74 The Triunity of Man [CH. 



otherness of a particular kind. This ' other ' is a limita- 

 tion external to the self. Yet the self indwells it. Im- 

 manence is not consciousness of otherness, but exactly 

 the reverse. We can only speak of immanence when the 

 indwelling spirit ceases to be conscious of the otherness of 

 that which it indwells. This point is of such vital im- 

 portance, especially in its bearing upon our belief in the 

 immanence of God, that we must examine it at some 

 length. 



We can speak of spirit as immanent in matter only 

 when that matter serves as the vehicle of the spirit's 

 activities. Matter in which spirit is immanent bears the 

 impress of that spirit. Applying this to ourselves we see 

 at once that not merely our body, but all the matter 

 with which we come into intimate contact through 

 making use of it, bears the impress of our spirit. To 

 take a very superficial illustration, it is a commonplace 

 to say that you can judge a man by his belongings his 

 books, his pictures, his furniture, his carpets, his wall- 

 papers, his hangings, and the way in which he arranges 

 his possessions. 



But this is hardly what we mean by immanence. It 

 is upon a mere reflection of the personality of the man 

 that we here pass judgment. What interests us in our 

 inquiry is a subtler point the fact that when a man 

 makes use of tools, while he is using them he truly in- 

 dwells them. He is conscious of this, though we spec- 

 tators may not be. When a man speaks through a tele- 

 phone he loses all sense of the telephone's otherness 

 at any rate if it is in good order. It becomes for him 

 temporarily the vehicle of his spirit. He is no longer 

 conscious of wires and receiver and transmitter. The 

 fact that he is utilising magnets and cells and grains of 

 carbon in loose contact has no meaning for him at the 

 moment. The machine as a whole has become for him 

 temporarily part of himself. And the same is true of the 



