Spiritual Evolution of Society 193 



heed such expressions ; we are only concerned with 

 Truth, and this definition is untrue. Fortunately for 

 humanity there are more things in heaven and earth 

 than are dreamt of in Sir Ray Lankester's laboratory ; 

 we may appropriately quote him against himself and 

 say he " becomes a maker of untruth and for those 

 who listen to him a harmful ' Confusions Meister.' " 



Mr. Elliot begins his argument with Bergson in this 

 manner : " Metaphysical systems generally, however 

 we may admire their wonderful ingenuity and subtlety, 

 can have no interest for science unless they are founded 

 on gross material facts which can be examined and 

 verified." He believes the universe began with 

 matter in motion subject to certain laws, but as to 

 how it began or what force generated the initial 

 energy he does not know, and apparently does not care. 

 He might have known, if he had chosen as a man of 

 science to extend his purview to every possible 

 phenomenon of nature, and not turn a blind eye to 

 such phenomena as thought, consciousness, imagina- 

 tion, etc. These things are not concrete — they are not 

 gross material facts, therefore he doesn't know them. 

 But we know he does notwithstanding, and we take 

 no denial. One has only to read his book to see that he 

 is touched by the beauty and imagination of human 

 thought and the elevated ideas it originates. He 

 goes on to inform us that " the feeling we have of 

 necessity to explain the Universe arises from the con- 

 formation of our brains, which think by associating 

 disjoined ideas." What is this but mere metaphysics, 

 of which he is never done accusing Bergson, who makes 

 very few, if any, statements more unwarrantable ? 

 To use Mr. Elliot's own method of argument with his 

 opponent, we would ask : " Did he ever see an ' idea,' 

 or witness its evolution, as the result of chemical action 

 in the nerve cells of the brain ? " No ; therefore 



