THE DOCTRINE OF ENERGY 115 



necessitated to think is a real event a real, physical, 

 dynamical transmutation proceeding quite inde- 

 pendently of my perception or presence ; and if I 

 can only manage to realise that I must, for philo- 

 sophical purposes, eliminate my reference to visual 

 as well as to audible or other sensations, I will 

 understand that all I am entitled to, and all I can, 

 without hopeless contradiction, postulate as real 

 thing existing independently of my perception, 

 is a transmutation of Energy. This energy is 

 imperceptible, unextended, unfigured, yet it is 

 by no means a mere logical or mental necessity 

 or associative tendency. On the contrary, it is 

 very real. It sustains my every act. By an 

 imperative mental necessity I am obliged, by 

 inference from my experiences as an active and 

 percipient agent, to postulate the energetic system 

 in which I am involved, and with one particular 

 centre in which I am organically related. 



But we recall at this point that Science says she 

 must still postulate Matter as the vehicle of Energy. 

 But what does that mean except that the subject 

 of her studies is the sensible presentation which 

 itself consists of energy transmutation in part 

 constantly changing but with relatively permanent 

 and recurrent elements ? These more permanent 

 elements constitute what we call bodies. If the 



