infinite Being, defined in thought. This contrast is ontological, and
excludes any derivation of the one object from the other. M. Benda himself
tells us so; and we may wonder why he introduced infinite Being at all
into his description of the world. The reason doubtless is that he was not
engaged in describing the world, except by the way, but rather in
classifying and clarifying his ideas in view of determining his moral
allegiance. And he arranged his terms, whether ideal or materials, in a
single series, because they were alike present to his intuition, and he
was concerned to arrange them in a hierarchy, according to their moral
dignity.

Not only is infinite Being an incongruous and obstructive term to describe
the substance of the world (which, if it subtends the changes in the world
and causes them, must evidently change with them), but even mathematical
space and time, in their ideal infinity, may be very far from describing
truly the medium and groundwork of the universe. That is a question for
investigation and hypothesis, not for intuition. But in the life of
intuition, when that life takes a mathematical turn, empty space and time
and their definable structure may be important themes; while, when the
same life becomes a discipline of the affections, we see by this latest
example, as well as by many a renowned predecessor of M. Benda, that
infinite Being may dominate the scene.

Nor is this eventual dominance so foreign to the natural mind, or such a
miraculous conversion, as it might seem. Here, too, there is no derivation
of object from object, but an alternative for the mind. As M. Benda points
out, natural interests and sympathies may expand indefinitely, so as to
embrace a family, a nation, or the whole animate universe; we might even
be chiefly occupied with liberal pursuits, such as science or music; the
more we laboured at these things and delighted in them, the less ready
should we be for renunciation and detachment. Must conversion then descend
upon us from heaven like a thunderbolt? Far from it. We need not look for
the principle of spiritual life in the distance: we have it at home from
the beginning. Even the idea of infinite Being, though unnamed, is
probably familiar. Perhaps in the biography of the human race, or of each
budding mind, the infinite or indeterminate may have been the primary
datum. On that homogeneous sensuous background, blank at first but
secretly plastic, a spot here and a