So, the Hermetic Teachings do not preach the unsubstantiality of the Universe in any stronger terms than those more familiar to you, although their presentation of the subject may seem somewhat more startling.  Anything that has a beginning and an ending must be, in a sense, unreal and untrue, and the Universe comes under the rule, in all schools of thought.  From the Absolute point of view, there is nothing Real except the all, no matter what terms we may use in thinking of, or discussing the subject.  Whether the Universe be created of Matter, or whether it be a Mental Creation in the Mind of the all—­it is unsubstantial, non-enduring, a thing of time, space and change.  We want you to realize this fact thoroughly, before you pass judgment on the Hermetic conception of the Mental nature of the Universe.  Think over any and all of the other conceptions, and see whether this be not true of them.

But the Absolute point of view shows merely one side of the picture—­the other side is the Relative one.  Absolute Truth has been defined as “Things as the mind of God knows them,” while Relative Truth is “Things as the highest reason of Man understands them.”  And so while to the all the Universe must be unreal and illusionary, a mere dream or result of meditation,—­nevertheless, to the finite minds forming a part of that Universe, and viewing it through mortal faculties, the Universe is very real indeed, and must be so considered.  In recognizing the Absolute view, we must not make the mistake of ignoring or denying the facts and phenomena of the Universe as they present themselves to our mortal faculties—­we are not the all, remember.

To take familiar illustrations, we all recognize the fact that matter “exists” to our senses—­we will fare badly if we do not.  And yet, even our finite minds understand the scientific dictum that there is no such thing as Matter from a scientific point of view—­that which we call Matter is held to be merely an aggregation of atoms, which atoms themselves are merely a grouping of units of force, called electrons or “ions,” vibrating and in constant circular motion.  We kick a stone and we feel the impact—­it seems to be real, notwithstanding that we know it to be merely what we have stated above.  But remember that our foot, which feels the impact by means of our brains, is likewise Matter, so constituted of electrons, and for that matter so are our brains.  And, at the best, if it were not by reason of our Mind, we would not know the foot or stone at all.

Then again, the ideal of the artist or sculptor, which he is endeavoring to reproduce in stone or on canvas, seems very real to him.  So do the characters in the mind of the author; or dramatist, which he seeks to express so that others may recognize them.  And if this be true in the case of our finite minds, what must be the degree of Reality in the Mental Images created in the Mind of the Infinite?  Oh, friends,