332 
[June, 
The Conception of Ideas and the 
— as it is admitted in the cases of water and salts— -will fall 
transitorily under the influence of the cells. To what 
extent, and for which kinds of nutriment these two modes 
of transportation come into play, can be determined only 
by experiment. 
V. THE CONCEPTION OF IDEAS AND THE 
PROGRESS OF THOUGHT. 
By D. Y. Cliff. 
<y_± 
3 LT is curious to consider what the first thought was like : 
f was it transitory, or a beginning that had no break ? 
’ The old Semitic idea is that man “ awoke ” to thought, 
but of such a nature that it could not distinguish “good and 
evil : ” on attaining that much discernment it saw that man 
must “ surely die : ” man recognised himself amongst Nature 
generally as a passing guest. Though the first origin of 
thought cannot perhaps be traced, yet it is not impossible to 
follow historically distinct phases of development (or altera- 
tion) ; and more vaguely to get at something like a ratio of 
time to progress. Suppose that man’s development had not 
taken a self conscience mental turn ; supposing him still to 
have survived with his inherent tendency of progression, what 
would have been the result but a spended evolution of idle- 
ness ? Idleness had evolved a being who was superior to 
all accidental and surrounding forces, — a naked creature 
probably living on air, &c. 
But what is an unconscience existence but a non-existence 
so to speak? Nature exists to us, but not to itself. And 
as only the mind makes us aware of its existence, it is not 
quite an empty, though strange remark, to say — mind actually 
creates matter. What is the objedt of Nature’s existence 
when it is unknown to itself? Our minds are the minds of 
all matter; and a consequence of it. If matter does exist, it 
must, one would think, have been prior to thought ; but if 
mind creates matter then both (e.g., to use words) simulta- 
neously appeared : for what is one without the other? To 
the body-sensuous “ the spirit ” is non-material, and so to 
