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CREATION
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form. This is the terminus of thought beyond which lies the impenetrable darkåless of nought where the imagination of man stands stunned with bewilderment. All further discussion here ends in metaphysical quibble, and the persistent recurrence of an ultimate boundary of thought warns us of the futility of continuing the process any further. This inherent inclination, the will to manifest, as it were, of things, or the Supreme will of nature," as it might be termed collectively, is behind all, and it is to this will to manifest' that we
* Theology, no doubt, holds that the world-process is maintained by the word of its God, without whose command nothing whatsoever can take place in the universe; but then theology has no reply to give to the question : why should things be endowed with different attributes, if they can function only in obedience to the word of a god? If we do not deceive ourselves with false conclusions, we should observe that different substances exercise different functions, so that none of them can perform the function of another. If it were otherwise, water might be imagined to perform the function of fire, fire of air, air of intelligence, and so forth. But the supposition is so highly absurd that no sane mind has ever considered it possible. We must, then, assume that each substance has its own special function which cannot be performed by anything else. But what is function, if not the particular mode of existence of a substance? This amounts to saying that no substance can exist if its function be annihilated even for a moment, e.g., fire woald cease to be fire the moment it ceased to perform its specific function of burning and production of heat. Now, the supposition that the substances of nature stand in need of the command of a god to perform their function is possible only on the assumption that they do not function except when ordered to do so by him. But this is a clear case of impossibility, for a substance cannot both exist and not exist at the same time, its function being only the particular mode or manner of its existence. It follows, therefore, that no one can possibly interfere with the function of existing substances (The Practical Path, pp. 6-7, foot-note).
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