conditions for the operation of universal principles, so as to
bring about new results which will transcend our past
experiences. The process does not consist in the introduction of
new elements, but in making new combinations of elements which
are always present; just as our ancestors had no conception of
carriages that could go without horses, and yet by a suitable
combination of elements which were always in existence, such
vehicles are common objects in our streets today. How, then, is
the power of Intelligence to be brought to bear upon the generic
law of the relation between the Individual and the Universal so
as to specialize it into the production of greater results than
those which we have hitherto obtained?

All the practical attainments of science, which place the
civilized world of to-day in advance of the times of King Alfred
or Charlemagne, have been gained by a uniform method, and that a
very simple one. It is by always enquiring what is the
affirmative factor in any existing combination, and asking
ourselves why, in that particular combination, it does not act
beyond certain limits. What makes the thing a success, so far as
it goes, and what prevents it going further? Then, by carefully
considering the nature of the affirmative factor, we see what
sort of conditions to provide to enable it to express itself more
fully. This is the scientific method; it has proved itself true
in respect of material things, and there is no reason why it
should not be equally reliable in respect of spiritual things
also.

Taking this as our method, we ask, What is the affirmative factor
in the whole creation, and in ourselves as included in the