| 109 | 110 | 111 | 112 | 113 |
| 1 | 100 | 200 | 300 | 400 |
|
body by conceiving it to be entire brain. This it is not; but a
conception of this nature will bring you near a comprehension of what it
is. A luminous body imparts vibration to the luminiferous ether.
The vibrations generate similar ones within the retina; these again
communicate similar ones to the optic nerve. The nerve conveys similar
ones to the brain; the brain, also, similar ones to the unparticled
matter which permeates it. The motion of this latter is thought, of
which perception is the first undulation. This is the mode by which the
mind of the rudimental life communicates with the external world; and
this external world is, to the rudimental life, limited, through the
idiosyncrasy of its organs. But in the ultimate, unorganized life, the
external world reaches the whole body, (which is of a substance having
affinity to brain, as I have said,) with no other intervention than that
of an infinitely rarer ether than even the luminiferous; and to this
ether--in unison with it--the whole body vibrates, setting in motion
the unparticled matter which permeates it. It is to the absence of
idiosyncratic organs, therefore, that we must attribute the nearly
unlimited perception of the ultimate life. To rudimental beings, organs
are the cages necessary to confine them until fledged.
P. You speak of rudimental "beings." Are there other rudimental
thinking beings than man?
V. The multitudinous conglomeration of rare matter into nebulæ,
111
Page
Quick Jump
|