120 Life and Matter [chap.vi. 



utilise the material object to his advantage ; 

 but if he conceives the path to have been 

 made with any teleological object or 

 intelligent purpose, he is abandoning himself 

 to superstition, and is as likely to be led by 

 it to the edge of a precipice as to anywhere 

 else. Let him follow his superstition at his 

 peril ! " 



This is not a quotation, of course : but 

 it is a parable. 



Matter is the instrument and vehicle of 

 mind ; incarnation is the mode by which 

 mind interacts with the present scheme of 

 things, and thereby the element of guidance 

 is supplied ; it can, in fact, be embodied in 

 an intelligent arrangement of inert inorganic 

 matter. Even a mountain path exhibits the 

 property of guidance, and has direction : it 

 is an incorporation of intelligence, though 

 itself inert. 



Direction is not a function of energy. 

 The energy of sound from an organ is 

 supplied by the blower of the bellows, 

 which may be worked by a mechanical 



