In  strict  logic  it  seems  impossible  to  go  further,  for  the  §  4-
unity  of  the  self  is  the  impenetrable  basis  of  all  explanation,  unity'
But  the  fact  is  that  we  are  driven  on  at  least  one  step
further.  It  is  impossible  to  end  in  a  disconnected  multi
plicity.  The  mind  is  compelled  in  spite  of  itself,  if  only
for  regulative  purposes,  to^  suppose  some  principle  of  unity
deeper  than  the  unity  of  self-consciousness.  One  fact
affords  a  certain  amount  of  guidance  in  this  difficulty  :  the
cosmos  of  experience  is,  as  we  saw  above,  identical  with  a
part  of  nature.  On  the  objective  side,  nature  is  a  whole
which  integrates  all  possible  experiences.  Surely  there
must  be  something  to  correspond  on  the  subjective  side  ?
Yet  thought  contains  no  principle  capable  of  unifying  a
subjective  multiplicity.  It  is  necessary^ therefore,  to  suppose

1  See  Mr.  Balfour's  Foundations  of  Belief  (pp.  148-151)  for  a  brilliant
statement  of  the  difficulty  expounded  in  this  section.
48  THE  PHILOSOPHICAL  BASIS  OF  ETHICS      PART  i

that  there  J^in  God  a  transcendent  principle  by  which  JHe
forrtis  the 'ultimate  bond  of  union  among  the  multitude  of
persons.  Of  course  it  is  easy  to  see  that  this  doctrine  is
open  to  the  objection  that  it  is  an  application  of  the  cate
gories  of  thought  beyond  their  legitimate  sphere.  And  the
only  answer  that  can  be  given  is  that  the  category  which  is
so  applied  is  the  basal  category  of  Unity,  and  that  it  is  im
possible  to  avoid  believing  in  the  ultimate  unity  of  the
universe.  The  belief  may  be  simply  regulative,  the  idea
may  be  merely  symbolical,  but  an  ultimate  Unity  is  neces
sary  for  thought,  for  life,  and .  for^samty.
