UK I.] THE QUESTION RESTATED, 875 



and unsatisfying. To no other theory of things yet devised 

 by the wit of man can we so well apply the enthusiastic 

 exclamatjon of Giordano Bruno : — " Con questa filosofia 

 I'anima mis' aggrandisce, e mi si magnifica rintelletto." 



But while one part of our task has thus been fairly 

 accomplished, another and equally important jart still re- 

 mains to be disposed of. Questions have from time to +irae 

 been implicitly suggested, to which provisional answers must 

 be given before our Cosmic Philosophy can be regarded as 

 satisfactorily expounded, even in outline. That great Doc- 

 trine, for the establishing of which all departments of human 

 knowledge have been laid under contribution, and which in 

 turn is fast remodelling human thinking on all subjects 

 whatever, has relations of the closest sort with religious 

 philosophy. Sundry theological questions raised in the 

 course of our Prolegomena must now be considered in the 

 light of the general principles with which our survey of 

 universal evolution has furnished us. Questions concern- 

 ing God and the Soul, which the Positive Philosophy simply 

 set aside as unworthy the attention of scientific thinkers, 

 nevertheless cannot be ignored by any philosophy which 

 seeks to bring about a harmony between human knowledge 

 and human aspirations ; and though we may confess our- 

 selves unable to settle such questions, as scientific questions 

 are settled, we may yet go as far as is possible without 

 deserting the objective method, and indicate the position 

 which we occupy with reference to them. We have already, 

 in the earlier part of this work, been brought to the con- 

 clusion that the phenomenal universe is the manifestation 

 of a Divine Power that cannot be identified with the totality 

 of phenomena : ^ we have now to unfold, somewhat more 

 fully, what is meant by this theistic conclusion. We have, 



* This is implied in the statements in vol. i. p. 88, and also in the chapter 

 in " AnthTopomorphism and Cosmism." See also vol. i. p. 188. 



