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Newton spoke of it as a " subtle spirit, or immaterial substance ." Dolbear says: "The Ether—the properties of which we vainly strive to interpret in the terms of Matter , the undiscovered properties of which ought to warn every one against the danger of strongly asserting what is possible and what is impossible in the nature of things."

Stockwell says: "That the Ether is not Matter in any of its forms , practically all scientists are agreed. Dolbear , again, says: If the Ether that fills all space is not atomic in structure, presents no friction to bodies moving through it, and is not subject to the law of gravitation, it does not seem proper to call it Matter . One might speak of it as a substance if he wants another name for it. As for myself, I make a sharp distinction between the Ether and Matter , and feel somewhat confused to hear one speak of the Ether as Matter."

And yet, in spite of the above expressions, no Scientist has dared to say in plain words that the Ether, or whatever took the place of the Ether, must be Mind , although several seem to be on the verge of the declaration, but apparently afraid to voice their thought.

In view of what we have seen in our consideration of the facts and principles advanced in this chapter, we are invited to consider the following two Supplemental Propositions:

Supplemental Proposition III.— Connecting each Particle of Substance with each and every other Particle of Substance, there exists "lines" of Mental Connection, the "thickness" of which depends upon the distance between the two particles, decreasing in proportion as the distance is increased. These "lines" may be considered as "conditions" of the great Ocean of Cosmic Mind which pervades and fills all Space, including the essence or inner being of the Particles of Substance, as well as the space between the said Particles. These "lines" are the "Lines of Gravitation," by and over which the phenomenon of Gravitation is manifested. These Lines of Gravitation have always existed between each Particle and every other Particle, and have persisted continuously and constantly, throughout all the changes of condition, and position, and relation, that the Particles have undergone. There is no "passage" or "transmission" of Energy or Force of Gravitation over these lines, or any other channel, but, on the contrary the Energy or Force of Gravitation is a constant and continuous Mental Connection or Bond existing between the Mind of the Particles, rather than between their Substance or Material.

Supplemental Proposition IV.— The Lines of Gravitation, mentioned in the preceding proposition, are the medium over which travel, or are transmitted the "Thought-waves" resulting from the Excitement of the Particles, and by which waves the "Mental States" are communicated or transmitted. The same medium transmits or carries the Mental Force of Attraction—Cohesion, Chemical Affinity, etc., evidencing in the relation of the Particles to each other. Thus Gravitation not only performs its own work, but also acts as a "common carrier" for the "waves of Excitement," manifesting as Radiant Energy; and the waves of Desire-Force, manifesting as Attractive Energy.

And here, the writer rests his case in the action in the Forum of Advanced Thought, entitled " The Theory of Dynamic Thought vs. The Theory of Aristotle's Ether ," in which he appears for the Plaintiff. He begs that you, the members of the jury, will give to the evidence, and argument, due consideration, to the end that you may render a just verdict.

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THE writer, in this book, has treated the two manifestations of Life, viz. , Mind and Substance, as if they were separate things, although he has hinted at his belief that Substance, at the last, might be found to emanate from Mind, and be but a cruder form of its expression. The better way to express the thought would be to say that he believes that both Substance, and Mind as we know it , are but expressions of a form of Mind as much higher than that which we know as Mind , as the latter is higher than Substance. But he does not intend to follow up this belief, in this book, as the field of the work lies along other lines. The idea is mentioned here, merely for the purpose of giving a clew to those who might be interested in the conclusions of the writer, regarding this more remote regions of the general subject.

The writer agrees with the Ancient Occult Teachings regarding the existence of The Cosmic Mind, as he has stated in the last chapter. This Cosmic Mind, he believes, is independent of Substance, in fact it is the Mother of Substance, and its twin-brother, Mind as we know it .

Mind, as we know it , and Substance are always found in connection with other. It is true that the form of Substance, used by Mind as its body, may be far finer than the rarest vapor that we know, but it is Substance nevertheless. The working of the Great Plan of the Universe seems to require that Mind shall always have a body with which to work, and this rule applies not only in the case of the densest form of Substance and the Mind-principle manifesting through it, but also in the case of the highest manifestation of Mind, as we know it, which requires a body through which to manifest.

This constant combination of Mind and Substance—the fact that no Substance has been found without at least a trace of Mind, and no Mind except in relation to and combination with Substance, has led many scientific thinkers to accept the Materialistic idea that Mind was but a property of Substance, or a quality thereof. Of course, these philosophers and thinkers have had to admit that they could form no idea of the real nature of Mind, and could not conceive how Substance really could "think," but they found the Materialistic idea a simpler one that its opposite, and so they fell into it. Notwithstanding the fact that there was always a Something Within that would cry "Pshaw!" at the conclusion of the argument or illustration, these men have thought it reasonable to believe that there was no such thing as Mind, except as a result of "irritation of tissue," etc. But, nevertheless, there is always a Something in us that, in spite of argument, keeps crying like a child, " 'taint so !" And, wonderful to relate, we heed the little voice.

This Materialistic theory is a curious reversal of the facts of the case. Even the very conclusions and reasoning of these thinkers is made possible only by the existence of that Mind which they would deny. The human reason is incapable of "explaining" the inner operation of the Mind, upon a strictly and purely physical basis. Tyndall , the great English scientist, truthfully said, " the passage from the physics of the brain, to the corresponding facts of consciousness, is unthinkable. Granted that a definite thought and a definite molecular action of the brain occur simultaneously, we do not possess the intellectual organ, nor apparently any rudiment of the organ, which would enable us to pass by a process of reasoning from the one phenomenon to the other. "

The Materialist is prone to an attempt to rout the advocates of "Mind" with a demand for an answer to the question, "What is Mind?" The best answer to that question lies along the proverbial Irishman's lines of answering a question by asking another one, resulting in the "answering question," "What is Matter ?" As a fact, the human reason is unable to give an intelligent answer to either question, and the best opinion seems to be to consider them as but two aspects of Something, the real origin of which lies in Something Higher, of which both are aspects or forms of expression.