478. Does the above indicate that all matter, such as a piece of fabric, a lump of gold or any other metal, a glass of water, a pat of butter, and so forth all constitute in principle the same as a political or religious movement, a union or commercially formed society? – Yes, it most certainly does. In basic principle there is no difference whatsoever. Outwardly, those human societies each form a specific concentration of power, that is a certain reactive quality which contributes towards altering or re-forming the forces or substances around them. Exactly the same is the case with anything at all which we usually define as "matter". Does not a pat of butter contain within itself a releasing concentrated force or ability to interact with the forces, or matter, around it? It may become rancid and taint the air surrounding it, and as a particle of food, it can also be of benefit for other organisms. If it did not possess this quality, it would be useless as an article of food.
      Let us take a piece of metal; outwardly it represents a really solid and well-knit product of strength. Hard blows with a hammer or great heat will be required in order to make an impression on such a unit of power as constitutes metal. But even without such drastic action, it will certainly react to the influences of surrounding Nature. Such influences we know from the saying "the tooth of time". Any metal, even the hardest natural stones like diamonds, eventually have to give way and must decay and perish. That such deterioration can take hundreds or thousands of years does not alter the fact of their identity as units of power. All substances release movement and through this reveal themselves as identical with a manifestation of power.
      Everything in existence that we are able to see, be it land or sea, fields or woods, living beings or inanimate objects, is thus, in reality, made up of the same thing, namely – an ocean of highly differing matter.