ACCEPTING THE UNIVERSE 



that it is insoluble. One can arrive only at negative 

 conclusions; lie comes to see that the problem can- 

 not be dealt with in terms of our human experi- 

 ence and knowledge. But what other terms have 

 we ? Our knowledge does not qualify us in any de- 

 gree to deal with the Infinite. The sphere has no 

 handle to take hold of, and the Infinite baffies the 

 mind in the same way. Measured by our human 

 standards, it is a series of contradictions. The 

 method of Nature is a haphazard method, yet be- 

 hold the final order and completeness! How many 

 of her seeds she trusts to the winds and the waters, 

 and her fertilizing pollens and germs also! And the 

 winds and the waters do her errands, with many 

 failures, of course, but they hit the mark often 

 enough to serve her purpose. She provides lavishly 

 enough to afford her failures. 



When we venture upon the winds and the waters 

 with our crafts, we aim to control them, and we 

 reach our havens only when we do control them. 



What is there in the method of Nature that an- 

 swers to the human will in such matters? Nothing 

 that I can see; yet her boats and her balloons reach 

 their havens — not all of them, but enough of them 

 for her purpose. Yet when we apply the word "pur- 

 pose" or "design" to Nature, to the Infinite, we 

 are describing her in terms of the finite, and thus fall 

 into contradictions. Still, the wings and balloons 

 and hooks and springs in the vegetable world are for 



98 



