324 CREATIVE EVOLUTION ichap. 



naturally from the sphere of quantity to that of quality. 

 It seems to us 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 "absolute nothing," are 

 realized automatically, 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 inex- 

 tension and eternity. We must therefore picture to our- 

 selves 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. 8 Then, by de- 



1 De caelo, ii. 287 a 12 zfjs ioxdvrjs 7iepc<popds oiks kevov iazcv e^wdev 

 oure tokos. Phys. iv. 212 a 34 zb de 7zax> text p2v <bs Kevfjoercu eoTt 

 d'ws o'j. ojs jiev ydp oXov, dpta zbv xonov o'u psTa^aXXei. kukXco de 

 Kcvfjoerac , tcov fiopaov yap ooxos 6 tokos. 



* De caelo, i. 279 a 12 oude xfiovos lorcv e£(0 too oupavou. Phys. viii. 

 251 b 27 6 xpovos TiaBos tc fuvfjoecos. 



