THE RELATIVITY OF KNOWLEDGE 



here we are checked by the third conception, 

 that of the Infinite. How can the Infinite be- 

 come that which It was not from the first? If 

 causation Is a possible mode of existence, that 

 which exists without causing Is not infinite ; that 

 which becomes a cause has passed beyond its 

 former hmlts." 



But supposing all these obstacles overcome, 

 so that we might frame a valid conception of a 

 Cause which is also Absolute and Infinite : have 

 we then explained the origin of the universe ? 

 Have we advanced one step toward explaining 

 how the Absolute can be the source of the Re- 

 lative, or how the Infinite can give rise to the 

 Finite ? To continue with Mr. Mansel, " if the 

 condition of causal activity is a higher state than 

 that of quiescence, the Absolute . . . has passed 

 from a condition of comparative imperfection 

 to one of comparative perfection ; and therefore 

 was not originally perfect. If the state of ac- 

 tivity Is an inferior state to that of quiescence, 

 the Absolute, in becoming a cause, has lost its 

 original perfection. There remains only the sup- 

 position that the two states are equal, and the 

 act of creation one of complete indifference. 

 But this supposition annihilates the unity of the 

 Absolute." 



These examples must suffice for my present 

 purpose, which is to illustrate and enforce, at 

 the beginning of our investigation, the doctrine 



13 



