whatever less complete consciousnesses that
may be. I trust that those who have failed to follow my sketch of the
arguments which lead to this idealistic conclusion may at least be led
by it to see the difficulties either of Materialism or of that kind of
agnostic Pantheism which, while admitting in words that the ultimate
Reality is not matter, refuses to invest it with the attributes of
mind. The argument may be reduced to its simplest form by saying we
believe that the ultimate Reality is Mind because mind will explain
matter, while matter will not explain mind: while the idea of a
Something which is neither in mind nor matter is both unintelligible
and gratuitous.

And this line of thought may be supplemented by another. Whatever may
be thought of the existence of matter apart from mind, every one will
{26} admit that matter possesses no value or worth apart from mind.
When we bring into account our moral judgements or judgements of value,
we have no difficulty in recognizing mind as the highest or best kind
of existence known to us. There is, surely, a certain intrinsic
probability in supposing that the Reality from which all being is
derived must possess at least as much worth or value as the derived
being; and that in thinking of that Reality by the analogy of the
highest kind of existence known to us we shall come nearer to a true
thought of it than by any other way of thinking possible to us. This
is a line of argument which I hope to develope further when I come to
examine the bearing upon the religious problem of what is as real a
part of our experience as any other--our moral experience.

I will remind you in conclusion, that our argument for the existence of
God is at present incomplete. I have tried to lead you to the idea
that the ultimate Reality is spiritual, that it is a Mind which knows,
or is conscious of, matter. I have tried to lead you with the Idealist
to think of the physical Universe as having no existence except in the
mind of God, or at all events (for those who fail to follow the
idealistic line of thought) to believe that the Universe does not exist
without such a Mind. What further relation exists between physical
nature and this Universal Spirit, I shall hope in the next lecture {27}
to consider; and in so doing to suggest a line of argument which will
independently lead to the same result, and which does not necessarily
presuppose the acceptance of the idealistic creed.

LI