ing, and which will be attached to the ribbon of future time, and if you have two wise and powerful hands with which to reach from the creation of the world to its destruction, indeed, from pre-eternity to post-eternity, and if you have the wisdom and ability to create every one of all my threads and to repair and renew them with perfect order and wisdom, and if you are able to hold in your hand and create the globe, which is our model and is wearing us, making us its veil and outer garment, then you can claim to have mastery over me. If you cannot, then away with you! There is no place for you here!

"Moreover, there is on us such a stamp of unity and seal of oneness that one who does not have the whole universe within the grasp of his power, and who cannot see at one time all things with all their functions, and cannot do innumerable things at the same time, who is not all-present and all-seeing everywhere, who is not unconfined by space, and who does not possess infinite wisdom, knowledge, and power, such a one cannot own us, neither could he interfere."

So the representative went off, saying: "Perhaps I will be able to persuade the globe of the earth and find something going for me there." So he went and said to the globe, [^27] once again on behalf of causes and in the language of nature: "Since you travel in such an aimless manner, you demonstrate that you have no owner. In which case, you can be mine." To which the earth replied in a thunderous voice, in the name of truth and with the tongue of reality:

[^27]:In short, the particle referred the claimer to the red corpuscle. The red corpuscle referred him to the cell and the cell referred him to the human body; the human body to the human race and the human race to the earth's shirt, which is woven from all the species of animate creatures. The earth's shirt referred him to the globe of the earth, which in turn referred him to the sun. And the sun referred him to all the stars. Each one of them said; "Go away! If you are able to take possession of the next one up from me, do so, then come and try to be my master. If you are unable to defeat it, then you are unable to get possession of me." That is to say, one whose authority does not extend to all the stars cannot make a single particle heed his claim to mastery.

"Do not talk such utter nonsense! How could I be just aimless and without an owner? Have you found my garments or even the tiniest point or thread in them to be in disarray, without order, and have you seen them to be without wisdom, purpose and art that you tell me I am ownerless and aimless?

"If you can really own my vast orbit round which I travel in one year, a distance that should take approximately twenty-five thousand years, [^28] where

[^28]:If half the diameter of a circle is approximately one hundred and eighty million kilometres, the circle covers approximately a twenty-five thousand year distance.