274 COSMIC PHILOSOPHY. [pt. l 



its particles may be as much greater than the particles as the 

 interstellar spaces are greater than the stars. We need have 

 no hesitation, therefore, in dealing with the aggregations of 

 atoms and molecules, after the manner of the chemical 

 philosopher, or with attractive and repulsive forces, after the 

 manner of the physicist, so long as we take care that the 

 substance of our propositions has reference only to verifiable 

 coexistences and sequences among phenomena. 



Another possible difficulty may be now more summarily 

 disposed of. If it be urged that to frame a " generalization 

 concerning the concrete universe as a whole " is manifestly 

 to transgress the limits of sound philosophizing, since we 

 can never know but a tiny portion of the concrete universe, 

 and can never even know how much there is that lies beyond 

 our ken ; if such an objection be urged against the under- 

 taking planned in the present chapter, we may again appeal 

 to Newton as witness in our favour. The law of gravitation 

 is expressed in terms that are strictly universal, — terms 

 which imply that wherever matter exists, be it a million 

 times more remote than the outermost limit of telescopic 

 vision, the phenomena of gravitation must be manifested. 

 Comte, indeed, questioned the legitimacy of extending the 

 generalization beyond the limits of the solar system. But 

 his doubt, which facts so soon refuted, was based on in- 

 adequate knowledge of the psychological aspect of the case. 

 Newton's hypothesis simply detected and generalized the 

 mode of manifestation of one of those properties by virtue 

 of which matter is matter ; and he was justified, according 

 to the principles laid down in our third chapter, in basing 

 a universal proposition upon a single instance. The final 

 test of the presence of matter is the manifestation of the 

 gravitative tendency ; and such must be the case so long as 

 we are unable to transcend experience. As I before observed, 

 it is quite possible that there may be worlds in which 

 numerical limitations like ours are not binding, and so it is 



