Itpervadesallthecultivatedtheologyofthepresentday。Sothatwhile
　　otherelementsofreligiouscreedsonebyonedropaway，thisremainsandgrowsevermoremanifest，andthusisshowntobetheessentialelement。Here，then，isatruthinwhichreligionsingeneralagreewithoneanother，
　　andwithaphilosophyantagonistictotheirspecialdogmas。IfReligionand
　　Sciencearetobereconciled，thebasisofreconciliationmustbethisdeepest，
　　widest，andmostcertainofallfacts—thatthePowerwhichtheUniversemanifests
　　tousisinscrutable。
　　Chapter3UltimateScientificIdeas§15。WhatareSpaceandTime？Twohypothesesarecurrentrespecting
　　them:theonethattheyareobjective，theotherthattheyaresubjective。Letusseewhatbecomesofthesehypothesesunderanalysis。TosaythatSpaceandTimeexistobjectively，istosaythattheyare
　　entities。Theassertionthattheyarenon—entitiesisself—destructive:non—entities
　　arenon—existences;andtoallegethatnon—existencesexistobjectivelyis
　　acontradictioninterms。Moreover，todenythatSpaceandTimearethings，
　　andsobyimplicationtocallthemnothings，involvestheabsurditythat
　　therearetwokindsofnothing。Neithercantheyberegardedasattributes
　　ofsomeentity。Notonlyisitimpossibletoconceiveanyentityofwhich
　　theyareattributes，butwecannotthinkofthemasdisappearing，evenif
　　everythingelsedisappeared;whereasattributesnecessarilydisappearalong
　　withtheentitiestheybelongto。ThusasSpaceandTimecanbeneithernon—entities
　　northeattributesofentities，wearecompelledtoconsiderthemasentities。
　　Butwhile，onthehypothesisoftheirobjectivity，SpaceandTimemustbe
　　classedasthings，wefindthattorepresenttheminthoughtasthingsis
　　impossible。Tobeconceivedatall，athingmustbeconceivedashavingattributes。
　　Wecandistinguishsomethingfromnothing，onlybythepowerwhichthesomething
　　hastoactonourconsciousness。Theeffectsitmediatelyorimmediately
　　producesonourconsciousnessweattributetoit，andcallitsattributes;
　　andtheabsenceoftheseattributesistheabsenceofthetermsinwhich
　　thesomethingisconceived，andinvolvestheabsenceofaconception。What，
　　now，aretheattributesofSpace？Theonlyonewhichitispossibletothink
　　ofasbelongingtoitisthatofextension，andtocredititwiththisis
　　toidentifyobjectandattribute。ForextensionandSpaceareconvertible
　　terms:byextension，asweascribeittosurroundingobjects，wemeanoccupancy
　　ofSpace;andthustosaythatSpaceisextended，istosaythatSpaceoccupies
　　Space。HowwearesimilarlyunabletoassignanyattributetoTime，scarcely
　　needspointingout。NorareTimeandSpaceunthinkableasentitiesonlyfrom
　　theabsenceofattributes。Thereisanotherpeculiarity，familiartomost
　　people，whichequallyexcludesthemfromthecategory。Allentitiesactually
　　knownassuch，arelimited;andevenifwesupposeourselveseithertoknow
　　ortobeabletoconceivesomeunlimitedentity，wenecessarilyinsoclassing
　　itseparateitfromtheclassoflimitedentities。ButofSpaceandTime
　　wecannotasserteitherlimitationortheabsenceoflimitation。Wefind
　　ourselvesunabletoformanymentalimageofunboundedSpace;andyetare
　　unabletoimagineboundsbeyondwhichthereisnoSpace。Similarlyatthe
　　otherextreme:itisimpossibletothinkofalimittothedivisibilityof
　　Space;yetequallyimpossibletothinkofitsinfinitedivisibility。And，
　　withoutstatingthem，itwillbeseenthatwelabourunderlikeimpotences
　　inrespecttoTime。ThuswecannotconceiveSpaceandTimeasentities，and
　　areequallydisabledfromconceivingthemaseithertheattributesofentities
　　orasnon—entities。Wearecompelledtothinkofthemasexisting，andyet
　　cannotbringthemwithinthoseconditionsunderwhichexistencesarerepresentedinthought。ShallwethentakerefugeintheKantiandoctrine？ShallwesaythatSpace
　　andTimeareformsoftheintellect，——"apriorilawsorconditions
　　oftheconsciousmind？"Todothisistoescapefromgreatdifficulties
　　byrushingintogreater。ThepropositionwithwhichKant'sphilosophysets
　　out，verballyintelligiblethoughitis，cannotbyanyeffortberendered
　　intothought——cannotbeinterpretedintoanideaproperlysocalled，but
　　standsmerelyforapseud—idea。Inthefirstplace，toassertthatSpace
　　andTimearesubjectiveconditionsis，byimplication，toassertthatthey
　　arenotobjectiverealities:iftheSpaceandTimepresenttoourmindsbelong
　　totheego，thenofnecessitytheydonotbelongtothenon—ego。Nowitis
　　impossibletothinkthis。TheveryfactonwhichKantbaseshishypothesis
　　——namelythatourconsciousnessofSpaceandTimecannotbesuppressed——
　　testifiesasmuch;forthatconsciousnessofSpaceandTimewhichwecannot
　　ridourselvesof，istheconsciousnessofthemasexistingobjectively。It
　　isuselesstoreplythatsuchaninabilitymustinevitablyresultifthey
　　aresubjectiveforms。Thequestionhereis——Whatdoesconsciousnessdirectly
　　testify？Andthedirecttestimonyofconsciousnessis，thatTimeandSpace
　　arenotwithinthemindbutwithoutthemind;andsoabsolutelyindependent
　　thatwecannotconceivethemtobecomenon—existentevensupposingthemind
　　tobecomenon—existent。Besidesbeingpositivelyunthinkableinwhatittacitly
　　denies，thetheoryofKantisequallyunthinkableinwhatitopenlyaffirms。
　　ItisnotsimplythatwecannotcombinethethoughtofSpacewiththethought
　　ofourownpersonality，andcontemplatetheoneasapropertyoftheother
　　——thoughourinabilitytodothiswouldprovetheinconceivablenessofthe
　　hypothesis——butitisthatthehypothesiscarriesinitselftheproofof
　　itsowninconceivableness。ForifSpaceandTimeareformsofintuition，
　　theycanneverbeintuited;sinceitisimpossibleforanythingtobeat
　　oncetheformofintuitionandthematterofintuition。ThatSpaceandTime
　　areobjectsofconsciousness，Kantemphaticallyassertsbysayingthatit
　　isimpossibletosuppresstheconsciousnessofthem。Howthen，iftheyare
　　objectsofconsciousness，cantheyatthesametimebeconditionsofconsciousness？
　　IfSpaceandTimearetheconditionsunderwhichwethink，thenwhenwethink
　　ofSpaceandTimethemselves，ourthoughtsmustbeunconditioned;andiftherecanthusbeunconditionedthoughts，whatbecomesofthetheory？Itresults，therefore，thatSpaceandTimearewhollyincomprehensible。
　　Theimmediateknowledgewhichweseemtohaveofthemproves，whenexamined，
　　tobetotalignorance。Whileourbeliefintheirobjectiverealityisinsurmountable，
　　weareunabletogiveanyrationalaccountofit。Andtopositthealternative
　　belief（possibletostatebutimpossibletorealize）ismerelytomultiplyirrationalities。§16。Wereitnotforthenecessitiesoftheargument，itwouldbe
　　inexcusabletooccupythereader'sattentionwiththethreadbare，andyet
　　unended，controversyrespectingthedivisibilityofmatter。Matteriseither
　　infinitelydivisibleoritisnot:nothirdpossibilitycanbenamed。Which
　　ofthealternativesshallweaccept？IfwesaythatMatterisinfinitely
　　divisible，wecommitourselvestoasuppositionnotrealizableinthought。
　　Wecanbisectandre—bisectabody，andcontinuallyrepeatingtheactuntil
　　wereduceitspartstoasizenolongerphysicallydivisible，maythenmentally
　　continuetheprocess。Todothis，however，isnotreallytoconceivethe
　　infinitedivisibilityofmatter，buttoformasymbolicconceptionnotadmitting
　　ofexpansionintoarealone，andnotadmittingofotherverification。Really
　　toconceivetheinfinitedivisibilityofmatter，ismentallytofollowout
　　thedivisionstoinfinity。andtodothiswouldrequireinfinitetime。On
　　theotherhand，toassertthatmatterisnotinfinitelydivisible，isto
　　assertthatitisreducibletopartswhichnopowercandivide;andthis
　　verbalsuppositioncannomoreberepresentedinthoughtthantheother。
　　Foreachofsuchultimateparts，didtheyexist，musthaveanunderandan
　　uppersurface，arightandaleftside，likeanylargerfragment。Nowit
　　isimpossibletoimagineitssidessonearthatnoplaneofsectioncanbe
　　conceivedbetweenthem;andhowevergreatbetheassumedforceofcohesion，
　　itisimpossibletoshutouttheideaofagreaterforcecapableofovercoming
　　it。Sothattohumanintelligencetheonehypothesisisnomoreacceptable
　　thantheother;andyettheconclusionthatoneorothermustagreewiththefact，seemstohumanintelligenceunavoidable。Again，letusaskwhethersubstancehasanythinglikethatextendedsolidity
　　whichitpresentstoourconsciousness。Theportionofspaceoccupiedby
　　apieceofmetal，seemstoeyesandfingersperfectlyfilled:weperceive
　　ahomogeneous，resistingmass，withoutanybreachofcontinuity。Shallwe
　　thensaythatMatterisactuallyassolidasitappears？Shallwesaythat
　　whetheritconsistsofaninfinitelydivisibleelementorofunitswhich
　　cannotbefurtherdivided，itspartsareeverywhereinactualcontact？To
　　assertasmuchentanglesusininsuperabledifficulties。WereMatterthus
　　absolutelysoliditwouldbe——whatitisnot——absolutelyincompressible;
　　sincecompressibility，implyingthenearerapproachofconstituentparts，isnotthinkableunlessthereisunoccupiedspaceamongtheparts。ThesuppositionthatMatterisabsolutelysolidbeinguntenable，there
　　presentsitselftheNewtoniansupposition，thatitconsistsofsolidatoms
　　notincontactbutactingononeanotherbyattractiveandrepulsiveforces，
　　varyingwiththedistances。Toassumethis，however，merelyshiftsthedifficulty。
　　ForgrantingthatMatterasweperceiveit，ismadeupofdenseextended
　　unitsattractingandrepelling，thequestionstillarises——Whatisthe
　　constitutionoftheseunits？Wemustregardeachofthemasasmallpiece
　　ofmatter。Lookedatthroughamentalmicroscope，eachbecomesamasssuch
　　aswehavejustbeencontemplating。Justthesameinquiriesmaybemaderespecting
　　thepartsofwhicheachatomconsists;whilejustthesamedifficultiesstand
　　inthewayofeveryanswer。Evenwerethehypotheticalatomassumedtoconsist
　　ofstillminuterones，thedifficultywouldreappearatthenextstep;andsoonperpetually。Boscovich'sconceptionyetremainstous。SeeingthatMattercouldnot，
　　asLeibnitzsuggested，becomposedofunextendedmonads（sincethejuxtaposition
　　ofaninfinityofpointshavingnoextensioncouldnotproducethatextension
　　whichmatterpossesses），andperceivingobjectionstotheviewentertained
　　byNewton，Boscovichproposedanintermediatetheory。Thistheoryisthat
　　theconstituentsofMatterarecentresofforce——pointswithoutdimensions
　　——whichattractandrepeloneanotherinsuchwiseastobekeptatspecific
　　distancesapart。Andheargues，mathematically，thattheforcespossessed
　　bysuchcentresmightsovarywiththedistancesthat，undergivenconditions，
　　thecentreswouldremaininstableequilibriumwithdefiniteinterspaces;
　　andyet，underotherconditions，wouldmaintainlargerorsmallerinterspaces。
　　Thisspeculation，however，escapesalltheinconceivabilitiesaboveindicated
　　bymergingthemintheoneinconceivabilitywithwhichitsetscut。Acentre
　　offorceabsolutelywithoutextensionisunthinkable。Theideaofresistance
　　cannotbeseparatedinthoughtfromtheideaofsomethingwhichoffersresistance，
　　andthissomethingmustbethoughtofasoccuppyingspace。Tosupposethat
　　centralforcescanresideinpointshavingpositionsonly，withnothingto
　　marktheirpositions——pointsinnorespectdistinguishablefromsurroundingpointswhicharenotcentresofforce——isbeyondhumanpower。ButthoughtheconceptionofMatterasconsistingofdenseindivisible
　　unitsissymbolic，andcannotbyanyeffortbethoughtout，itmayyetbe
　　supposedtofindindirectverificationinthetruthsofchemistry。These，
　　itisargued，necessitatethebeliefthatMatterconsistsofparticlesof
　　specificweights，andthereforeofspecificsizes。Thelawofdefiniteproportions
　　seemsimpossibleonanyotherconditionthantheexistenceofultimateatoms;
　　andthoughthecombiningweightsoftherespectiveelementsaretermedby
　　chemiststheir"equivalents，"forthepurposeofavoidingaquestionable
　　assumption，weareunabletothinkofthecombinationofsuchdefiniteweights，
　　withoutsupposingittotakeplacebetweendefinitemolecules。Thusitwould
　　appearthattheNewtonianviewisatanyratepreferabletothatofBoscovich。
　　AdiscipleofBoscovich，however，mayreplythathismaster'stheoryisinvolved
　　inthatofNewton，andcannotindeedbeescaped。"Whatholdstogether
　　thepartsoftheseultimateatoms？"hemayask。"Acohesiveforce，"
　　hisopponentmustanswer。"Andwhat，"hemaycontinue，"holds
　　togetherthepartsofanyfragmentsintowhich，bysufficientforce，anultimate
　　atommightbebroken？"Againtheanswermustbe——acohesiveforce。
　　"Andwhat，"hemaystillask，"iftheultimateatomwerereduced
　　topartsassmallinproportiontoit，asitisinproportiontoatangible
　　massofmatter——whatmustgiveeachparttheabilitytosustainitself？"
　　Stillthereisnoanswerbut——acohesiveforce。Carryonthementalprocess
　　andwecanfindnolimituntilwearriveatthesymbolicconceptionofcentresofforcewithoutanyextension。Matterthen，initsultimatenature，isasabsolutelyincomprehensible
　　asSpaceandTime。Whateversuppositionweframeleavesusnothingbutachoicebetweenoppositeabsurdities。*