THE UNFATHOMED UNIVERSE 33 



of this lecture, were suggested by Walt Whitman^s well- 

 known line — " Prais'd be the fathomless universe, for life 

 and joy, and for the objects and knowledge curious." Whit- 

 man assuredly strikes the right note^ — that of the joyous 

 adventurer sailing into opulent seas unexplored. Wherever 

 in the past he has sounded he has touched treasure, he looks 

 forward to winning the secrets of deeps still unfathomed. 

 Experience never disappointed surely warrants a feeling 

 of expectancy, an impression of inexhaustible riches — "' these 

 immense meadows, these interminable rivers ", horizon be- 

 yond horizon, which are ours, here and now, to seek to 

 appropriate. 



The climax of intuition is mysticism, and those of us 

 who do not practise it must not brush it hastily aside. Many 

 mystics are precise and logical thinkers — though they ex- 

 plore a kingdom beyond science and logic. Some psycholo- 

 gists have suggested that in conditions of quiet or of exalta- 

 tion, as in the presence of fine scenery, there may enter into 

 the focus of consciousness some larger area of the unconscious 

 mind than is usual in ordinary life. Others believe that 

 the mystic is thrilled by extra-human influences. All that 

 we plead for is a recognition of the fact that practical men 

 and women of to-day do still manage to get into an original 

 relation with Nature. In his Candle of Vision (1918), A. E. 

 writes : 



" I draw attention to the mysterj^ in common and obvious things, 

 and ask that they be explained and not slurred over as if no explana- 

 tion were necessary. I ask the doubters of my vision to penetrate 

 a little into the mystery of their own thoughts and dreams before 

 they cry out against me, who for many years travelled far and 

 came upon lovely and inhabited regions to which I would also lead 

 them. I know that my brain is a court where many h\ing crea- 

 tures throng, and I am never alone in it. You, too, can know that, 



