The Unknowable. 53 



time conceiving a Reality of which they are appear- 

 ances. . . . Clearly, then, the very demonstration that 

 a definite consciousness of the Absolute is impossible to 

 us pre-supposes an indefinite consciousness of it. ... 

 Impossible though it is to give this consciousness any 

 qualitative or quantitative expression whatever, it is 

 not the less certain that it remains with us as a 



positive and indestructible element of thought 



It is impossible to get rid of the consciousness of an 

 actuality lying behind appearances."* 



There is here a clear and important advance on the 

 teaching of the school of Comte. Mr. Spencer carries 

 us from phenomenon to noumenon. To admit the 

 existence of a consciousness of the absolute is fatal to 

 the positivist doctrine. The leading disciples of Comte 

 are, consequently, very wroth with Mr. Spencer for 

 giving so firm a foothold to those who believe in the 

 supernatural. Mr. Spencer has done good service in 

 emphasizing this element of consciousness and illus- 

 trating its existence as a fundamental fact. He has 

 at the same time put into the hands of his critics a 

 very effective instrument in the examination of his 

 own system. The co- existence with the knowable, 

 both in thought and in reality, of an Infinite Power 

 remaining for ever inscrutable renders, as we shall see, 

 every interpretation of observed facts doubtful out- 

 side the bounds of the facts observed: it eviscerates 



* First Principles, 26. 



