Now one of the aims of this treatise is to show that values are an essential factor in reality, and how therefore their most general traits are reflections of the pervasive characters of all being, so far as known to us. We shall not neglect the fine, individual nuances of values, but equally we shall try to reveal how they lie embedded in a more inclusive matrix. It will be the special topic of this chapter to establish and describe this (...) matrix. In doing this, we shall be pursuing what may well be called a metaphysic or ontology of values. (shrink)