COSMIC PHILOSOPHY 



sooner or later reach the periphery of the circle 

 which includes all that is knowable. Every at- 

 tempt to overstep this periphery, and gain a 

 sure foothold in the dark region beyond, must 

 result in utter discomfiture. The inquiry into 

 the origin and contents of our belief in Causa- 

 tion reveals, more clearly than ever, our impo- 

 tence to deal with objective powers and exist- 

 ences. The attempt to detect the occulta vis or 

 hidden energy in the act of causation is but the 

 fruitless attempt to bind in the chains of some 

 thinkable formula that universal Protean Power, 

 of whose multitudinous effects we are cognizant 

 in the sequence of phenomena, but which in its 

 secret nature must ever mockingly elude our 

 grasp. 



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