342 CREATIVE EVOLUTION CHAP. 



that, a certain perfection being given, the whole 

 continuity of degradations is given also between this 

 perfection, on the one hand, and the nought, on the 

 other hand, that we think we conceive. Let us 

 then posit the God of Aristotle, thought of thought 

 that is, thought making a circle, transforming itself 

 from subject to object and from object to subject by an 

 instantaneous, or rather an eternal, circular process : as, 

 on the other hand, the nought appears to posit itself, 

 and as, the two extremities being given, the interval 

 between them is equally given, it follows that all the 

 descending degrees of being, from the divine perfection 

 down to the &quot; absolute nothing,&quot; are realized automa 

 tically, so to speak, when we have posited God. 



Let us then run through this interval from top to 

 bottom. First of all, the slightest diminution of the 

 first principle will be enough to precipitate Being into 

 space and time ; but duration and extension, which 

 represent this first diminution, will be as near as possible 

 to the divine inextension and eternity. We must there 

 fore picture to ourselves this first degradation of the 

 divine principle as a sphere turning on itself, imitating, 

 by the perpetuity of its circular movement, the eternity 

 of the circle of the divine thought; creating, moreover, 

 its own place, and thereby place in general, 1 since it 

 includes without being included and moves without 

 stirring from the spot ; creating also its own duration, 

 and thereby duration in general, since its movement is 

 the measure of all motion. 2 Then, by degrees, we shall 



1 De caelo, ii. 287 a 12 TT?S fVxar^s 7re/n0opSj otfre ncvbv 



otfre T67ros. Phys. iv. 212 a 34 rd 6 irav ?OTI fikv &amp;lt;is KLvrjaeraL cm 5 u;s oti. 

 ujs ^kv yap 8\ov, &/j.a rbv T^TTOV 01) ^.era^dXXet K.VK\(J&amp;gt; 5 Kwrjaera.!., r&v /j.opiuv 

 y&p ofrroj 6 T^TTOS. 



2 De caelo, i. 279 a 12 ovSt XP^OJ tarlv u&amp;gt; TOU ovpavov. P/iys. viii, 

 l^i b 27 6 Xfbvos irddos TI 



