THE CONCEPTION OF THE GREAT REALITY. 287 



infinite extent, stretchino- from the Creator, the infinite down to 

 tlie created or finite ; and bear in mind that we have only 

 travelled in one direction ; the path we have taken extends in 

 tlie opposite direction also to infinity. We started with sixteen 

 vibrations in a second, as the lowest number we human beings 

 can appreciate as a musical sound ; let us now descend by 

 octaves. The octave below is eight vibrations in a second ; the 

 next four ; then two ; and then one vibration in a second. But 

 we do not stop there. The octave below this is one vibration in 

 two seconds, then in four seconds, eight seconds, sixteen 

 seconds, and so on, until it is possible to conceive that even one 

 frequency in a million years might be appreciated as a musical 

 sound, or even as one of the colours of the spectrum, by a being 

 whose senses were greatly extended in both directions, but still 

 finite. 



Once more we must call a halt. Our finite minds become 

 bewildered in attempting to even glance at these infinities of 

 time. 



We measure space by miles, yards, feet, and inches ; we 

 measure time by years, hours, minutes, seconds ; and by these 

 finite means we try to fathom these two marvellous infinities. 

 With our greatest efforts of thought we find, however, that we 

 can get relatively no distance whatever from the here of Space 

 and the KOW of Time. It is true that the present, as a 

 mathematical point, appears to be hurrying and bearing us with 

 it along the line stretching from the past to future eternity, ljut 

 in reality we get no further from the one nor nearer to the 

 other. Let us change our view, and examine this subject under 

 a different aspect. 



First of all, look round this room and note the different 

 objects to be seen. Even in so small a room you do not see 

 the objects as they really are at this instant, but as they were 

 at a certain fixed length of time ago. Those objects which are 

 further away are furtlier behind in point of time than those 

 that are nearer to you — in fact, however near you are to an 

 object, you can never see it as it is but only as it was. We 

 are dealing with very minute differences here, they being 

 based on the rate at which light travels ; but they are 

 differences which are known with a wonderful degree of 

 accuracy. 



Xow let us follow our subject. The moon is 240,000 miles 

 distant. We do not, therefore, ever see her as she is, but as 

 she was 1;^ seconds ago. In the same way we see the sun as he 

 was eight minutes ago, and we see Jupiter as he was nearly an 



