Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1845-1854, 1845-06-19

/ law of impulsion and permeation is mod.
flied. The ultimate, or unparticleG mat
ter, not only permeates all things but
impels all things-and thus is all things
within itself. Thus matter is God. What
men vaguely attempt to embody in the
word "thought," is this matter in mo-
ton. a.' '
P. The metaphysicians maintain that
all action is redu chile TO motion and
thinking, and that the latter is the origin
of the former. a -at sS
" Yes; and now see the sconfusion
of idea. Notion is .ae action of the
mind-not ofthinking. The unparticled
matter, or God, in quescence, is fas
nearly as we can conceive il what men
call mind. And the power Of self.move-
ment equivalent in effect 10 human vo-
lition) is, in the Unparalleled matter the
result Of its unity and omniprevalence:
hoto. | know not. and now clearly see
that shall never know, But the un-
|particled matter, set in motion by a
law. or quality, existing within ITSELF is
thinking. .S s .g
P. Can you give me no more precise
idea Of what you term the unparalleled
matter?a &a.a. te " -
v. The matters of which man is cog.
infant escape the senses in gradation.
We have, for example, metal, a piece
of wood, drop of water, the atmos-
phere, gas, caloric, light, electricity,
the luminiferous ether. Now we call all
these things matter. and embrace all
matter in one general definition; but in
spite this, there can be no two ideas
more easily distinct than that which we
attach to metal, and that which we at.
tach to luminiferous ether. When we
reach the latter, we feel all almost irre>
sistible inclination to class it with spirit,
or with nihility. The only consideration
which restrains US is our conception o
its atomic constitution; and here, even,
we have to seek aid from our notion o
an atom, possessing In infinite minute
ness. soidity, palpabilitv, weight. De.
stroy the idea of the atmoric constitution
and we should no longer be able to re.
gard the ether as an entity, or at least
as matter. For want oc better word
we might term it spirit Take, now. a
step beyond the lumniferous ether
conceive matter as much more rare
than the ether as this ether is more rare
than the metal, and we arrive at once
lin spite Of all the school dogmas) at a
unique mass-at Unparalleled matter. For,
although we may admit infinite ittleness
in the atoms themselves, the infinitude
oflttleness in the spaces between them
is an absurdity. There will be a point
there will be degree Of rarity, at
which, if the atoms are sufficiently nu-
merous, the interspaces must vanish, and
the mass absolutely coaesce. But the
consideration Of the atomic construction
being now taken away the nature of the
mass inevitably glides into what we cons
ceive Of spirit. 1t is clear, however,
that 1t is as fully mailer as before. The
truth is it is impossible to conceive spir.
it. since it is impossible to imagine what
is not When we fatter ourselves that
we have formed its conce ptlon, we have
merely deceived our understanding by
the consideration of infinitely rarefied
matter.
p. But. in all this, is there nothing of
irreverence? II was forced to repeat this
question before the sleep walker fully
comprehended my meaning I
V. Can you say aUhy matter should be
less reverenced than mind? But you
forgot that the matter of which I speak
is, in all respects the very ''mnd'' or
esprit" of the schools, so far as regards
its high capacities, and is, moreover, the
''matter' of these schools at the same
time. God, with all the powers attribu,
ted to spirit, is but the perfection Of mat
ter.
P. You assert, then, that the unparti,
cled matter, in motion, is thought?
V. In general, this motion is the uni
versaI thought Of the universal mind.
This thought creates. Ailcreated things
are but the thoughts of God.
P. You say "in general"
V. Yes. The universal mind is God.
For new indiyidualities, matter is neces,
sary. F. r tt+
P. But you now speak of ''mind' and
"matter" as do the rnetaphysicians.
V. Yes-to avoid confusion. When
| say mind, "l mean the unparalleled or
ultimate matter; by "matter" I intend all
else. ''.'
P. You were saying that "for new in
diyidualitles matteri is necessary"
v. Yes, for mind, existing unincor-
porate, is merely God. To create indi-
vidual, thinking beings, it was necessary
to incarnato portions Of the divine mind.
Thus man is indivIduaIzed. Dvested
OF corporate investure, he were God,
Now. the particular motion of the in
carnated portions of tha auunar,;clod