 If only the attribute of incomprehensibility were proper to God alone! Then, our hope of knowing nature would be greater. But it is all too true that there is no part of nature that could be known perfectly by us, and the very interconnection of things proves this. No creature, however elevated, can perceive distinctly or comprehend the infinite at the same time; but, on the contrary, whoever comprehends even one part of matter likewise comprehends the whole universe on account of the same interconnection I mentioned. My principles are such that they can hardly be separated one from another. Whoever knows one well, knows them all. (7 November 1710 letter to Des Bosses, LR 189)