The works of Edgar Allan Poe; newly collected and edited, with a memoir, critical introductions, and notes, by Edmund Clarence Stedman and George Edward Woodberry; the illustrations by Albert Edward Sterner.

TALES OF PSEUDO-SCIENCE

P. You assert, then, that the unparticled matter, in
motion, is thought?
V. In general, this motion is the universal thought
of the universal mind. This thought creates. All
created things are but the thoughts of God.
P. You say, " in general."
V. Yes. The universal mind is God. For new
individualities, matter is necessary.
P. But you now speak of "mind" and "matter"
as do the metaphysicians.
V. Yes - to avoid confusion. When I say " mind,"
I mean the unparticled or ultimate matter; by
"matter," I intend all else.
P. You were saying that "for new individualities
matter is necessary."
V. Yes; for mind, existing unincorporate, is merely
God. To create individual, thinking beings, it was
necessary to incarnate portions of the divine mind.
Thus man is individualized. Divested of corporate
investiture, he were God. Now, the particular motion
of the incarnated portions of the unparticled matter
is the thought of man; as the motion of the whole is
that of God.
P. You say that divested of the body man will be
God?
V. [After much hesitation.] I could not have said
this; it is an absurdity.
P. [Referring to my notes.] You did say that
"divested of corporate investiture man were God."
V. And this is true. Man thus divested would be
God - would be unindividualized. But he can never
be thus divested, at least never will be, else we must
imagine an action of God returning upon itself- a
purposeless and futile action. Man is a creature
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