Because that Unity is not merely the aggregate of all the finite objects
which we observe or infer, but is a living whole, expressing itself in
infinite variety. Of that infinite variety our gleams of consciousness
are infinitesimal parts, but not parts in a sense involving any real
division. The questions raised by such a view of the Universe, many of
them unanswerable--as is also the case with questions raised by every
other view of the Universe--will be considered further on. All that I
am trying to secure in these preliminary observations is a general idea
of the Pantheistic view of the Universe as distinguished from that of
Polytheism, Monotheism, or Atheism.
[Sidenote: Various Forms of Pantheism.]
[Sidenote: Spurious Forms.]
[Sidenote: Exclusion of Creation.]
[Sidenote: Evolution and Decay applicable only to Parts, not to the
Whole.]
Of course, there have been different forms of Pantheism, as there have
been also various phases of Monotheism; and in the brief historical
review which will follow this introductory explanation of the name, I
shall note at least the most important of those forms. But any which
fail to conform, to the general definition here given, will not be
recognised as Pantheism at all, though they may be worth some attention
as approximations thereto. For any view of the Universe, allowing the
existence of anything outside the divine Unity, denies that God is All
in All, and, therefore, is obviously not Pantheism.
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