road, is whether or not, by the logic of
our doctrine of personality, we are bound to predicate some sort of
"elemental soul" as the indwelling personal monad belonging to
the universal material element even as any other soul belongs to its
body.

Does it not, we might ask, seem unthinkable that any portion of
this universal element should remain suspended in a vacuum
without the indwelling presence of a definite personality of which
it is the expression? Are we not led to the conclusion that the
whole mass and volume of this material element, namely the
material element in every living soul, the material element which
binds all bodies together, and the material element which
composes the objective mystery, must make up in its total weight
and pressure the _body_, so to speak, of some sort of universal
elemental soul?

And because no personality, whether universal or individual, can
be regarded as absolute, since perpetual creation is the essence of
life, must it not follow that this elemental personality must itself
eternally confront and be confronted by an unfathomable depth of
objective mystery which it perpetually invades with its creative
energy but which it can never exhaust, or touch the limit of? The
body of this being would be in fact its own "objective mystery,"
while our "objective mystery" would be recognized as disappearing
in the same reality. Does this hypothesis reduce the tragedy
of life to a negligible quantity, or afford a basis upon
which any easy optimism could be reared? It does not appear so.
Wherever personality existed, there the ultimate duality would
inevitably reign. And just as with "the invisible companions" what
is evil and malicious in us attracts towards us what is evil and
malicious in them so with the elemental personality, whatever
were evil and malicious in us would attract towards us whatever
were evil and malicious in it. The elemental personality would not
necessarily be better, or nobler, or wiser than we are. There would
be no particular reason why we should worship it, or give it praise.
For if it really existed it could no more help being what it is than
we can help being what we are, or the immortal gods can help
being what they are.

That such an elemental personality would have to be regarded as a
kind of demi-god can hardly be denied; but there would be no
reason for asserting that our highest moments of inspiration were
due to its love for us. As with the rest of