36 ULTIMATE RELIGIOUS IDEAS. 



one dares to assert it. For if space was created, it must 

 have been previously non-existent. The non-existence of 

 space cannot, however, by any mental effort be imagined. 

 It is one of the most familiar truths that the idea of space as 

 surrounding us on all sides, is not for a moment to be got rid 

 of — not only are we compelled to think of space as now 

 everywhere present, but we are unable to conceive its ab- 

 sense either in the past or the future. And if the non-ex- 

 istence of space is absolutely inconceivable, then, neces- 

 sarily, its creation is absolutely inconceivable. Lastly, 

 even supposing that the genesis of the Universe could really 

 be represented in thought as the result of an external 

 agency, the mystery would be as great as ever; for there 

 would still arise the question — how came there to be an ex- 

 ternal agency? To account for this only the same three 

 hypotheses are possible — self-existence, self-creation, and 

 creation by external agency. Of these the last is useless: 

 it commits us to an infinite series of such agencies, and even 

 then leaves us where we were. By the second we are prac- 

 tically involved in the same predicament; since, as already 

 shown, self-creation implies an infinite series of potential 

 existences. We are obliged therefore to fall back upon the 

 first, which is the one commonly accepted and commonly 

 supposed to be satisfactory. Those who cannot conceive a 

 self -existent universe; and who therefore assume a creator 

 as the source of the universe; take for granted that they can 

 conceive a self-existent creator. The mystery which they 

 recognize in this great fact surrounding them on every side, 

 they transfer to an alleged source of this great fact; and 

 then suppose that they have solved the mystery. But they 

 delude themselves. As was proved at the outset of the 

 argument, self -existence is rigorously inconceivable; and 

 this holds true whatever be the nature of the object of which 

 it is predicated. T\ Tioever agrees that the atheistic hypo- 

 thesis is untenable because it involves the impossible idea 

 of self-existence, must perforce admit that the theistic 



