Therefore All Things emanate from, and are contained in the One Reality.  We shall consider “just how” later on, but the question which confronts us, and which has been called the “Final Question”—­and that which we pronounce unanswerable—­is this:  “Why has the Infinite manifested and emanated Finite forms of being?” You will see the nature of the question when you stop to consider:  (1) The Infinite cannot have Desire, for that is a Finite quality; (2) It cannot lack anything, for that would take away from its Infinity; (3) and even if it did lack anything, from whence could it expect to acquire it; for there is nothing outside of itself—­if It lacks anything, it must continue to always lack it, for there is no outside source from which It could obtain anything which it does not already possess.  And Desire would be, of course, a wanting for something which it lacked—­so It could not Desire unless it Lacked—­and it would know that Desire would be hopeless, even if indeed it did Lack.

So you see that if we regard the Infinite Reality as Perfect, we must drop all ideas of It Desiring or Lacking—­and of it Growing or Improving—­or of it obtaining more Power, or Knowledge.  These ideas are ridiculous, for an Absolute, Infinite Reality, must possess All-Knowledge; All-Power; All-Presence, else it is not Absolute and Infinite.  And, if It does not possess these attributes of Being, then It can never hope to acquire them, for there is Nowhere from whence they could be acquired—­there is no Source outside of the All-Source.  A Finite Thing, may lack, and desire, and improve and develop, for there is the Universal Source from which it may draw.  But the Infinite has no Universal Source, for it is Its own Source.  Do you see the nature of the Final Question?  If not we will again state it—­it is this: 

“Why should the Infinite Reality, which possesses all that may be possessed, and which in itself is the only Source of Things—­WHY should It Desire to manifest a Universe from and within Itself?”

A little consideration will show you that there is no intelligent answer to the “Why,” either in your own minds, or in the writings and teachings of the greatest minds.  The matter is important, to those who are confronted every day with some of the many attempts to answer this Final Question—­it is well that our students inform them regarding the futility of such questioning.  And with this end in view, we shall herein give a few of the wise “guesses” at the answer, and our reasons for considering them inadequate.  We ask the student to consider carefully these remarks, for by so doing he will post himself, and will be saved much tedious and perplexing wandering along the dangerous places in the Swamp of Metaphysics, following the will-o’-the-wisp of Finite Mind masquerading as the Infinite Wisdom!  Beware of the False Lights!  They lead to the quagmire and quicksands of thought!