The Washington herald., 1916-10-18
The Relatively Of Things
BY JOHN ID. BARRY.

Ny mind goes back 70 a wonderful Call
ifornia night spent with group Of
friends on Mount Hamilton. The evening
was clear. The stars hung low and shone
brilliantly through a purple haze. At
midnight we climbed 70 the top Of the
observatory and looked through the giant
telescope, where we saw flaming worlds
and caught an impression OF the magni-
tude OF the universe and Of our own In
significance. When we returned 70 the
house OF one Of our friends some OF Us
felt depressed. Merely TO think Of those
spaces was TO feel giddy. What did they
mean7 What was the power that had
placed US here and that held US In con-
troll?
But. after ALL" said a quiet voice.
how do we know that those spaces
really exist7 They may be a mere Gre
alton OF the mind. What we call the uni
verse may be smaller than what we con-
ceive 70 be the size OF this room. AZ a
material thing it may have no existence
at all"
There were those among US who
found comfort in this philosophy. It
made them feel more important and
less afraid
This morning I watched q multitude
OF ants hurrytng about an snthilL To
me they seemed so small and insignih-
can't With my feet / could have de-
stroyed their hill and crushed them all
TO death. But how did they seem TO
themselves? Probably very important,
perhaps as important as human beings
feel They looked as II they consid-
cred what they were doing as very ur-
gent, they went at It with such devo-
tion and with such an air Of enjoying
the exercise Of their faculties Per-
haps their eyes made them magnify
one another thousands Of times. For
all we could tell theirs might be a
world Of marvels and mysteries far
greater than our own. with tremen-
dous interests and excitemeuts.
1t is we'll for US now and then 20
consider the relstivity Of things. To.
some people a little parish is the
whole world. To others. the whole
world Is a little parish. Perhaps the
most fortunate Of all are those who
are able TO get away from the world
and put II. so to speak, in its place
and to take their proper place in the
universe But even here there can be
a great difference between people.
Those who accept the universe as
material thing with its whirling
worlds and feel the insignihcance Of
their own place in IL may De as far
from the truth as those whose inter
ests are bound by the parish. On the
other hand. those who live IN the par
Of the universe and what lies behind
it than the greatest Of materialistie
philosophers.
On the subject Of time how little We
know. Yet we talk about II 80 surely
and so casually. But when we think
about II we realize that It Is g con-
cepcon Of the mind. Even our own every
day observation teaches Us how mac
curate our minds can be in the measuring
nf ~ 70
Eve minutes. Il feel as If l had lived a
hundred and fifty years" I once heard
a woman OF less than nifty say, and
have also heard another woman say at
eighty: My looking-glass tells me I've
lived to my present age. But I feel young
and the years I've lived seem less than
half the number they really are.
Prisoners say similar things. Those who
ser~e life sentences lose track OF time
They simply accept the inevitable and
one day Is to them as another. But the
Instant one Of them hears that he is
to be pardoned on certain date the
days grow longer and heavier.
There are those philosophers who have
questioned the very existence OF time.
They say that life may be q flash Of con-
sciousness. with time as one of the many
elements. like those dreams that IN an
instant, record a long series Of events
In the brain.
But can we live by such unrealities -
one may ask. Must We not accept life
as 1t seems to us?''
Surely We must not accept II as II
seems We know better We know that
much OF It is Illusion. We must learn
TO use the senses without placing too
much reliance on their guidance. Those
who take the material world as a hard
reality often speak as II they were in
some way superior. They are on the
other hand, thoughtless They don't stop
to realize and TO make allowances for
their human limitations. II they did they
would instantly be relieved OF much OF
their pride, one Of the greatest lirnita-
tions Of all