Introduction. 9 



abbey, with the finial and mosaic before me, I could 

 only think of a law of unity in diversity and diversity 

 in unity as " the law within the law " in nature, of a 

 law of communion as ruling all things, visible and in- 

 visible, natural and supernatural; and when I came out 

 of the abbey my thoughts still ran on in the same 

 channel, gaining strength and clearness in their course, 

 until at last they had taken the shape here very imper- 

 fectly presented in words a shape which is substantially 

 a second and much enlarged edition of a very immature 

 work published under the same title more than twenty- 

 five years ago, and out of print shortly afterwards. 



