THOUGHTS FROM WRITINGS 



tween ; no wall of written tradition ; no 

 built-up system of culture— his naked 

 mind was confronted by naked earth. 

 He made three idea-discoveries, wrest- 

 ing them from the unknown : the exist- 

 ence of his soul, immortality, the deity. 

 Now to-day, as I write, I stand in exactly 

 the same position as the Caveman. 

 Written tradition, systems of culture, 

 modes of thought, have for me no exist- 

 ence. If ever they took any hold of my 

 mind it must have been very slight ; they 

 have long ago been erased. From earth 

 and sea and sun, from night, the stars, 

 from day, the trees, the hills, from my 

 own soul— from these I think. I stand 

 this moment at the mouth of the ancient 

 cave, face to face with nature, face to 

 face with the supernatural, with myself. 

 My naked mind confronts the unknown. 

 — * The Story of my Heart.' 



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