HACKEL'S MONISM. 253 



an Atheist of the positive kind, although he objects 

 to the appellation atheist, and "hurls back the severe 

 reproach" upon the stupid and ignorant people who 

 apply it to him, declaring that his Monism, or Pan- 

 theism, is the only pure Monotheism.* Not to dispute 

 about words, it is enough to say that he holds that 

 " all matter is eternal :" creation of something out of 

 nothing is unthinkable, and the creation by an external 

 power of organic forms, even the simplest, out of 

 already existing matter, is untenable (i. 171). He 

 denies the existence of a Personal God, or Creator; 

 with him " God is the universal Causal Law ;" " He 

 can never act arbitrarily or freely i.e., God is Neces- 

 sity :" " God is the source of all force and all matter." 

 He says, " Monism involves the unity of God in the 

 totality of nature," while the ordinary idea of God in- 

 volves " Amphitheism," and, in addition, in the belief 

 of the majority of people " there exist a number of 

 other Gods, such as the Devil, Angels, and Saints, who 

 are either worshipped or feared, and thus their amphi- 

 theism is stamped as a very Polytheism" (ii. 451). As 

 the natural result of these principles, he denies all 

 possibility of miraculous intervention, all revelation 

 and all religion founded on a presumed supernatural 

 revelation. But in defence of the purity and eleva- 

 tion of his principles, he says*)" " For us all nature is 

 animated i.e., penetrated with Divine Spirit, with 

 law, and with necessity. We know no matter without 

 this Divine Spirit, and no spirit without matter." . . . 

 " While we recognize the unity of the whole of nature 



* " G-enerelle Morphologic," ii. p. 449. 



t " Natiirliche Schopfungs G-eschichte," 2nd edit., p. xxix. 



