“And knowing,” added Hitt, “that evil, including matter, is the suppositional opposite of truth. The doctrine of materialism has been utterly disproved even by the physicists themselves. For physicists have at last agreed that inertia is the great essential property of matter. That is, matter is not a cause, but an effect. It does not operate, but is operated upon. It is not a law-giver, but is subject to the human mind’s so-called laws concerning it. It of itself is utterly without life or intelligence.
“Very good,” he continued. “Now Spencer said that matter was a manifestation of an underlying power or force. Physicists tell us that matter is made of electricity, that it is an electrical phenomenon, and that the ultimate constituent of matter is the electron. The electron is said by some to be made up of superimposed layers of positive and negative electricity, and by others to be made up of only negative charges. I rather prefer the latter view, for if composed of only negative electricity it is more truly a negation. Matter is the negative of real substance. It is a sort of negative truth.
“Now electricity is a form of energy. Hence matter is a form of energy also. But our comprehension of it is wholly mental. Energy is mental. The only real energy there is or can be is the energy of the infinite mind we call God. This the human mind copies, or imitates, by reason of what has been called ‘the law of suppositional opposites,’ already dwelt upon at some length. Everything manifests this so-called law. Electricity is both positive and negative. Gravitation is regarded by some physicists as the negative aspect of radiation-pressure, the latter being the pressure supposed to be exerted by all material bodies upon one another. The third law of motion illustrates this so-called law, for it states that action and reaction are equal and opposite. There can be no positive action without a resultant negative one. The truth has its lie. The 81 divine mind, God, has His opposite in the communal human, or mortal, mind. The latter is manifested by the so-called minds which we call mankind. And from these so-called minds issue matter and material forms and bodies, with their so-called material laws.
“Yes, the material universe is running down. Stupendous fact! The entire human concept is running down. Matter, the human mental concept, is not eternally permanent. Neither, therefore, are its concomitants, sin and discord. Matter disintegrates and passes away––out of human consciousness. The whole material universe––the so-called mortal-mind concept––is hastening to its death!”
“But as yet I think you have not given Mr. Haynerd the practical application which he asks,” suggested Father Waite, as Hitt paused after his long exposition.
“I am now ready for that,” replied Hitt. “We have said that the material is the relative. So all human knowledge is relative. But, that being so, we can go a step further and add that human error is likewise relative. And now––startling fact!––it is absolutely impossible to really know error!”
“Why––!” burst from the incredulous Miss Wall.
“Well?” said Hitt, turning to her. “Can you know that two plus two equals seven?”
“N––no.”
“Let me make this statement of truth: nothing can be known definitely except as it is explained by the principle which governs it. Now what principle governs an error, whether that error be in music, mathematics, or life conduct?”