THE BREATH OF LIFE 



has many of the attributes of Deity. It is omni- 

 present and all-powerful. Neither time nor space has 

 dominion over it. It is the one immutable and im- 

 measurable thing in the universe. From it all things 

 arise and to it they return. It is everywhere and 

 nowhere. It has none of the finite properties of 

 matter — neither parts, form, nor dimension; nei- 

 ther density nor tenuity; it cannot be compressed 

 nor expanded nor moved; it has no inertia nor mass, 

 and offers no resistance; it is subject to no mechani- 

 cal laws, and no instrument or experiment that sci- 

 ence has yet devised can detect its presence; it has 

 neither centre nor circumference, neither extension 

 nor boundary. And yet science is as convinced of 

 its existence as of the solid ground beneath our feet. 

 It is the one final reality in the universe, if we may 

 not say that it is the universe. Tremors or vibra- 

 tions in it reach the eye and make an impression 

 that we call light; electrical oscillations in it are the 

 source of other phenomena. It is the fountain-head 

 of all potential energy. The ether is an invention of 

 the scientific imagination. We had to have it to ac- 

 count for light, gravity, and the action of one body 

 upon another at a distance, as well as to account for 

 other phenomena. The ether is not a body, it is a 

 medium. All bodies are in motion; matter moves; 

 the ether is in a state of absolute rest. Says Sir 

 Oliver Lodge, "The ether is strained, and has the 

 property of exerting strain and recoil." An electron 



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