I1ST THE LAST HALF-CEXTUKY. 99 



out of one substratum and one energy im- 

 plies that the rules of action of that energy 

 should be fixed and definite. In the past 

 history of the universe, back to that point, 

 there can be no room for chance or dis- 

 order. But it is possible to raise the ques- 

 tion whether this universe of simplest 

 matter and definitely operating energy, 

 which forms our hypothetical starting 

 point, may not itself be a product of evo- 

 lution from a universe of such matter, in 

 which the manifestations of energy were 

 not definite— in which, for example, our 

 laws of motion held good for some units 

 and not for others, or for the same units 

 at one time and not at another — and 

 which would therefore be a real epicurean 

 chance-world ? 



For myself, I must confess that I find 

 the air of this region of speculation too 

 rarefied for my constitution, and I am dis- 

 posed to take refuge in 'ignoramus et 

 ignorabimus.' 



