of the race1 who 
in our progressive  insolence we are    
pleased to name uncivilized4 ,the deeper
 we dig  into the tissue of convoluted  
impressions that make up our  universe  
the more vividly do we become aware that
 our only  redemption from sheer        
insanity lies in knowing ourselves2 in  
other words1 in keeping a drastic and   
desperate hold upon what1 in  the midst 
of ambiguity and treachery1 we are      

definitely assured of4    ,and the only 
thing we are definitely assured of1 the 
only thing  which we really know on the 
inner side1 and with the kind of        
knowledge which is unassailable1 is the 
reality of our soul4 ,we  know this with
 a vividness completely different from  
the vividness  of any other knowledge   
because this is not what we feel or see 
or  imagine or think but what we are4   
,and all feeling1 all seeing1 all       
imagining and all thinking are only     
attributes of this mysterious  something
 which is our integral self4    ,to the 
superficial judgment there is always    
something weird and  arbitrary about    
this belief in our own soul4 ,and this  
apparent  weirdness arises from the fact
 that our superficial judgments are  the
 work of reason and sensation arrogating
 to themselves the  whole field of      
consciousness4    ,but directly we bring
 to bear upon this mass of impressions  
which  is our universe the full rhythmic
 play of our complete identity  this    

weirdness and arbitrariness disappear   
and we realize that we  are1 not this   
thought or this sensation or even this  
stream of  thoughts and sensations1 but 
the definite living monad which  gives  
these things their only link of         
continuity and permanence4  ,and it is  
better to accept experience1 even though
 it refuses to  resolve itself into any 
rational unity1 rather than to leave    
experience in the distance and permit   
our reason to evolve its  desired unity 
out of its own rules and limitations4   
,we must readily admit that to take all 
the attributes of personality  and to   
make them adhere in the mysterious      
substratum of the soul  rather than in  
the little cells of the brain1 seems to 
the superficial  judgment a weird and   
arbitrary act4 ,but the more closely we 
think  of what we are doing when we make
 this assumption the more  inevitable   
does such an assumption appear4    ,we  
are driven by the necessity of the case 
to find some point1 or  at least some   

gap in thought and the system of things1
 where  mind and matter meet and are    
fused with one another4 ,absolute       
consciousness does not help us to       
explain the facts of experience2        
because facing absolute consciousness1  
directly it isolates itself1  we are    
compelled to recognize the presence of  
something else1  which is the material  
or object of which absolute             
consciousness is  conscious4    ,and    
what we do when we assume the little    
cells of the physical  brain to be the  
point in space or the gap in thought    
where mind  and matter meet and become  
one is simply to place these two  worlds
 in close juxtaposition and then assert 
that they are one4 ,but  this placing   
them side by side and asserting that    
they are one does  not make them one4   
,they are just as far apart as ever4    
,the cells of  the brain remain material
 and the phenomenon of consciousness    
remains immaterial and they are still as
 remote from one another  and as unfused

 as if consciousness were outside of    
time and  space altogether4    ,it is   
only when we come to regard the         
fusion-point of these two  things as    
being itself a living and personal      
thing2 it is only when  we come to      
regard the substratum of the soul as a  
mysterious  something which is1 at one  
and the same time1 both what we call    
mind and what we call matter1 that the  
difficulty ,i have  described           
disappears4 ,for in this case we are    
dealing with  something which1 unlike   
the little cells of the brain1 is       
totally  invisible and totally beyond   
all scientific analysis2 and yet with   
something which1 because it is affected 
by bodily sensations and  because it is 
under the sway of time and space1 cannot
 be regarded  as utterly outside the    
realm of material substance4 ,we are in 
fact1  in this case1 dealing with       
something which we feel to be the       
integral and ultimate reality of        
ourselves1 as we certainly do not  feel 

the little cells of the brain to be2 and
 we are dealing with  something that is 
no mere stream of impressions1 but is   
the  concrete permanent reality which   
gives to all impressions1 whether       
material or immaterial1 their unity and 
coherence4    ,when once we are put into
 possession of this1 when once we come  
to recognize our invisible soul as the  
reality which is our true self1  it is  
found to be no longer ridiculous and    
arbitrary to endow this  soul with all  
those various attributes1 which1 after  
all1 are only  various aspects of that  
unique personality which is the         
personality  of the soul4 ,to say the   
soul has imagination1 or the soul has   
instinct1 or the soul has an aesthetic  
sense1 has only a ridiculous  sound when
 under the pressure of the abysmal      
malice which  opposes itself to life we 
fall into the habits of permitting those
  usurping accomplices1 pure reason and 
pure sensation1 to destroy  the rhythmic
 harmony of the complex vision4    ,when

 once we are in full possession of our  
own soul it is no mere  fanciful        
speculation but an inevitable act of    
faith which compels us  to envisage the 
universe as a thing crowded with        
invisible souls1  who in some degree or 
other resemble our own4 ,if this is     
anthropomorphism1 though strictly       
speaking it ought to be  called         
pan-psychism1 then it is impossible for 
us to be  too anthropomorphic4 ,for in  
this way we are doing the only          
philosophical thing we have a right to  
do--namely1 interpreting the  less known
 in the terms of the more known4        
,when we seek to interpret the soul1    
which we vividly know1 in  terms of     
chemical or spiritual abstractions of   
which we have no  direct knowledge but  
which are merely rationalized symbols1  
we  are proceeding in an illegitimate   
and unphilosophical manner to  interpret
 the more known in terms of the less    
known1 which is in  the true sense      
ridiculous4    ,the only escape from    

that profound melancholy so easily      
engulfed  in sheer insanity1 which is   
the result of submission to the illusion
  of dead matter1 lies in this tenacious
 hold upon the concrete  identity of the
 soul4 ,so closely are we linked1 by    
reason of the  chemistry of our mortal  
body1 to every material-element2 that it
 is  only too easy for us to merge our  
personal life by a perverted use  of the
 imagination in that phantom-world of   
supposedly dead  matter which is the    
illusive projection of the abysmal      
malice4    ,thus just as the soul is    
driven by extreme physical pain to      
relinquish its identity and to become an
 incarnate sensation1 so  the soul is   
driven by the power of malice to        
relinquish its  centrifugal force and to
 become the very mud and slime and      
excremental debris which it has endowed 
with an illusive  soullessness4    ,the 
clue to the secret pathology of these   
moods1 to whose brink  reason and       
sensation have led us and into whose    

abyss perverted  imagination has plunged
 us1 is therefore to be found in the    
unfathomable duality of good and evil4  
,if it seems to the kind of  mind that  
demands rational unity at all costs1    
even at the cost of  truth to           
experience1 that this duality cannot be 
left unreconciled1  the answer which the
 philosophy of the complex vision must  
make1 is that any reconciliation of such
 a sort1 any reduction to  monistic     
unity of the eternal adversaries out of 
whose struggle life  itself springs1    
would bring life itself back to         
nothingness4    ,the argument that      
because1 in the eternal process of      
destruction  and creation1 life or love 
or what we call the good depends for    
its activity upon death or malice or    
what we call evil1 these  opposites are 
one and the same1 is shown to be utterly
 false when  one thinks of the analogy  
of the struggle between the sexes4      
,because the activity of the male       
depends upon the existence of the       

female1 that is no reason for concluding
 that the male and the  female are one  
and the same thing4    ,because good    
becomes more good out of its conflict   
with  evil1 that does not mean that good
 is responsible for the  existence of   
evil2 any more than because evil becomes
 more  evil out of its conflict with    
good does it mean that evil is          
responsible for the existence of good4  
,neither is responsible for  the        
existence of the other4 ,they are both  
positive and real and they  are both    
eternal4 ,they are both unfathomable    
elements in every  personal individual  
soul1 whether of man or plant or animal 
or god  or demi-god that has ever       
existed or will ever come to exist4     
,the prevalent idea that because good in
 the long run and over  vast spaces of  
time shows itself to be a little--just a
 little--more  powerful than evil1 evil 
must be regarded as only a form of good 
or a necessary negation of good is a    
fallacy derived from the  illusion that 

life is the creation of a parent of the 
universe whose  nature is absolutely    
good4 ,such a fallacy takes for granted 
that  somewhere and somehow ,good will  
finally triumph over evil4    ,the      
revelation of the complex vision        
destroys this fallacy4 ,such a  complete
 triumph of good over evil would mean   
the end of  everything that exists      
because everything that exists depends  
upon  this abysmal struggle4 ,but for   
personalities who are able to  recognize
 that the mere fact of their being alive
 is already a  considerable victory of  
good over evil1 there is nothing        
overwhelming in the thought that good   
can never completely  overcome evil4 ,it
 is enough that life has given them     
life2 and that  in the perpetually      
renewed struggle between love and malice
 they  find at the rare moments when    
love overcomes malice a flood of        
happiness which1 brings with it the     
sensation of eternity4    ,for such     
souls eternity is here and now2 and no  

anticipated  absolute triumph of the    
good in the world over the evil can     
compare for a moment with the           
indescribable happiness which this      
sensation of eternity brings4 ,it is    
this happiness1 evoked by the  rhythmic 
play of the soul's apex-thought in its  
supreme hours1  which alone1 even in    
memory1 can destroy the illusion of dead
  matter4    ,the psychological         
situation brought about by the fact that
 this  illusion is a perpetually        
recurrent one and a thing that is always
  liable to return whenever reason and  
sensation are driven to isolate         
themselves is a situation a good deal   
more complicated than ,i have  so far   
indicated4 ,it is complicated by the    
fact that although in  certain moods the
 contemplation of the illusion of dead  
matter  produces profound melancholy1 in
 other moods it produces a kind  of     
demonic joy4 ,it seems as though the    
melancholy mood1 which  carried to an   
extreme limit borders on absolute       

despair1 comes  about when the creative 
energy in our soul1 although under the  
momentary dominance of what resists     
creation1 is still1 so to speak1  the   
master of our will4    ,under such      
circumstances the will1 still resolutely
 turned towards  life1 is confronted by 
what appears to be the very embodiment  
of  death4 ,under these conditions the  
will is baffled1 perplexed1  defeated   
and outraged4 ,it beats in vain against 
the inert mass  which malice has        
projected2 and feels itself powerless to
 overcome  it4 ,it then turns furiously 
round upon the very substratum of the   
soul and rends and tears at that1 in a  
mad effort to reach the secret  of a    
phantom-world which seems to hold no    
secret4 ,if some sort of  relief does   
not come1 such relief for instance as   
physical sleep1 the  inert misery of the
 submission of the will1 following upon 
such a  desperate struggle1 may easily  
drift into a deadly apathy1 may  easily 
approach the borders of insanity4       

,but there is another condition under   
which the soul may confront  the        
illusion of dead matter4 ,this condition
 comes about when the  will1 instead of 
being turned towards creation1 is       
definitely turned  towards the opposite 
of creation4 ,it is impossible for the  
will to  remain in this condition for   
more than a limited time4 ,some  outward
 or inward shock1 some drastic swing of 
the psychic  pendulum1 must sooner or   
later restore the balance and bring the 
will back to that wavering and          
indecisive state--poised like the  point
 of a compass between the two           
extremes--which seems to be  its normal 
attitude4    ,any human will            
unchangeably directed towards the good  
would  be the will of a soul that in its
 inherent depths were already           
absolutely good2 and this1 as we have   
seen1 is an impossible  phenomenon4 ,the
 utmost reach of wickedness that any    
soul1  whether it be the soul of a man  
or of a god1 can attain to1 is a        

recurrent concentration of the will upon
 evil and a recurrent  overcoming1 for  
relatively increasing spaces of time1 of
 the power  of love4 ,this incomplete   
and constantly interrupted concentration
  upon evil is the nearest approach to  
the worship of ,satan which  any will is
 able to reach4 ,the exquisite pleasure1
 therefore1  culminating in a kind of   
insane ecstasy1 which the soul can enjoy
  when1 in the passion of its evil will1
 it leaps to welcome the  illusion of   
dead matter1 is a pleasure that in the  
nature of things  cannot last4 ,and the 
condition of inert malignant apathy     
which  follows such an ecstasy of evil  
is perhaps the nearest approach to  a   
consciousness of eternal death which the
 soul can know4    ,and it is in this   
malignant apathy1 rather than in the    
demonic  exultation of the mood that    
preceded it1 that the extreme opposite  
of love finds its culmination4 ,for in  
its hour of demonic exultation1  when   
the will to evil buries itself with     

insane joy in the illusion of  dead     
matter1 it is drawing savagely upon the 
energy of life4 ,it  corrupts such      
energy as it draws upon it and distorts 
it from its  natural functions2 but the 
energy itself1 although possessed by    
the abysmal malice1 is living and       
intense2 and therefore cannot be        
regarded as so entirely the opposite of 
love as that inert condition  of        
malignant lifelessness which inevitably 
succeeds it4    ,the demonic ecstasy1   
full of invincible magnetism1 which     
looks  forth from the countenance of a  
soul obsessed with1 evil1 has much  more
 in common with the magnetic exultation 
of a soul possessed  with love than has 
that ghastly inertness1 with its insane 
malignant  attraction to death4 ,for out
 of the countenance of this latter looks
  forth everything that is hostile to   
life2 and its expression has in it  the 
obscene cunning1 mixed with frozen      
despair1 of a corpse which  has become  
utterly dehumanized4    ,it is          

frequently a matter of surprise to minds
 whose view of what is  good has        
excluded the concept of energy that     
persons obviously  under the obsession  
of evil are able to display such immense
  reserves of inexhaustible power4 ,but 
this surprise disappears when  it is    
realized that such worshippers of ,satan
 are drawing upon  the creative energy  
and corrupting it1 in the process of    
drawing  upon it1 by the malignant power
 which resists creation4    ,the        
illusion of dead matter conceived as we 
have conceived it1  as a thing made up  
of unconscious chemical elements1 is    
after all  only one aspect of the       
phantom-world of illusive soullessness  
which the abysmal malice delights to    
project4 ,it is only to  particular     
sensitive natures that this peculiar    
despair of the  inanimate takes the form
 of mud or sand or refuse or water or   
dead planetary bodies or empty space4   
,to other natures it may take the form  
of those innumerable  off-shoots of     

economic necessity1 which are not       
themselves necessary  either to human   
life or human welfare but which are the 
arbitrary  creations of economic avarice
 divorced from necessity and  indulged  
in out of an inert hatred of what is    
beautiful and real4 ,any  labour1       
whether mental or physical1 which       
directly satisfies the  economic needs  
of humanity carries with it the         
unfathomable thrill  of creative        
happiness4 ,but when we come to consider
 those  innumerable forms of financial  
and commercial enterprise which  in no  
way satisfy human needs but exist only  
for the sake of  exploitation we find   
ourselves confronted by a weight of     
unreal  soulless hideousness which by   
reason of the fact that it is           
deliberately protected by organized     
society is a more devastating  example  
of the thing which is in the way than   
any amount of  mud and litter and refuse
 and excremental debris4 ,for this      
unproductive commercialism1 this unreal 

reality projected by the  malignant     
power which resists creation1 is not    
only an obscene  outrage to the         
aesthetic sense2 it is actually an      
assassination of  life4 ,when1          
therefore1 a philosopher who uses the   
complex vision of  the soul as his organ
 of research is asked the question1     
where are we  to look for the type of   
human being most entirely evil8 the     
answer which he is compelled to give is 
not a little surprising to  many minds4 
,for there are many minds whose         
physiological timidity corrupts  their  
judgment1 and who lack the clairvoyance 
to unmask with  infallible certainty    
that look of sneering apathy which is   
the pure  expression of malice4 ,and to 
such minds some wretched devil of a     
criminal1 driven to crime by an insane  
perversion of the creative              
instinct--for creation and destruction  
are not the true opposites--  might     
easily seem the ultimate embodiment of  
evil4    ,whereas the particular type of

 human being from whom the  philosopher 
of the complex vision would draw his    
standard of evil  would be a type very  
different from any perverted type even  
from  those whose mania might take the  
form of erotic cruelty4 ,it would  be a 
type whose recurrent evil would take the
 form of a sneering  and malignant      
inertness1 the form of a cold and       
sarcastic  disparagement of all intense 
feeling4 ,it would be a type entirely   
obsessed by the illusion of dead matter2
 not so much the  illusion of dead      
matter where ,nature is concerned1 but  
where the  economic struggle has        
resulted in some unnecessary and purely 
commercial activity1 altogether divorced
 from the basic necessities  of human   
life4 ,a person of this type would1 in  
his evil moods1 be  more completely     
dominated by a malignant resistance to  
every  movement of the creative spirit  
than any other type1 unless it were     
perhaps one whom the heavy brutality of 
officialdom had  blunted into inhuman   

callousness4    ,compared with persons  
such as these1 by whom no actual        
positive  wickedness may have ever been 
perpetrated1 the confessed  criminal or 
the acknowledged pervert remains far    
less committed  to the depths of evil4  
,for in persons who have habitually lent
  themselves to the illusion of dead    
matter1 whether in regard to  ,nature or
 in regard to commercial or financial   
exploitation1 there  occurs a kind of   
death-in-life which gives the sneering  
malignity  of the abyss its supreme     
opportunity1 whereas in the souls of    
those  who have committed crimes1 or    
have been guilty of passionate  cruelty1
 there may easily remain a vivid and    
sensitive response to  some form of     
reality or beauty1 or self-annihilating 
love4    ,for the illusion of dead      
matter is the most formidable expression
  of evil which we know2 and it can only
 be destroyed by the magic  of that     
creative spirit whose true opposite is  
not hatred or cruelty  or violence or   

destruction1 but the motiveless power of
 a deadly  obscurantism4      ,,chapter 
,,xii4    ,,pain ,,and ,,pleasure       
,since neither pleasure nor pain can be 
experienced without  consciousness2 and 
since consciousness finds its substratum
 not in  the body but in the soul2 we   
are driven to the conclusion that what  
we call the capacity of the body for    
pleasure and pain is really the         
capacity of the soul for pleasure and   
pain4 ,but the capacity of the  soul for
 pleasure and pain is not confined to   
its functioning  through the body4      
,sensation1 that is to say1 the use of  
the bodily  senses1 gives the soul one  
particular form of pain and one         
particular form of pleasure2 but that   
the soul possesses other forms  of      
pleasure and pain independently of the  
body is proved by the  psychological    
fact that intense bodily pain is        
sometimes  accompanied by intense       
spiritual pleasure and intense bodily   
pleasure is sometimes accompanied by    

intense spiritual pain4    ,what is     
called the pursuit of pleasure1 that    
rationalistic  abstraction from our real
 psychological experience1 that         
abstraction which has been made the     
basis of the false philosophy  called   
hedonism1 cannot stand for a moment     
against the  revelation of the complex  
vision4 ,under certain rare and morbid  
conditions1 when reason and sensation1  
in their conspiracy of  assassination1  
have usurped for a while the whole field
  of consciousness1 such a pursuit of   
pleasure may become  a dominant motive4 
,but even under these conditions there  
often comes a shifting of the stage     
according to which the  pleasure-seeker1
 sick to death of pleasure1 deliberately
  pursues pain4    ,if it be said that  
this change is no real change because   
what is then  pursued is the pleasure of
 contrast or even the pleasure of  pain1
 the retort to such reasoning can only  
be that in this case the  whole         
hedonistic theory has been given up2 for

 what is really then  pursued is neither
 pleasure nor pain but the sensation of 
novelty  or the sensation of new        
experience4    ,pleasure and pain are   
emotionalized sensations accompanying   
various physical and mental states4 ,the
 psychological truth about  their       
pursuit is simply that we pursue certain
 objects or  conditions because of their
 immediate attractiveness or attractive 
terribleness1 and that the accompanying 
pleasure becomes first a  kind of       
orchestral background to our pursuit2   
and then1 later1  becomes1 by the action
 of the law of association1 part and    
parcel of  the thing's attractiveness or
 attractive terribleness4 ,thus what    
really occurs is precisely opposite to  
the hedonist's contention4 ,for  the    
thing pursued swallows up and           
appropriates to itself the  pleasure and
 pain of the pursuit2 and1 by the law of
 association1  becomes more vividly1    
even than at the start the motive force 
which lures us4    ,the most ghastly1   

the most obscene1 the most intolerable  
thing in  the world is when the pain of 
pure sensation1 the pain of the body1   
is accentuated to such a pitch of       
atrocious suffering that the other      
attributes of the soul are annihilated2 
and the humanity of the  person thus    
suffering is temporarily destroyed2 so  
that what lives  at such a moment is not
 a person at all but an incarnate pain4 
,that this ultimate ghastliness1 this   
dehumanization by pain1 can  only occur 
where the aboriginal malice of the soul 
has previously  weakened the soul's     
independent life1 is proved by the fact 
that the  most atrocious tortures have  
been successfully endured1 even unto    
the point of death1 by such as have been
 martyrs for an idea4 ,and  the reason  
of this endurance1 the reason why1 in   
the case of such  martyrizing1 the      
victim has been able to resist          
dehumanization is  found in the fact    
that the soul's creative energy or the  
power of  love has been so great that it

 has been able to assert its            
independence of bodily torment1 even to 
the last moment of  human identity4     
,since pain and pleasure1 although so   
often the direct evocation of  the      
soul's attribute of bodily sensation1   
are always composed of the  primordial  
stuff of emotion2 and since emotion is a
 projection of  the soul independently  
of the body1 it is natural that the soul
  should1 in the reverse manner1 colour 
its emotion with the memory  of         
sensation4 ,thus it follows that        
although it is possible for the  soul1  
when its emotional feeling is outraged  
or excited1 to  experience pain or      
pleasure apart from sensation1 there is 
usually  present in such an emotional   
pain or pleasure a residual element of  
sensation2 for the soul is not a thing  
which simply possesses  certain         
functions2 but a thing which is present 
in some degree or  other in all its     
various aspects of energy4    ,what we  
call memory is nothing more than the    

plastic consciousness  of personal      
identity and continuity4 ,and when once 
the pain  or pleasure of a bodily       
sensation has been lodged in the  soul1 
that pain or pleasure becomes an        
integral portion of the soul's  life1 to
 be worked upon and appropriated for    
good or evil by the  soul's intrinsic   
duality4    ,thus although the creative 
energy in the soul1 emerging from       
fathomless abysses1 can enable the soul 
to endure until death the  most infernal
 torments1 the fact remains that since  
the attribute of  sensation1 which      
depends entirely upon the existence of  
the bodily  senses1 is one of the soul's
 basic attributes and has its ground in 
the  very substratum of the soul1 the   
sensations of pain and pleasure  whether
 coloured by emotion and imagination or 
left pure in  the clear element of      
consciousness1 are sensations from which
 the  soul cannot escape4    ,from this 
we are forced to conclude that to affirm
 that the soul can  remain wholly       

untouched and unaffected by bodily pain 
or  pleasure is ridiculous4 ,bodily pain
 and pleasure are the soul's pain  and  
pleasure2 because the attribute of      
sensation1 through which the  bodily    
senses feed the soul1 is not the body's 
attribute of sensation  but the soul's  
attribute of sensation4    ,to say1     
therefore1 that the soul can conquer the
 body or be  indifferent to the body is 
as ridiculous as to say that the body   
can conquer the soul or be indifferent  
to the soul4 ,the fact that  the        
attribute of sensation is a basic       
attribute of the soul and that  the     
attribute of sensation is dependent upon
 the bodily senses must  inevitably     
imply that the pressure or impact of the
 bodily senses  descend to the          
profoundest depths of the soul4    ,the 
thing that conquers pain in the         
invincible martyr is love1 or  the      
energy of creation1 in the soul4 ,the   
abysmal struggle is not  between the    
soul and the body or between the flesh  

and the spirit1  but between the power  
of life and love1 in the body and the   
soul  together1 and the power of death  
or malice1 in the body and the  soul    
together4    ,what we are compelled to  
assume with regard to those sons of  the
 universe1 whose existence affords a    
basis for the objectivity of  the       
ultimate ideas1 is that1 with them1 what
 ,i have called the  eternal idea of the
 body takes the place in their complex  
vision of  our actual physical body4    
,their complex vision must be regarded1 
if our philosophy is to remain boldly   
and shamelessly anthropomorphic1  as    
possessing1 even as our own1 the basic  
attribute of sensation4    ,but since   
their essential invisibility1 and       
consequent upon this their  ubiquity    
under the dominant categories of time   
and place1  precludes any possibility of
 their incarnation1 we are compelled to 
postulate that their complex vision's   
attribute of sensation1 in the  absence 
of any bodily senses1 finds its contact 

with the objective  mystery and with the
 objective universe in some definite and
  permanent intermediary which serves in
 their case the same  primal necessity  
as is served in our case by the human   
body4    ,if no such intermediary       
existed for them1 we should be          
compelled to relinquish the idea that   
they possessed a complex  vision at all1
 for not only the attribute of          
sensation1 but the  attribute of emotion
 also1 demands for its activity         
something that  shall represent the     
human body and occupy in their objective
  universe the place occupied by our    
physical bodies in our  universe4    ,as
 we have already shown1 this primary    
demand for the eternalizing  of flesh   
and blood is a demand which springs from
 the profoundest  depths of the soul1   
for it is a demand which springs from   
the creative energy itself1 the eternal 
protagonist in the  world-drama4 ,we    
must conclude1 therefore1 that although 
these super-human children of ,nature   

cannot in the ordinary sense  incarnate 
themselves in flesh and blood they can  
and do  appropriate to themselves out of
 the surrounding body of the ether1  and
 out of the body of any other living    
thing they approach1 a  certain         
attenuated essence of flesh and blood   
which1 though  invisible to us1 supplies
 with them the place of our human body4 
,this1 therefore1 is the intermediary   
which1 in the invisible  companions of  
our planetary struggle1 occupies the    
place which is  occupied by the physical
 element in our human life4 ,and this is
  evoked by nothing less than that      
eternal idea of the body1 or  that      
eternal idea of flesh and blood1 which  
the creative energy of  love demands4 ,a
 very curious and interesting           
possibility follows  from this          
assumption2 namely1 that by a process   
which might be  called a process of     
spiritual vampirizing the same creative 
passion which demands satisfaction in   
the eternalizing of the idea  of the    

body actually suffers1 by means of its  
vivid sympathy with  living bodies1 the 
very pains and pleasures through which  
these  bodies pass4    ,the possibility 
that the invisible companions1 or in    
more  traditional language that the     
immortal gods1 should be driven by  the 
passion of their creative love1 to      
suffer vicarious pain and  pleasure     
through the living bodies of all organic
 existences1 is a  possibility that     
derives a certain support from two      
considerations1  both of which are drawn
 directly from human experiences4 ,it is
  certainly a matter of common human    
experience to be conscious1  for good   
and for evil1 of a kind of obsession of 
one's body by  some sort of spiritual   
power4 ,we may regard these moments of  
obsession1 with their consequent        
exhilaration or profound gloom1  as due 
purely to the activity of our own soul2 
and doubtless very  often this is the   
explanation of them4 ,but it is         
conceivable also that  such obsessions  

are actually due to the presence near us
 and  around us of the high immortal    
ones4    ,that when we experience this  
spiritual vampirizing of our  mortal    
bodies by immortal companions1 such an  
obsession is not  necessarily for good1 
is a thing inevitably implied in our    
primary conception of personality4 ,for 
although a purely demonic  personality  
is an impossibility1 owing to the fact  
that personality  is1 in itself1 an     
achieved triumph over evil1 it must     
still remain true  that the eternal     
duality of creation and what resists    
creation must  find an arena in the soul
 of an immortal even as it finds an     
arena  in the soul of a mortal4         
,therefore we are driven to regard it as
 no fantastic speculation but  as only  
too reasonable a possibility1 that when 
a physical  depression takes possession 
of us it is due to this spiritual       
vampirizing1 in an evil sense1 by the   
power of some immortal  whose malice at 
that particular moment has overcome     

love4  ,but just as the power of        
physical pain may be dominated and      
overcome by the energy of love arising  
from the depths of our own  soul1 so    
this vampirizing by the malice of an    
invisible  companion1 may be dominated  
and overcome by the energy of  love from
 the depths of our own soul4    ,it may 
indeed be regarded as certain that it is
 when the malice in  our own soul is in 
the ascendant1 rather than the love1    
that we fall  victims to this kind of   
obsession4 ,for evil eternally attracts 
evil2  and it is no wild nor erratic    
fancy to maintain that the malice in the
  human soul naturally draws to itself  
by an inevitable and tragic  reciprocity
 the malice in the souls of the immortal
 companions4    ,the second             
consideration derived from human        
experience which  supports this view of 
the vicarious pain and pleasure         
experienced  by the gods through the    
bodies of all organic entities is the   
psychological fact of our own attitude  

towards plants and animals4  ,any       
sensitive person among us will not      
hesitate to admit that in  watching     
animals suffer1 he has suffered with    
such animals2 or  again1 that in        
watching a branch torn from its trunk1  
leaving an  open wound out of which the 
sap oozes1 he has suffered with  the    
suffering of the tree4 ,and just as the 
phenomenon of bodily  obsession by some 
immortal god may be either for good or  
for  evil as our own soul dictates1 so  
the sympathy which we feel for  plants  
and animals may be either for good or   
for evil4    ,and this also applies to  
the relation between these bodiless     
immortals and the bodies of all organic 
planetary life4 ,according  to the      
revelation of the complex vision1 with  
its emphasis upon the  ultimate duality 
as the supreme secret of life1 both pain
 and  pleasure are instruments1 in the  
hands of love1 for rousing the soul  out
 of that sleep of death or semi-death   
which is the abysmal  enemy4    ,the    

philosophies which oppose pain to       
pleasure1 and insist upon  the good of  
pain and the evil of pleasure1 are no   
less  misleading than the philosophies  
which oppose flesh to spirit1 or  matter
 to mind1 calling the one good and the  
other evil4 ,such  philosophies have    
permitted that basic attribute of the   
complex  vision which we call conscience
 to usurp the place occupied1 in the    
total rhythm1 by imagination2 with the  
result of a complete  falsifying of the 
essential values4    ,in a question of  
such deadly import as this1 we have1    
more than  ever1 to make our appeal to  
those rare moments of illumination      
which we have attained when the rhythmic
 intensity of the  arrow-point of       
thought was most concentrated and       
piercing4 ,and the  testimony of these  
moments is given with no uncertain      
sound4 ,in  the great hours of our life1
 and ,i think all human experiences     
justify this statement1 both pain and   
pleasure are transcended and  flung into

 a subordinate and irrelevant place4    
,something which it  is very difficult  
to describe1 a kind of emotion which    
resembles  happiness1 flows through us2 
so that pain and pleasure seem to  come 
and go almost unremarked1 like dark and 
light shadows  flung upon some          
tremendous water-fall4    ,what we are  
compelled to recognize1 therefore1 is   
that pain and  pleasure are both        
instruments of the creative power of    
life4 ,they  only become evil or are    
used for purposes of evil1 when1 by     
reason  of some fatal weakening in the  
other attributes of the soul1 the       
purely sensational element in them      
dominates the emotional and  they become
 something most horribly like living    
entities--entities  with bodies composed
 of the vibrations of torment and souls 
composed of the substance of            
torment--and succeed in annihilating    
the very features of humanity4    ,pain 
and pleasure are not identical with the 
unfathomable duality  which descends    

into the abyss2 for pain and pleasure   
are definitely  and quite unmistakenly  
fathomable2 though1 as the gods know    
well1 few enough of the sons of mortals 
reach the limit of them4  ,they are     
fathomable2 for carried to a certain    
pitch of intensity they  end in ecstasy 
or they end in death4 ,they are         
fathomable2 for even  in the souls of   
the immortals they are only instruments 
of life  warring against death4 ,they   
are fathomable2 because they have  one  
identical root2 and this root is the    
ecstasy of the rhythm of the  complex   
vision which transcends and surpasses   
them both4    ,the hideous symbol of    
hell is the creation of the false       
philosophy which makes the eternal      
duality resolve itself into flesh  and  
spirit or into soul and body4 ,the power
 of love renders this  symbol           
meaningless and abortive2 for           
personality is the supreme  victory of  
life over what resists life2 and        
consequently where  personality exists  

hell cannot exist2 for personality is   
the scope  and boundary of all we know4 
,the symbol of ,satan also is  rendered 
meaningless by the philosophy of the    
complex vision2  unless such a symbol is
 used to express those appalling moments
  when the evil in the soul attracts to 
itself and associates with itself  the  
evil in the soul of some immortal god4  
,but just as no mortal can be more evil 
than good1 so also no  immortal can be  
more evil than good1 that is to say     
intrinsically  and over a vast space of 
time4 ,momentarily and for a limited    
space  of time it is obvious that the   
human soul can be more evil than  good2 
and by a reasonable analogy it is only  
too probable that the  same thing       
applies to the invisible sons of the    
universe4 ,but the  philosophy of the   
complex vision has no place for devils  
or  demons in its world2 for the simple 
reason that at the very moment  any soul
 did become intrinsically and           
unchangeably evil1 at that  same moment 

it would vanish into nothingness1 since 
existence is  the product of the        
struggle between good and evil4    ,if  
any soul1 whether mortal or immortal1   
became entirely and  absolutely good1 it
 would instantaneously vanish into      
nothingness4  ,for the life of no kind  
of living soul is thinkable or          
conceivable  apart from the unfathomable
 duality4 ,the false philosophy which   
finds its ideal in an imaginary parent  
of the universe whose  goodness is      
absolute is a philosophy conceived under
 the furtive  influence of the power of 
evil4 ,for the essence of the power of  
evil  is opposition to the movement of  
life2 and no false ideal has ever  done 
so much injury to the free expansion of 
life as has been done  by this          
conception of a parent of the universe  
who is a spirit of  absolute goodness4  
,it is entirely in accordance with the  
unfathomable cunning of the  power of   
malice that the supreme historic        
obstacle to the power of  love in the   

human soul should be this conception of 
a parent of  the universe1 possessed of 
absolute goodness4 ,in the deepest and  
most subtle way does this conception    
oppose itself to the  creative energy of
 love4 ,the creative energy of love     
demands an  indetermined and malleable  
future4 ,it demands an enemy with  which
 to struggle4 ,it demands the freedom of
 the individual will4  ,directly that   
ancient and treacherous phantom1 the    
inscrutable  mystery behind the         
universe1 is allowed to become an object
  of thought2 directly this mystery is  
allowed to take the shape of a  parent  
of things who is to be regarded as      
absolutely good1  then1 at that very    
moment1 the eternal duality ceases to be
 eternal  and ceases to be a duality4   
,good and evil become the manifestations
 of the same inscrutable  power4 ,love  
and malice become interchangeable names 
of little  meaning4 ,satan becomes as   
significant a figure as ,christ4 ,all   
distinctions are then blurred and       

blotted out4 ,the aesthetic sense is    
made of no account2 or becomes a matter 
of accidental fancy4  ,imagination is   
left with nothing to work upon4 ,the    
rhythm of the  complex vision is broken 
to pieces4 ,all is permitted4 ,nothing  
is  forbidden4 ,the universe is reduced 
to an indiscriminate and  formless mass 
of excremental substance4               
,indiscriminately we have  to swallow   
the universe or indiscriminately we have
 to let the  universe alone4 ,there is  
no longer a protagonist in the great    
drama1 for there is no longer an        
antagonist4 ,indeed there is no  longer 
any drama4 ,tragedy is at an end2 and   
,comedy is at an end4  ,all is equal4   
,nothing matters4 ,everything is at once
 good and evil1  beautiful and hideous1 
true and false4 ,or rather nothing is   
beautiful1 nothing is true4 ,the parent 
of the universe has satisfied  his      
absolute goodness by swallowing up the  
universe2 and there  is nothing left for
 the miserable company of mortal souls  

to do but  to bow their resigned heads  
and cry ,om6 ,om6 out of the belly of   
that unutterable universal1 which by    
becoming everything has  become nothing4
    ,this conception of a universal     
being of absolute goodness looms  like a
 colossal corpse in front of all living 
movement4 ,if instead of  absolute      
goodness we say absolute love1 the      
falseness and  deadliness of this       
conception appears even more            
unmistakable4 ,for  love is the         
prerogative of personality alone4 ,apart
 from  personality we cannot conceive of
 love4 ,and we cannot conceive of       
personality without the struggle between
 love and malice4  ,absolute love is a  
contradiction in terms2 for it is the   
nature of  love to be perpetually       
overcoming malignant opposition2 and1 in
  this overcoming1 to be perpetually    
approximating to a far-off ideal  which 
can never be completely reached4        
,devils and demons1 or elemental        
entities of unredeemed evil1 are  unreal

 enough2 and in their unreality         
dangerous enough to the  creative       
spirit2 but far more unreal and far more
 dangerous than  any devil1 is this     
conception of an absolute being whose   
goodness is of so spurious a nature that
 it obliterates all  distinction4 ,this 
conception of a parent of the universe  
who is  responsible for the eternal     
duality1 but in whom the eternal        
duality is reconciled1 blots out all    
hope for mortal or immortal  souls4     
,between the soul of a man and the soul 
of an immortal god1  as for instance    
between the soul of a man and the soul  
of ,christ1  there may be passionate and
 enduring love4 ,but between the soul   
of a man1 in whom love is desperately   
struggling with malice1 and  this       
monstrous being in whom love and malice 
have arrived at  some unthinkable       
reconciliation1 there can be no love4   
,there can  be nothing but indignant    
unbelief alternating with profound      
aversion4 ,towards any being in whose   

nature love has been  reconciled to     
malice1 the true to the false1 the      
beautiful to the  hideous1 the good to  
the evil1 there can be no alternative to
  unbelief1 except unmitigated          
hostility4    ,it is especially in      
connection with the atrocious cruelty of
 physical  pain that our conscience and 
our tastes--unless perverted by some    
premature metaphysical synthesis or by  
some morbid religious  emotion--reluct  
at the conception of a parent of the    
universe4  ,personal love1 since it is  
continually being roused to activity by 
pain and is continually being expressed 
through pain and in spite  of pain1 has 
come to find in pain1 perhaps even more 
than in  pleasure1 its natural          
accomplice4 ,through the radiant        
well-being  which results from pleasure1
 love pours forth its influence with a  
sun-like sweetness and profusion4 ,but  
from the profound depths of  pain1 love 
rises like silence out of a deep sea2   
and no path of  moonlight upon any ocean

 reaches so far an horizon4    ,and it  
is because of this intimate association 
of love with pain that  it is found to  
be impossible to love any living being  
who has not  experienced pain4 ,pain can
 be entirely sensational2 and in this   
case  it needs a very passion of love to
 prevent it becoming obscene and        
humiliating4 ,but it also can be        
entirely emotional2 in which case it    
results directly from the struggle of   
malice with love4 ,when pain is  a      
matter of sensation or of               
sensationalized emotion1 it depends for 
its existence upon the body4 ,but when  
pain is entirely emotional it  is       
independent of the body and is a        
condition of the soul4    ,as a         
condition of the soul pain is inevitably
 associated with the  struggle between  
love and malice4 ,for in proportion as  
love  overcomes malice1 pain ceases1 and
 in proportion as malice  overcomes     
love1 pain ceases4 ,a human being       
entirely free from  emotional pain is a 

human being in whom love has for the    
moment  completely triumphed2 or a human
 being in whom malice has for  the      
moment completely triumphed4 ,there is  
an exultation of love  which fills the  
soul with irresistible magnetic power1  
so that it can  redeem the universe4    
,there is also an exultation of malice  
which  fills the soul with irresistible 
magnetic power1 so that it can corrupt  
the universe4 ,in both these extreme    
cases--and they are cases of no         
unfrequent occurrence in all deep       
souls--emotional pain ceases to  exist4 
,emotional pain is the normal condition 
of the human soul2 because  the normal  
condition of the human soul is a        
wavering and  uncertain struggle between
 love and malice2 but although love  may
 overcome malice1 or malice may overcome
 love1 with relative  completeness1 they
 neither of them can overcome the other 
with  absolute completeness4 ,there must
 always remain in the depths of  the    
soul a living potentiality2 which is the

 love or the malice which  has been for 
the moment relatively overcome by its   
opposite4 ,and  just as pain can be both
 emotional and sensational so pleasure  
can  be both emotional and sensational4 
,pleasure1 like pain1 can be a  thing of
 bodily sensation alone2 in which case  
it tends to become a  thing of degrading
 and humiliating reality4 ,a human      
entity entirely  obsessed by physical   
pleasure is a revolting and obscene     
spectacle4  ,even with animals it is    
only when their sensation of pleasure is
 in  some degree emotionalized that we  
can endure to contemplate it  with      
sympathy4    ,the soul of an animal is  
capable of being de-animalized in just  
as horrible a way by a pure sensation as
 the soul of a man is  capable of being 
de-humanized by a pure sensation4 ,the  
sexual  sensation of pleasure carried to
 the extreme limit de-animalizes        
animals as it de-humanizes human beings2
 because it drowns the  consciousness of
 personality4 ,there is an ecstasy when 

personality  loses itself and finds     
itself again in a deeper personality4   
,there is  also an ecstasy where        
personality loses itself in pure        
sensation4 ,in  the region of sexual    
sensation1 just as in the region of     
sexual  emotion1 it is love alone which 
is able to hold fast to personality in  
the midst of ecstasy2 or which is able  
to merge personality in a  deeper       
personality4    ,it is because of love's
 intimate association with pain that we 
are  unable1 except under the morbid    
pressure of some metaphysical or        
religious illusion1 to regard the       
imaginary parent of the universe  with  
anything but hostility4 ,both pain and  
pleasure are associated  with the       
unfathomable duality4 ,and although the 
unfathomable  duality descends into     
abysses beyond the reach of both of     
these1  yet we cannot conceive of either
 of them existing apart from this       
struggle4    ,but there can be no       
duality1 as there can be no struggle1 in

 the  soul of a being in whom love has  
absolutely overcome malice4  ,therefore 
in such a soul there can be no pain4    
,and for a soul  incapable of feeling   
pain we can feel no love4 ,it is of     
course  obvious that this whole problem 
is an imaginary one4 ,we are not  really
 confronted with the alternative of     
loving or hating the  unruffled soul of 
this absolute one4 ,and we are not      
confronted  with this problem for the   
simple reason that such a soul does not 
exist4 ,and it does not exist because   
every soul1 together with the  universe 
created by every soul1 depends for its  
existence upon  this ultimate struggle4 
,it is from a consideration of the      
nature of pain and pleasure that  we    
attain the clue to the ultimate duality4
 ,pain and pleasure are  conditions of  
the soul2 conditions which have a       
definite and quite  fathomable limit4   
,malice and love are conditions of the  
soul2  conditions which have no definite
 limit1 but which descend into          

unfathomable depths4 ,extremity of      
malice sinks down to an abyss  where    
pain and pleasure are lost and merged in
 one another4  ,extremity of love sinks 
down to an abyss where pain and pleasure
  are lost and merged in one another4   
,but just as1 apart from the  individual
 soul which is their possessor1 pain and
 pleasure have no  existence at all2 so1
 apart from the individual soul which is
 the  arena of their struggle1 malice   
and love have no existence at all4      
,because we speak of pain and pleasure  
as if they were things in  themselves   
and of malice and love as if they were  
things in  themselves this can never    
mean more than that they are eternal    
conditions of the soul which is their   
habitation4    ,apart from a personal   
soul1 love has no meaning and cannot be 
said to exist4 ,apart from a personal   
soul1 life has no meaning  and cannot be
 said to exist4 ,there is no such thing 
as the  love-force or the life-force1   
any more than there is such a thing  as 

the malice-force or the death-force1    
apart from some personal  soul4 ,the    
life-force is a condition of the soul   
which carried to an  extreme limit      
results in ecstasy4 ,the death-force is 
a condition of  the soul which carried  
to an extreme limit results in ecstasy4 
,beyond these two ecstasies there is    
nothing but total annihilation2  which  
would simply mean that the soul had     
become absolutely  good or absolutely   
evil4    ,what we call the death-force  
in the soul does not imply real  death1 
until it has reached a limit beyond     
ecstasy4 ,it implies a  malignant       
resistance to life which may be carried 
to a point of  indescribable exultation4
 ,as ,i have already hinted there is a  
profound association between the duality
 of love and malice and  the duality of 
pain and pleasure4 ,but it would be     
false to our  deepest experience to say 
that love implies pleasure and that     
malice implies pain4 ,as a matter of    
fact1 they both imply a thrilling  and  

ecstatic pleasure1 in proportion as the 
equilibrium between  them1 the balance  
of the wavering struggle between them1  
is  interrupted by the relative victory 
of either the one or the other4    ,the 
relative victory of malice or of the    
death-force over love or  over the      
life-force is attended by exquisite and 
poignant  pleasure1 a pleasure which    
culminates in unutterable ecstasy4 ,the 
shallow ethical thinkers who regard evil
 as a negation are  obviously thinkers  
whose consciousness has never penetrated
 into  the depths of their own souls4   
,pain and pleasure for such thinkers    
must be entirely sensationalized4 ,they 
cannot have experienced1 to  any        
profound depth1 the kind of pain and    
pleasure which are  purely emotional4   
,the condition of the soul which gives  
itself up to the death-force  or to the 
malignant power which resists creation  
may be sometimes  a condition of        
thrilling and exultant pleasure4 ,as we 
have  already indicated1 the normal     

condition of the soul1 wavering  and    
hesitating between good and evil1 is    
liable to be changed into a  profound   
melancholy1 when it is confronted by the
 illusion of  dead matter4 ,but1 as we  
have also discovered1 if1 in the soul   
thus  contemplating the illusion of dead
 matter1 evil is more potent  than good1
 there may be a thrilling and exquisite 
pleasure4    ,the death-force in our own
 soul leaps in exultation to welcome    
the death illusion in material objects4 
,upon this illusion1 which it  has      
itself projected1 it rejoices to feed4  
,there is a sweet pain in  the          
melancholy it thus evokes2 a sweet pain 
that is more delicate  than any         
pleasure2 and it is a mistake to assume 
that even the  insanity which this      
aberration may result in is necessarily 
an  insanity of distress4 ,it may be an 
insanity of ecstasy4 ,all this is       
profoundly associated with the aesthetic
 sense2 and we may note  that the       
diabolical exultation with which many   

great artists and  writers fling        
themselves upon the obscene1 the        
atrocious1 the  cruel and the           
abominable1 and derive exquisite        
pleasure from  representing these things
 is not an example of the love in them  
overcoming the malice but an example of 
the death-force in  them leaping to     
respond to the death-force in the       
universe4    ,it is just here that we   
touch one of the profoundest secrets of 
the  aesthetic sense4 ,i refer to that  
condition of the soul when the  creative
 energy which is life and love1 suffers 
an insidious  corruption by the power   
which resists creation and which is     
malice  and death4 ,this psychological  
secret1 although assuming an  aesthetic 
form1 is closely associated with the    
sexual instinct4    ,the sexual         
instinct1 which is primarily creative1  
may easily1 by the  insidious corruption
 of the power which resists creation1   
become a  vampirizing force of          
destruction4 ,it may indeed become      

something  worse than destruction4 ,it  
may become an abysmal and unutterable   
death-in-life4 ,that voluptuous pleasure
 in cruelty which is an  intrinsic      
element of the sexual instinct may      
attach itself to the  pleasure in death 
which is the intrinsic emotion of the   
aboriginal  inert malice2 or rather the 
pleasure in death of the adversary of   
creation may insidiously associate      
itself with the pleasure in  cruelty of 
the sexual instinct and make of this    
energy of cruelty  a new and terrible   
emotion which is at once cruel and      
inert4    ,all this were mere fantastic 
speculation if it lacked touch with     
direct experience4 ,but direct          
experience1 if we have any              
psycho-clairvoyance at all1 bears       
unmistakable witness to what ,i have    
been saying4 ,if one glances at the     
expression in the countenance of  any   
human soul who is deriving pleasure from
 the spectacle of  suffering and who1   
under the pressure of this queer fusion 

of the  aesthetic sense with the abysmal
 malice1 is engaged in vampirizing  the 
victim of such suffering one will       
observe a very curious and  very        
illuminating series of revelations4     
,one will observe1 for instance1 the    
presence of demonic energy  and of      
magnetic dominance in such a            
countenance2 but parallel  with this and
 simultaneously with this1 one will     
observe an  expression of unutterable   
sadness1 a sadness which is inert and   
death-like1 a sadness which has the     
soulless rigidity and the frozen        
immobility of a corpse4 ,we are thus    
justified1 by an impression of  direct  
experience1 in our contention that the  
peculiar pleasure  which many artists   
derive from the contemplation of        
suffering and  from the contemplation of
 what is atrocious1 obscene1 monstrous  
and revolting1 is the result of a       
corruption of both the sexual  instinct 
and the aesthetic sense by the abysmal  
malice4    ,for the pleasure which such 

souls derive from the contemplation  of 
suffering is identical with the pleasure
 they derive from  contemplating the    
illusion of dead matter4 ,philosophers  
who  give themselves up to the          
profoundest pessimism do not do so1 as  
a rule1 under the influence of love4    
,the only exceptions to this are  rare  
cases when preoccupation with suffering 
does not spring from  a furtive         
enjoyment of the spectacle of suffering 
but from an  incurable pity for the     
victims of suffering4 ,such exceptions  
are far  more rare than is usually      
supposed1 because the self-preservative 
hypocrisy of most pessimists enables    
them to conceal their  voluptuousness   
under the mask of pity4    ,nor must we 
hide from ourselves the fact that even  
pity1 which in  its pure form is the    
very incarnation of love1 has a         
perverted form  in which it lends itself
 to every kind of subterranean cruelty4 
,our  psychological insight does not    
amount to very much if it does not      

recognize that there is a form of pity  
which enhances the pleasure  of cruelty4
 ,there may indeed be discovered1 when  
we dig deep  enough into the abysses of 
the soul1 an aspect of pity which       
thrills  us with a most delicate        
sensation of tenderness and yet which   
remains an aspect of pity by no means   
incompatible with the fact  that we     
continue the process of causing pain to 
the object of such  tenderness4    ,of  
all human emotions the emotion of pity  
is capable of the most  divergent       
subtleties4 ,the only kind of pity which
 is entirely free  from the ambiguous   
element of pleasure in cruelty is the   
pity  which is only another name for    
love1 when love is confronted by        
suffering4 ,there is such a thing as a  
suppressed envy of the  pleasure of     
cruelty manifested in the form of moral 
indignation  against the perpetrator of 
such cruelty4    ,such moral            
indignation1 with its secret impulse of 
suppressed  unconscious jealousy1 is a  

very frequent phenomenon when any       
sexual element enters into the cruelty  
in question4 ,but the  psychologist who 
has learnt his art from the profoundest 
of all  psychologists--,i mean the      
,christ of the gospels--is not deceived 
by  this moral gesture4 ,he is able to  
detect the infinite yearning of the     
satyr under the righteous fury of the   
moral avenger4    ,and he has an        
infallible test at hand by which to     
ascertain whether  the emotion he feels 
is pure or impure pity2 whether in other
 words  it is merely a process of       
delicate vampirizing1 or whether it is  
the  creative sympathy of love4 ,and the
 test which he has at his  disposal is  
nothing less than his attitude towards  
the perpetrator of  the particular      
cruelty under discussion4 ,if his       
attitude is one of  implacable revenge  
he may be sure that his pity is         
something else  than the emotion of     
love4 ,if his attitude is one which     
implies pity  not only for the victim   

but also for the victim's torturer--who 
without question has more need for      
pity--then he may be sure that  his     
attitude is an attitude of genuine love4
    ,the mood of implacable revenge need
 not necessarily imply a  suppressed    
jealousy or envy2 but it certainly      
implies the presence  of an element     
which has its origin in the sinister    
side of the  great duality4 ,the        
pleasure which certain minds derive from
 a  contemplation of the deadness of    
matter is closely associated  with the  
voluptuousness of cruelty drawn from the
 recesses of the  sexual instinct4 ,such
 cruelty finds one of its most insidious
  incentives in the phenomenon of       
humiliation2 and when the  philosopher  
contemplates the deadness of matter with
 exquisite  satisfaction1 the pleasure  
which he experiences1 or the sweet pain 
which he experiences1 is very closely   
connected with the cruel  idea of       
humiliating the pride of the human soul4
    ,the duality of pleasure and pain   

helps us to understand the nature  of   
the duality of good and evil1 for it    
helps us to realize that good  and evil 
are not separate independent existences2
 but are--like  pleasure and            
pain--emotional conditions of the soul4 
,thus when  we say that the ultimate    
duality of good and evil1 or of creation
  and what resists creation1 is the     
thing upon which the whole  universe    
depends1 we must not for a moment be    
supposed to mean  that the ultimate     
reality of the universe consists of two 
opposed  forces who1 like blind chemical
 energies1 struggle with one  another in
 unconscious darkness4    ,the ultimate 
reality of the universe is personality1 
or rather1 let us  say1 is the existence
 of an innumerable company of personal  
souls1  visible and invisible1 each of  
whom half-creates and half-discovers    
his own universe2 each of whom finds1   
sooner or later1 in the  objective      
validity of the eternal ideas1 a        
universe which is  common to them all4  

,the unfathomable duality upon which    
this  objective world1 common to them   
all1 depends for its existence is a     
duality which exists in every separate  
soul4 ,without such a duality  it is    
impossible to conceive any soul         
existing4 ,and directly such a  duality 
were resolved into unity such a soul    
would cease to exist4  ,but because1    
without the presence of evil1 good would
 cease to  exist1 we have no right to   
say that evil is an aspect of good4 ,we 
have no right to say this because1 if   
good is dependent for its  existence    
upon evil1 it is equally true that evil 
is dependent for its  existence upon    
good4    ,the whole question of ultimate
 issues is a purely speculative one  and
 one that does not touch the real       
situation4 ,the real situation1  the    
real fact of our personal               
experience--which is the only           
experience worth anything--lies         
undoubtedly in this impression of       
unfathomable duality4 ,it cannot be     

regarded as a reconciliation  between   
love and malice merely to recognize that
 love and malice  are not independent   
forces1 such as can be compared to      
chemical  forces1 but are states of the 
soul4    ,it is true that they both     
exist within the soul1 just as the soul 
exists within time and space2 but since 
the soul is unfathomable these  two     
conditions of the soul are also         
unfathomable4 ,the struggle  upon which 
the universe depends is a struggle which
 goes on  within the circle of          
personality2 but since personality is   
unthinkable without this struggle1 it   
may truly be said that the  existence of
 personality depends upon the existence 
of this  struggle4 ,when we speak of    
pain and pleasure as if they were       
independent entities we are forgetting  
that it is merely as states of  the soul
 that pain and pleasure exist4 ,when we 
speak of love and  malice as independent
 entities we are forgetting that it is  
merely as  states of the soul that love 

and malice exist4 ,love and malice1  the
 life-force and the death-force1 these  
are merely abstractions  when separated 
from the soul which is their arena4     
,it is certainly not in harmony with the
 revelation of the complex  vision to   
seek to imagine some vague beginning of 
things2 when  some inscrutable chemical 
or spiritual energy1 called life1       
rushed into objective existence and     
proceeded to create living              
personalities through which it might be 
able to function4    ,the revelation of 
the complex vision is a revelation of a 
world  made up of unfathomable          
personalities4 ,of this world1 of these 
unfathomable personalities1 we are      
unable to postulate any  beginning4     
,they have always existed4 ,they seem   
likely to  remain always in existence4  
,our knowledge stops at that point2     
because our knowledge is the knowledge  
of personality4 ,the  revelation of the 
complex vision is constantly warning us 
against  any tendency to evade the whole

 question of the original mystery  by   
the use of meaningless abstractions4    
,the word energy is such an abstraction4
 ,so also is the word  movement4 ,so    
also are those logical formulae of the  
pure reason1  such as the a priori unity
 of apperception and the absolute       
spirit4 ,apart from personality1 apart  
from the complex vision of  the         
individual soul1 there is no such thing 
as energy or  movement or transcendental
 unity or absolute spirit4 ,in  the same
 way we are compelled to recognize that 
apart from  personality the unfathomable
 duality has no meaning4 ,but in so far 
as it represents the eternal struggle   
between life and death which  goes on   
all the while in every living soul1 the 
unfathomable duality  is the permanent  
condition of our deepest knowledge4     
,it is just here that the mystery of    
pain and pleasure helps  us to          
understand the mystery of love and      
malice1 the same  insensitiveness in    
certain souls that prevents their       

feeling any vivid  pain or any vivid    
pleasure1 also prevents their feeling   
any intense  malice4 ,but this          
insensitiveness which prevents their    
feeling any  intense malice is1 more    
than anything else1 the especial        
evocation  of the power of malice4 ,for 
intensity1 even in malice1 is a proof   
that malice has been appropriating to   
its use the energy of life4 ,the  real  
opposite of intense love is not intense 
malice but inert malice4    ,for        
malignant inertness is the true         
adversary of creation4 ,from this  it   
necessarily follows that the soul which 
is insensitive to pain and  pleasure and
 to malice and love is a soul in whom   
the profound  opposite of love has      
already won a relative victory4 ,it is  
certainly  possible1 as we have seen1   
for the victory of malice over love to  
be  accompanied by thrilling pleasure2  
but1 when this happens malice  has lost 
something of its inertness by drawing to
 itself and  corrupting for its own use 

the dynamic energy of love4 ,when       
malice displays itself in an intense and
 vivid activity of destruction  it is   
less evil and less purely malignant than
 when it remains  insensitive and inert4
 ,for this reason it is undeniably true 
that an  insensitive person1 although he
 may cause much less positive pain  than
 a passionately cruel person1 is in     
reality a more complete  incarnation of 
the power of evil than the latter2 for  
the latter1 in  the very violence of his
 passion1 has appropriated to himself   
something of the creative energy4 ,it is
 true that in appropriating  this he has
 corrupted it1 and it is true that by   
the use of it he can  cause far more    
immediate pain2 but it remains that in  
himself he is  less purely evil than the
 person whose chief characteristic is a 
malignant insensitiveness4              
,,chapter ,,xiii4    ,,the ,,reality    
,,of ,,the ,,soul ,,in ,,relation ,,to  
,,modern ,,thought    ,it ought not to  
be forgotten1 as at least an important  

historical fact1  in regard to what we  
have asserted as the revelation of the  
complex vision concerning the reality of
 the soul1 that the two  most           
influential modern philosophers deny    
this reality altogether4 ,i  refer to   
,bergson and ,william ,james4    ,in the
 systems of thought of both these       
writers there is no place  left for that
 concrete1 real1 actual monad1 with its 
semi-mental1  semi-material substratum  
of unknown hyper-physical1 hyper-psychic
  substance1 which is what we mean1 in  
philosophical as well as  in popular    
language when we talk of the soul4      
,according to the revelation of man's   
complex vision this  hyper-physical1    
hyper-psychic something1 which is the   
concrete centre  of will and            
consciousness and energy1 is also the   
invisible core or  base of what we term 
personality1 and1 without its real      
existence1  personality can have no     
permanence4 ,without the assumption of  
its real existence personality cannot   

hold its own or remain  integral and    
identical in the midst of the process of
 life4    ,this then being the nature   
and character of the soul1 what weight  
is there in the arguments used against  
the soul's concrete existence  by such  
thinkers as ,james and ,bergson8 ,the   
position of the  ,american philosopher  
in regard to this matter seems less     
plausible  and less consistent than that
 of his ,french master4    ,james is    
prepared to give his adherence to a     
belief in a soul of the  earth and in   
planetary souls and stellar souls4 ,he  
quotes with  approval on this point the 
writings of ,gustav ,theodor ,fechner1  
the  ,leipzig chemist4 ,he is also      
prepared to find a place in his         
pluralistic world for at least one quite
 personal and quite finite  god4    ,if 
he is not merely exercising his         
philosophical fancy in all this1  but is
 actually prepared to assume the real   
concrete existence of an  earth-soul and
 of planetary souls and of at least one 

beneficent and  quite personal god1 why 
should he find himself unable to accept 
the same sort of real concrete soul in  
living human beings8 ,why  should he    
find himself compelled to say--the      
notion of the  substantial soul1 so     
freely used by common men and the more  
popular philosophers has fallen upon    
evil days and has no prestige  in the   
eyes of critical thinkers 4 4 4 like the
 word 'cause' the word  'soul' is but a 
theoretic stop-gap 4 4 4 it marks a     
place and claims it  for a future       
explanation to occupy 4 4 4 let us leave
 out the soul1  then1 and confront the  
original dilemma8    ,this scepticism of
 the pragmatic philosophy in regard to  
the  substantial soul is surely an      
unpardonable inconsistency4 ,for in  all
 other problems the fact of an idea     
being freely used by  common men is1    
according to pragmatic principles1 an   
enormous  piece of evidence in its      
favour4 ,the further fact that all the  
great a  priori metaphysical systems    

have been driven by their pure logic  to
 discredit the substantiality of the    
soul1 just as they have been  driven to 
discredit the personality of ,god1      
ought1 one would think1  where radical  
empiricism is concerned1 to be a still  
stronger  piece of evidence on the      
soul's side4    ,james has told us that 
he has found it necessary to throw away 
pure reason and to assume an inherent   
irrationality in the  system of things4 
,why then1 when it comes to this        
particular axiom  of irrational         
common-sense1 does he balk and sheer    
off8    ,one cannot resist the          
temptation of thinking that just here   
the great  ,pragmatist has been led     
astray by that very philosophical pride 
he  condemns in the metaphysicians4 ,one
 cannot help suspecting that  it is     
nothing less than the fact of the soul's
 appeal to ordinary  common-sense that  
has prejudiced this philosopher of      
common-sense  so profoundly against it4 
,what ,james does not seem to see is    

that his pseudo-scientific  reduction of
 the integral soul-monad into a wavering
 and fitful  series of compounded       
vortex-consciousness is really a falling
 back  from the empirical data of human 
reality into the thin abstracted  air of
 conceptual truth4 ,the concrete        
substantial soul1 just because  it is   
the permanent basis of personality and  
the only basis of  personality which    
common sense can apprehend1 is precisely
 one  of those obstinate original       
particular data of consciousness  which 
it is the proud role of conceptual and  
intellectual logic to  explain away1 and
 to explain away in favour of attenuated
  rationalistic theories which are      
themselves abstracted or1 shall  we say1
 pruned and shaved off from the very    
thing they are  supposed to explain4    
,all these flowing streams1 and pulses  
of consciousness and  multiple          
compoundings of consciousness and       
overlappings of  sub-consciousness are  
in reality1 for all their               

pseudo-scientific air1  nothing more or 
less than the old-fashioned metaphysical
  conceptions1 such as being and        
becoming1 under a new name4    ,nor is  
the new irrational reason by which the  
pragmatist arrives  at these plausible  
theories really in the least different  
from the  imaginative personal vision   
which1 as ,james himself clearly  shows1
 was at the back of all that            
old-fashioned dialectic4    ,the human  
mind has not changed its inherent       
texture2 nor can it  change it4 ,we may 
talk of substituting intuition for      
reason4 ,but the  new intuition1 with   
its arrogant claims of getting upon the 
inner  side of reality1 is after all    
only the old reason functioning with a  
franker admission of its reliance upon  
that immediate personal  vision and with
 less regard for the logical rules4     
,it is not1 in fact1 because of any rule
 of logical identity with  itself that  
the human mind clings so tenaciously to 
the notion of an  integral soul-monad4  

,it is because of its own inmost        
consciousness  that such a monad1 that  
such a substantial integral soul1 is in 
the  deepest sense its very self1 and a 
denial of it a denial of its very  self4
    ,the attitude of ,bergson in this   
matter is much more consistent  than    
that of ,james4 ,bergson is frankly and 
confessedly not a  pluralist at all1 but
 a spiritual monist4 ,as a spiritual    
monist he is  compelled to regard what  
we call matter1 including in this term  
the mechanical or chemical resistance of
 body and brain1 as  something which is 
produced or evolved or thrown off by    
spirit  and as something which1 when    
once it has been evolved1 spirit has  to
 penetrate1 permeate1 and render porous 
and submissive4    ,the complexity of   
,bergson's speculations with regard to  
memory  and the lan vital1 with regard  
above all to the true time1 has  done   
much to distract popular attention away 
from his real attitude  towards the     
soul4 ,but ,bergson's attitude towards  

the existence of a  substantial         
soul-monad is consistently and          
inevitably hostile4    ,it could not be 
anything else as long as the original   
personal  fling into life which gives   
each one of us his peculiar angle of    
vision remained with him a question of  
one unified spirit--a  continuum of     
eternal shooting-forth--which functioned
 through  the brain and through all     
personal life and perpetually created a 
new unforeseen universe4    ,in the flux
 of this one universal spirit1 whereof  
duration1 in the  mysterious ,bergsonian
 sense1 is the functional activity1     
there can  obviously be no place for an 
actual substantial soul4 ,the           
consciousness we have of our own self in
 its continual flux  introduces us to   
the interior of a reality on the model  
of which we  must represent other       
realities4 ,all reality1 therefore1 is a
 tendency1  if we agree to mean by      
tendency an incipient change in any     
direction4 ,and when we enquire as to   

the nature of this continual  flux of   
which the positive and integral thing we
 have come to call  the soul is but a   
ripple1 or swirling whirlpool of        
centripetal ripples1  the answer which  
,bergson gives is definite enough4 ,we  
approach  a duration which strains1     
contracts1 and intensifies itself more  
and more2 at the limit would be         
eternity4 ,no longer conceptual         
eternity1 which is an eternity of death1
 but an eternity of life4 ,a  living1   
and therefore still moving eternity in  
which our own  particular duration would
 be included1 as the vibrations are in  
light2 an eternity which would be the   
concentration of all duration1  as      
materiality is its dispersion4 ,between 
these two extreme limits  intuition     
moves1 and this movement is the very    
essence of  metaphysics4    ,thus       
according to ,bergson the essential     
secret of life is to be  found in some  
peculiar movement of what he calls      
spirit2 a  movement which takes place in

 some unutterable medium1 or upon  some 
indescribable plane1 the name of which  
is pure time or  duration4    ,and      
listening to all this we cannot resist a
 sigh of dismay4 ,for  here1 in these   
vague de-humanized terms--tendency1     
flux1  eternity1 vibration1 duration1   
dispersion--we are once  more1 only with
 a different set of concepts1 following 
the old  metaphysical method1 that very 
method which ,bergson himself  sets out 
to confine to its inferior place4       
,tendency or flux or  duration is just  
as much a metaphysical concept as being 
or  not being or becoming4    ,the only 
way in which we can really escape from  
the rigid  conceptualism of rational    
logic is to accept the judgment of the  
totality of man's nature4 ,and the      
judgment of the totality of man's       
nature points unmistakably to the       
existence of a real substantial  soul4  
,such a soul is the indispensable       
implication of personality4  ,and the   
most interior and intimate knowledge    

that we are in  possession of1 or shall 
ever be in possession of1 is the        
knowledge  of personality4    ,bergson  
is perfectly right when he asserts that 
the consciousness  which we have of our 
own self introduces us to the interior  
of a  reality1 on the model of which we 
must represent other realities4  ,but   
,bergson is surely departing both from  
the normal facts of  ordinary           
introspection and from the exceptional  
facts of abnormal  illumination when he 
appends to the words the consciousness  
which we have of our own self the       
further words in its continual  flux4   
,for in our normal moods of human       
introspection1 as well  as in our       
abnormal moods of superhuman            
illumination1 what we  are conscious of 
most of all is a sense of integral      
continuity in the  midst of change1 and 
of identical permanence in the midst of 
ebb  and flow4    ,the flux of things   
does most assuredly rush swiftly by us2 
and we1  in our inmost selves1 are      

conscious of life's incessant flow4 ,but
  how could we be conscious of any of   
this turbulent movement  across the prow
 of our voyaging ship1 if the ship      
itself--the  substantial base of our    
living consciousness--were not an       
organized and integral reality1 of      
psycho-chemical material1 able to  exert
 will and to make use of memory and     
reason in its difficult  struggle with  
the waves and winds8    ,the revelation 
of man's complex vision with regard to  
the  personality of the soul is a thing 
of far-reaching issues and              
implications4 ,one of these implications
 is that while we have the  right to the
 term the eternal flux in regard to the 
changing waves  of sensations and ideas 
that pass across the horizon of the     
soul's  vision we have no right to think
 of this eternal flux as anything  else 
than the pressure upon us of the        
universe of our own vision  and the     
pressure upon us of the universe of     
other visions1 as they  seem1 for this  

or that passing moment1 to be different 
from our  own4    ,the kind of world to 
which we are thus committed is a world  
crowded with living personalities4 ,each
 of these personalities  brings with it 
its own separate universe4 ,but the fact
 that all these  separate universes find
 their ideal synthesis or teleological  
orientation in the vision of the        
immortals1 justifies us in  assuming    
that in a certain eternal sense all     
these apparently  conflicting universes 
are in reality one4 ,this unity of      
ideas1 with its  predominant aesthetic  
idea--the idea of beauty--and its       
predominant emotional idea--the idea of 
love--helps us towards a  synthesis     
which is after all only a dynamic one1 a
 thing of  movement1 growth and         
creation4    ,such a teleological unity1
 forever advancing to a consummation    
never entirely to be attained1 demands  
however some sort of static  milieu as  
well as some sort of static material in 
the midst of  which and out of which it 

moulds its premeditated future4 ,it is  
precisely this static milieu or medium1 
and this static  material or formless   
objective mystery1 which ,bergson's     
philosophy1 of the lan vital of pure    
spirit1 spreading out into  a totally   
indetermined future1 denies and         
eliminates4    ,in order to justify this
 double elimination--the elimination  of
 an universal medium and the elimination
 of a formless                          
thing-in-itself--,bergson is compelled  
to reduce space to a quite  secondary   
and merely logical conception and to    
substitute for our  ordinary stream of  
time1 measurable in terms of space1 an  
altogether new conception of time1      
measurable in terms of feeling4    ,when
 however we come to analyse this new    
,bergsonian time1 or  as he prefers to  
call it intuitively-felt duration1 we   
cannot avoid  observing that it is      
merely a new mysterious something       
introduced into the midst of the system 
of things1 in order to  enable us to    

escape from those older traditional     
mysterious  somethings which we have to 
recognize as the immediate data  of     
human consciousness4    ,it might be    
argued that ,bergson's monistic spirit1 
functioning in  a mysterious indefinable
 time1 demands neither more nor less of 
an irrational act of faith than our     
mysterious psycho-material  soul        
surrounded by a mysterious              
hyper-chemical medium and  creating its 
future out of an inexplicable objective 
mystery4    ,where however the          
philosophy of the complex vision has the
  advantage over the philosophy of the  
lan vital is in the fact that  even on  
,bergson's own admission what the human 
consciousness  most intensely knows is  
not pure spirit1 whether shaped like a  
fan or shaped like a sheaf1 but simply  
its own integral identity4  ,and this   
integral identity of consciousness can  
only be visualized  or felt in the mind 
itself under the form of a living       
concrete  monad4    ,it will be seen1   

however1 when it comes to a showing up  
of what  might be called the trump cards
 of axiomatic mystery1 that the  complex
 vision has in reality fewer of these   
ultimate irrational  data than has the  
philosophy of the lan vital4    ,space  
itself1 whether we regard it as         
objective or subjective1 is  certainly  
not an irrational axiom but an entirely 
rational and indeed  an entirely        
inevitable assumption4 ,and what the    
complex vision  reveals is that the     
trinity of mysterious somethings with   
which  we are compelled to start our    
enquiry1 namely the something  which is 
the substratum of the soul1 the         
something which is the  medium binding  
all souls together1 and the something   
which is  the objective mystery out of  
which all souls create their  universe1 
is1 in fact1 a genuine trinity in the   
pure theological sense2  in other words 
is a real three-in-one4 ,and it is a    
three-in-one  not only because it is    
unthinkable that three incomprehensible 

substances should exist in touch with   
one another without being  in organic   
relation1 but also because all three of 
them are  dominated1 in so far as we can
 say anything about them at all1 by  the
 same universal space4    ,it is true   
that the unappropriated mass of         
objective mystery upon  which no shadow 
of the creative energy of any soul has  
yet been  thrown must be considered as  
utterly formless and void and thus  in a
 sense beyond space and time1 yet since 
immediately we try to  imagine or       
visualize this mystery1 as well as just 
logically  consider it1 we are compelled
 to extend over it our conception of    
time and space1 it is in a practical    
sense1 although not in a logical  sense1
 under the real dominion of these4      
,when therefore the philosophy of the   
complex vision places its  trump-cards  
of axiomatic mystery over against the   
similar cards of  the philosophy of the 
lan vital it will be found that in      
actual  number ,bergson has one more    

card than we have4 ,for ,bergson  has   
not only his pure spirit and his        
intuitively-felt time1 but has          
also--for he cannot really escape from  
that by just asserting that  his spirit 
produces it--the opposing obstinate     
principle of  matter or solid bodies or 
mechanical brains upon which his  pure  
spirit has to work4    ,it is indeed out
 of its difficulties with matter1 that  
is to say with  bodies and brains1 that 
,bergson's spirit is forced to forego   
its  natural element of intuitive       
duration and project itself into the    
rigid rationalistic conceptualism of    
ordinary science and  metaphysic4       
,the point of our argument in this place
 is that since the whole  purpose of    
philosophy is articulation or           
clarification and  since in this process
 of clarification the fewer axiomatic   
incomprehensibles we start with the     
better2 it is decidedly to the          
advantage of any philosophy that it     
should require at the start  nothing    

more than the mystery of the individual 
soul confronting  the mystery of the    
world around it4 ,and it is to the      
disadvantage of  ,bergson's philosophy  
that it should require at the start1 in 
addition  to pure spirit with its       
assumption of memory and will1 and pure 
matter with its assumption of ordinary  
space and ordinary time1 a  still       
further axiomatic trump-card1 in the    
theory of intuitive  durational time1 in
 which the real process of the life-flow
  transcends all reason and logic4      
,putting aside however the cosmological 
aspect of our controversy  with the     
radical empirical school of thought1 we 
still have left  unconsidered our most  
serious divergence from their position4 
,this consists in the fact that both    
,bergson and ,james have entirely       
omitted from their original instrument  
of research that inalienable  aspect of 
the human soul which we call the        
aesthetic sense4    ,with only a few    
exceptions--notably that of             

,spinoza--all the great  ,european      
philosophers from ,plato to ,nietzsche  
have begun their  philosophizing from a 
starting-point which implied1 as an     
essential  part of their organum of     
enquiry1 the possession by the human    
soul of some sort of aesthetic vision4  
,to these thinkers1 whether             
rationalistic or mystic1 no             
interpretation  of the world seemed     
possible that did not start with the    
aesthetic  sense1 both as an instrument 
of research and as a test of what       
research discovered4    ,the complete   
absence of any discussion of the        
aesthetic sense in  ,bergson and ,james 
is probably an historic confession of   
the  tyranny of commercialism and       
physical science over the present       
generation4 ,it may also be a spiritual 
reflection1 in the sphere of            
philosophy1 of the rise to political and
 social power of that  bourgeois class  
which1 of all classes1 is the least     
interested in  aesthetic speculation4   

,the philosophy of the complex vision   
may have to wait for its  hour of       
influence until the proletariat comes   
into its own4 ,and it  does indeed seem 
as if between the triumph of the        
proletariat and  the triumph of the     
aesthetic sense there were an intimate  
association4 ,it is precisely because   
these two philosophers have so          
completely neglected the aesthetic sense
 that their speculations  seem to have  
so little hold upon the imagination4    
,when once it is  allowed that the true 
instrument of research into the secret  
of the  universe is the rhythmic        
activity of man's complete nature1 and  
not  merely the activity of his reason  
or the activity of his intuition        
working in isolation1 it then becomes   
obvious that the universal  revelations 
of the aesthetic sense1 if they can be  
genuinely  disentangled from mere       
subjective caprices1 are an essential   
part of  what we have to work with if we
 are to approach the truth4    ,the     

philosophy of the complex vision bases  
its entire system upon  its faith in the
 validity of these revelations2 and1 as 
we have  already shown1 it secures an   
objective weight and force for this     
ideal vision by its faith in certain    
unseen companions of humanity1  whom it 
claims the right to name the immortals4 
,this is really the place where we part 
company with ,bergson and  ,james4 ,we  
agree with the former in his distrust of
 the old  metaphysic4 ,we agree with the
 latter in many of his pluralistic      
speculations4 ,but we feel that any     
philosophy which refuses to  take       
account1 at the very beginning1 of those
 regions of human  consciousness which  
are summed up by the words beauty and   
art1 is a philosophy that in undertaking
 to explain life has begun  by          
eliminating from life one of its most   
characteristic products4    ,in         
,bergson's interpretation of life the   
stress is laid upon spirit  and         
intuition4 ,in ,james' interpretation of

 life the stress is laid  upon those    
practical changes in the world and in   
human nature  which any new idea must   
produce if it is to prove itself true4  
,in the view of life we are now trying  
to make clear1 philosophy is  so closely
 dependent upon the activity of the     
aesthetic sense that it  might itself be
 called an art1 the most difficult and  
the most  comprehensive of all the arts1
 the art of retaining the rhythmic      
balance of all man's contradictory      
energies4 ,what this rhythmic  balance  
of man's concentrated energies seems to 
make clear is the  primary importance of
 the process of discrimination and      
valuation4    ,from the profoundest     
depths of the soul rises the            
consciousness of  the power of choice2  
and this power of choice to which we    
give1  by common consent1 the name of   
will1 finds itself confronted at  the   
start by the eternal duality of the     
impulse to create and the  impulse to   
resist creation4 ,the impulse to create 

we find1 by  experience1 to be identical
 with the emotion of love4 ,and the     
impulse to resist creation we find1 by  
experience1 to be identical  with the   
emotion of malice4    ,but experience   
carries us further than this4 ,the      
impulse to create1  or the emotion of   
love1 is found1 as soon as it begins a  
function1 to  be itself a living        
synthesis of three primordial reactions 
to life1  which1 in philosophic         
language1 we name ideas4 ,these three   
primordial ideas may be summed up as    
follows3 ,the idea of  beauty1 which is 
the revelation of the aesthetic sense4  
,the idea of  goodness or nobility1     
which is the revelation of conscience4  
,the  idea of truth1 or the mind's      
apprehension of reality1 which is the   
revelation of reason1 intuition1        
instinct1 and imagination1  functioning 
in sympathic harmony4 ,now it is true   
that by laying so  much stress upon the 
lan vital or flowing tide of creative   
energy1 ,bergson has indicated his      

acceptance of one side of the  ultimate 
duality4 ,but for ,bergson this creative
 impulse is not  confronted by evil or  
by malice as its opposite1 but simply by
 the  natural inertness of mechanical   
matter4    ,and once having assumed his 
continuum of pure spirit1 he deals  no  
further with the problem of good and    
evil or with the problem  of the        
aesthetic sense4    ,from our point of  
view he is axiomatically unable to deal 
with  these problems for the simple     
reason that his lan vital or flux of    
pure spirit1 being itself a mere        
metaphysical abstraction from  living   
personality1 can never1 however hard you
 squeeze it1  produce either the human  
conscience or the human aesthetic sense4
    ,these things can only be produced  
from the concrete activity of a  real   
living individual soul4 ,in the same way
 it is true that ,william  ,james1 by   
his emphasis upon conduct and action and
 practical  efficiency as the tests of  
truth1 is bound to lay enormous stress  

at  the very start upon the ethical     
problem4    ,what a person believes     
about the universe becomes itself an    
ethical problem by the introduction on  
the one hand of the  efficiency of the  
will to believe and on the other of the 
assumption  that a person ought to      
believe that which it is useful to him  
to  believe1 as long as it does not     
conflict with other desirable truths4   
,but this ethical element in the        
pragmatic doctrine1 though it is so     
dominant as almost to reduce philosophy 
itself to a sub-division of  ethics1 is 
not1 when one examines it1 at all the   
same thing as what  the philosophy of   
the complex vision means by the         
revelation of  conscience4    ,ethics   
with ,william ,james swallows up        
philosophy and in  swallowing up        
philosophy the nature of ,ethics is     
changed and  becomes something different
 from the clear unqualified mandate  of 
the human conscience4 ,with the         
philosophy of the complex  vision the   

revelations of conscience are intimately
 associated with  the revelations of the
 aesthetic sense2 and these again1 in   
the  rhythmic totality of man's nature1 
with the revelations of emotion1        
instinct1 intuition1 imagination4       
,thus when it comes to conduct and the  
question of choice the kind  of         
imperative issued by conscience has been
 already profoundly  changed4 ,it is    
still the mandate of conscience4 ,but it
 is the mandate  of a conscience whose  
search-light has been taken possession  
of  by the aesthetic sense and has been 
fed by imagination1 instinct  and       
intuition4    ,it must be understood    
when we speak of these various aspects  
or  attributes of the human soul we do  
not imply that they exist as  separable 
faculties independently of the unity of 
the soul which  possesses them4    ,the 
soul is an integral and indivisible     
monad and throws its whole  strength    
along each of these lines of contact    
with the world4 ,as  will1 the soul     

flings itself upon the world in the form
 of choice  between opposite valuations4
 ,as conscience1 it flings itself upon  
the world in the form of motive force of
 opposite valuations4 ,as  the aesthetic
 sense1 it flings itself upon the world 
in the form of yet  another motive-force
 of opposite valuations4 ,as            
imagination1 it  half-creates and       
half-discovers the atmospheric climate1 
so to  speak1 of this valuation4 ,as    
intuition1 it feels itself to be in     
possession of a super-terrestrial1      
super-human authority which  gives      
objective definiteness and security to  
this valuation4 ,as  instinct1 it feels 
its way by an innate clairvoyance into  
the organic  or biological vibrations of
 this valuation4    ,thus we return to  
the point from which we started1 namely 
that the  whole problem of philosophy is
 the problem of valuation4 ,and this  is
 the same thing as saying that          
philosophy1 considered in its  essential
 nature1 is nothing less than art--the  

art of flinging itself  upon the world  
with all the potentialities of the soul 
functioning in  rhythmic harmony4       
,when ,bergson talks of the lan vital   
and suggests that the acts  of choice of
 the human personality are made as      
naturally and  inevitably1 under the    
pressure of the shooting out of the     
spirit1 as  leaves grow upon the tree1  
he is falling into the old traditional  
blunder of all pantheistic and monistic 
thinkers1 the blunder  namely of        
attributing to a universal ,god or      
life-force or  stream of tendency the   
actual personal achievements of         
individual souls4    ,bergson's apologia
 for free-will is therefore rendered    
ineffective  by reason of the fact that 
it does not really leave the individual 
free4 ,the only free thing is the       
aboriginal spirit1 pouring forth  in its
 durational stream1 and moulding bodies 
and brains as it  goes along4    ,the   
philosophy of the complex vision does   
not believe in spirit  or life-force or 

durational streams of tendency4         
,starting with  personality it is not   
incumbent upon it to show how           
personality  has been evolved4 ,it is no
 more incumbent upon it to show how     
personality has been evolved than it is 
incumbent upon pantheistic  idealism to 
show how ,god or how the ,absolute has  
been evolved4  ,personality with its    
implication of separate concrete        
psycho-material  soul-monads is indeed  
our ,absolute or at any rate is as much 
of an ,absolute as we can ever get while
 we continue to recognize  the          
independent existence of one universal  
space1 of one universal  ethereal       
medium1 and of on universal objective   
mystery4    ,perhaps the correct        
metaphysical statement of our           
philosophic  position would be that our 
,absolute is a duality from the very    
start--a duality made up on one side of 
innumerable soul-monads  and on the     
other side of an incomprehensible       
formless mass of  plastic material1     

itself subdivided into the two aspects  
of a medium  binding the soul-monads    
together1 and an objective mystery into 
which they pierce their way4    ,when   
the evolutionists tell us that          
personality is a thing of late          
appearance in the system of things and a
 thing of which we are  able to note the
 historic or prehistoric development1   
out of the  lower forms of life1 our    
answer is that we have no right to      
assume that the life of the earth and of
 the other planetary and  stellar bodies
 is a lower form of life4    ,if to this
 the astronomer answer that he is able  
to carry the history  of evolution      
further back than any planet or star1 as
 far back as a  vast floating mass of   
homogeneous fiery vapour1 even then we  
should still maintain that this original
 nebular mass of fire was the  material 
body of an integral soul-monad2 and that
 in surrounding  immensities of space   
there were other similar masses of      
nebular  fire--possibly innumerable     

others--who in their turn were the      
bodily manifestations of integral       
soul-monads4    ,when evolutionists     
argue that personality is a late and    
accidental  appearance on the world     
scene1 they are only thinking of human  
personalities2 and our contention is    
that while man has a right to  interpret
 the universe in terms of his soul1 he  
has no right to  interpret the universe 
in terms of his body2 and that it is    
therefore  quite possible to maintain   
that the body of the earth has been     
from the beginning animated by a        
soul-monad whose life can in no  sense  
be called lower than the life of the    
soul-monad which  at present animates   
the human body4 ,and in support of our  
contention just here we are able to     
quote not only the authority of         
,fechner but the authority of ,professor
 ,james himself approving of  ,fechner4 
,what the philosophy of the complex     
vision really does is to take  life just
 as it is--the ordinary multifarious    

spectacle presented to  our senses and  
interpreted by our imagination--and     
regard this1 and  nothing more recondite
 than this1 as the ultimate ,absolute1  
or as  near an ,absolute as we are ever 
likely to get4    ,from our point of    
view it seems quite uncalled for to     
summon up  vague and remote entities1   
like streams of consciousness and       
shootings forth of spirit1 in order to  
interpret this immediate  spectacle4    
,such streams of consciousness and      
shootings forth of  spirit seem to us   
just as much abstractions and just as   
much  conceptual substitutions for      
reality as do the old-fashioned         
metaphysical entities of being and      
becoming4    ,no one has ever seen a    
life-stream or a life-force4 ,no one has
  ever seen a compounded congeries of   
conscious states4 ,but  every one of us 
has seen a living human soul looking out
 of a  living human body2 and most of us
 have seen a living soul looking  out of
 the mysterious countenance of earth1   

water1 air and fire4    ,the philosophy 
of the soul-monad has at any rate this  
advantage  over every other3 namely1    
that it definitely represents human     
experience and can always be verified by
 human experience4 ,any  human being can
 try the experiment of sinking into the 
depths of  his own identity4 ,let the   
reader of this passage try such an      
experiment here and now2 and let him1 in
 the light of what he  finds1 decide    
this question4 ,does he find himself    
flowing  mysteriously forth1 along some 
indescribable durational stream1  and1  
as he flows1 feeling himself to be that 
stream8 ,or does he feel  himself to be 
a definite concrete actual ,i am ,i1 the
 guest and  companion of his body and1  
as far as the mortal weakness of flesh  
allows1 the motive-principle of that    
body8    ,if the philosophy of the      
complex vision is able to make an appeal
  of this kind with a certain degree of 
assurance as to the answer1 it  is able 
to make a yet more convincing appeal1   

when--the soul's  existence once        
admitted--it becomes a question as to   
that soul's  inherent quality4 ,no human
 being1 unless in the grasp of some     
megalomania of virtue1 can deny the     
existence1 in the depths of his  nature1
 of a struggle between the emotion of   
love and the emotion  of malice4    ,out
 of this ultimate duality under the     
pressure of the forms and  shapes of    
life and the reaction against these of  
the imagination and  the aesthetic      
sense1 spring into existence those      
primordial ideas of  truth and beauty   
and goodness which1 are the very stuff  
and  texture of our fate4 ,but these    
ideas1 primordial though they are1 are  
so confused and distorted by their      
contact with circumstances and          
accident1 that it may well be that no   
clear image of them is found  in the    
recesses of the soul when the soul turns
 its glance inward4    ,no soul1        
however1 can turn its glance inward     
without recognizing  in its deepest     

being this ultimate struggle between    
love and malice4  ,how then can any     
philosophy be regarded as a transcript  
and  reflection of reality when at the  
very start it refuses to take           
cognizance of this fact8 ,if the only   
knowledge1 which is in any  sense       
certain1 is our knowledge of ourselves1 
and if our knowledge  of ourselves      
implies our knowledge of a definite     
soul-monad for  ever divided against    
itself in this abysmal struggle1 how    
then may  a philosophy be regarded as   
covering the facts of experience1  when 
in place of this personal contradiction 
it predicates1 as its  explanation of   
the system of things1 some remote1 thin1
 abstract  tendency1 such as the        
shooting forth of spirit or the         
compounding of states of consciousness8 
,the whole matter may be thus summed up4
 ,the modern tendencies  of thought     
which we have been considering1 get rid 
of the  old metaphysical notion of the  
logical ,absolute only to  substitute   

vague psychological states of           
consciousness in its  place4 ,but what  
philosophy requires if the facts of     
introspective  experience are to be     
trusted is neither an ,absolute in whose
  identity all difference is lost nor a 
stream of states of  consciousness which
 is suspended1 as it were1 in a vacuum4 
,what philosophy requires is the        
recognition of real actual persons      
whose original revelation of the secret 
of life implies that abysmal  duality of
 good and evil beyond the margin of     
which no living soul  has ever passed4  
,whether or not this concrete monad or  
living  substratum of personality       
survives the death of the body is quite 
a  different question2 is in fact a     
question to which the philosophy of  the
 complex vision can make no definite    
response4 ,in this matter  all we can   
say is that those supreme moments of    
rhythmic ecstasy1  whose musical        
equilibrium ,i have indicated in the    
expression  apex-thought1 establish for 

us a conclusive certainty as to the     
eternal continuance1 beyond the scope of
 all deaths1 of that  indestructible    
aspect of personality we have come to   
name the  struggle between love and     
malice4    ,with the conclusive         
consciousness of this there necessarily 
arises  a certain attitude of mind which
 is singularly difficult to describe    
but which ,i can hint at in the         
following manner4 ,in the very act of   
recognition1 in the act by which we     
apprehend the secret of the  universe to
 consist in this abysmal struggle of the
 emotion of love  with the emotion of   
malice1 there is an implication of a    
complete  acceptance of whatever the    
emotion of love or the principle of     
love is found to demand1 as the terms of
 its relative victory over its          
antagonist4 ,whether this demand of     
love1 or to put it more exactly  this   
demand of all souls in whom love is     
dominant1 actually  issues in a personal
 survival after death we are not        

permitted to  feel with any certainty4  
,but what we feel with certainty1 when  
the  apex-thought of the complex vision 
reaches its consummation1 is  that we   
find our full personal self-realization 
and happiness in a  complete acceptance 
of whatever the demand of love may be4  
,and  this is the case because the      
ultimate happiness and fulfilment of    
personality does not depend upon what   
may have happened to  personality in the
 past or upon what may happen to        
personality in  the future but solely   
and exclusively upon what personality   
demands here and now in the apprehension
 of the unassailable  moment4    ,this  
suspension of judgment therefore in     
regard to the question of  the          
immortality of the soul is a suspension 
of judgment implicit in  the very nature
 of love itself4 ,for if there were     
anything in the  world nearer the secret
 of the world than is this duality of   
love and  malice1 then that alien thing1
 however we thought of it1 would be  the

 true object of the soul's desire and   
the victory of love over  malice would  
fall into the second place4    ,if      
instead of the soul's desire being      
simply the victory of love over  malice 
it were1 so to speak1 the material fruit
 of such a victory--  namely1 the       
survival of personality after           
death--then1 in place of  the struggle  
between love and malice1 we should be   
compelled to  regard personality in     
itself1 apart from the nature of that   
personality1 as the secret of the       
universe4 ,but as we have  repeatedly   
shown1 it is impossible to think of any 
living  personality apart from this     
abysmal dualism1 the ebb and flow of    
which1 with the relative victory of love
 over malice1 is our ultimate           
definition of what living personality   
is4 ,the emotion of love  abstracted    
from personality is not the secret of   
the universe1  because personality in   
its concrete living activity is the     
secret of  the universe4 ,it is this    

very abstraction of love1 isolated from 
any  person who loves1 and projected as 
an abstract into the void1 that  has    
done so much to undermine religious     
thought1 just as that other  absolute of
 pure being has done so much to         
undermine  philosophic thought4    ,love
 and malice are unthinkable apart from  
personality2 but  personality divorced  
from the struggle between love and      
malice is  something worse than         
unthinkable4 ,it is something most      
tragically  thinkable4 ,it is in fact   
the plain reality of death4 ,a dead body
  is a body in which the struggle       
between love and malice has  completely 
ceased4 ,a dead planet would be a planet
 in which the  struggle between love and
 malice had ceased4 ,we cannot speak of 
a dead soul because the soul is1        
according to our original  definition1  
the very fusion-point and vortex-point  
where not only  consciousness and energy
 meet but where love and malice meet    
and wage their eternal struggle4        

,strictly speaking it is not true to say
 that the ultimate secret of the        
universe is the emotion of love4 ,the   
emotion of love1 just because  it is an 
emotion1 is the emotion of a            
personality4 ,it is personality1  not   
the emotion of love1 which is the secret
 of the universe1 which  is1 in fact1   
the very universe itself4 ,but it is    
personality considered  in its true     
concrete life1 not as a mere abstraction
 devoid of all  characteristics1 which  
is this basic thing4 ,and personality   
thus  considered is1 as we have seen1 a 
living battleground of two  ultimate    
emotions4 ,the complete triumph of love 
over malice  would mean the extinction  
of personality and following from this  
the extinction of the universe4    ,thus
 what the soul's desire really amounts  
to1 in those rhythmic  moments when its 
diverse aspects are reduced to          
harmonious  energy1 is not the complete 
victory of love over malice but only a  
relative victory4 ,what it really       

desires is that malice should still     
exist1 but that it should exist in      
subordination to love4    ,the ideal of 
the soul therefore in its creative      
moments is the  process of the          
overcoming of malice1 not the completion
 of this  process4 ,in order to be      
perpetually overcome by love1 malice    
must  remain existent1 must remain still
 there4 ,if it ceased to be there1      
there would be nothing left for love to 
overcome2 and the ebb and  flow of the  
universe1 its eternal contradictions1   
would be at an end4  ,the soul's desire1
 according to this view1 is not a life  
after death  where malice1 shall we say1
 is completely overcome and good        
completely triumphant4 ,the soul's      
desire is that malice1 or evil1  should 
continue to exist2 but should continue  
to exist under the  triumphant hand of  
love4 ,the desire of the soul1 in such  
ultimate  moments1 has nothing to do    
with the survival of the soul after     
death4 ,it has to do with an acceptance 

of the demand of love4 ,and  what love  
demands is not that malice should       
disappear2 but that it  should for ever 
exist1 in order that love should for    
ever  be overcoming it4 ,and the ecstasy
 of this process1 of this  overcoming1  
is a thing of single moments1 moments   
which1 as  they pass1 not only reduce   
both past and future to an eternal now  
but annihilate everything else but this 
eternal now4 ,this  annihilation of the 
past does not mean the extinction of    
memory or  the extinction of hope4 ,it  
only means that the profoundest of our  
memories are brought over as it were    
from the past into the  present4 ,it    
only means that a formless horizon of   
immense hope1  indefinite and vague1    
hovers above the present1 to give it    
spaciousness and freedom4    ,the       
revelation of the complex vision does   
not therefore answer the  question of   
the immortality of the soul4 ,what it   
does is to indicate  the degree of      
importance of any answer to this        

question4 ,and this  degree of          
importance is much smaller than in our  
less harmonious  moments we are inclined
 to suppose4 ,at certain complacent     
moments the soul finds itself praying   
for some final assurance of  personal   
survival4 ,at certain other moments the 
soul is tempted to  pray for complete   
annihilation4 ,but at the moments when  
it is most  entirely itself it neither  
prays for annihilation nor for          
immortality4  ,it does not pray for     
itself at all4 ,it prays that the will  
of the gods  may be done4 ,it prays that
 the power of love in every soul in the 
universe may hold the power of malice in
 subjection4    ,the soul therefore1    
revealed as a real substantial living   
thing by  the complex vision1 is not    
revealed as a thing necessarily exempt  
from death1 but as a thing whose deepest
 activity renders it free  from the fear
 of death4    ,in considering the nature
 of the contrast between the philosophy 
of  the complex vision and the most     

dominant philosophic tendencies  of the 
present time it is important to make    
clear what our attitude  is towards that
 hypothetical assumption usually known  
as the  ,theory of ,evolution4    ,if   
what is called ,evolution means simply  
change1 then we have  not the least     
objection to the word4 ,the universe    
obviously  changes4 ,it is undergoing a 
perpetual series of violent and         
revolutionary changes4 ,but it does not 
necessarily improve or  progress4 ,on   
the contrary during enormous periods of 
time it  deteriorates4 ,both progress   
and deterioration are of course purely  
human valuations4 ,but according to our 
valuation of good and evil  it may be   
said that during those epochs when the  
malicious1 the  predatory1 the          
centripetal tendency in life            
predominates over the  creative and     
centrifugal tendency1 there is          
deterioration and  degeneracy2 and      
during the epochs when the latter       
overcomes the  former there is growth   

and improvement4    ,it is quite obvious
 that from our point of view1 there is  
no such  thing as inanimate chemical    
substance1 no such isolated             
evolutionary phases of matter1 such as  
the movements from  solids to liquids1  
from liquids to gases1 from gases to    
ether1 from ether to electro-magnetism4 
,all these apparent  changes must be    
regarded as nothing less than the living
 organic  changes taking place in the   
living bodies of actual personal souls4 
,according to our view the real and     
important variations in the  multiform  
spectacle of the universe are the       
variations brought  about by the        
perpetual struggle between life and     
death1 in other  words between the      
personal energy of creation and the     
personal  resistance of malice4    ,for 
us the universe of bodies and souls is  
perpetually re-creating  itself by the  
mysterious process of birth1 perpetually
 destroying  itself by the mysterious   
process of death4    ,it is this eternal

 struggle between the impulse to create 
new life  and the impulse to resist the 
creation of life1 and to destroy or to  
petrify life1 which actually causes all 
movement in things and all  change2     
movement sometimes forward and sometimes
 backward  as the great pendulum and    
rhythm of existence swings one way or   
the other4    ,and even this            
generalization does not really cover    
what we regard  as the facts of the     
case1 because this backward or forward  
movement1 though capable of being       
weighed and estimated en  masse in the  
erratic and violent changes of history1 
is in reality a  thing of particular and
 individual instances1 a thing that     
ultimately  affects nothing but         
individuals and personalities1 in as    
much as it is  the weighing and         
balancing of a struggle which takes     
place  nowhere else except in the arena 
of concrete separate and personal       
souls4    ,what is usually called       
,evolution then1 and what may just as   

reasonably be called ,deterioration1 is 
as far as we are concerned  just a      
matter of perpetual movement and change4
    ,the living personalities that fill 
the circle of space are perpetually     
reproducing themselves in a series of   
organic births1 and  perpetually passing
 away in the process of death4    ,we   
have also to remember that every living 
organism whether  such an organism      
resemble that of a planet or a human    
being1 is  itself the dwelling-place of 
innumerable other living organisms      
dependent on it and drawing their life  
from it1 precisely as their  parent     
organism depends on1 and draws its life 
from1 the  omnipresent universal ether4 
,what the philosophy of the complex     
vision denies and refutes is  the modern
 tendency to escape from the real       
mystery of existence  by the use of such
 vague hypothetical metaphors1 all of   
them really  profoundly anthropomorphic1
 such as life-force or hyper-space  or  
magnetic energy or streams of           

sub-consciousness4    ,the philosophy of
 the complex vision drives these        
pseudo-philosophers  to the wall and    
compels them to confess that ultimately 
all  they are aware of is the inner     
personal activity of their  own         
individual souls2 compels them to       
confess that when it  comes to the final
 analysis their life-force and pure     
thought and hyper-space and             
radio-magnetic activity are all  nothing
 but one-sided hypothetical abstractions
 taken from the  concrete movements of  
concrete individual bodies and souls    
which  by an inevitable act of the      
imagination we assume to reproduce in   
their interior reactions what we        
ourselves experience in ours4    ,to    
introduce such a conception as that of  
those mysterious super  human beings1   
whom ,i have named the gods1 into a     
serious  philosophic system1 may well   
appear to many modern scientific  minds 
the very height of absurdity4    ,but   
the whole method of the philosophy of   

the complex vision is  based upon direct
 human experience2 and from my point of 
view  the obscure and problematic       
existence of some such beings has       
behind it the whole formidable weight of
 universal human feeling--  a weight    
which is not made less valid by the     
arrogant use of mere  phrases of        
rationalistic contempt such as that     
which is implied in  the word           
superstition4    ,from our point of view
 a philosophy which does not include and
  subsume and embody that universal     
human experience covered by  the term   
superstition is a philosophy that has   
eliminated from its  consideration one  
great slice of actual living fact4 ,and 
it is in this  aspect of the problem    
more than in any other that the         
philosophy  of the complex vision       
represents a return to certain          
revelations of  human truth--call them  
mythological if you please--which modern
  philosophy seems to have deliberately 
suppressed4 ,in the final  result it may

 well be that we have to choose1 as our 
clue to the  mystery of life1 either    
mathematica or mythology4    ,the       
philosophy of the complex vision is     
compelled by the very  nature of its    
organ of research to choose1 in this    
dilemma1 the latter  rather than the    
former4 ,and the universe which it thus 
dares to  predicate is at least a       
universe that lends itself1 as so many  
scientific universes do not1 to that    
synthetic activity of the  imaginative  
reason which in the long run alone      
satisfies the  soul4 ,and such a        
universe satisfies the soul1 as these   
others cannot1  because it reflects1 in 
its objective spectacle of things1 the  
profoundest interior consciousness of   
the actual living self which  the soul  
in its deepest moments of introspection 
is able to grasp4    ,modern science1   
under the rhetorical spell of this      
talismanic word  evolution1 seems to    
imply that it can explain the multiform 
shapes and appearances of organic life  

by deducing them1 in all  their vivid   
heterogeneity1 from some hypothetical   
monistic  substance which it boldly     
endows with the mysterious energy       
called the life-force and which it then 
permits to project out of  itself1 by   
some sort of automatic volition1 the    
whole long historic  procession of      
living organisms4    ,this purely       
imaginative assumption gives it1 in the 
popular mind1 a  sort of vague right to 
make the astounding claim that it has   
explained the origin of things4 ,little 
further arrogance is needed  to give it1
 in the popular mind1 the still more    
astounding right to  claim that it has  
indicated not only the nature of the    
beginning of  things but the nature of  
their end also2 this end being nothing  
less than some purely hypothetical      
equilibrium when the  movement of       
advance1 coming full circle1 rounds     
itself off into  the movement of        
reversion4    ,the philosophy of the    
complex vision makes no claim to deal   

either with the beginning of things or  
with the end of things4 ,it  recognizes 
that beginnings and ends are not things 
with which  we can intelligibly deal2   
are1 on the contrary1 things which are  
completely unthinkable4    ,what we     
actually see1 feel1 divine1 imagine1    
love1 hate1 detest1  desire1 dream1     
create and destroy--these living1 dying1
 struggling1  relaxing1 advancing and   
retreating things--this space1 this     
ether1  these stars and suns1 these     
animals1 fishes1 birds1 plants1 this    
earth  and moon1 these men and these    
trees and flowers1 these high and       
unchanging eternal ideas of the         
beautiful and the good1 these           
transitory perishing mortal lives and   
these dimly discerned  immortal figures 
that we name gods1 all these1 as far as 
we are  concerned1 have for ever        
existed1 all these1 as far as we are    
concerned1 must for ever exist4    ,in  
the immense procession of deaths and    
births1 it is indeed certain  that the  

soul and body of the ,earth have given  
birth to all the souls  and bodies which
 struggle for existence upon her living 
flesh  and draw so much of their love   
and their malice from the  unfathomable 
depths of her spirit4 ,but when once we 
accept as our  basic axiom that where   
the soul-monad exists1 whether such a   
monad be human1 sub-human1 or           
super-human1 it exists in actual        
concrete organic personal integrity1 we 
are saved from the  necessity of        
explaining how1 and by what particular  
series of births  and deaths and change 
and variation1 the living spectacle of  
things1  as we visualize it today1 has  
evolved or has deteriorated out of  the 
remote past4    ,it is in fact by their 
constant preoccupation with the         
immediate and  material causes of such  
organic changes1 that men of science    
have  been distracted from the real     
mystery4 ,this real mystery does not    
limit itself to the comparatively       
unimportant ,how1 but is  constantly    

calling upon us to deal with the        
terrible and essential  questions1 the  
two grim interrogations of the old      
,sphinx1 the  ,what and the ,wherefore4 
,it is by its power to deal with these  
more essential riddles that any         
philosophy must be weighed and judged2  
and it is just because  what we name    
,science stops helplessly at this       
unimportant ,how1  that it can never be 
said to have answered ,life's uttermost 
challenge4    ,materialistic and        
,evolutionary ,hypotheses must always1  
however  far they may go in reducing    
so-called matter to so-called spirit1   
remain outside the real problem4 ,no    
attenuation of matter into  movement or 
energy or magnetic radio-activity can   
reach the  impregnable citadel of life4 
,for the citadel of life is to be found 
in  nothing less than the complex of    
personality--whether such  personality  
be that of a planet or a plant or an    
animal or a man or a  god--must always  
be recognized as inherent in an actual  

living  soul-monad1 divided against     
itself in the everlasting duality4      
,although the most formidable support to
 our theory of an eternal  vision1      
wherein all the living entities that    
fill space under the  vibration of an   
unspeakable cosmic rhythm and brought   
into focus  by one supreme act of       
contemplative love1 is drawn from the   
rare creative moments of what ,i have   
called the apex-thought1 it  still      
remains that for the normal man in his  
most normal hours the  purely scientific
 view is completely unsatisfying4    ,i 
do not mean that it is unsatisfying     
because1 with its mechanical            
determinism1 it does not satisfy his    
desires4 ,i mean that it does not       
satisfy his imagination1 his instinct1  
his intuition1 his emotion1 his         
aesthetic sense2 and in being unable to 
satisfy these1 it proves  itself1       
ipso-facto1 false and equivocal4    ,it 
is equally true that1 except for certain
 rare and privileged  natures1 the      

orthodox systems of religion are equally
 unsatisfying4    ,what is required is  
some philosophic system which is bold   
enough  to include the element of       
so-called superstition and at the same  
time contradicts neither reason nor the 
aesthetic sense4    ,such a system1 we  
contend1 is supplied by the philosophy  
of the  complex vision2 a philosophy    
which1 while remaining frankly          
anthropomorphic and mythological1 does  
not1 in any narrow or  impudent or      
complacent manner1 slur over the bitter 
ironies of this  cruel world1 or love   
the clear outlines of all drastic issues
 in a  vague1 unintelligible1           
unaesthetic idealism4    ,what our      
philosophy insists upon is that the     
modern tendency to  reduce everything to
 some single monistic substance1 which1 
by  the blind process of evolution1     
becomes all this passionate drama  that 
we see1 is a tendency utterly false and 
misleading4 ,for us the  universe is a  
much larger1 freer1 stranger1 deeper1   

more  complicated affair than that4     
,for us the universe contains           
possibilities of real ghastly1          
incredible  evil1 descending into       
spiritual depths1 before which the      
normal  mind may well shudder and turn  
dismayed away4    ,for us the universe  
contains possibilities of divine1       
magical1  miraculous good1 ascending    
into spiritual heights and  associating 
itself with immortal super-human beings1
 before which  the mind of the merely   
logical intelligence may well pause1    
baffled1 puzzled1 and obscurely         
indignant4    ,the fulcrum upon which   
the whole issue depends1 the pivot  upon
 which it turns1 is the existence of    
actual living souls filling  the immense
 spaces of nature4    ,if there is no   
soul in any living thing1 then our whole
 system  crumbles to pieces4 ,if there  
are living souls in every living thing1 
then the universe1 as revealed by the   
complex vision1 is more real  than the  
universe as revealed by the chief       

exponents of modern  thought4           
,,chapter ,,xiv4    ,,the ,,idea ,,of   
,,communism    ,the philosophy of the   
complex vision inevitably issues1 when  
it is  applied to political and economic
 conditions1 in the idea of  communism4 
,the idea of communism is inherent in it
 from the  beginning2 and in communism1 
and in communism alone1 does it  find   
its objective and external expression4  
,the philosophy of the complex vision   
reveals1 as we have seen1 a  certain    
kind of ultimate duality as the secret  
of life4 ,this ultimate  duality remains
 eternally unreconciled2 for it is a    
duality within the  circle of every     
personal soul2 and the fact that every  
personal soul  is surrounded by an      
incomprehensible substance under the    
dominion of time and space1 does not    
reconcile these eternal  antagonists2   
because these eternal antagonists are   
for ever  unfathomable1 even as the     
personal soul1 of which they are the    
conflicting conditions1 is itself for   

ever unfathomable4    ,it is therefore a
 perpetual witness to the truth that the
 idea of  communism is the inevitable   
expression of the complex vision that   
this idea should1 more than other idea  
in the world1 divide the  souls of men  
into opposite camps4 ,if the idea of    
communism were  not the inevitable      
expression of the philosophy of the     
complex  vision as applied to human life
 it would be an idea with regard to     
which all human souls would hold        
infinitely various opinions4    ,but    
this is not the case4 ,in regard to the 
idea of communism we do  not find this  
infinite variety of opinion4 ,we find1  
on the contrary1 a  definite and        
irreconcilable duality of thought4      
,human souls are  divided on this matter
 not1 as they are on other matters1 into
 a  motley variety of convictions but   
into two opposite and  irreconcilable   
convictions1 unfathomably hostile to one
 another4    ,there is no other         
question1 no other issue1 about which   

the souls of  men are divided so clearly
 and definitely into two opposite camps4
  ,the question of the existence of a   
parent of the universe does  not divide 
them so clearly2 because it always      
remains possible for  any unbeliever in 
a spiritual unity of this absolute kind 
to use the  term parent1 if he pleases1 
for that incomprehensible substance     
under the dominion of space and time    
which takes the triple form  of the     
substance out of which the substratum of
 the soul is made1  the substance out of
 which the objective mystery is made1   
and  the substance out of which is made 
the surrounding medium  which holds all 
personal souls together4    ,the        
question of the mortality or the        
immortality of the soul does  not divide
 them so clearly2 because such a        
question is entirely  insoluble2 and a  
vivid consciousness of its insolubility 
accompanies all argument4 ,the question 
of race does not divide  them so        
clearly2 because both with regard to    

race and with regard  to class the      
division is very largely a superficial  
thing1 dependent  upon public opinion   
and upon group-consciousness and leaving
  many individuals on each side entirely
 unaffected4    ,the question of sex    
does not divide them so clearly2 because
 there  are always innumerable examples 
of noble and ignoble treachery  to the  
sex-instinct2 not to speak of a certain 
intellectual neutrality  which refuses  
to be biased4 ,the idea of communism is 
on the  contrary so profoundly          
associated with the original revelation 
of  the complex vision that it must be  
regarded as the inevitable  expression  
of all the attributes of this vision    
when such attributes  are reduced to a  
rhythmic harmony4    ,that this is no   
speculative hypothesis but a real fact  
of experience  can be proved by any     
sincere act of personal introspection4  
,the philosophy of the complex vision is
 based upon those rare and  supreme     
moments when the soul's apex-thought    

quivers like an  arrow in the very heart
 of the surrounding darkness4 ,by any   
honest  act of introspection we can     
recall to memory the world-deep         
revelations which are thus obtained4    
,and among these revelations  the one   
most vivid and irrefutable1 as far as   
human association is  concerned1 is the 
revelation of the idea of communism4    
,so vivid and so dominant is this idea1 
that it may be said that no  motive     
which drives or obsesses the will in the
 sphere of external  relations can      
approach or rival it in importance4 ,and
 that this is so  can be proved by the  
fact that the opposite of this idea1    
namely the  idea of private property1 is
 found when we analyse the content of   
our profoundest instincts to be in      
perpetual conflict with the idea  of    
communism4    ,and the inevitableness of
 the world-deep struggle between these  
two ideas is proved by the fact that in 
no other way1 as soon as the  objective 
world is introduced at all1 can we      

conceive of love and  malice as         
expressing themselves4 ,love must       
naturally express  itself in the desire 
to have all things in common2 and malice
  must naturally express itself in the  
desire to have as little as  possible in
 common and as much as possible for     
ourselves alone4    ,the possessive     
instinct1 although it may often be found
  accompanying like an evil shadow some 
of the purest movements  of love1 must  
be recognized as eternally arising out  
of the depths  of the power opposed to  
love4 ,if we have any psychological     
clairvoyance we can disentangle this    
base element from some of  the most     
passionate forms of the sexual instinct 
and from some of  the most passionate   
forms of the maternal instinct4 ,it is  
undeniable  that the possessive instinct
 does accompany both these emotions  and
 we are compelled to recognize that1    
whenever or wherever it  appears1 it is 
the expression of the direct opposite of
 love4    ,so inevitably does the       

complex vision manifest itself in the   
idea of  communism that it would be     
legitimate to say that the main object  
of human life as we know it at present  
is the realization of the  ideas of     
truth and beauty and nobility in a      
world-wide  communistic state4    ,as   
far as the human soul in our present    
knowledge of it is  concerned there is  
no other synthesis possible except this 
synthesis4 ,and there is no other       
synthesis possible except this1  because
 this and this alone realizes the ideal 
which the abysmal  power of love        
implies4 ,and the power of love implies 
this ideal  because the power of love is
 the only unity which fuses together    
the ideas of reality and beauty and     
nobility2 and because it is  impossible 
to conceive the power of love as        
embodying itself in  these ideas except 
in a world-wide communistic state4      
,we are able to prove that this is no   
speculative hypothesis but a  fact based
 upon experience1 by a consideration of 

the opposite  ideal4 ,for evil1 as we   
have hinted in many places1 has its     
ideal4  ,the ideal of evil1 or of what  
,i call malice1 is the annihilation of  
the will to creation4 ,this ideal of    
malice is in fact an obstinate and      
continuous resistance to the power of   
creation2 a resistance carried  so far  
as to reduce everything that exists to  
eternal non-existence4  ,the profoundest
 experience of the human soul is to be  
found in the  unfathomable struggle that
 goes on in the depths between the      
ideal of evil which is universal death  
and the ideal of love  which is         
universal life4    ,reason and sensation
 are used in turn by this abysmal malice
 of  the soul1 to establish and make    
objective the idea of nothingness4      
,thus reason1 driven on by the power of 
malice1 derives exquisite  satisfaction 
from the theory of the automatism of the
 will4    ,the theory of the automatism 
of the will1 the theory that the will is
  only an illusive name for a           

pre-determined congeries of irresistible
  motives1 is a theory that lends itself
 to the ideal of universal death4  ,it  
is a theory that diminishes1 and reduces
 to a minimum1 the  identity of the     
personal soul4 ,and therefore it is a   
theory which the  isolated reason1      
divorced from imagination and instinct1 
fastens  upon and exults in4    ,the    
isolated reason1 in league with pure    
sensation and divorced  from instinct1  
becomes very quickly a slave of the     
abysmal  power of malice2 and the       
pleasure which it derives from the      
contemplation of a mechanical universe  
predestined and pre-determined1  a      
universe out of which the personal soul 
has been completely  expurgated1 is a   
pleasure derived directly from the power
 of malice1  exulting in the idea of    
eternal death4    ,philosophers are very
 crafty in these things2 and it is      
necessary to  discriminate between that 
genuine passion for reality which       
derived from the power of love and that 

exultant pleasure in a  frightful       
reality which is derived from           
intellectual sadism and  from the       
unfathomable malice of the soul4        
,between a philosophic pessimism which  
springs from a genuine  passion for     
reality and from a pure pity for        
tortured sentient  things1 and a        
philosophic pessimism which springs from
 a cruel  pleasure in atrocious         
situations and an ambiguous pity for    
tortured sentient things there is an    
eternity of difference4    ,it needs    
however something almost like a         
clairvoyance to  recognize this         
difference2 and such a clairvoyance can 
only be  obtained when1 as in the case  
of ,christ1 the soul becomes aware of   
its own unfathomable possibilities of   
good and evil4    ,a careful and        
implacable analysis of the two camps of 
opinion  into which the idea of         
communism divides the world reveals to  
us  the fact that the philosophical     
advocates of private property draw a    

certain malignant pleasure from         
insisting that the possessive  instinct 
is the strongest instinct in humanity4  
,this is tantamount to saying that the  
power of malice is the  strongest       
instinct in humanity2 whereas1 if the   
power of malice had  not already been   
relatively overcome by the power of love
 there  would be no humanity at all4    
,but the philosophical advocates of     
private property do not confine         
themselves to this malign  insistence   
upon the basic greediness of human      
nature4 ,they are in  the habit of      
twisting their arguments completely     
around and  speaking of the rights of   
property and of the wholesome value  of 
the natural instinct to possess         
property4    ,this natural instinct to  
possess property becomes1 when they so  
defend it1 something which we assume to 
be good and noble1  and not something   
which we are compelled to recognize as  
evil  and base4    ,it is necessary to  
keep these two arguments quite separate 

in our  minds and not to allow the      
philosophical advocates of private      
property to confuse them4 ,if the       
assumption is that the instinct to      
possess property is a good instinct1 an 
instinct springing from  the power of   
love in the human soul1 then what we    
have to do is to  subject this good     
instinct to an inflexible analysis2     
under the  process of which such        
goodness will be found to transform     
itself  into the extreme opposite of    
goodness4    ,if the assumption is that 
the instinct to possess property is an  
evil  instinct1 but an instinct which is
 the strongest of all human  instincts  
and therefore one which it is insane to 
attempt to resist1  then what we have to
 do is to prove that the instinct or the
 emotion  of love is stronger than the  
instinct or the emotion of malice and so
  essential to the life of the soul that
 if it had not already relatively       
overcome the emotion of malice1 the     
personal soul would never  have become  

what it has become2 in fact would never 
have existed  at all1 since its mere    
existence depends upon the relative     
victory of  love over malice4    ,in    
dealing with the former of these two    
arguments1 namely that the  instinct to 
possess property is a good instinct1 it 
is advisable to  search for some test of
 goodness which shall carry a stronger  
conviction to the mind of such biassed  
philosophers than any  appeal to the    
conscience or even to the aesthetic     
sense4 ,the  conscience and the         
aesthetic sense speak with              
uncompromising  finality upon this      
subject and condemn the possessive      
instinct or  the instinct to possess    
property with an unwavering voice4 ,as  
eternal aspects of the complex vision1  
both conscience and the  aesthetic      
sense1 when their power is exercised in 
harmony with all  the other aspects of  
the soul1 indicate with an oracular     
clearness  that the possessive instinct 
is not good but evil4    ,the person    

obsessed by the idea of nobility and the
 person  obsessed by the idea of beauty 
are both of them found to be            
extraordinarily suspicious of the       
possessive instinct and fiercely        
anxious to destroy its power4 ,but the  
test more likely to appeal to  the type 
of philosopher whose business it is to  
defend the  institution of private      
property is the simple test of reality4 
,reality  or truth1 much more than      
nobility or beauty1 is the idea in the  
soul which is outraged by the illusion  
of the value of private  property4      
,for the illusion of the value of       
private property is like the illusion   
of dead matter4 ,it is a half-truth     
projected by the power of malice4  ,the 
inherent unreality of the illusion of   
the value of private  property can be   
proved by the simplest examination of   
the facts4  ,the illusion draws its     
strength from a false appeal to the     
genuine  and basic necessities of the   
human mind and the human body4    ,these

 necessities demand adequate food1      
adequate clothing1  adequate shelter and
 adequate leisure4 ,they also demand    
freedom1  beauty1 happiness1 a          
considerable degree of solitude1 and    
final  relief from the intolerable fear 
of poverty4 ,but the economic and       
intellectual resources of the human race
 are perfectly capable of  providing all
 these things for all human beings      
within the limits of  a communistic     
society4 ,these things and the          
legitimate demand for  these things must
 not be confused with the illusion of   
the value of  private property4 ,nor    
must the illusion of the value of       
private  property be permitted to       
fortify its insecure position by a false
  appeal to these real values4    ,the  
astounding achievements of modern       
science have brought to  light two      
things4 ,they have brought to light the 
fact that no human  or social unit short
 of the international unit of the whole 
race can  adequately deal with the      

resources of the planet4 ,and they have 
brought to light the fact that this     
inevitable internationalizing of        
economic production must be accompanied 
by a co-operative  internationalizing of
 economic distribution1 if murderous    
chaotic  conflict is to be avoided4     
,the real values of sufficient food1    
clothing1 shelter1 leisure1  and        
solitude can be secured for every human 
being inhabiting  this planet1 under a  
far from perfect organization of        
world-production and world-distribution4
 ,the astounding achievements  of modern
 science have made this possible4 ,it   
only requires a  reasonable and not by  
any means an ideal co-operation to make 
it  actual4    ,the achievements of     
modern science1 especially in the sphere
 of  industrial machinery1 have made it 
possible for every human being  to have 
sufficient food1 clothing1 shelter1     
leisure and solitude4 ,man1  in this    
sense1 has already conquered ,nature2   
and has secured for  his progeny however

 indefinitely increased1 and for the    
frail and  incompetent ones of his race1
 however indefinitely increased1 a  more
 than sufficient supply of these primal 
necessities4    ,the extraordinary power
 of international co-operation has been 
recently displayed during the years of  
the war in the production of  engines of
 destruction4 ,far less cooperation     
applied to the  problems of production  
could secure for an indefinitely        
multiplied  population1 including all   
derelicts and all incompetents1 such    
primal necessities of life as normal    
persons demand4 ,the resources  of this 
planet1 as long as scientific           
distribution follows close upon         
scientific production1 are sufficient to
 maintain in food1 in shelter1  in      
clothing1 in leisure1 in reasonable     
comfort1 any human progeny4    ,what    
then is the principal cause why1 as     
things are now1 such  lamentable poverty
 and such huge fear of lamentable       
poverty  dominate the human situation8  

,the cause is not far to seek4 ,it lies 
in the very root and ground of our      
existing commercial and  industrial     
system4 ,it lies in the fact that       
economic production by  reason of the   
illusive value of private enterprise1 is
 directed not  towards the satisfaction 
of such universal and primary           
necessities  as food1 shelter1 clothing1
 leisure and reasonable comfort1 but    
towards the creation of unnecessary     
luxury and artificial frippery1  towards
 the piling up1 by means of             
advertisement1 monopoly1  exploitation  
and every kind of chicanery of          
unproductive  accumulation of private   
property4    ,our present commercial and
 industrial system is based upon what   
is called free competition4 ,in other   
words it is based upon the  right of    
private individuals to make use of the  
resources of nature  and the energy of  
labour to produce unnecessary wealth1   
wealth  which does little or nothing to 
increase the food1 shelter1 clothing1   

leisure and comfort of the masses of    
mankind1 wealth which is  artificially  
maintained by artificial values and by  
the fantastic  process of advertisement4
    ,in order to make clear and         
irrefutable the statement that the      
illusive value of private property is1  
like the illusion of dead  matter1 a    
thing conceived1 projected and          
maintained by the  aboriginal power of  
evil1 it is necessary to prove two      
things4 ,it is  necessary to prove in   
the first place that the idea of private
  property is neither beautiful nor     
noble nor real4 ,and it is necessary  to
 prove in the second place that the     
defence of the idea of private  property
 arouses the most evil and most         
malignant passions which  it is possible
 for the human soul to feel4    ,that   
private property is neither beautiful   
nor noble can be deduced  from the fact 
that in proportion as human souls become
 attuned  to finer1 more distinguished1 
and more intellectual levels  they      

become more and more indifferent to the 
sensation of  ownership4 ,that private  
property is an unreal thing can be      
deduced from the fact that no human     
being can actually possess1  in a       
definite1 positive1 and exhaustive      
manner1 more than he can  eat or drink  
or wear or otherwise personally enjoy4  
,his sensation of ownership1 over lands1
 houses1 gardens1  pictures1 statues1   
books1 animals and human beings1 is     
really and  actually restricted to the  
immediate and direct enjoyment which he 
is able in person to derive from such   
things4 ,beyond this  immediate and     
personal enjoyment the extension of his 
sensation  of ownership can do no more  
than increase his general sense of      
conventional power and importance4 ,his 
real possession of his  land is actually
 restricted to his capacity for         
appreciating its  beauty4 ,his real     
possession of his books is actually     
restricted to  his personal capacity for
 entering into the living secrets of    

these  things4 ,without such capacity1  
though he may call himself the          
possessor or owner1 he is really no     
better than an official  care-taker1    
whose province it is to preserve certain
 objects for  other people to enjoy1 or1
 shall we say1 for the permanent        
prevention of any people ever enjoying  
them4 ,and just as the  sensation of    
ownership or the idea of private        
property is unreal  and illusive with   
regard to land1 houses1 pictures1 books1
 and the  like so it is unreal and      
illusive with regard to human beings4   
,no  one1 however maliciously he may hug
 to himself his possessive  instinct1   
can ever actually and truly possess     
another living  person4    ,one's wife1 
one's paramour1 one's child1 one's      
slave1 are only  apparently and by a    
conventional illusion of language one's 
real  and actual possession4 ,that this 
is the case can be proved by the  fact  
that any of these human possessions has 
only to commit  suicide1 to escape for  

ever from such bondage4    ,the illusion
 of private property derives its vigour 
and its obstinate  vividness from two   
things2 from the apparent increase of   
power  and importance which accompanies 
it1 and from its association  with that 
necessary minimum of food1 shelter1     
clothing1 leisure1  comfort1 freedom1   
solitude1 and happiness1 which is       
certainly real1  essential and          
indispensable4    ,the universal wisdom 
of the ages bears witness to the fact   
that a  moderate poverty or a moderate  
competence is the ideal  outward state  
for a man to find himself in4 ,and this 
moderate  enjoyment of food1 shelter1   
clothing1 comfort1 leisure and          
emotional happiness1 is a thing which1  
in a scientifically organized           
communistic society1 would be within the
 reach of even the least  efficient4    
,the gloomy and melancholy argument     
brought forward by the  enemies of      
communism that under such a condition   
the  incentive of private initiative    

would disappear and that no other       
motive could take its place1 is an      
argument based upon the  assumption that
 human nature derives more inspiration  
from the  idea of dishonourable greed   
than it derives from the idea of        
honourable and useful labour2 which is  
an assumption so wholly  opposed to true
 psychology that it has only to be      
nakedly stated to  be seen in its       
complete absurdity4    ,what the        
psychologist1 interested in this abysmal
 struggle between  the idea of communism
 and the idea of private property1 has  
to  note is the nature and character of 
the particular individual who  brings   
forward this argument of the incentive  
of greed or the  initiative produced by 
greed4 ,such an individual will never be
  found to be a great man of science1 or
 a great artist or scholar or           
craftsman1 or a first-rate engineer1 or 
a highly trained artisan or  farmer or  
builder4    ,the individual bringing    
forward this argument of the initiative 

of  greed will invariably be found to be
 a member of what might be  called the  
parasitic class4 ,he will either be an  
intellectually  second-rate minister or 
politician or lawyer or professor1 or he
 will  be a commercial and financial    
middleman1 whose activities are         
entirely absorbed in the art of         
exploitation and who has never          
experienced the sensation of creative   
work4    ,if he does not himself belong 
to the unproductive and parasitic  class
 it will be easy to detect in him the   
unmistakable presence of  the emotion of
 malice4 ,nowhere is the emotion of     
malice more  entirely in harmony with   
itself than when it is engaged in       
attributing base and sordid motives to  
the energy of human nature4    ,this    
monstrous doctrine that human beings    
require the  incentive of greed and that
 without that incentive or initiative   
no one would engage in any kind of      
creative work1 is a doctrine  springing 
directly from the aboriginal malice of  

the soul2 and a  doctrine which is      
refuted every day by every honest1      
healthy and  honourable man and woman4  
,but all these are1 after all1 only     
negative proofs of the inevitable  rise1
 out of the very necessity of love's    
nature1 of the idea of  communism4 ,of  
all mortal instincts1 the possessive    
instinct is the  most insidious and most
 evil4 ,love is for ever being perverted
 and  polluted by this thing1 and turned
 from its true essence into  something  
other than itself4 ,this is equally true
 of love whether  such love is directed 
towards persons or towards ideas or     
things4    ,the possessive instinct     
springing directly from the aboriginal  
malice is perpetually deceiving itself4 
,apparently and superficially  what it  
aims at is the eternally static4 ,in    
other words what it aims  at is the     
retention in everlasting immobility of  
the person or the  idea or the thing    
into which it has dug its claws4        
,thus the maternal instinct1 in its evil

 mood1 aims at petrifying and  rendering
 immobile that helpless youthfulness in 
its offspring  which the possessive     
passion finds so provocative and        
exciting4  ,thus the lover in his evil  
mood1 desires that the object of his    
love  should remain in everlasting      
immobility1 an odalisque of eternal     
reciprocity4 ,that this evil desire     
takes the form of a longing that  the   
object of his love should eternally     
escape and eternally be  recaptured     
makes no difference in the basic        
feeling4    ,thus the collector of works
 of art--a being divided from the real  
lover of art by an impassable           
gulf--derives no pleasure from the      
beauty of anything until it has become  
his1 until he has hidden it  away from  
all the rest of the world4 ,thus the    
lover of nature1 in  his evil mood1     
derives no pleasure from the fitful     
magic of grass  and bowers and trees1   
until he feels happy in the mad illusion
 that  the very body of the earth1 even 

to the centre of the planet1 where      
these things grow1 is his private       
property and is something fixed1        
permanent1 static1 unchanging4 ,but all 
this desire for the eternally  static is
 superficial and self-deceiving4        
,analysed down to its very depth1 what  
this evil possessive instinct  desires  
is what all malice desires1 namely the  
annihilation of life4  ,pretending to   
itself that it desires to hug to itself1
 in eternal  immobility1 the thing it   
loves1 what in its secret essence it    
really  desires is that thing's absolute
 annihilation4 ,it wants to hug that    
thing so tightly to itself that the     
independence of the thing  completely   
vanishes4 ,it wants to destroy all      
separation between  itself and the      
thing1 and all liberty and freedom for  
the thing4 ,it  wants to eat the thing  
up and draw the thing into its own      
being4    ,its evil desire can never    
find complete satisfaction until it has 
killed the thing it loves and buried it 

within its own identity4 ,it  is this   
evil possessive element in sexual love1 
whether of a man for a  woman or a woman
 for a man1 which is the real evil in   
the sexual  passion4 ,it is this        
possessive instinct in maternal love    
which is the  evil element in the love  
of a mother for a child4 ,both these    
evil  emotions tend to make war upon    
life4    ,the mother1 in her secret     
sub-conscious passion1 desires to draw  
back her infant into her womb1 and      
restore it to its pre-natal             
physiological unity with herself4 ,the  
lover in his secret evil                
sub-consciousness1 desires to draw his  
beloved into ever-increasing  unity with
 himself1 until the separation between  
them is at an end  and her identity is  
lost in his identity4    ,the final     
issue1 therefore1 of this evil instinct 
of possession1 this  evil instinct of   
private property1 can never be anything 
else than  death4 ,death is what the    
ultimate emotion of malice desires2 and 

death is an actual result of the        
instinct of possession carried to an    
extreme limit4    ,the static immobility
 and complete unchangeableness which the
  possessive instinct pretends to itself
 is all it desires is really  therefore 
nothing but a mask for its desire to    
destroy4 ,the  possessive instinct is1  
in its profoundest abyss1 an amorist of 
death4  ,what it secretly loves is the  
dead2 for the dead alone can never      
defraud it of its satisfaction4         
,wherever love exercises its creative   
energy the possessive instinct relaxes  
its hold4 ,love expands and  diffuses   
itself4 ,love projects itself and merges
 itself ,the creative  impulse is always
 centrifugal4 ,the indrawing movement1  
the  centripetal movement1 is a sign of 
the presence of that inert malice  which
 would reduce all life to nothingness4  
,the creative energy of love issues     
inevitably in the idea  of communism4   
,the idea of communism implies the      
complete  abolition of private property2

 because private property1 whether it   
be property in persons or in things1 is 
essentially evil1 is indeed the  natural
 expression of the primordial inert     
malice1 in its hostility to  life4      
,under any realization1 in actual       
existence1 of the idea of  communism the
 creative energy finds itself free to   
expand and  dilate4 ,all that heavy     
clogging burden of the personally       
possessed being shaken off1 the natural 
fresh shoots of living  beauty rise to  
the surface like the new green growths  
of spring  when the winter's rubble has 
been washed away by the rain4    ,the   
accursed system of private property1    
rooted in the abysmal  malice of the    
human heart1 lies like a dead weight    
upon every  creative impulse4           
,everything is weighed and judged1      
everything is  valued and measured1 in  
relation to this4    ,modern ,law is the
 system of restriction by which we      
protect  private property4    ,modern   
religion is the system of compensation  

by which we  soften the difference      
between inequalities in private         
property4  ,modern politics is the      
system of compromise by which public    
opinion registers its devotion to       
private property4 ,modern morality  is  
the system of artificial inhibitions by 
which the human  conscience is perverted
 into regarding private property as the 
supreme good4    ,modern science is the 
system by which private property is     
increased and the uses of it made more  
complicated4 ,modern  truth is the      
system of traditional opinion by which  
the illusion of  private property is    
established as responsible thinking1 and
  serious thinking1 and ethical         
thinking4    ,modern art is the system  
by which what is most gross and vulgar  
in the popular taste is pandered to in  
the interests of private  property4     
,the creative energy in modern life is  
therefore restricted and  opposed at    
almost every point by the evil instinct 
to possess4 ,of  every new idea the     

question is asked1 does it conflict with
 private  property8    ,of every new    
aesthetic judgment the question is      
asked1 does it  conflict with private   
property8    ,of every new moral        
valuation the question is asked1 does it
  conflict with private property8 ,and  
the instinct which puts these  questions
 to every new movement of the creative  
energy is the  instinct of inert malice4
 ,the object of life can be regarded as 
nothing less than the realization of the
 vision of the ,immortals2  and it is   
only under a communistic state that the 
vision of the  ,immortals can be        
realized2 because only in such a state  
is that  petrified illusion of inert    
malice which we name private property   
thoroughly got rid of and destroyed4    
,,conclusion    ,no attempted           
articulation of the mystery1 life1 can  
be worthy of  being named a philosophy  
unless it has a definite bearing upon   
what1 in the midst of that confused     
manifold through which we  move1 we call

 the problem of conduct4    ,the mass of
 complicated impression1 which from our 
first dawn of  consciousness presses    
upon us1 falls into two main            
divisions--the  portion of it which     
comes under the power of our will and   
the  portion of it which is supplied by 
destiny or circumstance1 and  over which
 our will is impotent4    ,superficially
 speaking what we call conduct only     
applies to action2  but in a deeper     
sense it applies to that whole division 
of our  sensations1 emotions1 ideas1 and
 energies1 whether it take the form  of 
action or not1 which comes in any       
measure under the power of  the will4   
,such acts of the mind therefore1 as are
 purely intellectual  or emotional--as  
for instance what we call acts of       
faith--are as  much to be considered    
forms of conduct as those outer visible 
material gestures which manifest        
themselves in action4    ,this is no    
fantastic or extravagant fancy4 ,it is  
the old classical and  catholic         

doctrine1 to which not only such        
thinkers as ,plato and  ,spinoza have   
affixed their seal1 but which is at the 
root of the  deepest instincts of       
,buddhists1 ,christians1 ,epicureans1   
,stoics1 and  the mystics of all ages4  
,it may be summed up by the statement   
that  life is an art towards which the  
will must be directed2 and that the     
larger portion of life manifests itself 
in interior contemplation and  only the 
smaller part of it in overt action4     
,in both these spheres1 in the sphere of
 contemplation as much as in  the sphere
 of action1 there exists that given     
element of destiny or  circumstance1 in 
the presence of which the will is       
powerless4 ,but  in regard to this given
 element it must be remembered that no  
individual soul can ever1 to the end of 
time1 be absolutely certain  that in any
 particular case1 whether his own or    
another's1 he has  finally arrived at   
this irreducible fatality4    ,the      
extraordinary phenomenon of what        

religious people call  conversion1 a    
phenomenon which implies a change of    
heart so  unexpected and startling as to
 seem miraculous1 is a proof of how     
unwise it is to be in any particular    
case rigidly dogmatic as  to where the  
sunken rock of destiny really begins4   
,so many  appearances have taken the    
shape of this finality1 so many mirages 
of false fate have paralysed our will1  
that it is wisest to believe  to the    
very end of our days that our attitude  
to destiny can change  and modify       
destiny4    ,assuming then that the     
articulation of the mystery of life     
which  has been outlined in this book1  
under the name of the philosophy  of the
 complex vision1 must remain the barest 
of intellectual  hypotheses until it has
 manifested itself in conduct2 and      
assuming further that this conduct      
includes the whole of that  portion of  
life1 whether contemplative or active1  
which can be  reduced to a fine art by  
the effort of the will2 the question    

emerges--what kind of effort must the   
will make1 both interiorally  and       
exteriorally1 if it desire to respond1  
by a rhythmic reciprocity1  to the      
vision which the intellect has accepted8
    ,it must be remembered that the     
vision upon which this philosophy       
depends and from which it derives its   
primordial assumptions is  not the      
normal vision of the human soul4 ,the   
philosophy of the  complex vision       
rejects the normal vision of the human  
soul on  behalf of the abnormal vision  
of the human soul4 ,its point of view1  
in this matter1 is that the human soul  
only arrives at the secret of  the      
universe in those exalted1 heightened1  
exceptional and rare  moments1 when all 
the multiform activities of the soul's  
life  achieve a musical consummation4   
,its point of view is that since        
philosophy1 at its deepest and highest1 
necessarily becomes art2  and since art 
is a rare and difficult thing requiring 
infinite  adjustments and               

reconciliations2 what philosophy has    
really to use1  in formulating any sort 
of adequate system1 is the memory of    
such  rare moments after they have      
passed away4 ,the point of view from    
which we have made all our basic        
assumptions is the point of view  that  
the secret of the universe is only      
revealed to man in rare  moments of     
ecstasy2 and that what man's reason has 
to do is to  gather together in memory  
the broken and scattered fragments of   
these moments and out of this residuum  
build up and round off1 as  best it may1
 some coherent interpretation of life4  
,from all this it follows that the first
 rhythmic reply of the human  will to   
the vision to serve is a passionate act 
of what might be  called contemplative  
tension1 in the direction of the        
reviving of  such memories1 and in the  
direction of preparing the ground for   
the return of another moment of vision  
similar in nature to those  that have   
gone before4    ,the secret of this act 

of inward contemplative tension we have 
already analysed4 ,we have found it to  
consist in a complex of all  the        
primordial energies of the soul1        
focussed and concentrated into  what we 
have compared to a pyramidal apex-point 
by the power of  a certain synthetic    
movement of the soul itself which we    
have  named the apex-thought4    ,the   
reply of the will1 therefore1 to the    
vision it desires to serve  consists of 
a gathering together of all the energies
 of the soul into  a rhythmic harmony4  
,it may well be that this premeditated  
and  deliberately constructed harmony   
will have to wait for many days  and    
years without experiencing the magic    
touch of the soul's  apex-thought4 ,for 
though we may passionately desire the   
touch of  this--aye1 and pray for it    
with a most desperate prayer6--it is of 
the  very nature of this mysterious     
thing to require for the moment of its  
activity something else than the        
contemplative tension which  has        

prepared the ground for its appearance4 
,for this synthetic  apex-thought1 which
 is the soul's highest power1 is only in
 a very  limited sense within the power 
of the will4    ,the whole matter is    
obscure and perhaps inexplicable2 but it
 seems  as if a place were required here
 for some philosophic equivalent of     
that free gift of the ,gods which1 in   
theological language1 goes by  the name 
of grace4 ,long and long may the soul   
wait--with the  hardly won rhythm of its
 multiform complex poised in vibrant    
expectation--before the moment arrives  
in which the apex-thought  can strike   
its note of ecstasy4    ,in the time and
 place of such a moment1 in the         
accumulation of  conditions which render
 such a moment eternal1 chance and      
circumstance may play a prominent part4 
,there is1 however1 an  inveterate      
instinct in humanity--not perhaps to be 
altogether  disregarded--according to   
the voice of which this unaccountable   
element of chance and circumstance1 or1 

shall we say1 of destiny1  is itself the
 result of the interposed influence of  
the invisible  companions4 ,but whether 
this be so or not1 the fact remains that
  some alien element of indeterminable  
chance or circumstance or  destiny does 
frequently enter into that accumulation 
of obscure  conditions which seem to be 
necessary before the magic of the       
apex-thought is roused4    ,this        
preparing of the ground1 this deliberate
 concentration of the  soul's energies1 
is the first movement of the will in    
answer to the  attraction of the eternal
 vision discerned so far only as a      
remote  ideal4 ,the second movement of  
the will has been already implied  in   
the first1 and is only a lifting into   
clear consciousness of what  led the    
soul to make its initial effort4 ,i     
speak of the part played by  the will in
 the abysmal struggle between love and  
malice4 ,this  struggle was really      
implicit1 in the beginning1 in the      
effort the will  made to focus the      

multiform energies of the complex       
vision4 ,but  directly some measure of  
insight into the secret of life has     
followed upon this effort1 or directly1 
if the soul's good fortune has  been    
exceptional1 its great illuminative     
moment has been reached1  the will finds
 itself irresistibly plunged into this  
struggle1 finds  itself inevitably      
ranged1 on one side or the other1 of the
 ultimate  duality4    ,that the first  
effort of the will was largely what     
might be called an  intellectual one1   
though its purpose was to make use of   
all the  soul's attributes together1 is 
proved by the fact that it is possible  
for human souls to be possessed of      
formidable insight into the secret  of  
life and yet to use that insight for    
evil rather than for good4    ,but the  
second movement of the will1 of which ,i
 am now speaking1  reveals without a    
shadow of ambiguity on which side of the
  eternal contest the personality in    
question has resolved to  throw its     

weight4 ,if1 in this second movement1   
the will answers1  with a reciprocal    
gathering of itself together1 the now   
far clearer  attraction of the vision   
attained by its original effort1 it will
 be  found to range itself on the side  
of love against the power of  malice4   
,if1 on the contrary1 having made use of
 its original vision to  understand the 
secret of this struggle1 it allies      
itself with the power  of malice against
 love1 it will be found to produce the  
spectacle of  a soul of illuminated     
intellectual insight deliberately       
concentrated  on evil rather than good4 
,but once irrevocably committed to the  
power of that creative  energy which we 
call love1 the will1 though it may have 
innumerable lapses and moments of       
troubled darkness1 never  ceases from   
its abysmal struggle4 ,for this is the  
conclusion of the  whole matter4 ,when  
we speak of the eternal duality as      
consisting  in a struggle between love  
and malice1 what we really mean is that 

the human soul1 concentrated into the   
magnet-point of a  passionately         
conscious will1 is found varying and    
quivering  between the pole of love and 
the pole of malice4    ,the whole drama 
is contained within the circle of       
personality2 and  it would be of a      
similar nature if the personality in    
question were  confronted by no other   
thing in the universe except the        
objective  mystery4 ,i mean that the    
soul would be committed to a struggle   
between its creative energy and its     
inert malice even if there were  no     
other living persons in the world       
towards whom this love and  this malice 
could be directed4    ,i have compared  
the substance of the soul to an         
arrowhead of  concentrated flames1 the  
shaft of which is wrapped in            
impenetrable  darkness while the point  
of it pierces the objective mystery4    
,from  within the impenetrable darkness 
of this invisible arrow-shaft the  very 
substance of the soul is projected2 and 

in its projection it  assumes the form  
of these flames2 and the name ,i have   
given to  this mysterious outpouring of 
the soul is emotion1 whereof the        
opposing poles of contending force are  
respectively love and  malice4 ,the     
psycho-material substance of the        
invisible soul-monad  is itself divided 
into this eternally alternating duality1
 of which the  projected flames1 or     
manifested energies are the constant    
expression4 ,each of these energies has 
as its concrete material1  so to speak1 
the one projected substance of the soul2
 and is thus  composed of the very stuff
 of emotion4    ,the eternal duality of 
this emotion takes various forms in     
these  various manifestations of its one
 substance4 ,thus the energy or  flame  
of the aesthetic sense resolves itself  
into the opposed  vibrations of the     
beautiful and the hideous4 ,thus the    
energy1 or  flame1 of the pure reason   
resolves itself into the opposed        
vibrations of the true and the false4   

,thus the energy1 or flame1 of          
conscience resolves itself into the     
opposed vibrations of the good  and the 
evil4    ,although the remaining        
energies of the soul1 beyond those ,i   
have  just named--such as instinct1     
intuition1 imagination1 and the like--  
are less definitely divided up among    
those three primordial ideas  which we  
discern as truth1 beauty1 and goodness1 
they are  subject1 nevertheless1 since  
their substance is the stuff of emotion1
  to the same duality of love and       
malice4    ,it is not difficult to see  
how this duality turns upon itself in   
human  instinct1 in human imagination1  
and in human intuition for the  creative
 impulse in all these energies finds    
itself opposed by the  impulse to resist
 creation4 ,it is when the will is in   
question that we  are compelled to      
notice a difference4 ,for the will1     
although itself a  primal energy or     
projection of the soul1 is in its       
inherent nature set  apart from the     

other activities of the soul4    ,the   
will is that particular aspect of the   
soul-monad by means of  which it        
consciously intensifies or relaxes the  
outward pressure of  emotion4 ,from the 
point of view of the complex vision1 the
 will1  although easily differentiated  
from both consciousness and  emotion1   
cannot be imagined as existing apart    
from these4    ,every living organism   
possesses consciousness in some degree1 
emotion in some degree1 and will in some
 degree2 and the part  played by the    
will in the complicated nexus of the    
soul's life may  be compared to that of 
a mechanical spring in some kind of a   
machine4 ,in this case1 however1 the    
spring of the machine is fed by  the oil
 of consciousness and releases its force
 upon the cogs and  wheels of           
contradictory emotion4    ,no theory of 
psychology which attempts to eliminate  
the will by  the substitution of pure   
motive playing upon pure action is      
acceptable to us4 ,and such an          

elimination is unacceptable1  because1  
in the ultimate insight of the complex  
vision turned round  upon itself1 the   
soul is aware of a definite recognizable
  phenomenon which although present to  
consciousness is different  from        
consciousness1 and although intensifying
 and lessoning  emotion is different    
from emotion4    ,in regard to this     
problem of conduct1 which ,i refuse to  
interpret  as anything short of the     
whole art of life1 contemplative as well
 as  active1 the will1 being1 so to say1
 the main-spring of the soul1  naturally
 plays the most important part4 ,the    
prominence given1 in  moral tradition1  
to the struggle of the will with sexual 
desire is one  of the melancholy        
evidences as to how seldom the complex  
vision  of the soul has been allowed    
full play4    ,what is called asceticism
 or puritanism is the result of an      
over-balanced concentration of the will 
upon the phenomena of  sensation alone4 
,whereas in the rhythmic balance of the 

soul's  complete faculties1 what the    
ideal vision calls upon the will to do1 
is not to concentrate upon repressing   
sensation but to concentrate  upon      
repressing malice and intensifying love4
    ,sensation is only1 after all1 one  
of the energies1 or projected  flames1  
of the soul1 in its reaction to the     
objective mystery4 ,but  emotion is1 as 
we have seen1 the very soul itself1     
poured forth in its  profoundest        
essence1 and eternally divided against  
itself in the  ultimate duality4        
,emotion is the psychic element which is
 the real  substratum of sensation1 just
 as it is the real substratum of reason 
and taste4 ,so that when the will       
concentrates itself1 as it  has so often
 done and so often been commended for   
doing1 upon  sensation alone1 it is     
neglecting and betraying its main       
function1  which is the repressing of   
malice and the liberation of love4      
,the deliberate repression of sensation 
does1 it is true1 sometimes  destroy our

 response to sensation2 but it more     
often intensifies the  soul's           
sensational life4 ,it is only when the  
will is concentrated upon  the          
intensifying of love and the suppression
 of malice that  sensation falls into   
its right place in the resultant rhythm4
 ,there is  then no question of either  
suppressing it or of indulging it4 ,it  
comes and goes as naturally1 as easily1 
as inevitably1 as the rain or  the snow4
    ,when the will is concentrated upon 
the suppression of malice and  the      
intensifying of love all those cults of 
sensation which we call  vice naturally 
relinquish their hold upon us4 ,the fact
 that women  so rarely indulge in the   
worst excesses of these cults is due to 
the  fact that in their closeness to    
nature they follow more easily the      
rhythmic flow of life and are less      
easily tempted to isolate and  detach   
from the rest any particular feeling4   
,but women pay the  penalty for this    
advantage when it comes to the question 

of the  illuminative moments of the     
apex-thought4 ,for in these high1 rare  
and abnormal moments1 the ordinary ebb  
and flow of life is  interrupted2 and   
something emerges which resembles the   
final  effluence of a work of art that  
has touched eternity4 ,the rhythmic     
movement of the apex-thought1 when under
 such exceptional  conditions it evokes 
this effluence1 rises for a moment out  
of the  flux of nature and gathers      
itself into a monumental vision1 calm   
and quiet and immortal4 ,it is more     
difficult for women to attain  this     
vision than for men2 because1 while     
under normal conditions  the play of    
their energies is better balanced and   
more harmonious  than man's1 it is      
harder for them to detach themselves    
from the ebb  and flow of nature's      
chemistry1 harder for them to attain the
  personal isolation which lends itself 
to the supreme creative  act4 ,but while
 such exceptional moments seem to come  
more  frequently to men than to women1  

and while a greater number of  the      
supreme artists and prophets of the     
world are of the male sex1  it cannot be
 denied that the average woman1 in every
 generation1  leads a more human and a  
more dignified life than the average    
man4 ,and she does this because the     
special labours which occupy  her1 such 
as the matter of food1 of cleanliness1  
of the making and  mending of clothes1  
of the care of children and animals and 
flowers1 of the handling of animate and 
inanimate things with a  view to the    
increase of life and beauty upon the    
earth1 are labours  which have gathered 
about them1 during their long descent of
 the  centuries1 a certain symbolic and 
poetic distinction which nothing  but   
immemorial association with mankind's   
primal necessities is  able to give4    
,the same dignity of immemorial         
association hangs1 it is true1  about   
such masculine labours as are connected 
with the tilling of  the earth and the  
sailing of the sea4 ,certain ancient and

 eternally  necessary handicrafts1 such 
as cannot be superseded by machinery1   
take their place with these4 ,but since 
man's particular power of  separating   
himself from ,nature and dominating     
,nature by means  of logical reason1    
physical science and mechanical devices1
 puts  him in the position of continuity
 breaking up those usages of the  ages  
upon which the ritualistic element in   
life depends1 he has  come1 by          
inevitable evolution1 to be much more   
the child of the  new and the arbitrary 
than woman is2 and in his divorce from  
immemorial necessity has lost much of   
that symbolic distinction  which the    
life of woman retains4    ,it may thus  
be said that while the determining will 
in the soul of  the average woman ought 
to be directed towards that exceptional 
creative energy which lifts the soul out
 of the flux of ,nature and  gives it a 
glimpse of the vision of the immortals1 
the determining  will in the soul of the
 average man ought to be directed       

towards  the heightening of his ordinary
 consciousness so as to bring this up   
to the level of the flux of nature and  
to penetrate it with the  memory of the 
creative moments which he has had4      
,in both cases the material with which  
the will has to work is the  emotions of
 love and of malice2 but in the case of 
man this malice  tends to destroy the   
poetry of common life1 while in the case
 of  woman it tends to obstruct and     
embarrass her soul when the magic  of   
the apex-thought stirs within her and an
 opportunity arises for  that creative  
act which puts the complex vision in    
touch with the  vision of the ,gods4    
,the philosophy of the complex vision   
does not discover in its  examination of
 the psycho-material organism of the    
soul any  differentiated faculties which
 can be paralleled by the               
differentiated members of the human     
body4 ,the organic unity of  the soul is
 retained1 in undissipated              
concentration1 throughout  whatever     

movement or action or stress of energy  
it is led to make4  ,the totality of the
 soul becomes will1 or the totality of  
the soul  becomes reason1 or the        
totality of the soul becomes intuition1 
in  the same way as a falling body of   
water1 or the projected stream of  a    
fountain becomes whatever dominant      
colour of sky or air or  atmosphere     
penetrates it and transforms it4 ,what  
we have called  emotion1 made up of the 
duality of love and malice1 is something
  much more integral than this4 ,for the
 totality of the soul1 which  becomes   
reason1 consciousness1 intuition1       
conscience1 and the  like1 is always    
composed of the very stuff and matter of
 emotion4  ,when we say the totality of 
the soul becomes imagination or         
intuition it is the same thing as though
 we said the emotion of  the soul       
becomes imagination or intuition4       
,emotion is our name1 in fact1 for the  
psycho-material stuff out of  which the 
organic substratum of the soul is made4 

,and since this  stuff is eternally     
divided against itself into a positive  
and a  negative pole we are compelled to
 assert that our ultimate  analysis of  
the system of things is dualistic1 in   
spite of the fact  that the whole drama 
takes place under the one comprehensive 
unity of  space4    ,when we say that   
the totality of the soul becomes will1  
reason1  imagination1 conscience1       
intuition and so forth1 we do not mean  
that by becoming any one of these single
 things it is prevented  from becoming  
others4 ,we are confronted here by a    
phenomenon  of organic life which1      
however inexplicable1 is of frequent    
occurrence in human experience4 ,the    
ecclesiastical dogma of the  ,trinity is
 no fantastic invention of this or the  
other theologian4 ,it  is an inevitable 
definition of a certain body of human   
experience to  which it affords a       
plausible explanation4    ,what the     
philosophy of the complex vision        
attempts to do is  to analyse into its  

component parts that confused mass of   
contradictory impressions to which the  
soul awakens as soon as it  becomes     
conscious of itself at all4 ,the older  
philosophers begin  their adventurous   
journey by the discovery and            
proclamation of  some particular clue1  
or catchword1 or general principle1 out 
of the  rational necessity of whose     
content they seek to evoke that living  
and breathing universe which impinges   
upon us all4 ,modern  philosophy tends  
to reject these ,absolute clues1 these  
simplifying secrets of the system of    
things2 but in rejecting these  it      
either substitutes its own hypothetical 
generalizations1 such as  spirit1       
life-force1 or cosmic energy1 or it     
contents itself with  noting1 as        
,william ,james does1 the more objective
 grouping of  states of consciousness1  
as they weave their pattern on the face 
of  the swirling waters1 without regard 
to any substantial soul whose           
background of organic life gives these  

states their concrete  unity4    ,the   
philosophy of the complex vision differs
 from the older  philosophies in that it
 frankly and confessedly starts with    
that  general situation which is also   
its goal4 ,its movement is therefore a  
perpetual setting-forth and a perpetual 
return2 a setting forth  towards a newly
 created vision of the world1 and a     
return to that  ideal of such a vision  
which has been implicit from the        
beginning4  ,and this general situation 
from which it starts and to which it    
returns is nothing less than the huge   
spectacle of the visible  universe      
confronting the individual soul and     
implying the kindred  existence of      
innumerable other souls4 ,the fact that 
what the  complex vision reveals is the 
primary importance of personality  does 
not detract in the least degree from the
 unfathomable  mysteriousness of the    
objective universe ,and it does not     
detract  from this because the          
unfathomableness of the universe is not 

a  rational deduction drawn from the    
logical idea of what an  objective      
universe would be like if it existed1   
but is a direct human  experience       
verified at every movement of the soul4 
,the universe  revealed to us by the    
complex vision is a universe compounded 
of  the concentrated visions of all the 
souls that compose it1 a universe  which
 in its eternal beauty and hideousness  
has received the  imprimatur of the     
immortal ,gods4    ,the fact that such a
 universe is in part a creation of the  
mind1 and  in part a discovery made by  
the mind when it flings itself upon  the
 unknown1 does not lessen or diminish   
the strangeness or  unfathomableness of 
life4 ,the fact that the ultimate       
reality of such  a universe is to be    
found in the psycho-material            
substratum--where  mind and matter      
become one--of the individual soul1 does
 not  lessen or diminish the magical    
beauty or cruel terribleness of life4   
,what we name by the name of matter is  

not less a permanent  human experience1 
because apart from the creative energy  
of some  personal soul we are not able  
to conceive of its existence4    ,the   
philosophy of the complex vision reduces
 everything that  exists to an eternal  
action and re-action between the        
individual  soul and the objective      
mystery4 ,this action and reaction is   
itself  reproduced in the eternal       
duality1 or ebb and flow1 which         
constitutes the living soul itself4 ,and
 because the psycho-material  substance 
of the soul must be considered as       
identical1 on its  psychic side1 with   
the spiritual substance of the universe 
medium through which all souls come into
 contact with one  another1 and         
identical on its material side with the 
objective  mystery which is expressed in
 all bodies1 it is impossible to avoid  
the conclusion that the individual      
personality is surrounded by an         
elemental and universal something       
similar to itself1 dominated  as itself 

is dominated by the omnipresent circle  
of ,space4    ,this universal something 
must be regarded1 in spite of its double
  nature1 as one and the same1 since it 
is dominated by one and  the same space4
 ,the fact that the material aspect of  
this  psycho-material element is        
constantly plastic to the creative      
energy of  the soul does not reduce it  
to the level of an illusion4 ,the mind  
recreates everything it touches2 but the
 mind cannot work in a  vacuum4 ,there  
must be something for the mind to touch4
 ,what  the soul touches1 therefore1 as 
soon as it becomes conscious of  itself 
is1 in the first place1 the material    
element of its own inmost  nature2 in   
the second place the material element   
which makes it  possible for all bodies 
to come in contact with one another2 and
 in  the third place the material       
element which is the original           
potentiality of all universes and which 
has been named the  objective mystery4  
,to call this universal material        

element1 thus manifested in a           
three-fold form1 an illusion of the     
human mind is to destroy the  integrity 
of language4 ,nothing can justly be     
called an illusion which  is a permanent
 and universal human experience4 ,the   
name we select  for this experience is  
of no importance4 ,we can name it       
matter1  or we can name it energy1 or   
movement1 or force4 ,the  experience    
remains the same1 by whatever name we   
indicate it to  one another4    ,the    
philosophy of the complex vision opposes
 itself to all  materialistic systems by
 its recognition of personality as the  
ultimate basis of life2 and it opposes  
itself to all idealistic systems  by its
 recognition of an irreducible material 
element which is the  object of all     
thought but which is also1 in the       
substratum of the  soul-monad1 fused and
 blended with thought itself4    ,we now
 arrive at the conclusion of our        
philosophical journey2 and  we find it  
to be the identical point or situation  

from which we  originally started4 ,once
 and for all we are compelled to ask    
ourselves the question1 whether since   
personality is the ultimate  secret of  
life and since all individual           
personalities1 whether human1           
sub-human1 or super-human1 are          
confronted by one material  element     
dominated by one universal material     
space1 it is not  probable that this    
material element should itself be1 as it
 were1  the outward body of one         
elemental soul8 ,such an elemental  soul
 would have no connexion with the       
,absolute ,being of the  great          
metaphysical systems4 ,for in those     
systems the ,absolute  ,being is        
essentially impersonal1 and can in no   
sense be regarded as  having anything   
corresponding to a body4    ,but this   
hypothetical soul of the ethereal       
element would be just as  definitely    
expressed in a bodily form as are the   
personalities of  men1 beasts1 plants   
and stars4 ,it is impossible to avoid1  

now we are  at the end of our           
philosophic journey1 one swift glance   
backward  over the travelled road2 and  
it is impossible to avoid asking        
ourselves the question whether this     
universal material element  which       
confronts every individual soul and     
surrounds every  individual body may not
 itself be the body of an universal     
living  personality8 ,is such a         
question1 so presented to us for the    
last time1  as we look back over our    
long journey1 a kind of faint and       
despairing gesture made by the phantom  
of the idea of ,god1 or is  it the      
obscure stirring of such an idea1 from  
beneath the weight of  all our argument1
 as it refuses to remain buried8 ,it    
seems to me  much more than this4       
,the complex vision seems to indicate in
 this matter that we have a  right to   
make the hypothetical outlines of this  
thing as clear and  emphatic as we can2 
as clear and emphatic1 and also1 by a   
rigid  method of limitation1 as little  

overstressed and as little  overpowering
 as we can4    ,the question that       
presses upon us1 therefore1 as we glance
  backward over our travelled road1 is  
whether or not1 by the logic of  our    
doctrine of personality1 we are bound to
 predicate some sort of  elemental soul 
as the indwelling personal monad        
belonging to  the universal material    
element even as any other soul belongs  
to its  body4    ,does it not1 we might 
ask1 seem unthinkable that any portion  
of  this universal element should remain
 suspended in a vacuum  without the     
indwelling presence of a definite       
personality of which  it is the         
expression8 ,are we not led to the      
conclusion that the  whole mass and     
volume of this material element1 namely 
the  material element in every living   
soul1 the material element which  binds 
all bodies together1 and the material   
element which  composes the objective   
mystery1 must make up in its total      
weight  and pressure the body1 so to    

speak1 of some sort of universal        
elemental soul8    ,and because no      
personality1 whether universal or       
individual1 can  be regarded as         
absolute1 since perpetual creation is   
the essence of  life1 must it not follow
 that this elemental personality must   
itself  eternally confront and be       
confronted by an unfathomable depth of  
objective mystery which it perpetually  
invades with its creative  energy but   
which it can never exhaust1 or touch the
 limit of8 ,the  body of this being     
would be in fact its own objective      
mystery1  while our objective mystery   
would be recognized as disappearing  in 
the same reality4 ,does this hypothesis 
reduce the tragedy  of life to a        
negligible quantity1 or afford a basis  
upon  which any easy optimism could be  
reared8 ,it does not appear so4         
,wherever personality existed1 there the
 ultimate duality would  inevitably     
reign4 ,and just as with the invisible  
companions what  is evil and malicious  

in us attracts towards us what is evil  
and  malicious in them so with the      
elemental personality1 whatever  were   
evil and malicious in us would attract  
towards us whatever  were evil and      
malicious in it4 ,the elemental         
personality would not  necessarily be   
better1 or nobler1 or wiser than we are4
 ,there would  be no particular reason  
why we should worship it1 or give it    
praise4  ,for if it really existed it   
could no more help being what it is than
  we can help being what we are1 or the 
immortal gods can help  being what they 
are4    ,that such an elemental         
personality would have to be regarded as
 a  kind of demi-god can hardly be      
denied2 but there would be no  reason   
for asserting that our highest moments  
of inspiration were  due to its love for
 us4 ,as with the rest of the immortals 
it would  be sometimes possessed by love
 and sometimes possessed by  malice1 and
 we should have not the least authority 
for saying that  our supreme moments of 

insight were due to its inspiration4    
,sometimes they would be so4 ,on the    
other hand sometimes our  most baffled1 
clouded1 inert1 moribund1 and wretched  
moments  would be due to its influence4 
,such an elemental personality  would   
have no advantage over any other        
personality1 except in the  fact of     
being elemental2 and this would give it 
no absolute  advantage1 since its       
universality would be eternally         
challenged by  the unfathomable element 
in its own being4 ,the body of such an  
elemental personality would have to be  
regarded as the actual  objective       
mystery which confronts both men and    
gods4 ,it would  have to be regarded as 
possessing a complex vision even as     
every  other personality possesses it2  
and its soul-monad would have to  be as 
concrete1 actual1 and real1 as every    
other soul monad4 ,an  ethereal ,being  
of this kind1 whose body were composed  
of the  whole mass of the material      
element which binds all bodies          

together1 would have no closer connexion
 with the soul of man  than any other   
invisible companion4 ,the soul of man   
could be  drawn to it in love or could  
be repelled from it by malice1 just as  
it  can be drawn to any other living    
thing or repelled by any other  living  
thing4    ,that the human race should   
have sometimes made the attempt to      
associate such an universal personality 
with the ideal figure of  ,christ is    
natural enough4 ,but such an association
 wins no sanction  or authority from the
 revelation of the complex vision4 ,in  
one  sense the figure of ,christ1 as the
 life of ,jesus reveals it1 is a pure   
symbol4 ,in another sense1 as we become 
aware of his love in the  depths of our 
own soul1 he is the most real and actual
 of all living  beings4 ,but neither as 
a symbol of the immortal vision1 nor as 
himself an immortal ,god1 have we any   
right to regard ,christ as  identical   
with this elemental personality4 ,christ
 is far more  important to us and       

precious to us than such a being could  
possibly  be4    ,and just as this      
hypothetical personality1 whose body is 
the  material element which binds all   
bodies together1 must not be  confused  
with the figure of ,christ1 so also it  
is not to be confused  with either of   
those primordial projections of pure    
reason1 working  in isolation1 which we 
have noted as the synthetic unity of    
apperception and the universal self1    
,the elemental personality1  if it      
existed1 would be something quite       
different from the universal  self of   
the logical reason4 ,for the universal  
self of the logical  reason includes and
 transcends all the other selves1       
whereas the  elemental personality which
 has the whole weight of the world's    
material element as its body could not  
transcend1 or in any way  subsume the   
least of individual things except in so 
far as the  material element which is   
its body would surround all living      
things  and bring them into contact with

 one another4    ,the elemental         
personality could in no sense be called 
an  over-soul1 because1 so far from     
being an universal self made up of      
particular individual selves1 it would  
be a completely detached  soul1 only    
related to other souls in the sense that
 all other souls  come into contact with
 one another through the medium of its  
spiritual substance4    ,according to   
the revelation of the complex vision the
 question of  the existence or          
non-existence of an elemental soul of   
this kind has  no relation to the       
problem of human conduct4 ,for the      
material  element in the individual soul
 is fused in individual consciousness2  
and therefore the spiritual medium which
 surrounds the individual  soul cannot  
impinge upon or penetrate the soul which
 it surrounds4  ,and this conclusion is 
borne witness to in all manner of common
  human experience4 ,for although we all
 feel dimly aware of vast  gulfs of     
spiritual evil and vast gulfs of        

spiritual beauty in the world  about us1
 this knowledge only becomes definite   
and concrete when  we think of such     
gifts as being entirely made up of      
personal  moods1 the moods of mortal    
men1 of immortal gods1 and the  moods1  
it may be1 of this elemental            
personality4    ,but the problem of     
conduct is not the problem of getting   
into  harmony with any particular       
individual soul4 ,it is the problem of  
getting into harmony with the creative  
vision in our own soul1  which when     
attained turns out to be identical with 
the creative  vision of every other soul
 in the universe4 ,the conception of the
  elemental personality does not depend1
 as does the existence of the           
immortals1 upon our consciousness of    
something objective and  eternal in our 
primordial ideas4 ,it depends upon our  
suspicion that  no extended mass of what
 we call matter1 however attenuated and 
ethereal1 can exist suspended in        
soulless space4    ,some attenuated form

 of matter our universe demands1 as the 
universal medium by means of which all  
separate bodies come  into touch with   
each other2 but it is hard to imagine an
 universal  medium hung1 as it were1 in 
an enormous vacuum4 ,such a medium      
would seem to demand1 as a reason for   
its existence1 some living  centre of   
energy such as that which a personal    
soul can alone  supply4 ,it is in this  
way we arrive at the hypothetical       
conception of  the elemental soul4      
,and our hypothesis is borne out by one 
very curious human  experience4 ,i mean 
the experience which certain natures    
have of a  demonic or magnetic force in 
life which can be drawn upon either  for
 good or for evil1 and which seems in   
some strange sense to be  diffused round
 us in the universal air4 ,goethe       
frequently refers to  this demonic      
element2 and others1 besides ,goethe1   
have had  experience of it4 ,if our     
hypothetical1 elemental personality is  
to be  regarded as a sort of demi-god1  

lower than the immortals and  perhaps   
lower than man1 we may associate it with
 those vague  intimations of a sub-human
 life around us which seems in some     
weird sense distinct from the life of   
any particular thing we know4    ,the   
elemental personality1 in this case1    
would be the cause of  those various    
psychic manifestations which have       
sometimes  been fantastically accounted 
for as the work of so-called            
elementals4    ,but the supreme moments 
of human consciousness1 when the        
apex-thought of the complex vision is   
shooting its arrows of flame  into the  
darkness1 are but slightly concerned    
with the demonic  sub-human life of     
hypothetical elemental personalities4   
,they are  concerned with the large1    
deep1 magical spectacle of the great    
cosmic drama as it unrolls itself in    
infinite perspective4 ,they are         
concerned with the unfathomable         
struggle1 more terrible1 more           
beautiful1 more real1 than anything else

 in life1 between the  resistant power  
of malice and the creative power of     
love4 ,nor do  they see1 these moments1 
the end of this long drama4 ,the soul   
creates and is baffled in its creations4
 ,the soul loves and is baffled  in its 
loving4 ,good and evil grow strangely   
mingled as they  wrestle in the         
bottomless abyss4 ,and ever1 above us   
and beneath  us1 the same immense space 
spreads out its encircling arms4 ,and   
ever1 out of the invisible1 the         
beckoning of immortal beauty leads  us  
forward4 ,pain turns into pleasure2 and 
pleasure turns into pain4  ,misery1 deep
 as the world1 troubles the roots of our
 being4  ,happiness1 deep as the world1 
floods us with a flood like the  waves  
of the ocean4 ,all our philosophy is    
like the holding up of a  little candle 
against a great wind4 ,soon1 soon the   
candle is blown  out3 and the immense   
,perhaps rolls its waters above our     
heads4    ,the aboriginal malice against
 which the ,gods struggle is never      

overcome4 ,but who can resist asking the
 question--supposing that  drama once   
ended1 that eternal duality once        
reconciled1 would  annihilation be the  
last word or would something else1      
something  undreamed of1 something      
unguessed at1 something impossible1     
irrational1 contrary to every philosophy
 that has ever sprung from  the human   
brain1 take the place of what we call   
life and substitute  some new organ of  
research for the vision which we have   
called  complex8    ,who can say8 ,the  
world is still young and the immortal   
,gods are  still young2 and our business
 at present is with life rather than    
beyond-life4 ,confused and difficult are
 the ways of our mortality2  and after  
much philosophizing we seem to be only  
more conscious  than ever that the      
secret of the world is in something else
 than  wisdom4    ,the secret of the    
world is not in something that one can  
hold in  one's hand1 or about which one 
can say ,lo1 here6 or ,lo1 there6  ,the 

secret of the world is in the whole     
spectacle of the world1 seen  under the 
emotion of one single moment4 ,but the  
memory of such  a moment may be diffused
 over all the chances and accidents of  
our life and may be restored to us in a 
thousand faint and shadowy  intimations4
 ,it may be restored to us in broken    
glimpses1 in little  stirrings and      
ripples on the face of the water1 in    
rumours and  whispers among the         
margin-reeds1 in sighings of the wind   
across  the sea-bank4 ,it may be        
restored to us in sudden flickerings of 
unearthly light thrown upon common and  
familiar things4 ,it may  be restored to
 us when the shadow of death falls upon 
the path we  have to follow4 ,it may be 
restored to us when the common ritual   
and the ordinary usages of life gather  
to themselves a sudden  dignity from the
 presence of great joy or of tragic     
grief4 ,for the  stream of life flows   
deeper than any among us realize or     
know2  deeper1 and with more tragic     

import2 deeper1 and with more secret    
hope4 ,we are all born1 even the most   
lucky among us1 under a  disastrous     
eclipse4 ,we all contain something of   
that perilous  ingredient which belongs 
to the unplumbed depths4 ,deep calls    
unto deep within us2 and in the circle  
of our mortal personality an  immortal  
drama unrolls itself4 ,waves of         
unredeemed chaos roll  upward from the  
abysses of our souls1 and like a        
brackish tide  contend with the         
water-springs of life4    ,over the     
landscape of our vision lies a shadow1 a
 rarely lifted  shadow1 the shadow of   
our own malice4 ,but the human race has 
not been destined to carry on the       
unending struggle alone4 ,its           
subjective human vision has touched in  
the darkness a subjective  super-human  
vision2 and the symbol of the encounter 
of these two  is the lonely figure of   
,christ4    ,looking backward1 as we    
thus reach our conclusion1 we see how   
such a conclusion was implicit all the  

while in the first movement  with which 
we started4 ,for since the truth we seek
 is not a thing  we just put out our    
hand and take1 but is a mood1 an        
attitude1 a  gesture of our whole being1
 it follows that whenever1 and by       
whatever means1 we reach it1 this truth 
will always be the same1  and will not  
be affected1 when once it is reached1 by
 the slowness  or the speed of the      
method with which we approach it4 ,nor  
will it  be changed or transformed by   
the vision that finally grasps it as it 
would necessarily be if it were an      
objective fact which we could  each of  
us take into our hands4 ,such an        
objective fact or series of  facts      
would1 of necessity1 look differently to
 every individual  vision that seized   
upon it4 ,but by making our truth1 down 
to the  very depths1 a gesture1 an      
attitude1 a mood1 we have already       
anticipated and discounted that fatal   
relativity which inserts itself  like a 
wedge of distorting vapour1 between any 

objective fact and  any subjective mind4
    ,truth cannot get blurred and       
distorted by the subjective mind  when  
truth is regarded as that subjective    
mind's own creation4  ,according to the 
conclusion we have reached1 every       
subjective  mind in the universe1 when  
it is rhythmically energizing1 attains  
the same truth4 ,for when subjectivity  
is carried to the furthest  possible    
limit of rhythm and harmony1 it         
transforms itself1 of  necessity1 into  
objectivity4 ,the subjective vision of  
all mortal  minds1 thus rendered        
objective by the intensity of the       
creative  energy1 is nothing less than  
the eternal vision4 ,for as soon as the 
rhythmic harmony of the creative act has
 thus projected such a  truth1 such a   
truth receives the imprimatur of the    
,gods and turns  out to be the truth    
which was implicit in us from the       
beginning4    ,thus1 the reality which  
we apprehend is found to be identical   
with  the pursuit of the ideal which we 

seek2 for what we name beauty  and truth
 and goodness are of the essence of the 
mystery of life1  and it is of their    
essence that they should ever advance   
and  grow4    ,the eternal vision       
includes in its own inmost rhythm the   
idea and  spectacle of inexhaustible    
growth2 for1 although it beholds all    
things under the form of eternity1 its  
own nature is the nature of  a creative 
gesture1 of a supreme work of art1      
whereby it  approximates to the ideal   
even in the midst of the real4 ,the form
  of eternity under which it visualizes 
the world is not a dead or  static      
eternity but an eternity of living      
growth4 ,the peace and quiet  which it  
attains is not the peace and quiet of   
the equilibrium which  means nothingness
 but the peace and quiet of the         
equilibrium  which means the rhythmic   
movement of life4 ,the truth which it   
creates is a truth which lends itself to
 infinite development upon  lines       
already laid down from the beginning4   

,the beauty which it  creates is a      
beauty which lends itself to infinite   
development upon  lines laid down from  
the beginning4    ,and this truth1 this 
beauty1 this goodness1 are all of them  
nothing  less than the projection of the
 soul itself--of all the souls which    
constitute the system of things--in the 
mysterious outflowing of  the ultimate  
duality4 ,and when we make use of the   
expression  from the beginning we are   
using a mere metaphorical sign-post4    
,there is no beginning of the system of 
things and there is no end4  ,from the  
beginning means nothing except from     
eternity2 and  in the immortal figure of
 ,christ the beginning and the end are  
one4    ,in my analysis of the ultimate 
duality which is the secret of the soul 
,i have said little about sex4 ,the     
modern tendency is to over-emphasize    
the importance of this thing and to seek
 its influence in  regions it can never 
enter4 ,many attributes of the soul are 
sexless2  and since only one attribute  

of the soul1 namely sensation1 is       
entirely devoted to the body and unable 
to function except through  the body1 it
 is ridiculous and unphilosophical to   
make sex the  profoundest aspect of     
truth which we know4 ,the tendency to   
lay  stress upon sex1 at the expense of 
all sexless aspects of the soul1 is  a  
tendency which springs directly from the
 inert malice of the  abyss ,what the   
instinct of sex secretly desires is that
 the very  fountains of life should be  
invaded by sex and penetrated by sex4   
,but the fountains of life can never be 
invaded by sex2 because the  fountains  
of life sink into that eternal vision   
which transcends all  sex and reduces   
sex to its proper place as one single   
element in the  rhythm of the universe4 
,it is only by associating itself with  
love and malice--it is only by  getting 
itself transformed into love and malice 
that the sexual  instinct is able to    
lift itself up1 or to sink itself down1 
into the  subtler levels of the soul's  

vision4 ,the secret of life lies far    
deeper  than the obvious bodily         
phenomena of sex4 ,the fountains from   
which life springs may flow through that
 channel but they flow  from a depth far
 below these physical or magnetic       
agitations4 ,and  it is only the abysmal
 cunning of the inert malice1 which     
opposes  itself to creation that tempts 
philosophers and artists to lay such a  
disproportionate stress upon this thing4
 ,the great artists are always  known by
 their power to transcend sex and to    
reduce sex to its  relative             
insignificance4 ,in the greatest of all 
sculpture1 in the  greatest of all      
music1 in the greatest of all poetry1   
the difference  between the sexes       
disappears4    ,the inert malice        
delights to emphasize this thing1       
because its  normal functioning implies 
the most desperate exertion of the      
possessive instinct known to humanity4  
,the sexual instinct unless             
transfigured by love1 tends towards     

death2 because the sexual  instinct     
desires to petrify into everlasting     
immobility what the  creative instinct  
would change and transform4 ,what the   
sexual  instinct secretly desires is the
 eternal death of the object of its     
passion4 ,it would strike its victim if 
it could into everlasting  immobility so
 that it could satiate its lust of      
possession upon it  without limit and   
without end4 ,any object of sexual      
desire1  untransformed by love1 is1 for 
the purposes of such desire1 already    
turned into a living corpse4    ,but    
although1 according to the method we    
have been following1  the difference    
between men and women is but of small   
account in  the real life of the soul1  
it remains that humanity has absurdly   
and  outrageously neglected the especial
 vision of the woman1 as1 in her  bodily
 senses and her magnetic instincts1 she 
differs from man we  may well hope that 
with the economic independence of women1
  which is so great and desirable a     

revolution in our age1 individual  women
 of genius will arise1 able to present1 
in philosophy and art1  the peculiar and
 especial reaction to the universe which
 women  possess as women we may well    
desire such a consummation in  view of  
the fact that all except the very       
greatest of men have  permitted their   
vision of the world to be perverted and 
distorted by  their sex-instinct4       
,could women of genius arise in         
sufficient numbers to counteract  this  
tendency1 such sex-obsessed masculine   
artists would be  shamed into           
recognizing the narrowness of their     
perverted  outlook4 ,as it is1 what     
normal women of talent do is simply to  
copy and imitate1 in a diluted form1 the
 sex-distortions of man's  narrower     
vision4 ,sex-obsessed male artists have 
seduced the  natural intelligence of the
 most talented women to their own       
narrow and limited view of life4    ,but
 it still remains that what the true    
artists of the world for ever           

seek--whether they be male or female--is
 not the partial and  distorted vision  
of man as a man1 or of woman as a woman1
  but the rhythmic and harmonious vision
 of1 the human soul as it  allies itself
 with the vision of the immortals4      
,women in private  life1 and in private 
conversation1 disentangle themselves    
from the  prejudices of men1 but1 as    
soon as they touch philosophy and art1  
they tend to deny their natural         
instincts and imitate the  sex-obsessed 
instincts of man4 ,but this tendency is 
already beginning  to collapse under the
 freer atmosphere of economic           
independence2  and in the future we may 
expect such a fierce conflict between   
the  sex-vision of woman and the        
sex-vision of man1 that the human  soul 
will revolt against both such           
partialities and seek the ampler  ether 
and diviner air of a vision that has    
altogether transcended  the difference  
of sex4    ,as we look back over the    
travelled road of our attempt to        

articulate the ultimate secret1 there   
arises one last stupendous  question1   
not to meet which would be to shirk the 
heaviest weight  of the problem4 ,we    
have reached the conclusion that the    
secret of  ,nature is to be found in    
personality4 ,we have reached the       
further  conclusion that personality    
demands1 for the integrity of its inmost
  self1 an actual soul-monad4 ,we are   
faced with a universe1 then1  made up   
entirely of living souls1 manifested in 
so-called animate1  or so-called        
inanimate bodies4 ,everything that our  
individual mind  apprehends is therefore
 the body of a soul1 or a portion of the
 body  of a soul1 or the presence of a  
soul that needs no incarnation4 ,the    
soul itself is composed of a mysterious 
substance wherein what we  call mind and
 what we call matter are fused and      
merged4 ,what ,i  have named throughout 
this book by the name of the objective  
mystery is therefore1 when we come to   
realize the uttermost  implications of  

our method1 nothing more than the       
appearance of  all the bodies of all the
 souls in the world before the creative 
act  of our own particular soul has     
visualized such a spectacle4 ,we can    
never see the objective mystery as it   
is1 because directly we  have seen it1  
that is to say1 the appearance of all   
the adjacent  bodies of all the souls   
within our reach1 it ceases to be the   
objective mystery and becomes the       
universe we know4    ,the objective     
mystery is therefore no real thing at   
all1 but only the  potentiality of all  
real things1 before the real thing which
 is our  individual soul comes upon the 
scene to create the universe4 ,it is    
only the potentiality of the universe   
which we have thus named1  only the idea
 of the general spectacle of such an    
universe1  before any universe has      
actually appeared4    ,and since the    
final conclusion of our attempt at      
articulation should  rigorously         
eliminate from our picture everything   

that is relatively  unreal1 in favour of
 what is relatively real1 it becomes    
necessary1  now at the end1 to eliminate
 from our vision of reality any         
substantial basis for this1 potentiality
 of all universes1 and to  see how our  
actual universe appears when this thing 
has been  withdrawn as nothing but an   
unreal thing4 ,the substantial basis for
  what we actually see becomes therefore
 no mere potential  universe1 or        
objective mystery1 but something much   
more definite  than either of these4    
,the spectacle of ,nature1 as we behold 
it1  becomes nothing else than the      
spectacle of all the living bodies  that
 compose the universe1 each one of them 
with its corresponding  invisible       
soul-monad4    ,the movement of thought 
to which ,i have throughout this book   
given the name of the struggle with the 
objective mystery  remains the same4 ,in
 these cases1 names are of small        
account4  ,but since it is a movement of
 thought which itself culminates in  the

 elimination of the objective mystery1  
it becomes necessary to  think through  
the stage of thought which this term    
covered1 and  articulate the actual     
cause of this movement of the mind4     
,the cause of the spectacle of the      
universe1 as it presents itself to us   
in its manifold variety1 is the presence
 of innumerable visible  bodies which   
are themselves the manifestation of     
innumerable  invisible souls4           
,everything that we see and touch and   
taste and  smell and hear is a portion  
of some material body1 which is the     
expression of some spiritual soul4      
,the universe is an immense congeries of
 bodies1 moved and  sustained by an     
immense congeries of souls4 ,but it     
remains that  these souls1 inhabiting   
these bodies1 are linked together by    
some mysterious medium which makes it   
possible for them to  communicate with  
one another4 ,what is this mysterious   
medium8  ,what we have already          
indicated1 here and there in this book1 

leads  us at this point to our natural  
conclusion4 ,such a medium may well  be 
nothing less than that elemental soul1  
with the universal ether as  its bodily 
expression1 the existence of which we   
have already  suggested as a more than  
probable hypothesis4 ,if the omnipresent
  body of this elemental soul is the    
material atmosphere or medium  which    
unites all material bodies1 surely we   
are justified in  assuming that the     
invisible primordial medium which binds 
all  souls together1 which              
hypothetically binds them together even 
before they have1 by the interaction of 
their different visions1  created the   
universe1 is this universal soul of the 
elements4 ,only  a spiritual substance  
is able to unite spiritual substances4  
,and only  a material substance is able 
to unite material substances4 ,thus we  
are justified in assuming that while the
 medium which unites all  bodies is the 
universal body of the elemental soul1   
the medium  which unites all souls is   

the omnipresent soul-monad of this      
elemental being4 ,it must however be    
remembered that this uniting  does not  
imply any sort of spiritual including or
 subsuming of  the souls thus united4   
,they communicate with one another by   
means of this medium2 but the integrity 
of the medium which  unites them does   
not impinge at any point upon their     
integrity4    ,thus1 at the end of our  
journey1 we are able1 by this final     
process  of drastic elimination1 to     
reduce the world in which we live to a  
congeries of living souls4 ,some of     
these souls possess what we  name       
animate bodies1 others possess what we  
name inanimate  bodies4 ,for us1 these  
words1 animate and inanimate1 convey but
  slight difference in meaning4 ,between
 a stone1 which is part of the  body of 
the earth1 and a leaf which is part of  
the body of a plant1  and a lock of hair
 which is part of the body of a man1    
there may be  certain unimportant       
chemical differences1 justifying us in  

using the  terms animate and inanimate4 
,but the essential fact remains that all
  we see and taste and touch and smell  
and hear1 all1 in fact1 that  makes up  
the objective universe which surrounds  
us1 is a portion  of some sort of living
 body1 corresponding to some sort of    
living  soul4    ,our individual        
soul-monad1 then1 able to communicate   
with other  soul-monads1 whether mortal 
or immortal1 through the medium of      
omnipresent soul-monads of the universal
 ether finds itself  dominated1 as all  
the rest are dominated1 by one          
inescapable circle  of unfathomable     
space4 ,under the curve of this space we
 all of us  live1 and under the curve of
 this space those that are mortal among 
us1 die4 ,when we die1 if it be our     
destiny not to survive death1 our  souls
 vanish into nothingness2 and our bodies
 become a portion of  the body of the   
earth4 ,but if we have entered into the 
eternal vision  we have lost all fear of
 death2 for we have come to see that the

  thing which is most precious to us1   
the fact that love remains  undying in  
the heart of the universe1 does not     
vanish with our  vanishing4 ,once having
 attained1 by means of the creative     
vision  of humanity and by means of the 
grace of the immortals1 even a  faint   
glimpse into this mystery1 we are no    
longer inclined to lay  the credit of   
our philosophizing upon the creative    
spirit in our  individual soul4 ,the    
apex-thought of the complex vision has  
given  us our illuminated moments4 ,but 
the eternal vision to which those       
moments led us has filled us with an    
immense humility4    ,and in the last   
resort1 when we turn round upon the     
amazing  spectacle of life it is of the 
free gift of the gods1 or of the magical
  love hidden in the mystery of nature1 
that we are led to think1  rather than  
of any creative activity in ourselves4  
,the word  creative like the word       
objective mystery1 has served our       
purpose well in the preceding pages4    

,but now1 as we seek to  simplify our   
conclusion to the uttermost1 it becomes 
necessary to  reject much of the        
manifold connotation which hangs about  
this  word2 although in this case also1 
the stage of thought which it  covers is
 a real movement of the mind4    ,but   
the creative activity in the            
apex-thought of our complex vision  is1 
after all1 only a means1 a method1 a    
gesture which puts us into  possession  
of the eternal vision4 ,when once the   
eternal vision has  been ours1 the      
memory of it does not associate itself  
with  any energy of our own4 ,the memory
 of these eternal moments  associates   
itself with a mood in which the creative
 energy rests  upon its own equipoise1  
upon its own rhythm2 a mood in which the
  spectacle of the universe1 the magic  
of ,nature1 the love in all  living     
souls1 the contact of mortality with    
immortality1 become  things which blend 
themselves together2 a mood in which    
what is  most self-assertive in our     

personality seems to lose itself in what
 is  least self-assertive1 and yet in   
thus losing itself is not rendered      
utterly void4    ,for all action1 even  
the ultimate act of faith1 must issue in
  contemplation2 and this is the law of 
life1 that what we  contemplate1 that we
 become4 ,he who contemplates malice    
becomes malicious4 ,he who contemplates 
hideousness becomes  hideous4 ,he who   
contemplates unreality becomes unreal4  
,if the universe is nothing but a       
congeries of souls and bodies1  united  
by the soul and the body which fill     
universal space1 then it  follows that  
the art of philosophy consists in the   
attempt to attain  the sort of          
contemplation which can by the power of 
its love  enter into the joy and the    
suffering of all these living things4   
,thus in reaching a conclusion which    
tallies with our rarest  moments of     
super-normal insight we discover that we
 have  reached a conclusion which       
tallies with our moments of profoundest 

self-abasement4 ,in these recurrent     
moods of humiliation  it seems          
ridiculous to speak of the creative or  
the destructive  energy of the mind4    
,what presents itself to us in such     
moods  is a world of forms and shapes   
that we can neither modify  nor         
obliterate4 ,all we can do is to reflect
 their impact upon us and  to note the  
pleasure of it or the pain4 ,but when   
even in the depths  of our weakness we  
come to recognize that these forms and  
shapes  are1 all of them1 the bodily    
expressions of souls resembling our     
own1 the nostalgia of the great darkness
 is perceptibly lifted and a  strange   
hope is born1 full of a significance    
which cannot be put  into words4 ,the   
world-stuff1 or the objective mystery1  
out of which  the eternal vision has    
been created is now seen to be the very 
flesh  and blood of a vast company of   
living organisms2 and it has  become    
impossible to contemplate anything in   
the world without  the emotion of malice

 or the emotion of love4 ,if ever the   
universe1  as we know it now1 is        
dissolved into nothingness1 such an end 
of  things will be brought about either 
by the complete victory of  malice or by
 the complete victory of love4    ,,the 
,,end