,,parallel ,,paths        ,all ,rights  
,reserved        ,,parallel ,,paths     
,a ,,study ,,in      ,,biology1         
,,ethics1 ,,and ,,art        ,,by       
,t4 ,w4 ,,rolleston        8,il         
faudrait1 en un mot1 suivre la grande   
route si profondment      creuse 444    
mais il serait ncessaire aussi de tracer
 en l'air un      chemin parallele1 une 
autre route1 d'atteindre les en dea et  
les      aprs1 de faire1 en un mot1 un  
naturalisme spiritualiste2 ce serait    
autrement fier1 autrement complet1      
autrement fort40                        
,j4 ,k4 ,huysmans4        ,,london      
,,duckworth  ,,co4        #c1           
,,henrietta ,,street1 ,,covent ,,garden 
#aijh          ,,preface      ,in a     
recent work by an eminent man of        
science1 ,dr4 ,j4 ,reinke1 ,professor   
of ,botany at the ,university of ,kiel1 
there occurs a passage which  ,i cannot 
do better than place in the forefront of
 this book as an  indication of its aim4
        8,physiology10 writes ,professor

 ,reinke1 8has become the study of      
the movements which1 taken together1    
make up life4 ,there is no      manner  
of doubt that nourishment1 metabolism1#a
 reproduction1      development1 and    
sensation rest on processes of movement 
which      depend on material systems of
 peculiar molecular conformation4 ,for  
the bodies of plants and of animals are 
material systems whose      conformation
 is of a most intricate character4      
8,so far as physiology has at present   
advanced in the analysis      of these  
phenomena of movement1 their problems   
have fallen      naturally into two     
groups4 ,the first of these groups of   
phenomena      is comparatively         
transparent1 and stands in agreement    
with the      general processes of the  
material world2 it can be investigated  
by      observation and experiment4 ,we 
may1 therefore1 hope to decipher      it
 completely1 and to reduce it1 in the   
end1 to chemico-physical      processes4
 ,of this kind are the phenomena of     

nutrition1 taking      that word in its 
widest sense4 ,but behind these         
processes there      stand the facts of 
development and of reproduction1 and    
here1 in      all investigations1 and in
 spite of every attempt to demonstrate a
      basis of physical energy1 research
 finds itself confronted by an      ,x1 
a factor which mocks every effort to    
explain it by physics      or chemistry4
 ,and this ,x which lurks in all the    
phenomena of      development takes a   
part in the nutritive processes also2 so
      essential a factor does it appear 
in all the processes of life that       
chemical and physical forces alone would
 not suffice to keep alive      even the
 most rudimentary of organisms1 not to  
mention creating      such an organism  
out of non-living chemical              
constituents40#b    ,if this ,x force   
exists and can be established1 it will  
give us the  clue1 ,i believe1 to much  
more than the operations of physical    
nature4  ,the following pages are an    

attempt to establish it1 to define its  
character1 and to indicate the lines on 
which this unknown factor  in evolution 
seems to bring into a rational unity the
 phenomena of  the physical world and   
the moral and sthetic faculties of man4 
,the  time appears to have come for such
 an attempt4 ,the fermentation of  mind 
produced by ,darwin's massive and       
victorious promulgation of the          
evolution theory is beginning to        
subside2 it is now possible in some     
measure to take stock of what has been  
destroyed1 of what has been left        
intact1 by the immense tidal wave of new
 thought which then swept over  the     
world4 ,some conceptions which were     
thought to have been submerged  for ever
 are reappearing in more or less altered
 shapes1 and science  is called on to   
reconstruct a universe less one-sided1  
less aridly  simple1 than that which    
,darwinism1 as at first understood1     
appeared  to have left us4 ,the result1 
so far as it is successful1 will be the 

establishment of a spiritual view of the
 universe on a natural basis4  ,it is an
 attempt which is at present occupying  
many minds1 and which  will doubtless   
have to occupy many more before complete
 success is  attained4    ,i propose1 in
 the following pages1 to take the reader
 over the most  material and significant
 part of the ground by which ,i have    
myself  travelled towards certain       
conclusions4 ,much of this ground lies  
in  the region of biological science4   
,no doubt to readers acquainted with    
that science ,i shall often seem to     
delay too long in well-trodden  and     
familiar paths4 ,but ,i have had to     
consider the fact that ,english         
education is still very much            
specialized4 ,it is either literary or  
it is scientific4 ,in the great majority
 of cases it is literary4  ,and though  
scientific problems and theories are    
understood by every  educated man and   
woman to be of deep importance and      
interest1 and  though questions like    

those discussed in the present work are 
questions  on which all such persons are
 well entitled1 and many feel themselves
  bound1 to have an opinion1 very few1  
comparatively1 have even the  elementary
 knowledge of science and its           
terminology necessary to  enable them to
 take up the discussion at an advanced  
point4 ,when it  is announced from time 
to time that some chemist has again     
succeeded  in forming an organic        
compound out of inorganic chemical      
constituents  in his laboratory1#c how  
many readers are there out of the small 
circle of trained chemists who would not
 be far more impressed if they  heard   
that he had made a diamond8 ,it is for  
these persons--the layman  and the      
lay-woman in point of science--that ,i  
mainly write1 and my own  training      
having been philosophical and literary  
rather than scientific  ,i think ,i     
understand most of their difficulties4  
,i have1 therefore1  tried to #8begin at
 the beginning'2 and ,i hope that this  

book1 besides  whatever value its       
conclusions may have1 will prove useful 
to some  readers by putting them in a   
position to appreciate the              
extraordinarily  interesting and        
fruitful discoveries of biology in      
recent years4    8,the lotus of         
physics10 as ,schopenhauer says1 8is    
rooted in the soil  of metaphysics10 and
 if these studies pretended to offer a  
complete  explanation of the riddle of  
existence1 the metaphysical basis for   
the speculations contained in them would
 have to be elaborated at  considerable 
length4 ,but1 after all1 the conclusions
 reached would  only be those which most
 people are willing to accept as a      
necessary  assumption1 if all thought on
 the constitution of the universe is    
not to be a pure futility4 ,suffice it  
to say ,man is here regarded  as an     
organic part of ,nature1 and his        
consciousness as ,nature's way  of      
mirroring herself to herself4 ,since1   
like other natural things1  the soul is 

not a complete and unalterable entity1  
but is part of  the eternal ,becoming1  
it never can be claimed that its        
reflection of  the world is absolutely  
pure and complete1 yet some reality1    
some  significance this reflection must 
surely have4 ,the fact that man is  not 
something different from the world1     
observing it from outside1  but is      
vitally related to it1 would alone      
entitle us to believe that1  however    
much his observations may need to be    
purified and corrected1  and however    
false may be the argumentative          
deductions sometimes drawn  from them1  
he is still capable of a real and       
fruitful apprehension of  the phenomena 
by which he is surrounded1 and of their 
relations to  each other and to himself4
 ,all sincere thought must therefore    
tend to  brighten a little the mirror of
 the human soul4 ,if this book should   
do so in any degree1 were it merely by  
provoking other minds to more           
successful labours1 the writer will     

thankfully say1 like ,apollo's          
temple-sweeper in the play of           
,euripides1 ,fair is the service of     
,light4    ,t4 ,w4 ,,rolleston4         
,glenealy1 ,co4 ,wicklow4    ,i have to 
thank ,the ,macmillan ,co4 for          
permission to reproduce two             
illustrations 7,figs4 #a and #b7 from   
,wilson's ,the ,cell in ,development    
and ,inheritance1 and ,mr4 ,edward      
,arnold for a similar favour in regard  
to ,fig4 #c from ,weismann's ,the       
,evolution ,theory4          ,,contents 
,,part ,i4 ,,biology          ,,chapter 
,i        ,the ,argument from ,design   
,,page        ,paley and the ,watch     
#a        ,the ,analogy ,inapplicable   
#d        ,paley's ,conception of       
,design                                 
#h        ,the ,evolutionary ,conception
                                        
#aa        ,conquest of ,nature by the  
,evolution ,theory                      
#af        ,the ,philosophic ,basis of  
,nature-study                           

#ag          ,,chapter ,,ii        ,the 
,wheel of ,life        ,continuity of   
,animal1 ,vegetable1 and ,mineral ,life 
#ba        ,characters of ,organic ,life
                                        
#bc        ,living ,matter3 ,its        
,functions                              
#bd        ,its ,substance              
#bg        ,its ,structure              
#bh          ,,chapter ,,iii        ,de 
,minimis        ,growth and ,development
                                        
#cb        ,development a ,cell-problem 
#cc        ,the ,mechanical ,conception 
of ,life                                
#cd        ,the ,cell and its ,structure
                                        
#ch        ,cell-division and ,heredity 
#dj        ,reproductive ,cells and     
,body-cells                             
#de        ,the ,origin of ,conjugation 
#df        ,the ,mechanism of           
,conjugation                            
#ea        ,significance of ,elementary 
,vital ,processes                       

#ei        ,adaptability1 a ,fundamental
 ,character of ,life                    
#fc          ,,chapter ,,iv        ,the 
,mechanical ,theory of ,evolution3 the  
,darwin-,lamarck ,explanation           
,the ,fixity of ,species1 how           
,maintained                             
#ff        ,the ,mutability of ,species 
#fg        ,lamarck's ,explanation of   
the ,origin of ,species                 
#fh        ,natural ,selection of       
,innate ,variations                     
#gb        ,difficulties of ,lamarckism 
#gg        ,need of a deeper            
,explanation                            
#hi          ,,chapter ,v        ,the   
,mechanical ,theory of ,evolution3 the  
,darwin-,weismann ,explanation          
,lamarck1 or #8,metaphysics'8           
#ia        ,weismann's ,escape          
#ic        ,the ,struggle among the     
,determinants                           
#ie        ,chance-,variations and      
,co-adaptation                          
#ig        ,other ,difficulties of the  

,chance-,variation ,theory              
#ii        ,natural ,selection          
#ajc        ,impossible before          
,competition ,existed                   
#ajd        ,co-operation and           
,competition                            
#ajd        ,protective ,mimicry1       
,inexplicable by ,chance-,variations and
        ,natural ,selection             
#ajf        ,innate ,capacities of ,life
                                        
#aji        ,outline of ,preceding      
,arguments                              
#aaa          ,,chapter ,,vi        ,the
 ,directive ,theory of ,evolution       
,nature's ,power of ,response           
#aae        ,reinke's ,theory of        
,dominants                              
#abj        ,cases of their ,action in  
,evolution                              
#abc        ,law and ,directivity       
#abh        ,intelligence and           
,directivity                            
#acj        ,the ,analogy of ,social    
,evolution                              

#aca        ,the ,analogy of ,language  
#acc        ,synthetic ,movement of the 
,cosmic ,reason                         
#acg        ,objections from ,imperfect 
,adaptations and ,regressive ,forms     
,stated                                 
#adc        ,mechanical and ,psychic    
,agencies1 how ,distinguished           
#adf        ,science versus             
#8,mysticism'                           
#aej        ,reply to ,objection from   
,imperfect ,adaptations1 etc4           
#aeb        ,man1 the ,growing-point of 
,earthly ,life                          
#aed        ,immanence or ,transcendence
 of the ,cosmic ,reason8                
#aee        ,man's ,relations to the    
,whole                                  
#aeg          ,,part ,,ii4 ,,ethics     
,,chapter ,,vii        ,law1 ,free      
,will1 ,personality        ,free ,will  
and ,determinism                        
#afa        ,the ,determinist ,position 
#afc        ,the ,free ,will ,position  
#afd        ,conditions necessary for   

,free ,will                             
#afh        ,has the ,will an ,ethical  
,bias8                                  
#afi        ,limitations of ,free ,will 
#agb        ,evolution of the ,will     
#agd        ,free ,will and ,monism     
#agf        ,free ,will and             
,brain-structure                        
#agg        ,relations of ,mind and     
,matter                                 
#ahf        ,immortality                
#ahi          ,,chapter ,,viii          
,the ,ethical ,criterion        ,the    
,visible and the ,invisible ,worlds     
#aid        ,dualism and ,monism        
#aie        ,monism and the ,moral ,law 
#aih        ,the ,hedonistic ,basis of  
,morals                                 
#bjj        ,the ,natural ,basis of     
,morals                                 
#bjc          ,,chapter ,,ix        ,the
 ,ethical ,sanction        ,the         
,individual and the ,whole              
#bjh        ,a ,scale of ,motives       
#baj        ,conscience and its         

,commands1 how respectively ,derived    
#baa        ,results of ,duty and of    
,self-indulgence ,compared              
#bab        ,the ,false and the ,true   
,asceticism                             
#bad        ,ethics for ,life3          
,implications of this ,doctrine         
#bbj        ,is ,life ,dependent on     
,matter8                                
#bbb        ,the ,cosmic ,life gives    
,immortality to the ,individual         
#bbe        ,and ,demands his           
,allegiance                             
#bbf        ,ethics ,originates in the  
,visible ,order1 but does not        end
 there                                  
#bbh        ,hence1 ,ethics is for      
,death as well as ,life                 
#bbi        ,the ,martyrdoms of         
,socrates and of ,christ                
#bcj        ,outline of the ,conclusions
 arrived at                             
#bcc          ,,part ,,iii4 ,,art       
,,chapter ,x        ,art and ,life      
,tolstoy's ,account of the ,nature of   

,art                          #bcf      
,of the ,standard of ,art               
#bda        ,of the ,purpose of ,art    
#bda        ,criticism of his           
,conclusions                            
#bde        ,art1 ,man's expression of  
,life                                   
#bdf        ,art and ,beauty            
#bea        ,order and ,change as       
,principles of ,life and ,art           
#bec        ,classification of the ,arts
                                        
#bed        ,examples of the            
,presentative ,arts--7a7 ,architecture  
#bef          7b7 ,ornament             
#bei          7c7 ,music                
#bfa        ,the ,representative        
,arts--7a7 ,the ,plastic ,arts          
#bfe          7b7 ,dancing              
#bgj        ,the ,evocative ,art3       
,literature                             
#bga        ,the ,union of ,music and   
,poetry                                 
#bgb        ,conclusion                 
#bgc          ,,appendix ,a        ,sum 

ergo ,cogito                            
#bge          ,,appendix ,b             
,co-operation and ,competition          
#bgi          ,,appendix ,c        ,is  
,life worth ,living8                    
#bhb          ,,appendix ,d        ,st4 
,francis the ,poet                      
#bhe          ,,appendix ,e             
,isabella and ,claudio                  
#bhh          ,index                    
#bie          ,,parallel ,,paths        
,,part ,i3 ,,biology          ,,chapter 
,i    ,,the ,,argument ,,from ,,design  
8,the wisdom of the divine rule is      
apparent not in the perfection          
but in the improvement of the           
world40--,lord ,acton4      ,paley's    
,natural ,theology though not by any    
means an epoch-making  may perhaps be   
called an epoch-marking book4 ,it was   
the crown of  the endeavour of          
eighteenth-century religious philosophy 
to found a  theology on the evidences of
 external nature4 ,according to such    
exact  knowledge of ,nature's operations

 as was then generally available1       
,paley's attempt might well be thought  
to have succeeded4 ,he opens his        
argument with a striking and effective  
illustration4 ,he imagines a  wayfarer  
crossing a heath who strikes his foot   
against a stone1 and who  asks himself  
how it came into being4 ,paley thinks he
 might be content  with vaguely         
supposing that it was there #8always4'  
,but suppose that  what he had found at 
his foot was not a stone but a watch and
 that he  now saw such an instrument for
 the first time4 ,he would then         
certainly  have not been so easily      
contented with an answer to the riddle  
of  its existence4 ,he would1 if he     
examined it minutely1 have observed     
that it was a structure intended for a  
certain purpose1 and having  all its    
parts arranged for that object1 and     
mutually interdependent  ,the different 
substances of which it was composed     
would be discovered  to have each its   
special appropriateness for the         

fulfilling of some  particular function 
in the economy of the whole4 ,though    
unacquainted  with watches he would1 if 
he was a man of sense and cultivation1  
infallibly conclude that he had before  
him an instrument intelligently         
constructed with a certain object in    
view--the object of measuring the       
flight of time4 ,he would feel assured  
of this1 even though he should  find    
that the object of the mechanism were   
not attained with absolute  accuracy1   
and even though there were some parts of
 it whose functions  were not clear to  
him4 ,the watch would be rightly        
regarded as a work of  design2 and the  
observer would be justified in arguing  
from it to the  existence of a designer1
 endowed with the faculties of          
intelligence and  conscious purpose1 by 
whom the watch must have been put       
together4    ,the rest of ,paley's      
,natural ,theology is an application of 
this analogy  to the question of the    
origin of the universe4 ,ranging over   

the whole  field of animate and         
inanimate nature he points to instance  
after  instance of what appears to be   
the minute and thoughtful adaptation  of
 means to ends1 the co-ordination of    
part with part in the interest  of the  
whole1 and he has no difficulty1 from   
this point of view1  in showing the     
world of nature to be a piece of        
mechanism far more  wonderfully and     
ingeniously constructed than any watch1 
and bearing  prima facie evidence of the
 most convincing kind of its            
construction  by a ,being possessed of  
intelligence1 purpose and foresight     
precisely  resembling those attributes  
as displayed by man1 but vastly         
heightened  and enlarged4 ,as the watch 
must have been made by man1 so a manlike
  being1 endowed with the necessary     
powers and faculties1 must be           
postulated as the maker of the material 
universe4 ,and thus the  existence of a 
,god made in the image of man appeared  
to have been  demonstrated to the       

satisfaction of eighteenth-century      
theology4    ,but minds of real         
philosophic depth have always shrunk    
from pressing  home deductions of this  
sort4 ,they have felt that the matter is
  probably not quite so simple as it    
might appear on the surface1 and  they  
have recognised that if one is allowed  
to argue from the phenomena  of nature  
to the qualities of the author of nature
 one cannot draw an  arbitrary line     
including only those facts which testify
 to wisdom1  power and goodness1 and    
excluding from view all those which     
reveal  imperfection of design and      
execution1 or which would convict a man1
 if  he were their author1 of inhumanity
 and injustice4 ,if the universe is     
really analogous to a watch one is      
entitled to examine it throughout  as   
one would examine a watch4 ,all watches 
testify to intelligence and  design1 but
 besides good watches there are bad     
ones1 there are those  which are made of
 cheap materials1 rudely put together1  

with showy  exteriors and unreliable    
works4 ,every watch1 if examined by     
experts in  mechanism1 in art1 and so   
forth1 would reveal the characteristics 
of  its designer and maker1 and these   
characteristics would not always be     
admirable4 ,they would rarely1 in fact1 
be altogether admirable4 ,if we  apply  
these methods of inquiry to a universe  
which contains malarial  mosquitoes1    
slave-making ants1 snakes1 earthquakes1 
and all the pests  which blight and     
deform life without calling forth any   
strong or noble  qualities to carry on  
the contest with them1 we shall go where
 ,paley  certainly never intended to    
lead us1 but we shall go there by       
,paley's  road4 ,the fact is that these 
methods are altogether fantastic and    
inapplicable4 ,the universe is not made 
like a watch4 ,when we observe a  human 
being or one of the higher animals we   
say1 #8,he has such and such  qualities2
 he is faithful1 false1 brave1 cowardly1
 diligent1 indolent1  strong1 weak1     

beautiful or ugly1' but we do not think 
of referring  his qualities back to     
certain attributes of an unknown maker  
of his  physical and mental organism4 ,a
 philosophy worthy of the name has      
always tended to regard the world as in 
some sense a vital organism1  and has   
asked #8,what is it8' rather than       
#8,what does it prove about some  other 
being8' 8,how green must be the maker of
 all grass0 was quite  a legitimate     
satire on all such attempts to deduce   
the qualities of  a hypothetical creator
 from the phenomena of the universe4    
,thus the  mistake of ,paley and his    
school was fundamental4 ,it was the     
mistake of  seeking ,god in fragmentary 
phenomena--the same mistake1            
essentially1 as  that rebuked by        
,christ1 by which every calamity or     
material blessing  is regarded as a     
#8judgment' or a reward4 ,his method1 if
 applied with  thorough-going           
consistency1 destroys its own basis1 for
 the ,one and  the ,many1 the ,whole and

 the ,parts1 cannot be apprehended at   
one and  the same time by one and the   
same faculty of any human mind4 ,looking
  at phenomena alone1 and thinking in   
that sphere1 we cannot say that  ,god   
made the world but rather that the world
 is becoming divine4  ,philosophically  
and religiously1 ,god is all in         
all--historically1 ,he is  not the      
beginning1 ,he is rather the end1 the   
end in which the whole  history is      
resumed4      ,paley's elaborate        
argument was felt by the orthodox of his
 time to be  called for1 even though at 
this period his way of thinking was     
popular4  ,the conception of the world  
as a vital organism was as yet1 indeed1 
very vague1 and unsupported by any      
detailed1 scientific scrutiny of the    
facts of nature1 but it was in the      
air--it had always been in the air2  it 
always held the minds of cautious       
students back from a complete  surrender
 to the facile but illusory way of      
thinking typified by  ,paley's famous   

analogy of the universe and the watch4  
,bacon knew that  species could be      
transformed by the action of a new      
environment4#d  ,goethe had a clear     
conception of the evolution theory1     
based on a study  of organic structure4 
,erasmus ,darwin1 in #agid1 had uttered 
the great  and final word3 8,the world  
has been generated rather than          
created40#e  ,lamarck's ,philosophie    
,zoologique was not published till      
#ahji1 nine  years after ,paley's       
,natural ,theology1 but his conception  
of the  development of special          
characteristics by habitual exercise and
 their  transmission by inheritance had 
been freely mooted in ,paley's day1 for 
,paley frequently takes occasion to     
combat it4 ,even the conception of      
natural selection as an agency in the   
formation of types of being may  be     
traced in a fantastic form as far back  
as to ,empedocles1#f while  ,plato1 or  
whoever composed a striking couplet     
attributed to him in the  ,greek        

,anthology1 had divined the plasticity  
of natural forms4 8,time10  he wrote1   
8sways the whole world2 time has power  
in its prolonged  lapse to change the   
names and shapes1 the nature and the    
destiny of  things40#g    ,fifty years  
after the appearance of ,paley's work1  
the grandson of  ,erasmus ,darwin wrote 
#8,no thoroughfare' on the entrance to  
,paley's line  of speculation1 and      
closed it to mankind for ever4 ,he did  
this in two  ways--first by marshalling 
from his studies of comparative anatomy 
and  of embryology an extraordinary     
volume of convincing evidence for the   
fact of the mutability of natural forms1
 and secondly by his attempt  to        
establish a plausible method by which   
the change and development  of organs   
and types might actually have taken     
place4 ,the method1 summed  up in the   
phrases #8natural selection' and        
#8survival of the fittest1'  was what   
really caught the attention of the      
world1 and gave his  doctrine the wings 

which carried it into almost every      
sphere of human  thought4 ,however we   
take it1 it was certainly an immense    
contribution  to the organization of    
knowledge1 but whether it is really what
 it  first seemed to be1 the basic fact 
at the bottom of all the phenomena  of  
evolution1 is coming to look more and   
more doubtful in the light of  later    
researches4#h    ,this question will    
have to be considered later on in the   
course of  this study1 and in relation  
to its main inquiry1 which is this3     
,what  precisely was the change in      
philosophic and religious outlook       
brought  about by the full and final    
establishment of the doctrine of        
evolution8  ,where has evolution left   
the argument from design8 ,must we study
 nature  as a mass of unrelated         
phenomena1 or can we discern1 through   
these1 any  fundamental unity to which  
they stand in organic relation2 and if  
we  can1 what is the nature of this     
unity8      ,it will be useful in the   

first place to have before us a typical 
specimen of ,paley's method4 ,i shall   
choose as an example the case which  he 
considered so striking that he deemed it
 almost sufficient in itself  to bear   
the whole weight of his argument ,in his
 ninth chapter1 #8,on the  ,muscles1' he
 writes3--        8,the next            
circumstance which ,i shall mention     
under this head of      muscular        
arrangement is so decisive a mark of    
intention1 that it      always appeared 
to me to supersede1 in some measure1 the
 necessity      of seeking for any other
 observation upon the subject2 and that 
circumstance is1 the tendons which pass 
from the leg to the foot      being     
bound down by a ligament to the ankle4  
,the foot is placed at      a           
considerable angle with the leg4 ,it is 
manifest1 therefore1 that      flexible 
strings1 passing along the interior of  
the angle1 if left      to themselves1  
would1 when stretched1 start from it4   
,the obvious      preventive is to tie  

them down4 ,and this is done1 in fact4  
,across      the instep1 or rather just 
above it1 the anatomist finds a strong  
ligament1 under which the tendons pass  
to the foot4 ,the effect of      the    
ligament as a bandage can be made       
evident to the senses2 for if      it be
 cut1 the tendons start up4 ,the        
simplicity1 yet the clearness      of   
this contrivance1 its exact resemblance 
to established resources      of art1   
place it amongst the most indubitable   
manifestations of      design with which
 we are acquainted4        8,there is   
also a further use to be made of the    
present example1 and      that is1 as it
 precisely contradicts the opinion that 
the parts of      animals may have been 
formed by what is called appetency1 i4e4
      endeavour perpetuated and         
imperceptibly working its effect through
      an incalculable series of         
generations4 ,we have here no endeavour 
but the reverse of it--a constant       
renitency and reluctance4 ,the          

endeavour is all the other way4 ,the    
pressure of the ligament      constrains
 the tendons2 the tendons react upon the
 pressure of the      ligament4 ,it is  
impossible that the ligament should ever
 have been      generated by the        
exercise of the tendon1 or in the course
 of that      exercise1 forasmuch as the
 force of the tendon perpendicularly    
resists the fibre1 which confines it1   
and is constantly      endeavouring not 
to form1 but to rupture and displace1   
the threads      of which the ligament  
is composed40    ,paley's account of the
 function of the annular ligament at the
 ankle is  correct1 and strikingly put4 
,a similar ligament occurs at the wrist1
  and navvies who have hard muscular    
work to do in digging and shovelling    
are wont to reinforce this ligament and 
to keep it from rupture by a  leather   
strap round the wrist4 ,the strap       
performs exactly the same  function as  
the ligament1 and from ,paley's point of
 view one is as  artificial1 as much a  

#8contrivance1' as the other4 ,but his  
point of  view is wrong4 ,he conceives  
the ,creator as having at his disposal  
fully formed elements or                
materials--sinews1 bones1 ligaments1 and
 the  like--and assembling them into a  
working mechanism4 ,in fact1 however1   
none of these things is now what it was 
originally--time1 as ,plato says1  has  
changed its 8name and shape40 ,the      
annular ligaments are recognized  by    
modern anatomists as having originated  
in special thickenings of  the fascial  
sheaths of the adjoining muscles of the 
wrist and ankle4  ,they had a function  
which was not originally connected with 
keeping  down the long tendons that run 
along the interior angle of the leg and 
foot4 ,contractility1 as biologists tell
 us1 is a fundamental property  of      
living protoplasm2 and it is easy to    
imagine that1 at the very  beginning of 
the formation of muscular structure and 
bone articulation1  two lines of        
contractile force might cross each other

 and thus permit  the gradual evolution 
of the present arrangement1 nature      
continually  visiting with disability   
and extinction those individuals in whom
  the resisting power of the muscles    
which were eventually to form the       
annular ligament was unduly feeble1 and 
giving a better chance of life1  and of 
the propagation of their kind1 to those 
in whom it was strong4  ,the instance1  
in fact1 is one of those in which the   
explanation of  development by natural  
selection is most obvious and plausible4
    ,in his second paragraph ,paley     
touches on the theory of 8appetency10   
the  supposed tendency of natural       
structure to alter and adapt itself on  
the  lines indicated by the actual      
exercise of function1 and in consequence
  of that exercise4 ,this is practically
 the theory since identified with  the  
name of ,lamarck4 ,paley scarcely does  
it justice1 for no ,lamarckian  would   
suggest that a muscle could1 in the     
course of its exercise1  develop the    

ligament whose function is to restrain  
it4 ,the ligament  would be developed by
 its own exercise4 ,but as ,lamarckism  
will be  discussed later on1 the issue  
as between these rival theories need not
  be debated here4    ,let us set beside
 ,paley's argument on the annular       
ligament of the  ankle a passage from a 
modern scientific work1 ,strasburger's  
,text  ,book of ,botany4 ,it will       
introduce us1 from the side of the      
strictest  scientific observation and of
 the fullest acceptance of the evolution
  theory1 to the same kind of problems  
as those discussed in ,paley's  ,natural
 ,theology1 and it will raise in a very 
distinct and unevadable  fashion the    
question1 what we are to think of the   
power manifested in  the operations of  
,nature4 ,in the introduction to his    
work1 in which  ,dr4 ,strasburger had   
associated with him three other eminent 
,german  botanists1 we find the         
following remarkable passage dealing    
with  circumstances observed to exist in

 the #8phylogenetic' or tribal 7as      
opposed to the #8ontogenetic' or        
individual7 history of plant species3-- 
8,although the great importance of      
natural selection in the                
development of the organic world has    
been fully recognised by      most      
naturalists1 the objection has been     
raised that it alone is      not a      
sufficient explanation of all the       
different processes in      the         
phylogeny of an organism4 ,attention has
 been called to such      organs as     
would be incapable of exercising their  
function until      in an advanced stage
 of development1 and so could not       
originally      have been of any        
advantage in a struggle for existence4  
,how could      natural selection tend  
to develop an organ which would be      
useless      so long as it was still in 
a rudimentary condition8 ,this objection
      has led to the supposition of an  
internal force residing in the          
substance of the organisms themselves   

and controlling their      development  
in certain definite directions4 ,many   
naturalists indeed      have gone so far
 as to affirm that only the less        
advantageous      qualities have been   
affected by the struggle for existence1 
while      the more advantageous have   
been uninfluenced by it0#i    ,one can  
easily imagine what a modern ,paley bent
 on reconciling  orthodoxy and evolution
 would say to this4 ,he would cry1      
,design1  forethought1                  
intelligence--here is the clearest      
evidence of it6  ,and indeed there are  
many modern biologists who do not shrink
 from  the admission that the processes 
of nature must ultimately be            
interpreted in terms of will or         
intention1 not in terms of chance or    
blind mechanism4 ,thus1 to the          
,darwinian argument that organs can be  
and are1 demonstrably1 formed by gradual
 adaptation to surrounding  conditions  
without assuming the necessity of       
purposeful design1 it  is often replied 

that the very fact of adaptability is   
itself one of  the strongest evidences  
if not of design at least of purpose4   
,and ,j4  v4 ,uexkll1 who describes life
 as consisting essentially in the fact  
that it proceeds according to design    
7planmssig71 has the following          
remarkable passage in his ,experimental 
,biology#aj3--        8,when we look    
backwards1 every phase in the process of
 development      seems to us to have   
proceeded in a strictly causal manner   
from      physico-chemical processes4   
,but when we turn to look forward1 it   
is certain that the physico-chemical    
processes if left to their      own     
causality must immediately bring about  
the destruction of the      organism4   
,in fact1 the clearest definition we can
 give of dying      is to say of an     
organism that its processes now go on no
 longer      teleologically 7zweckmssig7
 but only causally40#aa    ,yet the     
modern ,paley would be rash in arguing  
from facts like these  7supposing them  

fully established7 to the conscious1    
intelligent  contrivance of a single    
foreseeing ,mind4 ,for very few things  
in this  universe appear to be done as a
 presiding1 conscious intelligence      
would do them4 ,conscious intelligence  
would not have evolved the  giant       
armadillo only that the whole species   
might be destroyed by  the sabre-toothed
 tiger1 and would not have armed the    
sabre-toothed  tiger for the attack on  
the armadillo in such a way that when he
 had  exterminated the victim-species   
the formation of his teeth rendered  it 
impossible for him to prey on any other 
animal4#ab ,conscious  intelligence     
would not have allowed the relic of a   
disused organ1 in  the shape of the     
vermiform appendix1 to be a constant    
source of danger  and suffering to      
countless generations of men--danger    
against which no  exercise of prudence  
or energy can secure them4    ,let us   
examine a couple of other crucial cases4
 ,the embryo of every  mammalian animal 

is prepared in the womb for the life it 
is to live  under wholly different      
conditions4 ,lungs are formed when there
 is no  air for them to breathe1 eyes   
when there is no light1 a digestive     
system when nourishment is derived as   
yet direct from the mother's  blood4    
,this capacity for anticipatory         
development during a period  of         
gestation or incubation becomes         
absolutely necessary for the            
maintenance of life as soon as animals1 
ceasing to multiply by merely  dividing 
in two1 become more highly organized and
 have to devote  special germ-cells to  
reproductive purposes4 ,here is         
certainly purpose1  or1 as ,i should    
prefer to call it1 directivity--here we 
recognize  what ,reinke calls the       
,x-factor in nature4 ,but conscious1    
intelligent  contrivance8 ,we must      
recollect how many of these embryos are 
destined  to perish at birth or before  
attaining any appreciable degree of     
independent life4 ,would not            

intelligence foresee that1 and bring to 
birth only what was destined to endure8 
,again1 there are certain species of    
butterflies which have put  on a        
coloration and a form the effect of     
which is to aid them in  evading the    
attacks of birds4 ,they were not created
 so2 they have  become so2 and the      
precise manner of the becoming will be  
fully  discussed in a later chapter4    
,let us assume for the moment that this 
adaptation did not occur by a series of 
lucky accidents or by any  merely       
mechanical process4 ,are we1 then1 bound
 to attribute it to  intelligent        
contrivance8 ,the question will be best 
answered by simply  putting a case which
 admits of no doubt4 ,suppose there were
 an island  in which there were no      
birds1 except such as prey on fishes or 
on  each other1 but never on insects4   
,the butterflies on this island1 if     
there were any1 would certainly show no 
trace of protective form or  coloration4
 ,but at some time or other             

insect-eating birds might be  introduced
 to the island1 as the ,english sparrow 
has been introduced  in ,australia4     
,then1 if the extermination of the      
butterflies did not  proceed too        
rapidly1 we might expect1 in the course 
of generations1 to  see protective      
adaptations assumed4 ,but could we      
expect to see them  assumed in          
anticipation of the advent of the       
destroyers8 ,we could  not4             
,naturalists1 however much they may     
differ1 as they do differ1 upon  the    
question as to how protective           
adaptations actually take place1  would 
all agree that they could not possibly  
take place in anticipation  of needs not
 yet present4 ,if they did1 we should   
have a miracle1 and  where miracle comes
 in knowledge goes out4 ,the cases where
 conscious1  intelligent contrivance    
would be unmistakably recognizable are  
just the  cases which never occur4 ,the 
signal service rendered by the champions
  of the evolution theory1        ,quos 

nec fama ,dem1 nec fulmina1 nec         
minitanti      ,murmure compressit      
,clum1    is that they conquered the    
realm of organic nature for true        
knowledge1  and gave the drama of its   
development a new and profound interest1
  by showing with an uncompromising     
courage only equalled by the            
extraordinarily minute and patient      
research which justified it1 that  the  
apparent instances of divine contrivance
 with which nature teems  must be       
explained by the responsiveness1 the    
adaptability1 of living  protoplasm4    
,needless to say1 this demonstration    
does not in the least  disprove the     
existence of ,god as a supreme1         
conscious1 personal  ,intelligence4#ac  
,but it does forbid us to deduce the    
existence of such  a ,being from the    
observation of natural phenomena4 ,a    
living1 developing  universe has been   
set in the place of a ,divine           
,mechanician operating on  dead matter4 
,the question1 what conception we are to

 form of the forces of  evolution1 will 
be more fully discussed in the          
succeeding chapters on  ,biology1 as a  
foundation for views which will         
afterwards be put forward  in relation  
to ,ethics and to ,art4    ,but first we
 must clear the ground a little by      
considering what it  really is that we  
are to study1 and if it be possible to  
study it at  all4 ,nature-study if it is
 to be possible must begin1 and if it is
 to  be fruitful must end1 in something 
which is not strictly the study of      
nature1 but which we call ,philosophy4  
,one of the most brilliant examples of  
that union of philosophic  speculation  
with nature-study which is so marked a  
feature of the  ,german thought of our  
day is ,h4 von ,keyserling's work1 ,the 
,structure of  the ,world4#ad           
,keyserling begins by laying it down as 
a postulate of  thinking that 8,the     
,universe is a rounded1 inwardly        
coherent ,whole40    ,a postulate of    
thinking this is indeed1 and more than  

that--it  is a postulate of living4 ,if 
under all the variety and apparent      
discontinuity of the universe there does
 not lie ,one all-pervading  and        
unifying ,power1 then meditation and    
action are alike vain1 for none  can    
tell the hour when some incursion of the
 unknown may not shatter  our cosmos    
into chaos1 or leave us in a new        
universe with the edifice  of our past  
experience1 the familiar home of the    
spirit1 lying in ruins  around us4      
,every one assumes1 consciously or      
unconsciously1 that there  is such a    
,power1 that the universe is ,one1 that 
however mysterious1  however little     
known or understood it may be1 it is not
 essentially  deceptive or incalculable4
 ,the savage and the philosopher alike  
assume  this1 and act upon the          
assumption4 ,it is perhaps possible not 
merely  to assume but to prove it4 ,for 
let us try to imagine what would be the 
case if it were not true4 ,if the       
,principle1 the ultimate ,reality of the

  universe1 be not one it must be at    
least dual4 ,there must be not less     
than two principles4 ,now there are only
 three ways in which these two          
principles--and what we say will hold   
good for any greater number--can  be    
related to each other4 ,they must either
 7#a7 be identical1 or 7#b7  they must  
be complementary1 each possessing       
something which the other  is lacking   
in1 or 7#c7 they must negate each other 
and be mutually  contradictory and      
exclusive4 ,but two absolutely identical
 principles1  if we can conceive such a 
thing1 are indistinguishable from one4  
,two  or more complementary principles1 
again1 make up1 when taken together1    
but a single whole1 as in the ,christian
 ,trinity4 ,therefore if the  universe  
be really dual1 its two principles must 
negate and contradict  each other4 ,now 
these two hostile principles must either
 be equal  in force or one must be more 
powerful than the other4 ,in the latter 
event1 seeing that they divide between  

them the sum total of existence  and    
thus stand in naked and essential       
antagonism1 with no place for  evasion1 
and no auxiliary or modifying forces to 
call in1 it follows  of necessity that  
if one surpassed the other by even the  
smallest  conceivable excess1 it must1  
in eternity1 master it and reduce it to 
impotence4 ,so by this road we come back
 to unity again4 ,if1 however1 we       
suppose our two forces to be co-equal   
and co-eternal1 we have to ask          
ourselves what we mean by supposing them
 to be antagonistic4 ,antagonism  can   
only arise when there is action4 ,but   
two equal forces acting in  direct      
contradiction to each other must        
mutually cancel each other1 and  the    
result is zero4 ,on such an hypothesis  
the universe could never have  come into
 being4 ,it may also be pointed out that
 the hypothesis itself  seems to be     
irrational4 ,for action means the       
production of a change of  some kind1   
change in the nature or situation of    

objects4 ,but if one  of our forces is  
producing changes of a certain kind and 
the other  producing changes of another 
kind1 then they are not contradictory   
but complementary4 ,the only real       
antagonism between two ultimate         
principles must consist in one of them  
being identified with action1  change1  
life1 the other with immobility and     
death4 ,but a principle of  immobility  
and death1 if there could be such a     
thing1 could not also be  a principle of
 action1 not even of destructive action1
 for to act at  all would be a          
contradiction of its own nature4 ,it    
would begin and end  in total inaction1 
and the field would be clear for the    
other ,power1  just as if nothing else  
existed4 ,it follows that1 in the living
 and  moving universe around us1 there  
cannot be any such thing as an active   
principle of destruction and death4 ,we 
are obliged to perceive ,being  under   
the guise of ,becoming and ,becoming    
under the guise of ,change and          

,progression4 ,this is a process taking 
place in the visible and temporal  order
 of things and capable1 under certain   
conditions1 of partial  arrest or       
retrogression4 ,but the ,whole1 regarded
 as a whole1 can be  and can contain    
nothing but life1 and must under all its
 diversity  7which is an aspect of life7
 be ,one4 ,it is this unity which alone 
can  make intelligible and rational the 
diversity of which every study of  life 
must treat4 ,it is my endeavour in the  
present work to bring into  clear light 
some important aspects of this unity1 as
 revealed in the  inter-relations of the
 parts of which1 to our eyes1 it seems  
to be  composed4#ae          ,,chapter  
,,ii    ,,the ,,wheel ,,of ,,life       
,i heard them in their sadness say      
,the earth rebukes the thought of ,god2 
,we are but embers wrapped in clay1     
,a little nobler than the sod4          
,but ,i have touched the lips of clay2  
,mother1 thy rudest sod to me      ,is  
thrilled with fire of hidden day1       

,and haunted by all mystery4--,a4,e4    
,it has long been known that no definite
 line of demarcation can be  drawn      
between the animal and the vegetable    
worlds4 ,there are lowly  organisms     
which cannot be decisively referred     
either to the one or  to the other4 ,it 
has been more recently shown that the   
apparently  more strongly marked line   
between the living and the non-living   
also  grows wavering and indistinct in  
places4 ,metals are known to respond  to
 stimuli and to show #8fatigue' in a    
manner commonly attributed only  to the 
nervous system of animals1#af while some
 of the phenomena of  crystallization   
strongly resemble those of vitality4#ag 
,le ,dantec has  uttered the latest word
 of physics on this subject1 where he   
insists on  the 8absence of all         
essential difference and all absolute   
discontinuity  between living and       
non-living matter40#ah ,indeed1 one may 
say of  nature-study in general1 that   
if1 as ,plato said1 the beginning of    

knowledge is in definitions and         
classification1 the end of it lies in   
getting rid of them4 ,there is probably 
no such thing as a universally          
applicable definition of any group of   
natural phenomena4 ,there is  certainly 
no condition of matter of which we are  
entitled to say that  ,life is          
impossible without it4 ,still1 natural  
groups have well-marked  central        
features1 even if at their margins they 
melt into something  else4 ,now the     
things which in the ordinary sense of   
the word we call  ,living are marked by 
these characters3 ,their chemical       
constituents  are always compounds of   
carbon4 ,these compounds are what is    
called  #8unstable'--they #8consume' or 
disintegrate by combining with oxygen in
  air or water4 ,in this process        
organisms obtain the energy necessary   
for assimilation and growth4 ,the above 
characters 7carbon-compounds1  chemical 
instability1 and faculty of             
assimilation7 apply to plants and       

animals alike4 ,but we find1 in general1
 that plants are able1 from  inorganic  
mineral constituents such as carbonic   
acid1 water1 nitrates1  sulphates1      
etc41#ai to build up the organic        
compounds like proteid1  albumin1 the   
carbohydrates1 alcohol1 fat2 while      
animals use for their  nourishment not  
the inorganic substances but only       
organic compounds  already formed by    
plants or by other animals4 ,a          
well-developed  vegetable world must    
therefore1 it would seem1 have preceded 
the  appearance of animal life on the   
globe4#bj ,it was long believed that    
these organic compounds of carbon could 
only be formed by the vital  action of  
living vegetation4 ,one of the epochs in
 the history of modern  chemistry has   
been the demonstration 7first by ,whler1
 in #ahbh17 that  many of them can be   
produced in the laboratory from         
inorganic chemical  constituents4 ,but  
this is only effected by circuitous and 
difficult  ways1 and--a circumstance    

often overlooked--it only resembles what
 is  accomplished in nature if we       
include under nature the directive      
agency  represented by the chemist      
himself1 as well as the materials with  
which  he deals4    ,the characteristic 
colour of living vegetation is green4   
,this is also  the rarest of colours    
among the higher animals4#ba ,it is due 
in  vegetables to the presence in their 
cells of grains of the substance  known 
as chlorophyll1 which very few animals  
possess or have need  of4 ,it is        
developed normally under the action of  
sunlight1 and plays  a most important   
part in the economy of the plant4 ,the  
usual method  by which any organism     
obtains the energy necessary for its    
vital  functions is through the         
oxidization1 i4e4 the slow burning1 of  
its  substance1 by combination with the 
oxygen of the air4 ,the process is  to  
all intents the same as the more rapid  
oxidization1 under great  heat1 of coal 
in a steam-engine4 ,if a plant can      

obtain sugar1 which  oxidizes easily in 
contact with atmospheric oxygen1 it has 
thus a fund  of energy to draw on for   
all the processes of its life4 ,now     
sugar is  composed of carbon and water4 
,carbon exists in the air1 in           
combination  with oxygen1 in the form   
known as carbonic acid4 ,chlorophyll1 in
 some  way as yet unexplained1 enables  
plants1 when acted upon by light1 to    
take in carbonic acid from the air and  
to disintegrate it into its             
constituents1 carbon and oxygen4 ,the   
oxygen disappears again in the  air1 and
 the released carbon combines with water
 in the plant to form  sugar1#bb thus   
giving the plant its needed store of    
potential energy4  ,all it does with    
this energy is to live1 grow1 and       
reproduce its kind2  till at length a   
time comes when the assimilative energy 
weakens  relatively to the forces of    
decay1 and the plant dies2 it is again  
resolved into the chemical constituents 
from which it was built up2  but not    

without having passed on the flame of   
life to burn afresh in  its descendants4
    ,plants which have no chlorophyll1  
like certain bacteria and moulds1 and   
which1 therefore1 cannot decompose the  
carbonic acid in the air for  their     
nourishment1 offer an interesting       
example of the manner in which  ,nature 
contrives to get her way1 if not by the 
normal instruments1 then  by the        
utilization of others4 ,they acquire    
their first store of energy  sometimes  
like animals1 from other organic        
compounds1 or they take  carbon from    
acetates and tartrates4 ,the            
nitro-bacteria appear to depend  on     
ammonia derived from decaying animal    
matter1 and the moulds draw  their      
energy from sugar1 which 7as in our     
jams1 etc47 they find already  formed4  
,there are other plants1 such as the    
fly-eating ,drosera1 which feed  upon   
organic substances with the aid of      
digestive juices1 exactly as  animals   
do2 and there are animals1 such as      

,hydra and others1 of very  primitive   
form1#bc which produce chlorophyll and  
are thereby enabled1  like plants1 to   
feed upon carbonic acid4 ,the           
distinction therefore  which has been   
drawn between the two kingdoms as       
regards their modes of  nourishment     
must1 like other definitions of natural 
groups1 be taken  to apply to central   
and typical forms and not to constitute 
a distinct  boundary line4 ,allowing for
 these exceptional cases1 we may say    
broadly that the wheel of life makes its
 full circle in passing from  inorganic 
matter through plants to animals and    
thence back to gases and  minerals      
again4 ,the process of taking in fresh  
matter1 transforming it  chemically into
 living tissue1 and thus repairing the  
waste occasioned  by the decomposition  
of the carbon-compounds of that tissue1 
is  technically known as ,metabolism4   
,this is the typical and characteristic 
function of organic life4    ,now this  
function of living matter1 or           

,protoplasm1 depends upon two  elements3
 first1 its ,substance2 secondly1 its   
,structure4 ,as regards  the former1 we 
are in this serious difficulty1 that    
living matter can  never be chemically  
investigated by any means at present    
known1 for  it dies immediately in      
presence of any of the reagents which   
are used  to ascertain its chemical     
composition4 ,it is known that there are
 no  elementary substances in living    
matter which are not also found  in the 
world of inorganic matter1 but it is    
also known that their  synthetic        
combination in living is different from 
that which obtains in  dead tissue1#bd  
and it is precisely through this        
factor--that of the  grouping or        
synthesis of elements--that the most    
remarkable forms of  energy are         
developed4    ,the secret of life1      
therefore1 cannot be stated in terms of 
chemistry1  because we cannot surprise  
the secret of its chemical synthesis4   
,even  if we could do this we should    

still be unable to say why certain      
syntheses should appear in living matter
 and resolve themselves into  others at 
death4    ,we find1 however1 in the     
investigation of organic tissue 7plant  
or  animal7 by such means as are        
available1 that one substance is common 
to all the organic and is never found   
7as such7 in the inorganic  world4 ,this
 is called ,proteid4 ,it is composed of 
five elements--,carbon1  ,hydrogen1     
,sulphur1 ,nitrogen1 and ,oxygen1 which 
are combined in  proportions not at     
present ascertained4 ,subject to the    
limitations just  set forth we may say  
that proteid is the essential stuff of  
organic  tissue4 ,the two other usual   
7though not1 like proteid1 universal7   
constituents of this tissue--the        
,carbohydrates 7sugar1 starch1 etc47 and
  the ,fats--are1 it is believed1 formed
 partly from the products of the        
metabolism of proteid4    ,when we come 
to deal with the essential ,structure of
 life we are  in much the same          

difficulty as that in which we found    
ourselves in  investigating its chemical
 ,substance4 ,we can observe living     
cells under  the microscope1 but the    
most powerful microscope has never      
reached  the limits beyond which we can 
say that there is no structure4 ,there  
is another limitation too4 ,the         
microscope has revealed the fact that   
all living tissue is made up of cells1  
but the internal structure of  the cell1
 beyond the fact that it is composed of 
a fluid substance  within which a darker
 coloured nucleus is usually embedded1  
could not  be ascertained until the     
recent device of staining the object    
with  aniline dyes had been thought of4 
,different substances in the cell are   
found to take these dyes differently1   
and thus a world of structure  of the   
most singular kind has been revealed in 
what formerly seemed a  simple1         
semi-transparent fluid4 ,some parts of  
this structure hover1 as  it were1 upon 
the very edge of perceptibility1 the    

most suitable dyes  for bringing them   
under observation not having been as yet
 discovered4  ,there may be others which
 no dye can reveal1 but which are yet   
active  and necessary parts of the      
organism4 ,moreover1 here too the cell  
is  killed by the means taken to observe
 it1 and the processes in which its     
structure is engaged can only as a rule 
be deduced from the observation  of a   
great number of cells in which their    
internal movements are  arrested at     
different stages of completion4    ,it  
has been practically demonstrated that  
all organic life must  be at least      
duplex if not multiplex in its          
constituent elements4  ,in its simplest 
known form it consists of ,protoplasm   
and ,nucleus4  ,we know that the        
carrying-on of all vital functions      
depends on  peculiar relations existing 
between these two elements1 but what    
these relations exactly are is still    
quite obscure4 ,both protoplasm  and    
nucleus are compounds of proteid with   

other chemical substances  not yet fully
 determined4 ,protoplasm is a fluid1 and
 has been shown  by the epoch-making    
observations of ,btschli#be to have a   
structure  resembling that of an        
exceedingly minute foam4 ,the nucleus   
usually  exists in the form of a single 
definite body1 but it may be scattered  
through the protoplasm of the organism  
in little granules4 ,in the  lowliest of
 organisms1 the ,amb1 we have simply a  
speck of  protoplasm containing a       
nucleus1 but with no surrounding wall of
 the  harder substance which protoplasm 
builds up for itself in the cells       
belonging to higher forms of life4 ,such
 amboid forms are the white  corpuscles 
in the human blood1 whose slow changes  
of form we can  observe under the       
microscope1 and which play so important 
a part in our  economy by feeding on the
 noxious bacteria which produce the     
various  forms of blood-poisoning and   
zymotic disease4    ,a more detailed    
account of the functions and structure  

of the cell must  be reserved for the   
next chapter4 ,in considering these and 
all other  phenomena of vitality let me 
again recall the warning expressed in   
the  taunt of ,mephistopheles to the    
young student3 the lines are as true    
to-day as they were when ,goethe wrote  
them over a hundred years ago3--        
8,if some living thing you would learn  
about1      ,you begin by driving its   
,spirit out2      ,there lie the parts  
of it1 one by one1      ,but the binding
 ,spirit1 alas1 is gone60               
,,chapter ,,iii    ,,de ,,minimis       
,immense have been the preparations for 
me1      ,faithful and friendly the arms
 that have help'd me4         99        
99       99       99       99           
8,before ,i was born out of my mother   
generations guided me1      ,my embryo  
has never been torpid1 nothing could    
overlay it40                            
,walt ,whitman4      ,there are two     
functions of organic life which are     
often confused  together1 but which it  

is well to keep distinct in our thought4
 ,these  are ,growth and ,development4  
,the mark of growth is that an organism1
 by  assimilation from the outside      
world1 becomes larger than it was4 ,but 
in development it becomes different from
 what it was4 ,the history of  an embryo
 in the womb presents a succession of   
phenomena which1 when  one comes to     
realize them1 almost stagger thought2   
for1 while remaining  the same thing all
 through1 it is continually becoming a  
different  class of thing--first two    
cells1 then one cell1 then a fish1 a    
quadruped1 ultimately a human being4    
,this is ,development4 ,once born1 it   
is laid hold of by the principle of     
,growth which lasts until maturity4     
,now in the groups called ,species1 as  
well as in individuals1 we observe      
exactly the same distinction4 ,the      
members of a species multiply and       
increase their numbers4 ,this is        
,growth4 ,but under certain conditions1 
which we have now to investigate1 they  

vary in type and ultimately give  rise  
to new species differing widely from    
that from which they sprang4  ,this we  
call ,development or1 in the more       
popular term for the process  when      
applied to species1 ,evolution4    ,the 
investigation of this process in all its
 details has been the  master-impulse of
 biology ever since the fact of the     
process was  established by the         
researches of ,darwin4    ,in ,darwin's 
time the study of evolution was mainly  
an affair of  what is called ,natural   
,history ,but it has now been realized  
that  fully to comprehend the processes 
involved--so far as they can  ever be   
comprehended--it is necessary to find   
out of what kind of  material living    
beings are composed1 and how their      
fundamental  processes take place4 8,the
 ultimate problems of sex1              
fertilization1  inheritance1 and        
development10 says ,wilson1 have been   
now 8shown to be  cell-problems40#bf    
,before going further1 therefore1 we    

must give  some account of the leading  
facts connected with the structure and  
vital action of the cell4      ,since   
the publication of the ,origin of       
,species1 probably the most  important  
contribution to biological theory is to 
be found in the  researches of ,dr4 ,a4 
,weismann1 and particularly in his large
 work1 ,the  ,evolution ,theory1 of     
which a masterly ,english translation   
has recently  appeared4#bg ,weismann1 on
 one side1 represents an heroic attempt 
to  bring back to the strictly          
mechanical principles of ,darwinism the 
tide  of biological speculation1 which  
has been flowing more and more in  the  
direction of recognizing an essential   
and not a merely fortuitous  connexion  
between the goal of the evolution of    
natural forms and the  means taken by   
nature to attain it4 ,on another side he
 has brought the  physiology of the cell
 into true relation with the natural    
history of  the organism and of the     
species1 and has become the author1 or  

at least  the first great expounder and 
systematizer1 of a theory of            
heredity--the  now famous ,germ-,plasm  
theory--much of which seems a solid1    
permanent1  and deeply important        
contribution to knowledge4 ,but this    
theory seems  to lead straight to a     
non-mechanical or psychic conception of 
the  driving-force of evolution1 and    
,weismann has therefore supplied the    
other part which1 in the view of the    
present writer and of many others       
better qualified to judge1 seems to be  
of the nature of a baseless and         
improbable hypothesis1 devised to find a
 means of avoiding recourse to  any     
non-mechanical conception of the        
ultimate nature of evolutionary         
processes4    ,as we shall be much      
concerned with ,weismann's views1 let us
 place at  the head of our study of them
 a couple of passages in which his      
general  attitude towards the phenomena 
of vital processes is expressed4    8,in
 our time10 he writes1 8the great riddle

 has been solved--the riddle  of the    
origin of what is best suited to its    
purpose without the  co-operation of    
purposive forces40#bh 8,we must         
certainly assume10 he  declares1 8that  
the mechanical theory of life is        
correct40#bi    ,a longer passage shows 
us what he understands by               
#8mechanical'3--        8,the living    
machine differs essentially from other  
machines in the      fact that it       
constructs itself2 it arises by         
development from a      cell1 by going  
through numerous stages of development1 
but none of      these stages is a dead 
thing1 each in itself is a living       
organism      whose chief function is to
 give rise to the next stage4 ,thus     
each stage of the development may be    
compared to a machine whose             
function consists in producing a similar
 but more complex machine4      ,each   
stage is thus composed1 just like the   
complete organism1 of      a number of  
such #8constellations' of elementary    

substances and      elementary forces1  
whose number in the beginnings is       
relatively      small1 but increases    
rapidly with each new stage40#cj    ,it 
would have been simpler1 but it would   
not have suited ,weismann's  conception 
of nature1 to say that the 8living      
machine0 differs  essentially from other
 machines in not being a machine at all1
 or  anything in the least like one4 ,no
 machine constructs itself4 ,no  machine
 can do anything but repeat a certain   
series of movements1 each  series       
exactly similar to the last4 ,what      
,weismann has described is  not a       
machine1 just because it is a living    
organism4 ,it is surely as  true in     
biology as it is in mechanics that in   
any purely physical chain  of sequences 
you cannot by any possibility get more  
out at the end than  you put in at the  
beginning1 unless you take it in upon   
the way4    8,development10 writes      
,weismann1 8is an expression of         
life40#ca ,but  8life10 again1 is merely

 8a chemico-physical phenomenon40#cb ,to
 say  that development is an expression 
of a chemico-physical phenomenon does   
not seem a very illuminating or helpful 
generalization4 ,the fact is  that the  
statement that life is a                
chemico-physical phenomenon does not    
take us further towards an understanding
 of the subject than when we  say1 what 
is equally true1 that chemical and      
physical phenomena are a  manifestation 
of life4 ,life is everywhere4 ,we use it
 as a convenient  term for the energies 
associated with #8living' protoplasm1   
because  we observe that when it is     
present protoplasmic structures act and 
react 7as in the phenomena of nutrition1
 for instance7 in certain               
chemico-physical ways1 while1 if it be  
absent1 the same protoplasm  acts in    
other ways1 also chemico-physical1 but  
quite different from  the former1 and   
analogous to the ways of minerals and of
 gases into  which dead protoplasm      
finally resolves itself4 ,the           

chemico-physical  actions and reactions 
appear in a living plant or animal to be
 under  the direction of a force devoted
 to the preservation of that particular 
organism4 ,the smallest atom of organic 
life includes not only a  chemical      
compound but a chemist4 ,in the mineral 
world we may say  broadly that there is 
no individuality of parts4#cc ,with     
protoplasmic  structure1 therefore1 a   
stage is reached in the evolution of    
life which  we may rightfully call      
#8life' par excellence1 but there has   
been no  breach of continuity1 and it is
 highly probable1 as ,weismann himself  
suggests1 that far below the limits of  
microscopic observation the             
transformation of #8dead' into #8living'
 matter is continually going  forward4  
,when1 therefore1 we speak of the action
 of living protoplasm  the distinction  
is rather between this action and that  
of a piece of  mechanism than between   
protoplasm and minerals or gases4       
,the phenomena of cell-growth1          

reproduction1 and heredity are those    
which lie at the basis of all organized 
protoplasmic life1 and in  all the forms
 of that life1 vegetable as well as     
animal1 they are  extraordinarily       
similar2 there is1 in fact1 nothing     
which all the  species of living things 
have so much in common4 ,one of the most
  wonderful and fascinating chapters in 
the whole range of science is  that     
which contains the account of these     
processes1 and it is only  within the   
last few years that it has been possible
 to write it4  ,weismann1 in a certain  
section of his ,evolution ,theory1 has  
brought the  facts together in a manner 
which1 for its lucidity and mastery of  
the  subject-matter1 deserves to be     
called a classic example of scientific  
exposition4#cd ,to understand the basis 
of the higher manifestations  of life1  
these processes1 as we have said1 must  
first be understood1  and an account of 
them1 based on ,weismann1 and accepting 
his germ-plasm  theory so far as it     

seems to accord with established facts1 
will be  given1 of course only in the   
broadest outlines4#ce ,at the same time 
it will be attempted1 here and there1 to
 throw some light on the  rationale of  
the processes described4      ,all      
animal and vegetable structure arises   
from cellular tissue1 and in  fact is   
either cellular tissue or1 as in the    
case of bones1 scales1  etc41 the       
mineral deposit formed by the action of 
cells4 ,the simplest  living forms are  
composed of single cells1 and the most  
complex and  huge of them were each once
 nothing more than a single cell1       
possessed  of the powers of development 
and growth4 ,in multicellular organisms1
  this single originating cell is       
usually formed by the fusion of two     
imperfect cells by what is indifferently
 called conjugation1 sexual             
reproduction1 or #8amphimixis4' ,all    
cells1 whether they are the product  of 
conjugation or not1 grow1 when they do  
grow1 fundamentally in the  same way1   

and this way must now be described4     
,the contents of the typical cell are   
broadly differentiated into 7#a7  a more
 or less hardened envelope containing   
7#b7 a substance called  cytoplasm 7,gk4
 1 a cell71 and 7#c7 a small1 rounded1  
dark-coloured  body called the nucleus4 
,until recently nothing more than this  
was  known of the structure of the cell1
 and nothing at all of the functions  of
 the nucleus4 ,now1 keener microscopic  
research and better instruments  have   
thrown a flood of light on              
cell-organization1 and the nucleus  is  
revealed as a powerful factor in the    
vital processes of the cell  and the    
bearer of its hereditary                
substance#cf--that which makes it a     
cell of some particular organism1 plant 
or animal1 and of no other4  ,this      
hereditary substance1 divined by the    
botanist ,ngeli1 and since  observed by 
,weismann and others1 is called         
#8chromatin' 7from the fact  that it is 
observed by means of the stain it takes 

from the addition of  an aniline dye71  
or #8idioplasm' 7,ngeli's appellation71 
which might be  rendered the #8selfhood 
substance' of the cell4    ,cellular    
structure begins1 as has long been      
known1 by the division  of a cell into  
two1 each of the parts then proceeding  
to grow by the  assimilative power of   
protoplasm and in due time to divide in 
its  turn4 ,a mass of these cells is    
called #8cellular tissue4' ,the         
so-called  #8budding' of a small cell   
from the side of the parent is1 of      
course1  simply a form of division4 ,the
 process of division and redivision     
goes on1 accompanied by a               
differentiation in the shape and        
function  of the different cells or     
groups of cells which are formed1 until 
the  structure of the plant or animal is
 completed4 ,in these operations  the   
nucleus plays the principal part4 ,the  
division of the cell is  essentially the
 division of the nucleus4 ,a detached   
portion of a cell  which contains       

nothing of the nucleus can reproduce    
itself no more2 it  perishes4           
,illustration3 ,fig4 ,i4    ,this       
illustration1 which 7by permission of   
,the ,macmillan ,co47 ,i take  from     
,wilson's work1 ,the ,cell1 is one of   
remarkable interest1 for in it  the     
microscope has caught1 in a piece of    
actual tissue from the skin  of the     
salamander1 ,amblystoma1 three nuclei in
 different stages of  mitotic division4 
,most of the nuclei1 which are seen as  
large1 roundish  objects in their       
respective cells1 show the chromatin in 
its #8resting'  condition interspersed  
through the nucleus4 ,the nucleus under 
a shows  the chromatin gathered into    
chromosomes4 ,at b the centrosomes with 
their astral figures 7which can barely  
be detected7 have been formed1  the     
chromosomes have carried out their      
longitudinal division1 and are  being   
attracted half towards one centrosome   
and half towards the other4  ,a little  
above this the process has been carried 

further1 and the sides  of the cell are 
beginning to contract1 preparatory to   
forming two new  ones4 ,in ,fig4 #b will
 be found a clear representation of the 
astral  figures4    ,to face p4 #dj4    
,illustration3 ,fig4 #b4    ,the above  
illustration from ,wilson's ,the ,cell  
shows in more or  less diagrammatic form
 the stage of nuclear division in which 
the  chromosomes1 as yet undivided1 have
 arranged themselves in the centre  of  
the nucleus4 ,the centrosomes with their
 astral figures have been  formed1 and  
have taken their places near each pole  
of the nucleus4 ,the  next stage is     
represented at b in ,fig4 #a4      ,when
 a cell is about to divide1 an organ of 
recent discovery1 termed  the           
#8centrosome1' comes into play4 ,this   
appears as the core of a sort  of rayed 
or star-like figure1 and it takes up its
 position beside the  nucleus4 ,when the
 cell is resting1 the chromatin is      
dispersed through  the nucleus in a mass
 of broken lines1 forming a kind of     

network4 ,when  division begins1 this   
broken-up substance forms itself into a 
series of  small threads1 sometimes     
straight1 sometimes looped or curved4   
,these  are called #8chromosomes4'      
,there are always a definite and        
invariable  number of chromosomes for   
every species of plant or animal--the   
cell  of a man has so many1#cg of a     
grasshopper so many1 of a lily so  many4
 ,the chromosomes range themselves in a 
belt across the centre of  the nucleus1 
and the centrosome breaks into two      
parts1 which take up  a position one at 
each end of the nucleus4 ,regarding the 
nucleus as  a tiny globe1 we may say    
that the chromosomes lie in the         
equatorial  plane1 while the two parts  
of the centrosome move towards the      
,north and  ,south ,poles respectively4 
,the centrosomes1 at the two poles of   
the nucleus1 are surrounded each  with a
 halo of ray-like processes 7the        
centrosphere71 and on the sides  next   
each other these rays penetrate the     

nucleus and join1 forming a             
spindle-shaped figure with a            
centrosphere at each end4 ,this spindle 
figure appears to be the organ by which 
the division is accomplished1  for each 
of the chromosomes now splits itself in 
two longitudinally1  as one cleaves a   
log of wood1 and one half passes over to
 each  centrosphere1 thus making an     
exact division of the whole chromatin or
  hereditary substance4 ,an indentation 
now appears in the outer wall of  the   
cell and also in the nucleus--it deepens
 and deepens1 and finally  two cells    
appear instead of one1 each with a      
nucleus1 a centrosome1 and  a supply of 
chromatin1 the latter now breaking up   
into its original  condition of         
diffusion through the nucleus4 ,in      
multicellular organisms  the two new    
cells1 of course1 do not separate1 but a
 wall is formed  between them4 ,some    
plant-cells contain several nuclei2 in  
this case  division of the nucleus is   
not necessarily followed by that of the 

cell4#ch    ,throughout the processes of
 cell division it is apparent that the  
utmost care is taken to ensure an exact 
partition of the chromatin  between the 
two new cells4 ,this partition has to be
 qualitative as well  as quantitative2  
for one chromosome may1 and no doubt    
does1 differ in  function and influence 
from another1 and has various elements  
within  itself4 ,the longitudinal       
division of each chromosome1 in which   
the elements are arranged like beads on 
a rosary1 ensures that the  different   
elements of the whole hereditary        
substance shall appear in  each new cell
 in exactly the same relative proportion
 as in the parent  cell2 just as if two 
persons had to divide between them a    
dozen apples  of different varieties1   
and secured perfect equality1 not by    
taking  six apples each1 but by dividing
 every apple in two4 ,this is the       
fundamental cause of the fixity of      
species1 which means the production  of 
offspring having the same specific      

characteristics as their parents4  ,how1
 under these conditions1 the mutability 
of species is brought  about must be    
discussed later4 ,it is first of all    
necessary to inquire  more closely into 
the composition of the chromatin1 and to
 study the  special phenomena of        
cell-growth in connexion with           
conjugation1 where  new and             
extraordinary features come to light4   
,a chromosome is not1 or is not usually1
 a simple body4 ,in all but the  very   
lowest organisms it is composed1 as we  
have said1 of a number  of elements4    
,each of these elements is styled a     
#8determinant1' and  it controls the    
form1 colour1 and function of some      
definite part of  the future plant or   
animal4 ,weismann believes the          
determinants to be  grouped into complex
 bodies called #8ids1' each id          
containing all the  determinants        
necessary for a whole being1 and each   
chromosome being  composed of a number  
of ids4 ,these ids are microscopically  

visible2  they form the beads on the    
rosary already referred to2 but their   
exact composition and potency are       
largely conjectural at present4  ,how   
far the subdivision of determinants may 
go1 it is1 of course1  impossible to    
ascertain4 ,we cannot say1 for instance1
 whether there  is a determinant for    
every hair of the head1 or one for the  
hirsute  covering in general1 or one for
 each of the different sections of the  
scalp4 ,but the division is very minute4
 ,each of the ids may be a very  complex
 body1 as we see by the manner in which1
 in some families1  small physical signs
 like a patch of hair differing from the
 colour of  the rest1 or a tiny pit or  
mole on the skin of a certain part of   
the  body1 may be handed down1 in that  
precise position1 for generations4      
,there may be1 and1 in fact1 in the     
higher plants and animals there  must   
be1 a number of determinants for each   
part of the structure1  and the final   
characteristics of that part must be the

 resultant of  a blend of all these     
determinants1 the more powerful         
predominating  in proportion to their   
vitality and force4 ,the whole body of  
the  chromosomes may therefore be said  
to represent one or more complete       
beings in diagrammatic form1 each part  
of the complete animal or plant  being  
represented by some part of a           
chromosome1 though of course not        
physically resembling it4 ,and we thus  
strike on the very curious and          
startling fact that1 as far as we can   
see1 every cell in every  organism      
throughout the world of life contains   
all the elements of the  whole being to 
which it belongs1 and is1 potentially1  
that being4#ci  ,all the higher         
organisms possess two kinds of          
cells--reproductive cells  which have   
the faculty of fusing together to       
reproduce their kind1  and #8somatic' or
 body cells1 which1 although they all   
originate in a  reproductive cell1      
multiply only by division1 and have the 

function of  forming the various parts  
of the bodily structure4 ,of the nucleus
 of a  germ cell 8we cannot say that it 
differs in any essential or definite    
way from the nucleus of any other       
cell40#dj ,all possess the chromatin  or
 hereditary substance of the organism1  
though1 according to ,boveri1  the germ 
cells alone receive all the chromatin of
 the parent cell1  the derived somatic  
cells having to part with some of it4#da
 ,there may  be some distinction1 though
 on what it may be based it is at       
present  impossible to say1 between     
cells that are capable of developing    
into a  complete organized creature and 
those that are not4    ,every somatic   
cell is doomed to perish1 but every     
reproductive cell  now upon the globe is
 united1 not metaphorically1 not by a   
chain  of successive originations or    
impulses1 but by actual identity of     
substance1 with the first beginnings of 
protoplasmic life in the abyss  of time2
 and it has before it a potential       

immortality commensurate with  life     
itself4 ,it is not1 as used to be       
thought1 a physiological product  of the
 organism in which it dwells2 it is a   
part of the original  reproductive cell 
from which that organism sprang4    ,to 
understand these conceptions we must now
 study the phenomena of  reproduction in
 the light of recent discoveries4       
,the lowest form of the reproductive    
process is1 of course1 by simple        
division and redivision4 ,this is       
characteristic of many of those         
organisms which consist only of a single
 cell1 and it may co-exist1  even in    
these1 with a considerable degree of    
structural complexity1  as in the       
#8trumpet animalcule1' ,stentor raselii4
 ,but among the  lowest of these        
unicellular organisms a curious process 
is sometimes  observed to take place1 in
 which we may doubtless recognize the   
origin  of sexual reproduction4 ,two1   
three1 or more ,amb#db approach  each   
other1 partially coalesce1 and remain   

united for some time4 ,they  then       
separate again4 ,no new creatures are   
formed by this contact2  there are no   
visible results at all4 ,but that       
something which is  for the advantage of
 the organisms takes place during this  
period of  union is certain1 and in the 
light of what is known of processes in  
other organisms we can make a very good 
guess at what this something  is4 ,each 
,amba parts with some of its chromatin  
to some other and  receives an          
equivalent in exchange4 ,the creature is
 thus reconstituted4  ,the element of   
change1 which always provides so marked 
a stimulus  to vital processes1 has been
 obtained4 ,the process has actually    
been  observed in a certain ,infusorian1
 ,noctiluca4 ,two ,noctilucas  coalesce1
 and then proceed to divide at right    
angles to the plane of  contact4 ,this  
necessarily has the effect of giving to 
each of the  two new ,noctilucas which  
result from the division half the       
nucleus  and chromatin of one parent and

 half of the other4 ,there is1 however1 
no actual new birth or multiplication of
 beings2 there are only two  ,noctilucas
 as before4    ,we can now imagine that 
if a certain class of unicellular       
organisms  are in the habit of          
approaching each other for the purpose  
of this  interchange of portions of     
their chromatin1 they might             
occasionally1  under the influence of   
the approaching conjugation1 expel those
  portions of chromatin before another  
cell was in a position to  receive it4  
,what would happen if two cells1 each of
 which had thus got  rid of half its    
chromatin1 were to come into contact8   
,plainly1 they  would fuse together2    
they would not separate again2 they     
would become a  new organism4 ,each     
would have supplied just what the other 
lacked4    ,this process1 forming the   
bridge from mere cell division to sexual
  reproduction1 is a hypothetical one2  
it has not1 ,i believe1 been  actually  
observed in unicellular organisms1 but  

it is exactly what we  find to be taking
 place when we reach the stage of sexual
 reproduction  among multicellulars4    
,multicellular organisms of more or less
 elaborate  structure plainly cannot1   
without breaking up1 fuse together like 
single cells4 ,how1 then1 are they1 as a
 species1 to gain the advantages  of the
 temporary union and interchange of     
elements which we have  observed in the 
low unicellular organisms8 ,only in one 
way--by producing  special cells for    
this purpose4 ,these cells must         
represent the whole  parent1 they must  
be capable of shedding half their       
chromatin1 and1  when they have fused1  
must be capable of growing into a       
complete  organism like the parent4     
,when these specialized cells have been 
formed1 the others1 the somatic cells1  
will at the same time have  been        
specialized for other functions1 and    
will thus naturally lose  the original  
capacity for interchanging chromatin    
with other cells1  i4e4 for conjugation4

 ,we see the significance1 then1 of     
,weismann's  remark1 8germ cells made   
their appearance along with the         
multicellular  body40#dc ,they are an   
instance of that differentiation of     
structure  and function which takes     
place in all highly organized life4 ,we 
must note also that the benefits of     
conjugation which are realized          
individually by the lowest unicellular  
forms are only realized as a  species by
 the multicellulars4 ,a species must1   
then1 be regarded as in  some sense an  
organic whole1 and not as a mere        
aggregate of individuals4    ,in some   
very curious cases which stand on the   
borderland between  sexual and          
non-sexual reproduction1 the same       
organism is capable of  employing both  
methods4 ,thus1 among the lower seaweeds
 7,alg71 the  genus ,pandorina consists 
of a colony of sixteen green cells      
contained  in a kind of gelatinous      
matrix which the cells excrete4 ,each   
cell is  ordinarily capable of          

recreating the whole organism by        
division4 ,but  after this process has  
gone on for some time1 the need of      
conjugation  is felt1 the colony breaks 
up and cells begin to fuse with each    
other1  though never with those of the  
same colony4 ,in ,pandorina the two     
conjugating cells are similar in        
appearance1 but in the genus ,volvox  we
 begin to see a difference in the       
appearance of the two kinds of          
conjugating cells4 ,what may be called  
the #8female' cells 7germ cells7  are   
large and quiescent2 the #8male' 7sperm 
cells7 are smaller and  active4 ,the    
primary meaning of this is that the     
larger cells have  stored up a supply of
 nutriment for the young organism1 and  
are  therefore bulkier and less active1 
while the others contain only the  bare 
elements of cell-structure and are      
therefore able1 as they are  obliged1 to
 be active in order to search out their 
quiescent mates4  ,a strictly vegetable 
organism1 in this stage1 may therefore  

possess  organs of locomotion1 and be as
 free-moving as a fish4 ,a remarkable   
fact has come to light respecting those 
organisms 7like some ,alg  among        
vegetables and ,infusorians among       
animals71 which are capable  both of    
conjugation and of reproduction by      
division1 namely1 that the  supply of   
nutriment often determines which method 
shall be followed4  ,if nutriment is    
abundant1 division is practised2 if it  
becomes  scanty1 an impulse appears to  
be given to conjugation4 ,infusorians1  
which ordinarily conjugate at pretty    
regular intervals1 can be kept          
indefinitely from doing so1 and confined
 to division1 by the simple  process of 
supplying abundance of nutritive matter 
in the water in  which they live4       
8,as far as we can see from an a priori 
point of view10 writes      ,dr4 ,e4 ,b4
 ,wilson in his great work on cell      
structure and cell      phenomena1      
8there is no reason why1 barring        
accident1 cell-division      should not 

follow cell-division in endless         
succession in the stream      of life4  
,it is possible1 indeed probable1 that  
such may be the      fact in some of the
 lower and simpler forms of life where  
no form      of sexual reproduction is  
known to occur4 ,in the vast majority of
      living forms1 however1 the series 
of cell-divisions tends to run      in  
cycles in each of which the energy of   
division gradually comes      to an end 
and is only restored by an admixture of 
living matter      derived from another 
cell4 ,this operation1 known as         
fertilization1      or fecundation1 is  
the essence of sexual reproduction1 and 
in it we      behold a process by which1
 on the one hand1 the energy of division
      is restored1 and by which1 on the 
other hand1 two independent lines       
of descent are blended into one4 ,why   
this dual process should take      place
 we are as yet unable to say40#dd       
,the actual mechanism of sexual         
reproduction is essentially the same    

wherever it occurs1 whether in a seaweed
 or a human being4 ,two cells  have to  
play their part in it1 the ,germ cell   
and the ,sperm cell1 and  these1 in the 
higher orders of organized beings1 come 
to be located  respectively in distinct 
classes or sexes of individuals4        
,reproduction  begins by the fusion of a
 sperm1 or male cell with a germ1 or    
female  cell4    ,these cells originally
 resemble the other cells of the same   
species1  containing the same number of 
chromosomes4 ,if this number was1 say1  
sixteen1 which is believed to be the    
number in man1 then a fusion of  two    
complete cells1 if it were possible1    
would produce a cell with  thirty-two   
chromosomes1 and that would mean a      
different species of  animal4 ,what     
happens is that each of the reproductive
 cells1 male  and female1 prepares      
itself for conjugation by getting rid of
 half  its chromosomes4 ,two divisions  
of the nucleus take place1 not as  in   
the ordinary fashion of cell-division1  

when the chromosomes split              
longitudinally1 but in such a way that1 
in each division1 four of  the sixteen  
chromosomes are bodily expelled from the
 nucleus and  from the cell1 when they  
either perish or1 in some cases1 appear 
to  help in forming an envelope of      
nutritive matter round the germ cell4   
,these divisions are called #8maturation
 divisions1' and until they  are        
accomplished1 fecundation is impossible4
 ,when a sperm cell after  maturation   
comes into the neighbourhood of a germ  
cell1 it penetrates  into its substance1
 using the long flagellum1 or tail-like 
process1  with which it is equipped as  
an organ of locomotion4 ,the two nuclei 
come into contact and coalesce1 and we  
have thus a new cell with its  sixteen  
chromosomes complete4 ,this cell is the 
origin of the new being4  ,it divides in
 two1 and each part divides and         
redivides1 different cells  gradually   
differentiating themselves as muscular  
tissue1 cartilage1  blood-corpuscles1   

nerves1 reproductive cells1 and so      
forth1 until the  whole animal is built 
up and is ready for birth4 ,one point of
 cardinal  importance must here be      
noted4 ,the originating cell1 as we have
 seen1  has eight of its sixteen        
chromosomes from one parent and eight   
from  another4 ,when division takes     
place1 these chromosomes1 as we have    
seen1  split longitudinally1 and the    
result is that each new cell gets       
exactly  the same mixture of chromatin  
as that of the originating cell--half   
from each parent4 ,this principle of    
division is carried on throughout  the  
whole process of building up the new    
being--every cell of the  latter1 down  
to the minutest details of its          
structure1 containing an  exactly equal 
quantity of hereditary elements from    
each of its parents4    ,it will be seen
 from the above account that the old    
conception of the  germ-cell as a       
passive body1 incapable of a change till
 #8fertilized' by  a male or sperm cell1

 was altogether wrong4 ,both male and   
female cells  prepare themselves for    
conjugation long before it takes place1 
and  neither of them can be said to be a
 more active agent in fertilization     
than the other4 ,not #8fertilization'   
but #8fusion' is the keyword of the     
process4 ,the mystical conception1 as   
old as ,plato1 of the male and  female  
as representing respectively the two    
halves of a complete being1  turns out  
to be no poetic metaphor4 ,as regards   
the essential features  of reproduction1
 it is a literal fact4    ,if we now ask
 why and by what mysterious law all     
these exact and  elaborate choric       
movements take place ,weismann and his  
school refer us  to 8chemotactic        
forces10 the nature of which is yet     
unknown4 ,chemotaxis  means simply the  
effect of the presence of certain       
substances on  vital organisms without  
specific chemical action4 ,the really   
essential  fact is that these special   
chemotactic forces are working in living

  protoplasm4 ,life is not the product  
or the slave of any chemotactic  forces1
 but their maker and steersman4    ,the 
following passage from a work of the    
late ,prof4 ,geo4 ,rolleston may  be    
pertinently quoted here3--              
8,there exists1 as is well known1 a     
tendency to resolve all                 
physiological into physico-chemical     
phenomena3 undoubtedly many      have   
been1 and some more may still remain to 
be1 so resolved2 but      the public may
 rest assured that in the kingdom of    
,biology no      desire for a           
rectification of frontiers will ever be 
called out by      any such attempts at1
 or successes in the way of1            
encroachment2 and      that where       
physics and chemistry can show that     
physico-chemical      agencies are      
sufficient to account for the phenomena1
 there their      claim upon the        
territory will be acceded to1 as in the 
cases      we have been glancing at     
certain animal poisons1 and where       

such claims cannot be established and   
fail to come up to the      quantitative
 requirements of strict science1 as in  
the cases of      continuous and of     
discontinuous development or            
self-multiplication      of a contagious
 germ1 and in some others1 they will be 
disallowed40#de    ,this was written in 
#ahgj4 ,a generation later the attempt  
to reduce  life to a physico-chemical   
phenomenon had not made much way1 as may
  be judged by the following passage    
from ,strasburger's ,text ,book of      
,botany3--#df        8,vital phenomena  
are essentially bound up with the living
      protoplasm4 ,no other substance   
exhibits a similar series of            
remarkable and varied phenomena1 such as
 we may compare with      the attributes
 of life4 ,as both physics and chemistry
 have been      restricted to the       
investigation of lifeless bodies1 any   
attempt to      explain vital phenomena 
solely by chemical and physical laws    
could      only be induced by a false   

conception of their real significance1  
and must lead to fruitless results4 ,the
 physical attributes of      air1 water1
 and of the glasses and metals made use 
of in physical      apparatus1 can never
 explain qualities like nutrition1      
respiration1      growth1 irritability  
and reproduction40    ,and ,wilson      
concludes his work by the admission that
        8the study of the cell has on   
the whole seemed to widen rather than   
to narrow the enormous gap that         
separates even the lowest forms of      
life from the inorganic world40#dg      
8,the lowest observed forms of life0    
would have been a more exact way  of    
stating the fact4      ,many questions  
of detail will occur to the reader at   
this point1 which  he will find answered
 in the pages of ,weismann or other     
investigators4  ,here we must confine   
ourselves to what has a distinct bearing
 on the  objects of this study4 ,one of 
the points which may be briefly touched 
on is the question how it comes that two

 germ cells1 once having  passed through
 their maturation divisions1 cannot fuse
 and form a  new being2 nor can two     
sperm cells4 ,were this possible we     
might have  #8self-fertilization1' and  
virginal conception or parthenogenesis1 
whenever two germ cells in the ovary of 
a female animal or in that of  a plant  
happened to come into contact4 ,but     
since the object of fusion  is the union
 of 7more or less7 unlike1 and not      
closely related1  elements1 we find that
 even when a kind of self-fertilization 
occurs1  as in some plants1 the sperm or
 pollen cells are differentiated        
visibly1 and probably still more        
invisibly1 from the germ cells4 ,but1   
apart from this1 the object of          
preventing the union of reproductive    
cells of the same sex is mechanically   
attained by a very curious  device4 ,the
 cell-organ by which division is carried
 out is the  centrosome4 ,but in the    
course of the two maturation divisions  
of the  germ cell1 that cell loses its  

centrosome1 which seems to be absorbed  
into the protoplasmic substance of the  
cell when once its task is              
accomplished4 ,no fusion of any number  
of such cells can therefore lead  to any
 further change or growth1 for growth is
 based on cell division1  and the       
centrosome is the organ of division4    
,the sperm cell1 on the  other hand1    
does not lose its centrosome2 it retains
 it to form the  organ of division for  
the new cell after conjugation4 ,but1   
reduced  as it is to little more than a 
bare nucleus without any envelope of    
nutritive matter1 the sperm cell cannot 
support the intense vital  activity     
called for in the initial stages of the 
life of a new being1  and therefore     
sperm cells1 like the germ cells1 though
 for a different  reason1 would be      
incapable of mutual conjugation1 even if
 the element  of mutual attraction      
existed among them4    ,another point of
 interest is the question of the        
determination of sex4  ,the known facts 

afford a strong corroboration of the    
general theory of  reproduction outlined
 above4 ,it has not been ascertained1   
nor is it1  perhaps1 ascertainable1     
whether the sperm cells of the male     
contain in  their chromatin a           
preponderance of male1 while the germ   
cells provide  chiefly the female       
determinants4#dh ,however this may be1  
it is certain  that determinants which  
severally control the formation both of 
male  and of female structure are always
 present in every combination of  the   
sperm and germ cells1 those which       
exhibit the greatest energy and         
vitality probably prevailing in the     
determination of the sex of the  future 
being4 ,this accounts at once not only  
for the cases 7rare in  the higher      
animals7 of actual hermaphroditism1 when
 the sex is really  indistinguishable1  
but for the universal occurrence in all 
male animals  of rudimentary female     
organs 7such as mamm7 and in all females
 of  rudimentary male organs4 ,both sets

 of determinants are always present2    
the more powerful prevail1 but the      
weaker have a deflecting influence  on  
the total result4 ,when the primary     
sexual characters of the embryo  are    
determined1 they appear to communicate a
 stimulus which starts into  activity   
the appropriate secondary characters1   
such as colouring and  other            
modifications not directly sexual4 ,an  
extraordinary case1 which  ,i take from 
,beddard's ,animal ,coloration1#di is   
that of a chaffinch  which was found to 
have on the left side of its body the   
plumage of a  hen bird and on its right 
that of a cock4 ,on dissection the      
meaning of  this freak of physiology was
 revealed4 ,the bird was an             
hermaphrodite1  having the female organs
 of generation on the left side of its  
body and  the male on the right4        
,hermaphroditism is not in itself a very
 uncommon  phenomenon in birds 7though  
here it is a monstrosity1 not1 as in    
slugs  and snails1 a natural and useful 

condition72 but the way in which in     
this instance it governed the           
distribution of colour is most peculiar2
  and of course it strongly reinforces  
,weismann's conception of distinct      
determinants for the various details of 
bodily structure4#ej    ,this brings us 
to the recognition of a competition     
among determinants  which is an         
important1 indeed a cardinal1 feature in
 ,weismann's theory  of evolution4 ,he  
makes1 as ,i am forced to believe1 an   
illegitimate  and extravagant use of it1
 but the principle may really exist and 
be operative without furnishing the     
master-word to the riddle of  organized 
being4 ,the master-word1 as ,i shall try
 to show1 is nature's  will to live4    
,but before going fully into this       
argument1 let us fix  in our minds the  
rationale of those processes of         
elementary organic  life which have been
 described in this chapter4             
,protoplasmic life may  be supposed to  
have originated1 and perhaps to be still

 originating1  in certain molecular     
combinations of matter4 ,in other words1
 the  combination1 when it took place1  
developed certain peculiar forces       
through which it was enabled to maintain
 itself and to grow1 by the  processes  
called assimilation and nutrition4      
,these forces1 then1 were  potentially  
present in nature before the molecules  
combined to evoke  them4 ,they are among
 the latent powers of life4 ,they       
waited1 ready  to be called into action 
when the required external form should  
be  arrived at in the play of molecular 
energy4 ,life first originated1 no      
doubt1 in unconnected and inconceivably 
small units of protoplasm4  ,between the
 units thus formed and their combination
 into the elaborate  structure which we 
now know a cell to be--packed as full of
 varied  energies1 it has been said1 as 
an ironclad is of machinery--there is   
evidently a very wide gap4 ,all we know 
is that when we have got the  cell1 we  
find it in possession of a complex      

apparatus for subdivision1  which1 taken
 together with the faculties of         
nutrition and growth1  enable any one   
cell to multiply indefinitely by        
producing replicas of  itself4 ,to life 
and growth1 then1 has been added the    
faculty for  multiplication4 ,here we   
strike on a veritable mystery4 ,why     
should  any new movement ever take      
place8 ,why should a cell ever divide in
  two8 ,we can only say that it is its  
property to do so4#ea ,it does  so      
because it is alive4 ,did this property 
first arise as one of a  multitude of   
aimless movements--the only one which   
ensured permanence  and multiplicity to 
the organisms which exhibited it8 ,if   
so1 then  ,nature1 at the time when life
 began on the earth1 behaved in a manner
  most unlike that in which she behaves 
at present4 ,if we are to  interpret the
 processes hidden in the remote past by 
the light of what  we see at present1 we
 shall conclude that1 at bottom1 the    
will to live  made molecular action--and

 the same force incorporated itself in  
the  combinations which originated      
protoplasmic life1 ordered the structure
  of the cell1 and gave it the need and 
the power to multiply4 ,nature is  for  
ever changing1 for ever straining after 
new life1 after more life4    ,having   
arrived at the cell with its powers of  
division1 the next step  was the power  
of conjugation between cells with their 
interchange of  vital substance1        
bringing about1 in ,weismann's words1 8a
 wealth and  diversity of organic       
architecture which without it would have
 been  unattainable40 ,it takes place by
 means of physical energies1 but the    
process is entirely inexplicable unless 
we assume that it exists to  satisfy a  
need1 a ,drang1 for life4 ,and this     
need1 although of course  it displays   
itself in physical processes1 is not in 
itself a physical  process4 ,at the very
 beginnings of structural life1 if not  
before it1  we are obliged to pass      
beyond physics in order to comprehend   

physical  phenomena4 ,whenever we find  
an aggregate of living units1 such as a 
,pandorina colony1 living with a        
communal life which is other than  the  
sum-total of the lives of the individual
 units1 we are in presence  at once of  
the necessity for a metaphysical        
conception1 to render  intelligible the 
unity in diversity which we perceive4   
,the response of living protoplasm to   
the stimuli it receives from the        
outside world is normally directed to   
the maintenance of the life and  form of
 the organism4 ,the response of what is 
called #8lifeless' matter  is of another
 nature2 not because it is really       
lifeless1 for if it  were it would not  
respond at all1 but because it has no   
organisms to  protect and foster4 ,we   
all know the nature of the action of    
gravity on  ,newton's apple4 ,it was    
treated as a dead substance1 like a     
stone1 and  gravity acted upon it as    
upon all other ponderable matter4 ,but  
when  it had fallen to the earth1 had   

decayed1 and one of its pips began to   
grow1 the action of gravity began to be 
manifested in a quite different  and    
very peculiar fashion4 ,it has been     
ascertained by a series of  ingenious   
experiments that gravity is the force   
which obliges the roots  of a plant to  
sink downwards into the earth4 ,this    
does not1 of course1  mean that the     
roots are drawn downwards by attraction 
of the earth1  but that the pull of     
gravitation gives a certain stimulus to 
the cells  concerned which makes them   
grow in that direction4 ,precisely the  
same  stimulus communicated to the cells
 of the stem has the very opposite      
effect--these it causes to grow upright 
into the air and light4 ,thus  the roots
 are1 as it is termed1 positively1 and  
the stems negatively1  geotropic4 ,the  
substance of the root cells and of the  
stem cells is  the same1 the stimulus is
 the same1 but the effects on growth    
agree  in only one point1 that they are 
respectively what the plant requires    

them to be4 ,there is no doubt that if a
 species of plants were placed  in such 
a position that it would serve them for 
the roots to grow  upwards1 then        
upward-growing roots would eventually be
 evolved2 in  fact1 this is actually the
 case in the lateral underground roots  
of  certain mangroves which rise to the 
surface and become modified as          
breathing organs1 and in the aerial     
roots of various orchids1 etc4#eb  ,when
 a change of habitat takes place calling
 for new developments of  structure to  
meet new conditions1 these developments 
are not1 as a  matter of actual         
observation1 found to be mechanically   
#8selected' from  a mass of random      
movements and modifications of          
tissue--they reach their  goal1 it is   
true1 by a series of gradual            
approximations1 but the  goal is in     
sight from the beginning4 ,in other     
words1 adaptability is  a fundamental   
character of life4 ,hence the fact that 
multicellular  organisms which cannot1  

as a whole1 fuse with others1 adapt     
themselves  to these conditions by the  
allotment of special cells for that     
purpose2  while1 again1 the production  
of multicellular organisms is itself an 
adaptation to ,nature's need for the    
higher organization of life4            
8,the botanist ,reinke10 writes         
,weismann1 8has recently called         
attention once again to the fact that   
machines cannot be directly      made up
 of primary physico-chemical forces or  
energies1 but that1      as ,lotze said1
 forces of a superior order are         
indispensable1 which      so dispose the
 fundamental chemico-physical forces    
that they must      act in the way aimed
 at by the purpose of the machine4444   
,organisms      also according to       
,reinke are machines which perform a    
particular      and purposeful kind of  
work1 and they are only capable of doing
      so because the energies which     
perform the work are forced into        
definite paths by superior forces2 these

 superior forces are thus      #8the    
steersmen of the energies4'0#ec         
,weismann admits that there is          
8undoubtedly a kernel of truth in this  
view10 but he is content with this      
perfunctory acknowledgment4 ,his  main  
efforts are devoted to the substitution 
of fortuitously developed               
8constellations0 of molecular energy for
 any force which can be deemed  to have 
the slightest tincture of intelligence  
or purpose4 8,in our  time10 as he      
writes1 8the great riddle has been      
solved--the riddle  of the origin of    
what is best suited to its purpose      
without the  co-operation of purposive  
forces40 ,the nature of the proposed    
solution  can be best described and     
discussed in another chapter1 when we   
shall  be in a position to consider it  
in relation to the whole history  of    
organic development from its origin in  
protoplasmic life to the  evolution of  
species in plants and animals4          
,,chapter ,,iv        ,,the ,,mechanical

 ,,theory ,,of ,,evolution3 ,,the       
,,darwin-,,lamarck ,,explanation        
8,quelle est donc cette nature sujette  
tre efface8 ,la coutume      est une    
seconde nature qui detruit la premire4  
,pourquoi la coutume      n'est elle pas
 naturelle8 ,j'ai bien peur que cette   
nature ne soit      elle-mme qu'une     
premire coutume1 comme la coutume est   
une seconde      nature40--,pascal4     
,we now approach the arcana of          
,evolution4 ,the processes we have to   
deal with in this chapter are not1 and  
probably never will be1 the  subjects of
 direct observation4 ,all we can hope to
 do is to generalize  from the results  
which have risen to the surface of life 
about the  unseen forces from which they
 spring4 ,the problem is to find 7if    
possible7 a generalization which will   
cover all the facts relating to  that   
modification of natural forms1 habits1  
and instincts which1 when  it reaches a 
certain point1 means the establishment  
of a new species4  ,we know that the    

thing happens1 but we shall not         
understand how it  happens until either 
the mechanism of the process is laid    
bare1 or  until it is clear that we are 
in presence of an agency not entirely   
definable in terms of mechanical action4
    ,the fixity of species is maintained
 by a number of conditions1 chief  among
 which must be reckoned the law of      
reproduction by conjugation1  with the  
consequent intermixture of numerous     
different lines of  descent4 ,from one  
point of view conjugation1 as ,weismann 
so often  insists1 greatly favours the  
adaptability of the organism to new and 
varied conditions of life1 inasmuch as  
it results in the mingling  together in 
each individual of a great number of    
varied determinants4  ,but when the     
conditions are constant1 conjugation has
 also the  obvious effect of constantly 
reabsorbing1 as it were1 any heritable  
abnormalities which may occur in        
individuals or the species1 and         
bringing them back to type4 ,an         

individual possessing some abnormality  
of structure will be most unlikely to   
find a mate possessing the same         
abnormality--the mate will be either an 
ordinary individual or will  possess1 if
 any1 some quite different variation4   
,their descendants  will1 therefore1    
usually show more resemblance to the    
normal type  than to the one abnormal   
parent1 and in their descendants again1 
for  the same reason1 the abnormal      
feature will be still further reduced1  
until finally it disappears4 ,it is only
 by the careful selection of  mates     
extending over many generations that    
pigeon-fanciers1 to take  one prominent 
instance1 are able to establish a new   
type4 ,left to mate  uncontrolled among 
themselves we should never have had the 
great  variety of breeds which have been
 produced by the art of the fancier     
from the original rock-pigeon4 ,the     
small variations which form the         
starting points of his operations would1
 under natural conditions1 have  soon   

been resolved into the normal type4     
,what is it in nature1 then1  that      
sometimes appears to play the part of   
the intelligent breeder and  to urge the
 plastic forms of life into new moulds8 
,the goal of the breeder is some new    
form which it pleases him  to produce1  
either for its use1 or its beauty1 or   
for its mere  singularity4 ,the goal of 
nature1 at least the apparent and       
immediate  goal1 is the adaptation of   
each species to the circumstances of its
  life4 ,and the first thing that       
strikes the investigator is the way1    
often indeed not perfect1 but usually   
most impressive in its apparent         
thoughtfulness and care1 in which the   
organs of plants and animals are        
fashioned to secure the most favourable 
results4 ,but all this is the  result of
 development4 ,the whale is a creature  
excellently adapted for  its present    
mode of life1 but we know that it was   
once a furry land  animal with four     
legs2 the legs are all there still1 in  

modified or  rudimentary form1 and the  
fur appears at a certain stage of       
embryonic  development4 ,when we ask1   
,how did this extraordinary             
transformation  come about8 what we     
really mean is1 ,how did the            
determinants composing  the chromatin in
 the reproductive cells of the original 
land animal  so come to alter as to     
produce the characteristics of the      
whale8 ,for  new species can only be    
evolved by means of structural          
modifications  capable of being         
transmitted by inheritance2 and nothing 
can be  inherited except through the    
action of the determinants4 ,a          
modification  which does not affect the 
reproductive cells has no significance  
in the  evolution of species4    ,to    
this question ,darwinism has given us   
our choice of two answers1  which may be
 termed respectively the                
,darwin-,lamarck and the                
,darwin-,weismann theories4 ,lamarck    
explained the origin of species by  the 

accumulated effect of the inheritance1  
through many generations1 of            
modifications acquired by the exercise1 
or the disuse1 of the modified  organs4 
,observing that living protoplasm       
responds to demands upon it  7thus1 for 
instance1 a muscle when systematically  
exercised attracts  more nourishment    
from the blood and grows stronger1 and  
callosities  form to protect the skin of
 the hands of a manual worker71 he      
assumed  that modifications so acquired 
might be transmitted by inheritance4    
,each new generation1 then1 would start 
with a slightly better equipment  in    
this particular respect than the former 
one had when it started2  and so1 by    
slow degrees1 a new organ1 or one       
markedly differing from  the original   
form1 might be built up4 ,the world1    
since protoplasmic  life first appeared 
upon it1 has gone through many changes1 
and has  always presented a vast variety
 of climatic and other conditions1      
calling for the most varied types of    

organic structure4 ,as animal  life     
gradually spread over the earth and sea1
 the effort to cope with  the different 
conditions it met with would gradually1 
by the combined  action of exercise1 of 
disuse1 and of heredity1 produce        
multitudes  of different types2 and     
these are what we know as families1     
orders1  genera1 and species4 ,when a   
species is fairly well adapted to its   
surroundings and way of life it may go  
on indefinitely without change4  ,but   
should any members of it be obliged to  
migrate1 from scarcity  of food or any  
other reason1 to some new locality where
 somewhat  different conditions prevail1
 structural alterations would soon begin
  to appear to suit those new           
conditions4 ,thus the giraffe1 if we    
could  trace its ancestry back1 would   
probably be found to have originated in 
some animal not differing from the vast 
majority of quadrupeds in the  relative 
proportions of its fore and hind        
quarters4 ,but some members  of this    

original species--or the whole species1 
owing to some change  in their          
surroundings--found themselves obliged  
to rely largely for  food on leaves     
growing at a considerable height4 ,they 
stretched up to  reach them1 and a      
prolongation of the bones of the neck   
7the giraffe  has only the usual seven  
cervical vertebr7 and of the fore-legs  
would  ensue1 especially in the young2  
this prolongation would be handed on  by
 inheritance1 and so by degrees the new 
type of animal would be  evolved4 ,the  
horn of the rhinoceros1 the antlers of  
the stag1 the  canine teeth of beasts of
 prey1 the flat grinders of ruminants1  
the  flippers of the whale1 the         
proboscis of the honey-feeding          
butterfly1  the jaws of the ant or the  
beetle1 and a host of other adaptations 
which seem obviously to owe their origin
 to the exercise of their  functions1   
occur to the mind in confirmation of    
this theory4    ,besides ,adaptation1 we
 have what appears the strikingly       

confirmatory  case of what is called    
,co-adaptation1 where the variation of  
one  organ or structure in an animal    
puts a strain upon other parts1 which   
accordingly respond by auxiliary        
adaptations4 ,such co-adaptations are   
numerous in every animal structure1 and1
 as we cannot suppose them to  have all 
originated simultaneously and by chance1
 the conclusion drawn  by ,lamarckians  
is that one was produced by use1 and1 in
 the course of  its development1        
produced the others in the same way4 ,a 
typical case is  that of the ,irish elk4
 ,the enormous antlers of this beast1   
sometimes  weighing a hundredweight1    
must have needed 7besides other         
structural  changes7 a cervical ligament
 of immense size and power to support   
them1 and from the peculiar structure of
 the cervical vertebr it is             
demonstrable that such a ligament must  
have existed4 ,what more natural  than  
to suppose that the antlers were        
developed by fighting wild beasts  of   

prey1 combats between male elks1 etc41  
and that then in their  gradual growth1 
as the species was evolved1 the ligament
 and the bony  structure associated with
 it responded to the increasing strain4 
,that  is exactly what would happen in  
an individual4 ,we have only to assume  
the heritability of modifications       
acquired by use to understand how  these
 co-adaptations became constant         
characters in a species4    ,not less   
apparent cogency for the argument for   
modifications by use  have those cases  
where the modification has been         
apparently due to  disuse4 ,it is well  
known that living creatures found in the
 total  darkness of great limestone     
caverns1 like those at ,kentucky1 are   
blind1 through imperfections of one kind
 or another in the organs of  sight4    
,but the rudimentary structures which   
remain tell us that these  creatures had
 ancestors which were once fully        
equipped in this respect1  and which had
 wandered into the caverns from the     

sunlit outer world4  ,thus the case of a
 crab has been noted1 in which the      
stalks on which  a crab's eyes are set  
were preserved1 while the eyes had      
disappeared3  it is1 as ,darwin         
observes1 as if the stand of a telescope
 had been  retained while the telescope 
itself had gone4 ,sometimes the eyes  of
 cave-fishes are covered with a horny   
layer1 sometimes the whole  structure is
 atrophied and withered4 ,but never is  
an animal found  under these conditions 
which has retained its power of sight4  
,the  conclusion seems obvious4 ,in     
individuals1 a muscle or other organ is 
known to strengthen and develop by use  
and to atrophy by disuse4 ,as use  and  
disuse appear to be invariably          
accompanied by precisely the same       
effects in the species as in the        
individual1 and as there seems no way   
of accounting for this by any known     
physiological law without assuming  that
 modifications acquired by the          
individual are transmitted to its       

progeny1 the case for the inheritability
 of such modifications appears1  at     
first sight1 irresistible4#ed    ,so    
matters stood when ,darwin's ,origin of 
,species carried the argument  for      
evolution a long step further4          
,accepting fully the views of  ,lamarck1
 ,darwin attempted1 by his doctrine of  
,natural ,selection1 first  to reinforce
 those views1 secondly to explain much  
that they could  not be made to cover4  
,it is plain that if we assume the      
existence of  a severe competition for  
livelihood among the members of a       
species1  any favourable variations of  
structure or instinct which may occur   
among certain members of the species    
will give their type an advantage  over 
the normal type in the struggle for     
existence4 ,they will1 on the  average1 
live longer and produce more offspring4 
,ultimately1 as the  struggle for life  
is always most severe among nearly      
related organisms1  which seek a living 
from the same sources1 the less         

perfectly equipped  type will be        
extinguished1 and so on1 until a species
 exhibiting the  most complete form of  
adaptation has been evolved4 ,the       
variations  on which ,natural ,selection
 has to work are produced1 according to 
,darwin1 not only by the exercise of    
particular organs as in ,lamarck's      
theory1 but also and more potently by   
8innate variations0 originating  from   
unascertained causes in the reproductive
 cells4 ,variations1 it  is             
indisputable1 are always occurring2     
probably no two members of  any species 
exactly resemble each other4 ,among low 
and primitive  organisms1 such as the   
,foraminifera1 ,dr4 ,w4 ,b4 ,carpenter  
7,i quote  from ,a4 ,r4 ,wallace's      
,darwinism7 found1 on careful           
examination1 the  range of variation so 
great that characteristics typical not  
merely  of species but of genera and    
even of orders were liable to vary1#ee  
while at the other end of evolution1 in 
man1 to give only one instance1  ,mr4   

,j4 ,wood is stated by ,darwin to have  
observed no less than five  hundred and 
fifty-eight variations in the muscular  
structure of  thirty-six subjects       
examined4#ef ,the cause of these        
variations is  often quite obscure1 but 
it is certain that some kinds of them   
are  capable of arising as the natural  
response of the organism to changed     
conditions of food or habitat           
,conditions such as these1 affecting    
the whole constitution of the organism1 
have been proved capable of  affecting  
the reproductive cells1 and thus of     
giving rise to hereditary               
characteristics4 ,natural ,selection1   
then1 by preserving and encouraging  the
 better fitted as opposed to the less   
fit1 acts as a spur to the  ,lamarckian 
principles of development by exercise of
 function1 while  it also lays hold of  
and intensifies all kinds of other      
favourable  variations occurring either 
casually or in consequence of change of 
habitat1 and weeds out the types in     

which such variations happen to  be     
unfavourable4 ,according to ,darwin1    
therefore1 given 7#a7 constant          
variations of structure arising from    
use1 disuse1 or from other known  or    
unknown causes1 7#b7 the capacity to    
transmit by inheritance these           
variations whether innate or acquired1  
7#c7 a constant struggle for  existence 
among organisms both against each       
others' competition and  against the    
general conditions of life#eg--;given   
these simple data1  the secret springs  
of evolution are laid bare1 and the vast
 complexity  of natural forms upon the  
globe is adequately accounted for       
without  calling in the agency of       
special creations4 ,but variations are  
the starting-point in the process3      
,natural ,selection can originate       
nothing--it can only act on what is     
presented to it by some quite  different
 force4 ,the relative parts played by   
the various agencies at  work are1 with 
characteristic moderation of statement1 

thus described  by ,darwin3--           
8,on the whole ,i think we may conclude 
that habit1 use1 and disuse1      have1 
in some cases1 played a considerable    
part in the modification      of the    
constitution1 and in the structure of   
various organs2 but      that the       
effects of use and disuse have often    
been largely combined      with1 and    
sometimes overmastered by the natural   
selection of innate      variations40#eh
    ,to explain evolution1 then1 we must
 first explain the occurrence  of       
appropriate variations1 strong enough   
and widespread enough  to maintain      
themselves against the constant reducing
 influence of  promiscuous              
intercrossing1 and they must be         
variations capable of  being transmitted
 by inheritance4 ,this1 we now see1 is  
the true field  of the inquiry4         
,the new factors introduced by ,darwin  
into the process of  evolution--,natural
 ,selection and ,innate                 
,variations--were destined  in our day  

to have the whole weight of the argument
 for evolution  suddenly thrown upon    
them4 ,the inheritability of variations 
acquired  by the individual through use 
and disuse when subjected to fresh      
investigation by the younger school of  
biologists has turned out to be  open to
 the gravest doubts1 both theoretically1
 on account of the great  difficulty of 
reconciling it with what has now been   
ascertained of the  nature of the       
reproductive mechanism in plants and    
animals1 and also on  the score of a    
closer consideration of the facts       
commonly adduced as  evidence for the   
law4 ,to take these points separately3  
,the reproductive  cells in every living
 creature are now believed to be formed 
directly  from the reproductive cells of
 its parents4 ,they are not a product   
of the organism in which they find      
themselves4 ,they are nourished  by its 
blood1 and are therefore liable to be   
affected by anything  which produces a  
broad general effect on the constitution

 of the  being in whom they are lodged1 
but it is difficult to see how special  
modifications of individual parts of    
that being could affect them so  as to  
influence the determinants in the       
direction of reproducing that           
modification4 ,how1 for example1 could  
the habit of grubbing for roots  in an  
animal of the pig tribe so affect its   
reproductive cells as to  ensure the    
birth of an offspring with callosities  
on their snouts8  ,the physiological    
mechanism by which such a result could  
be produced  seems hardly               
conceivable--at any rate no one has yet 
offered a plausible  conception of it4  
,of course if the fact were indisputably
 proved  one would only have to accept  
it1 and endeavour1 if possible1 to      
discover the why and how4 ,but the fact1
 which once looked so solidly           
established1 is taking on a more and    
more insubstantial appearance in  the   
light of closer investigation4    ,the  
argument against ,lamarckism rests on   

the basis 7#a7 artificial  experiment1  
7#b7 of observation of nature under     
normal conditions4    ,as to the        
evidence from experiment1 opinions      
fluctuated for some  time--,darwin was  
disposed at one time to deny1 at another
 to admit the  alleged proofs it        
offered4 ,in the present day opinion is 
overwhelmingly  against the validity of 
these proofs4 ,the cases where          
artificially  produced mutilations are  
said to have been inherited have1 when  
investigated1 turned out to be by no    
means as clear and trustworthy  as was  
supposed1 nor can one place much        
reliance on a few cases of  striking    
coincidence such as are certain to occur
 from time to time4#ei    ,the adverse  
instances are very clear indeed4        
,chinese girls are never  born with     
abnormally small feet4 ,jews are not    
born circumcised4 ,among  tribes where  
tattooing is practised1 no traces of    
this embellishment  are ever found to be
 inherited4 ,if it is a physiological   

law that the  disuse of an organ not    
only atrophies it in the individual but 
7by  inheritance of the atrophy7        
eliminates it from the species1 there is
  no apparent reason why this law should
 not operate in cases where the  organ  
is artificially removed4 ,yet it rarely 
or never seems to do so4  ,experiments  
upon animals1 such as breeding for many 
generations from  mice whose tails have 
been cut off1 have never resulted in    
producing a  clear case of inherited    
mutilation4 ,a strong presumption is    
therefore  raised that the effects      
apparently due to use and disuse under  
natural  conditions 7as in the eyeless  
fishes of the ,kentucky caves7 must be  
set  down to some other cause4 ,the     
queens in colonies of ants and bees have
  never exercised the functions of      
workers for thousands of centuries1  yet
 they transmit these functions          
unimpaired4    ,there is1 indeed1 a case
 often referred to in this connexion    
which  must be here mentioned4 ,dr4     

,brown-,squard found that by injuring or
  compressing the sciatic nerve in      
guinea-pigs epilepsy was produced1 and  
that the descendants of animals so      
injured had a marked tendency to        
epileptic fits4 ,this is undoubtedly a  
very significant and important  fact in 
biology1 but it gives no support to the 
,lamarckian theory4  ,what is inherited 
by the guinea-pigs is not the injury to 
the nerve  but the pathological         
condition resulting therefrom4 ,it      
remains to  be discovered how1          
precisely1 this takes place1 and the    
experiment  may end in illuminating a   
very obscure region in physiology1 but  
on  ,lamarckism it has no bearing at    
all4 ,a better case is that of atrophy  
of a toe1 which is said to have been    
inherited in consequence of its         
original production by severance of the 
sciatic nerve1 but1 again1  what is     
inherited is not an actual injury but an
 effect of it4 ,it is  clear1 however1  
that bodily conditions of a large and   

comprehensive  kind produced naturally  
or artificially in an individual may    
have an  effect on the reproductive     
cells1 especially when the nervous      
system is  affected4    ,coming to the  
observation of what happens under       
natural conditions1  we are struck at   
the outset by the fact that the         
inheritance of  acquired                
characteristics1 if it works at all1    
must work under some  system of salutary
 control and not as a blind             
physiological law4 ,for  if each        
generation starts with some measure at  
least of what the  former generation had
 acquired1 and adds to it by its own    
activity1  then all acquired            
characteristics would ere long attain a 
monstrous  development1 and the species 
would perish under them4 ,but nothing of
  the kind is observed to happen4 ,the  
continual use of the muscles in the     
labouring classes has not made men      
stronger than they were thousands  of   
generations ago4 ,the habit of handling 

the spade and hoe has never  produced a 
peasant child born with callosities on  
its hands4 ,the horn  of the rhinoceros1
 which on ,lamarckian principles we must
 regard as  developed by the gradual    
increase of a callosity formed by       
grubbing for  roots1 does not grow      
beyond a certain size1 however the      
species may go  on grubbing4 ,the       
,lamarckian law1 then1 if it has any    
real effect at  all1 can only express   
half the truth about the action of      
heredity on  acquired characteristics4  
,as the column of water in a fountain   
hovers  about a certain height1 so the  
action of heredity in the accumulation  
of the effects produced by the use of   
organs seems to have a limit  beyond    
which it cannot pass4 ,may it not be    
that heredity is really as  false an    
expression for the phenomenon as the    
popular superstition  about #8water     
seeking its own level' is for the       
upspringing of a  fountain8    ,the     
cases of co-adaptation1 where one organ 

appears to be developed  by use and     
others by the use of that1 as in the    
case of the ,irish  elk referred to     
above1 are met by instances just as     
striking where  the elements of         
modification by use cannot come into    
play4 ,weismann  mentions the case of   
the ingenious brush arrangement on the  
anterior  legs of the bee1 which the    
insect uses for cleansing its antenn4   
,two  adaptations are here developed--a 
little semicircular notch in the leg1   
set with small bristles1 and a movable  
projection or flap used for  pressing   
the antenna into the notch as it is     
drawn through4 ,the bee1 no  doubt1     
would naturally try to clean its antenn 
with its fore-legs1 but  how could this 
process develop the special arrangements
 referred to in  the hard or scaly      
covering of its limbs8 ,it is not until 
the shell of  the insect has grown quite
 hard and incapable of further vital    
changes  that the arrangement comes into
 use4 ,again1 the stridulating noise    

produced by the legs of the grasshopper 
is due to serrations occurring  on      
different joints of the limb4           
,serrations on one joint would in  no   
way tend to develop them on the other1  
but rather the contrary1  yet there they
 are1 in harmonious co-operation4 ,if   
,nature can obtain  these effects1 as   
she does in numberless instances1       
without the aid of  ,lamarck's          
principle1 we cannot help asking whether
 that principle is  ever operative at   
all4    ,the three instances which we   
shall next consider seem to offer very  
serious obstacles to the ,lamarckian    
theory4    ,a modification of structure 
caused by the special use of a certain  
organ takes place in probably over #ij  
per cent of the whole human race1  male 
and female4 ,the records of art1 of     
language1 and the evidence  of actual   
remains1 tend to show that the habitude 
in question1 with  the attendant        
modification1 goes back to very ancient1
 even perhaps  to palolithic times4#fj  

,i refer to the preferential use of the 
right hand and the enlargement of       
structure thus brought about in  the    
right hand and arm4 ,every right-handed 
adult man and woman shows  this         
enlargement of bony and muscular        
structure4 ,the origin of the  habitude 
does not concern us here4 ,let us       
suppose it due1 as ,dr4 ,d4  ,j4        
,cunningham suggests1 to 8a transmitted 
functional pre-eminence  of the left    
brain10#fa which is larger than the     
right1 and which  governs the movements 
of the right side of the body4 ,however 
this may  be1 it is clear that if bodily
 characteristics acquired by exercise   
are transmissible by inheritance the    
new-born child of right-handed  ancestry
 ought to show some appreciable         
preponderance in weight and  size of the
 right over the left limb4 ,there could 
hardly be a more  crucial test of the   
validity of the ,lamarckian principle4  
,what do the  investigations of the     
dissecting-room reveal8 ,i shall quote  

the two  most recent authorities who    
have studied this interesting question4 
,dr4  ,cunningham1 in the lecture       
already referred to1 writes3--          
8,although the matter has not been      
investigated so fully as to place       
the question outside the region of      
dispute1 the evidence at our            
disposal distinctly favours the view    
that at birth the two upper      limbs  
start upon their individual duties      
equally endowed in so far      as       
strength of muscle and size of bones are
 concerned4 ,both in mass      and      
weight the two limbs are to all intents 
and purposes similar at      birth1 and 
the preponderance in bulk and strength  
which later on      distinguishes the   
right arm is acquired during life1 and  
is caused      by the greater amount of 
work it is called upon to perform40#fb  
,dr4 ,t4 ,g4 ,moorhead1 ,chief          
,demonstrator in ,anatomy in ,trinity   
,college1  ,dublin1 after giving the    
results of the researches of various    

other  inquirers1 writes3--             
8,from this mass of conflicting evidence
 ,i am forced to the      conclusion    
that no real differences exist44 44     
,after weighing as      a whole the     
limbs of eight foetuses ,i was unable to
 detect any      constant               
difference40#fc    ,these results appear
 to conflict most seriously with the    
theory of the  transmissibility of      
acquired modifications4                 
,illustration3 ,fig4 #c4    ,kallima    
paralecta1 as it appears at rest1 with  
wings closed4    ,from ,weismann's ,the 
,evolution ,theory4    ,k1 the head2 ,b1
 the limbs4    ,every one is familiar   
with the fact that species of animals   
which  are preyed on by others1 or which
 require to be inconspicuous  for the   
purpose of preying1 are very apt to take
 the colour of  their habitual          
surroundings4 ,individuals of the same  
species will  even differ according to  
their special habitat4 ,perhaps the most
  marvellous instances of this kind of  

adaptation are to be found in  certain  
tropical butterflies1 such as the       
,indian butterfly1 ,kallima  paralecta1 
here illustrated4 ,we have here1 painted
 on the butterfly's  wing1 the picture  
of a leaf belonging to a shrub which it 
frequents--a  picture1 when seen under  
natural conditions1 capable of baffling 
all  but the closest inspection4 ,the   
different parts--the midrib1 the lateral
  veinings1 the little blotches and     
spots which represent patches of  mould 
or drops of water1 even the outer       
contour of the wing itself--all  form an
 harmonious whole composed of related   
parts which have  separately no meaning 
or use4 ,they certainly did not all     
appear in full  development at the same 
time4 ,nor could any one of them1 if it 
appeared  first1 have exercised the     
smallest influence on the appearance of 
the  others1 as the antlers of the elk  
were supposed to have influenced  the   
development of the ligamentum nuch4 ,the
 early stages must have  been           

anticipatory of the later ones1 but     
exercise could have had  nothing to do  
with the result from first to last4 ,the
 butterfly never  practised looking like
 a leaf4 ,nor can any large chemical and
 elemental  influences have been at     
work4 ,if nature is capable of producing
 such  effects as this without the      
agency of ,lamarck's principle1 are     
there  not excellent grounds for seeking
 for some other agency which will  cover
 all the phenomena alike8    ,finally   
let us take the case of the slave-owning
 #8,amazon' ants1  ,polyergus rufescens4
 ,here we have a case which at the first
 blush  looks like a perfect picture of 
an evolutionary process conducted on    
the principles of ,lamarck's theory4    
,these ants1 it may be supposed1  were  
originally of the ordinary type of that 
industrious and  respectable insect1 but
 they were led by the weakness of some  
of their  neighbours of another species 
to make occasional attacks on them for  
the purpose of carrying off their       

immature brood1 the pup1 as food4  ,some
 of these pup1 near maturity at the     
period of their capture1  would come out
 while stored-up in the nest of the     
conquerors1 and when  they did so would 
immediately set about doing the         
household work of  the hive as if they  
were at home4 ,polyergus rufescens      
ultimately  became aware that a life of 
aristocratic leisure awaited him if he  
only captured enough pup of another     
species of ant to do his work4  ,he     
accordingly confined himself entirely to
 piratical expeditions of  this nature1 
and in the course of time underwent a   
moral and physical  transformation of a 
most remarkable kind4 ,the ordinary ant 
instincts  have disappeared in this     
variety4 ,they do not make their nests1 
they  do not gather stores1 they do not 
mind their young1 they do not even  feed
 themselves--an ,amazon ant will perish 
of starvation in the presence  of food  
if there is not a slave ant to put it   
into his mouth4 ,but  they fight        

ferociously in their slave-raids1 and   
the form of their  mandible has changed 
to suit their mode of life4 ,it has     
become a pair  of sabre-like nippers1   
excellent for slaying a foe1 but        
ill-adapted  for carrying objects and   
other industrial occupations4           
,corresponding  changes have taken place
 in the head and in the chitinous and   
muscular  structure4    ,we have before 
us1 then1 what would seem to an         
uninformed observer1  a striking picture
 of the acquirement of a certain bodily 
form and a  certain set of instincts by 
use1 and the total loss of other traits 
by  disuse1 and of the fixing of these  
characters in a species by heredity4    
,yet the picture is altogether an       
illusion4 ,however we are to explain    
the facts--of which more anon--we cannot
 do so by ,lamarckism1 for the  simple  
reason that the peculiar instincts and  
bodily structure of the  ,amazon ants   
are confined to the so-called #8worker1'
 or in this case  #8soldier1' caste1    

which are sexless1 and incapable of     
reproducing their  kind4 ,if these were 
the individuals which originally started
 the slave  system among the species1   
they could not possibly have transmitted
 the  modifications1 moral and physical1
 which they acquired4 ,the queen-ants1  
which normally are the only fertile     
ants1 transmit them1 but do not  possess
 them1 and neither do the drones4       
,the case of these mysterious           
communities of insects1 composed largely
  of neuters which do the work of the   
community but do not reproduce  their   
kind1 was one of the difficulties in the
 way of ,darwin's theory  of evolution  
which1 he said1 staggered him every time
 he reflected  on it4#fd ,it is not     
surprising1 therefore1 that this        
difficulty  came to be the battlefield1 
or a main position thereof1 in a most   
interesting and illuminating controversy
 on ,natural ,selection versus          
,lamarckism1 waged between ,mr4 ,herbert
 ,spencer and ,dr4 ,weismann in the     

years #ahic-d4fe ,spencer considered the
 inheritance of acquired                
characteristics a factor in evolution of
 the very first importance2  and so1    
indeed1 from his point of view it is4   
8,either10 he declared1  8there has been
 inheritance of acquired                
characteristics1 or there has  been no  
evolution40 ,met by the case1 among     
others1 of the slave-making  ants1 his  
explanation is substantially as follows3
 ,it was not the  workers 7soldiers7    
which originally acquired military      
traits1 but the  queens1 the fully      
developed females1 which lost them4     
,there was once1  as every one admits1 a
 time when all ants1 bees1 etc4 were    
sexually  mature4 ,there were only males
 and females4 ,at this stage1 possibly1 
the  ,amazon ants were already          
predatory4 ,it was then that they may   
have  acquired the military habits and  
structure1 which they were then able  to
 perpetuate by inheritance4    ,how1    
then1 did the queens lose these traits8 

8,from the queens10 replies  ,spencer1  
8they have slowly disappeared by        
inheritance of the effects  of disuse40 
,the obvious and unanswerable rejoinder 
made by ,weismann  and his followers was
 that ,spencer had only shifted the     
difficulty  to another ground--from the 
workers to the queens4 ,if the queens   
7and  drones7 lost the military         
characteristics by disuse1 how do they  
come  to transmit them unimpaired to the
 workers8 ,it is the very essence of    
,lamarckism that whatever modifications 
are produced by use or by disuse  shall 
be transmissible by inheritance4    ,in 
this controversy1 however1 there was    
another string to the  ,lamarckian bow4 
,worker-ants1 bees1 etc4 are imperfectly
 developed  females4 ,they have four or 
five egg-tubes where the queen has two  
hundred1 but they cannot be fertilized  
by the drones4 ,it occasionally         
happens1 however1 that these neuter     
insects do lay a few eggs4 ,these       
unfertilized eggs always develop into   

drones4 ,one of these drones  might1 it 
was suggested1 now and then fertilize a 
genuine queen1 and  thus hand on the    
traits of the worker from which it      
sprang4 ,but apart  from the fact that  
an occasional occurrence of this sort   
would hardly  suffice to maintain the   
worker-characteristics unimpaired       
throughout  the ages1 there is the      
decisive answer1 as ,weismann points    
out1 that  we know at least one species 
of ant in which the evolution of a      
neuter caste is absolutely complete1 for
 the workers of ,tetramorium  caespitum 
possess no egg-tubes at all4 ,yet the   
transmission of  characteristics from   
queens and drones who never exercise    
them to  workers who cannot pass them   
on1 goes forward in this species of any 
ant just as in any other4    ,nature1   
therefore1 while doing in the case of   
these insect communities  exactly what  
she appears to be doing elsewhere by the
 accumulation  of acquired              
characteristics1 must1 in reality1 have 

been working on  entirely different     
lines4 ,if we can discover what those   
lines were1  they will cover the        
apparently ,lamarckian cases as well1   
but the  ,lamarckian principle certainly
 will not cover these4    ,in the next  
chapter we shall review the alternative 
explanation offered  by ,darwinism1 the 
explanation of ,weismann2 and we shall  
see whether  ,spencer was not as        
successful in demolishing it as         
,weismann was in  showing that1 if      
evolution exists at all1 some other     
basis must be  found for it than that on
 which it was so largely rested by      
,herbert  ,spencer4          ,,chapter  
,v        ,,the ,,mechanical ,,theory   
,,of ,,evolution3 ,,the                 
,,darwin-,,weismann ,,explanation       
8,chance guides all things3 mind and    
forethought must call it ,god           
alone60--,menander4        8,in the     
end10 writes ,m4 ,edmond ,perrier1      
8every imaginable theory of             
evolution must lead up to one or other  

of two absolute doctrines1              
essentially antagonistic to each other4 
,either the inheritance      of acquired
 characteristics must be admitted in its
 full scope      7dans toute sa         
gnralit71 or else we must believe in the
      predestination of protoplasm1     
developing by virtue of its own         
internal forces4 ,but in the latter case
 we pass from the domain of      pure   
science to enter that of                
metaphysics40#ff      ,we have now to   
consider the most conspicuous attempt   
made in recent  times to escape from    
this tragic dilemma4    ,if the acquired
 and inherited variations of the        
,lamarckian theory drop  out as a       
contribution to the explanation of      
evolution1 we are reduced  to two forces
 only--innate1 or germinal1 variability 
of offspring1  and natural selection4   
,indeed it might be said that we are    
reduced  to variability alone1 since    
natural selection can do nothing until  
suitable variations are presented to it4

 ,the suitable variations do1  however1 
turn up1 and the question is1 what      
causes them8 ,the real  difficulty for  
the school of biologists who1 like      
,weismann1 8assume  the mechanical      
theory of the world to be correct10 is  
how to reconcile  the aptness and       
apparent purposefulness of these        
variations with any  mechanical theory4 
8,we are justified in inquiring10 writes
 ,weismann1 8whether the      assumption
 of #8chance' germinal variations1 which
 we have hitherto      made with ,darwin
 and ,wallace1 affords a sufficient     
basis for      selection4 ,osborn says  
very neatly in this connection1 #8,we   
see with      ,weismann and ,galton the 
element of chance2 but the dice appear  
to      be loaded1 and in the long run  
turn 8sixes0 up4 ,here arises the       
question1 ,what loads the dice8'0#fg    
,what loads the dice8 ,there is the     
great question in which the realms of   
biology and of philosophy meet each     
other6 ,through that borderland no      

definite frontier has ever been traced1 
for in thought as in matter the  saying 
is true that natural groupings have     
nuclei1 but no boundaries4  ,it is all  
the more essential that men of science  
should understand  philosophy and its   
methods1 and that philosophers should   
understand  science4 ,it is to be feared
 that at present the second of these    
desiderata is much more fully realized  
than the first4    ,however1 we have to 
see now what ,weismann1 protagonist     
among  contemporary biologists of the   
mechanical theory of the world1 has to  
answer to the crucial question which he 
has allowed ,osborn to set him4         
,the problem is to discover how innate1 
germinal variations can come  about1 of 
such a nature as to adapt an organism   
with striking accuracy  to its          
surroundings and way of life1 without   
our assuming either 7#a7  that the      
exercise of function had any influence  
in causing heritable  variations1 or    
7#b7 that they were caused by any       

non-mechanical power1  which1 so to     
speak1 had in view the objects which    
they fulfil4 ,for  the variations are to
 be regarded1 on ,weismann's theory of  
life1 as  completely fortuitous in      
respect of the objects they serve4 ,how1
  then1 do they come to serve them1 in  
most cases1 so admirably well8    ,the  
general nature of ,weismann's           
explanation may be summed up in a       
curious illustration given by him in    
,the ,evolution ,theory4#fh ,let  us    
suppose1 he says1 a snow-field          
surrounded by precipices on all  sides1 
but with a narrow track leading away    
from it at one point4  ,scattered about 
on the snow-field are a number of       
persons4 ,a sleigh is  now projected    
among them from some outside point4     
,each person1 when  the sleigh comes    
near him1 gives it a push1 but he has no
 object in  pushing it anywhere in      
particular1 and simply sends it flying  
off in  whatever direction he chances to
 be looking4 ,what will happen under    

these circumstances8 ,after more or less
 bandying about1 the sleigh  will1 in   
the vast majority of cases1 fall into   
one of the abysses round  the snow-field
 and be lost ,but another is then       
launched on to the  snow-field1 and then
 another and another without end2 and   
so1 at last1  it may happen that a      
series of pushes will take place which  
will send  the sleigh over the narrow   
track to its goal4    ,the goal is      
supposed to represent some condition to 
which the  organism 7the sleigh7 has to 
adapt itself4 ,the random pushes which  
it receives are the multitude of        
variations constantly occurring in  the 
reproductive cells4 ,most of these      
variations have no decisive  tendency1  
favourable or unfavourable4 ,if a series
 of unfavourable  ones should occur1    
leading to some development which       
markedly impairs  the chances of the    
organism for success in life1 it1 or its
 line of  succession1 dies out1 and the 
unfavourable variation is1 therefore1   

not  perpetuated4 ,this is illustrated  
by the sleigh going into the abyss4     
,but if a favourable variation occurs1  
and is increased till it reaches        
#8selection value1' i4e4 till it gives  
the organisms possessing it  a distinct 
advantage over others in the battle of  
life1 then this  favoured type will     
ultimately1 by the action of natural    
selection1  drive out the less favoured1
 and will establish itself as the sole  
representative of the species4 ,having  
reached this level1 of course the  same 
process will go on further indefinitely4
    ,before criticizing this conception 
of evolutionary processes1 we  must     
inquire into the vital point of how the 
variations1 the random  pushes given to 
the sleighs1 ever rise to such intensity
 as to  have selection-value1 and to    
make head against the influence of      
intercrossing4 ,the explanation is      
certainly ingenious1 but is so purely   
hypothetical and has an air so fantastic
 that it has commended itself  to very  

few students of biology4 ,weismann would
 have us suppose that  the determinants 
of which the hereditary substance in the
 reproductive  cells is made up are     
carrying on with each other an incessant
 struggle  for nutriment4 ,if one of    
them succeeds in getting a little more  
than  its neighbours it thereby grows   
stronger1 and is able to attract  still 
more nutriment to itself1 and to        
impoverish those around it4 ,it  is thus
 launched1 as it were1 on an ascending  
scale1 and will go on  automatically if 
the variation caused by it proves       
favourable to the  species4 ,if it      
proves unfavourable 7which ex hypothesi 
it is just  as likely to do7 its career 
will be put a stop to by the extinction 
of the line of descent which inherits   
this variation4 ,weismann's  theory of  
8,germinal ,selection0 is therefore     
simply an application to  the           
reproductive cell and its contents of   
the ,darwinian principle of  ,natural   
,selection4    ,the theory is one which 

plainly makes immense demands upon our  
faith4 ,as regards the existence of a   
continual competition among  the        
determinants1 there may be reason to    
accept it1 but hardly in  the ,weismann 
sense4 ,suppose two parents to unite1   
one healthy1  well-nourished1           
full-blooded1 the other starved and     
weakly1 it is  very likely that1 in the 
resulting offspring1 other things being 
equal1 the determinants coming from the 
well-nourished frame will be  seen to   
have surpassed in potency those from the
 weakly one4 ,for the  determinants are 
living protoplasm--they depend on       
nourishment derived  from the blood of  
the organism in which they are lodged1  
and they  are capable1 no doubt1 of     
being well-nourished or ill-nourished or
  possibly over-nourished1 according to 
the constitution and history of  that   
organism4 ,but this is a very different 
thing from supposing that  one          
determinant can begin to grow in the    
same cell at the expense  of another1   

when both are absolutely embedded in an 
ocean of the same  nutritive matter4    
,there is not--of course in the nature  
of things  there cannot be--a particle  
of evidence for the supposition4 ,it is 
a  pure imaginative hypothesis1 and on  
the face of it a most improbable  one4  
,it is difficult to believe that it     
could ever have been adopted  save as a 
desperate attempt to break through the  
ever-narrowing ring  of evidence which  
is forcing investigation more and more  
towards a  non-mechanical explanation of
 the processes of life4 ,but even if it 
were true1 what is gained by it8        
8,appropriate variational tendencies10  
writes ,weismann1 8not only may present 
themselves1 they must do so1  if the    
germ-plasm contains determinants at all 
by whose fluctuations in  a plus or     
minus direction the appropriate         
variation is attainable40#fi  ,but why  
must they8 ,there is no #8must' about   
,chance1 unless one  extends its        
operations to infinity4 ,why is it so   

certain that the  inequalities of       
nutriment1 on which hereditary          
variability is supposed  to depend1 must
 necessarily run the gamut of all       
possible variations8  ,there is no      
#8must' in this theory1 except that it  
is the last ditch  of the 8mechanical   
conception of the economy of life40 ,it 
#8must' be  true--or that conception    
must quit the field4    ,were evolution 
to depend on the occurrence1 by pure    
chance1 of a  few appropriate variations
 among a vast multitude of indifferent  
or  disadvantageous ones1 is it         
conceivable that we should find in      
nature  anything like the infinite      
wealth of closely and beautifully       
adapted  structure which is actually    
present8 ,in particular1 how are we to  
account for the cases in which a number 
of parts are so modified as  to work    
together in harmonious co-adaptation8   
,each of these parts1  according to     
,weismann1 originates quite             
independently of the others4  ,take the 

case of the ,indian leaf-butterfly      
already referred to4#gj  ,the first     
beginnings of the midrib on ,weismann's 
theory had nothing to  do with the rest 
of the rib1 nor had any of the veinings 
with this1 or  with one another2 and the
 contour of the leaf1 sending out a     
little  projection like a stalk exactly 
where the midrib starts1 originated     
quite independently of that marking1 and
 equally so of the leaf it  mimics6 ,to 
explain co-adaptations like this on     
,weismann's theory is  really much the  
same as to suppose that a picture could 
be painted by  simply plastering the    
scrapings of a palette on a canvas1 if  
only one  continued the process long    
enough4 ,and the marvel in question1 the
  co-adaptation of various parts1 has   
not been attained once or twice  but1 to
 a greater or less degree1 in every     
organism possessing any  structural     
complexity4    ,the difficulty1 of      
course1 has not escaped ,weismann4 ,his 
explanation  depends on some conception 

of the potentialities of conjugation and
  intercrossing which ,i confess ,i     
cannot understand4 ,he finds the key to 
the mystery in the mingling and constant
 recombination of determinants  from    
different individuals produced by       
promiscuous intercrossing4 8,it  is only
 through amphimixis conjugation that    
simultaneous harmonious  adaptation of  
many parts becomes possible40#ga ,but   
surely this  continual mingling and     
recombination would1 prim facie1 be just
 as  likely to break up co-adaptations  
already forming as to give rise to  new 
ones8 ,amphimixis1 as we have seen1 is  
one of the most potent forces  against  
which the evolution of a new species has
 to contend4 ,evolution  has to make    
head against the constant tendency of   
intercrossing to  obliterate individual 
distinctions4 ,true1 if parents         
exhibiting  the same heritable variation
 unite1 their offspring will have that  
variation in a strongly marked form1 and
 will transmit it further4 ,but  this1  

to be of value for evolution1           
presupposes the same variation          
occurring simultaneously in a number of 
individuals within reach of  each other4
 ,weismann had indeed good reason to    
ascribe to the action of  intercrossing 
8a wealth and diversity of organic      
architecture otherwise  unattainable10  
but were it not supplemented by an      
architectural  instinct of nature1 the  
only architecture attainable would be   
that of  the child when it empties its  
bricks on the floor4    ,consider the   
theory of germinal selection in the     
light of the following  very curious    
case4#gb ,most people have seen an      
example of the kind  of spectacles      
having what are called bifocal lenses4  
,each lens is  divided across the       
centre1 and the focal lengths of the    
upper and  the lower halves are         
different4 ,they are intended for       
persons who see  indistinctly both at   
near and at far distances--the upper    
half of the  lens is used for looking at

 distant objects and the lower for      
reading1  etc41 so as to avoid the      
inconvenience of having a different pair
 of  glasses for each requirement4 ,now 
there is a fish1 named ,anableps  7the  
,uplooker71 living in estuaries on the  
east coast of ,south ,america  which    
actually has its eye-lenses constructed 
on this principle4 ,the  pupil of the   
eye is divided laterally by             
prolongations from the iris4  ,the      
significance of this extraordinary      
arrangement is that the fish  is in the 
habit of swimming near the surface1 and 
often has its eyes  wholly or partly out
 of water1 presumably to look out for   
attacks from  birds of prey4 ,the upper 
half of the eye has become adapted for  
vision  in the air and the lower for    
vision in the water4    ,according to   
,weismann1 the habits and needs of the  
fish could have  had no influence       
whatever in producing this peculiar     
adaptation as an  inherited             
characteristic of a species4 ,any other 

fish or mammal would  have been just as 
likely as ,anableps to begin the        
development of a  bifocal eye4 ,how does
 it come1 then1 that from the thousands 
of species  of eyed animals one1 and one
 only1 possesses this bifocal eye1 and  
that  precisely the one which so greatly
 needs it8 ,weismann's answer would     
doubtless be that1 in the case of other 
creatures1 ,natural ,selection  would   
not have acted in protecting the        
individuals which possessed  the bifocal
 eye and penalizing those which did not4
 ,but can we imagine  that this         
principle acted very strongly when the  
bifocal arrangement  in ,anableps was in
 a mere rudimentary stage1 as it must at
 first  have been8 ,and should we not   
occasionally see at least traces of the 
arrangement in the eyes of other        
creatures1 if its full development in   
,anableps was merely the result of      
,natural ,selection laying hold of  and 
perfecting an originally quite          
fortuitous variation8    ,a case still  

more curious and convincing occurs in   
connexion with  the hermaphroditism     
exhibited by a whole class of animals   
belonging  to many different orders1 but
 alike in the one respect that it is    
specially desirable for them to have    
both sexes comprised in the same        
individual4 ,these are animals capable  
only of sluggish movement1 the          
different sexes of which have therefore 
some difficulty in finding  each other  
out4 ,terrestrial snails and slugs are  
an example4 ,all these  creatures are   
double-sexed2 any two snails which meet 
can conjugate1  since each can act      
either as male or as female at will4    
,oysters are  another instance1 though  
in this case the two sexes follow each  
other  at different periods in the      
life-history of each individual4        
,clearly1  this faculty gives to snails 
and slugs twice as many opportunities of
  reproducing their kind as if the sexes
 were distinct4 ,it is certain  from    
general biological considerations that  

they were distinct  originally4 ,one can
 easily understand how1 if any small    
group of the  original species from     
which all the present tribes are        
descended1  happened to throw up these  
bisexual peculiarities1 their progeny   
would  multiply faster than the rest and
 might ultimately exterminate them  by  
the operation of natural selection4 ,but
 exactly the same might be  said of any 
other tribe of unisexual animals4 ,any  
of these might1  a priori1 on the       
8mechanical conception of the economy of
 life10  be just as reasonably expected 
to develop bisexuality2 for no one      
supposes that there is any physical     
connexion between sluggishness  and     
hermaphroditism1 or swiftness and       
distinction of the sexes2 and  the      
causes which have operated to extend and
 confirm the type in  sluggish and      
sedentary animals would have the same   
effect in swift  ones4 ,yet this        
remarkable adaptation occurs just       
wherever there is  special need for it2 

there always and there only4 ,what      
mechanism can  account for such a       
phenomenon as this8 ,no2 the dice are   
loaded4 ,nature  gains her end slowly   
and not without hesitations and         
failures1 but the  phenomena are wholly 
unlike the results of the play of       
uncontrolled  and fortuitous forces4    
,imagine a blindfolded archer shooting  
arrows  upwards1 downwards1 and all     
around him in every direction as it may 
take his fancy4 ,there is1 unknown to   
him1 a target some distance  off4 ,if he
 went on long enough it is conceivable1 
though by no means  necessary1 that some
 arrow would hit the bull's eye4 ,but   
the facts  plainly point not to the     
above analogy1 but rather to an aim at a
  desired object4 ,some of the arrows   
miss1 some light near the mark1  others 
hit it precisely4 ,the flight1 on the   
whole1 is in the right  direction1 as   
the immense proportion of complete or   
partial successes  plainly proves4      
,the two pillars of ,weismann's theory  

of evolution are germinal  variation and
 natural selection4 ,the one is supposed
 to originate  ceaseless changes of     
structure1 the other to eliminate those 
changes  which are useless#gc or        
unfavourable and to foster and confirm  
the  favourable4 ,we have seen1 if the  
foregoing considerations are sound1     
that fortuitous variations do not       
provide the material with which  natural
 selection can build up a universe of   
organic life like ours4 ,we  have now to
 turn our attention to the other prop of
 the system and to  inquire whether     
natural selection can play and does play
 the part which  ,darwin and his school 
assign to it in the economy of nature4  
,natural selection is supposed to depend
 for its efficacy on the  existence of a
 state of strenuous competition for     
nourishment1 or  for the avoidance of   
foes1 in the type out of which the      
favourable  variations emerge4 ,but in  
recent times the fact of any such       
competition has been gravely doubted4   

,let us look back to the  beginnings of 
animal life in the world4 ,the first    
primitive animal  organisms found       
themselves swimming in a boundless sea  
of nourishment  and had no foes at all6 
,yet they developed into higher and     
higher  grades of life4 ,competition did
 not aid in the development of these    
higher grades--it was they which        
ultimately created the state of         
competition4 ,what ,nature then achieved
 without competition she is  equally    
able to perform now4 ,even now when the 
earth is swarming with  varied life     
competition plays a much smaller part   
than was taken for  granted in the first
 flush of ,darwinism4 ,creatures of the 
same type but  on different grades of   
organization1 like the hive-bee and the 
humble  bee1 are constantly found side  
by side1 drawing their nourishment  from
 the same sources1 but each holding its 
own without difficulty4  ,facts like    
these were not unobserved by ,darwin1   
who met them by the  supposition that   

competition came chiefly into play at   
exceptional  periods1 during a drought1 
an inundation1 a severe winter1 or the  
like1  in which the less fitted members 
of the race perished wholesale4 ,but1   
as ,kropotkin1 in his interesting work1 
,mutual ,aid among ,animals1 has        
remarked1        8,if the evolution of  
the animal world were based exclusively1
 or      even chiefly1 upon the survival
 of the fittest during periods of       
calamities2 if natural selection were   
limited in its action to      periods of
 exceptional drought1 or sudden changes 
of temperature1      or inundations1    
retrogression would be the rule in the  
animal      world4 ,those who survive a 
famine1 or a severe epidemic of cholera1
      or small-pox1 or diphtheria1 such 
as we see them in uncivilized           
countries1 are neither the strongest1   
nor the healthiest1 nor the      most   
intelligent4 ,no progress could be based
 on such survivals--the      less so as 
all survivors usually come out of the   

ordeal with an      impaired health1    
like the ,transbaikalian horses just    
mentioned1      or the ,arctic crews1 or
 the garrison of a fortress which has   
been      compelled to live for a few   
months on half rations1 and comes out   
of its experience with a broken health1 
and subsequently shows a      quite     
abnormal mortality40#gd    ,kropotkin's 
book shows good reason to believe that  
the principle of  mutual aid and support
 plays at least as great a part in the  
animal  world as does that of mutual    
competition and extermination4    ,that 
the competition of organisms1 animal and
 vegetable1 for  nourishment and for    
protection may favour certain types1 and
 depress or  even exterminate others1 is
 of course indisputable4 ,we see it when
 the  ,japanese worker and the          
,californian meet in industrial rivalry 
on the  ,pacific slopes--we see it when 
the willows planted by ,new ,zealand    
rivers  destroy the weed which infested 
them1 by absorbing the nourishment  from

 the river-bed on which it lived4#ge    
,what we have to consider1  however1 is 
the efficacy of competition in giving   
predominance and  permanence to a type  
differing but slightly in the initial   
stages  from that of the rest of the    
species1 and differing but in a very few
  individuals4 ,we have to consider1 in 
fact1 whether natural selection is  not 
a consequence rather than a cause of    
evolution4 ,on no mechanical  theory of 
evolution can we suppose that the first 
leaf-markings of the  butterfly1        
,kallima paralecta1 were either at all  
pronounced in their  mimicry1 or that   
they originated simultaneously in any   
large group of  the original species    
from which ,kallima paralecta sprang4   
,therefore1  with very small advantage  
in the way of protection from enemies1  
and  with the constant and powerful     
influence of intercrossing ever tending 
to obliterate the distinctive           
leaf-marks1 how could natural selection 
alone enable the new1 the mimicking     

type1 to assert and develop itself1  as 
it has done not only in this particular 
species of butterfly but in  hundreds of
 species of the ,lepidoptera and other  
insects8        8,a considerable initial
 resemblance10 writes ,mr4 ,beddard in  
his      most valuable though somewhat  
chaotic work on this subject1#gf        
8may be fairly set down to other causes 
than natural selection2      because it 
is impossible to believe that a slight  
move in the      required direction     
would be of sufficient importance to    
serve as      material for the action of
 natural elimination40    ,the most     
convinced ,darwinian will hardly deny   
that the problem involved  in this case 
is a serious one4    ,another singular  
fact to be noted in this connexion is   
the 8conclusion  arrived at by the study
 of mimetic butterflies in all parts of 
the  world--that the females are far    
more liable to assume this method of    
defence than the males40#gg ,an instance
 in point1 which has been  the subject  

of much discussion1 is that of the      
yellow and black  swallow-tailed        
butterfly1 ,papilio meriones1 found in  
,madagascar4  ,the island is supposed to
 be the original home of the species1   
and  here both sexes are much alike4 ,on
 the mainland of ,south ,africa1        
however1 while the male has undergone   
the very slight transformations         
represented by the species ,p4 merope   
and ,p4 cenea1 the females  imitate     
closely three different species of the  
,danais butterfly  which is protected by
 its disagreeable taste from the usual  
enemies of  the tribe1 and which is     
altogether unlike in shape and          
coloration to  the swallow-tail4 8,the  
new forms10 writes ,mr4 ,poulton1 8have 
arisen  at so recent a date that many of
 the intermediate stages can still be   
seen1 while the parent form has been    
preserved unchanged in a friendly  land1
 where the keener struggle of           
continental areas is unknown40#gh  ,the 
significance of such a fact as this is  

obvious4 ,if mimicry arose  from        
fortuitous variations of colouring and  
of form1 males alone  might show it in  
some species1 females alone in others1  
and both in  yet others1 but it is      
difficult to understand how we could    
arrive  at the actual condition1 and    
find it either common to both sexes or  
practically confined to the female4 ,if1
 on the other hand1 mimicry  and other  
similar adaptations are ultimately to be
 interpreted as the  common response of 
the species to the attack of its foes1  
it is quite  natural that the female1 as
 the egg-bearer1 the most important     
factor  in the continuance of the       
species1 should be specially protected4 
,it is  probable also that she is most  
in need of protection1 as her functions 
may render her rather more exposed than 
the male to attack4 ,that  natural      
selection cannot have been the dominant 
factor in the case we  are considering  
seems clear2 for how could it have acted
 at all without  a somewhat vigorous    

weeding out of unprotected forms8 ,and1 
in that  case1 what would have become of
 the unprotected males of the species8  
,difficulties of this kind have1 in     
different cases1 been raised again  and 
again since the publication of the      
,origin of ,species1 and have had  to be
 answered so often that there seems good
 prima facie ground  for doubting       
whether they have ever really been      
answered at all4 ,the  strongest        
advocates of the pure mechanical theory 
are obliged1 as we  have seen1 to admit 
that the drift of contemporary          
scientific opinion  is to place little  
reliance on casual variation and natural
 selection  and to look for the driving 
force of evolution in other             
directions4#gi  ,in the introduction to 
,strasburger's ,text ,book of ,botany#hj
 we find  this important passage3--     
8,the tendency is to assume the         
existence of a development of      the  
organic world due to original1 innate   
capabilities of the      living         

substance and not dependent on          
selection4 ,the origin of      the large
 subdivisions of the animal and         
vegetable kingdoms1      the            
#8,archetypes1' would be due to this    
sort of evolution4 ,these               
archetypes have been1 and are still1    
continually influenced by      the      
environment1 and1 by their reaction to  
external conditions1      organisms     
become more or less directly adapted4444
 ,the progressive      evolution of the 
archetypes1 as well as the direct       
adaptations to      external conditions 
shown by them1 is independent of        
selection4      ,the latter does1       
however1 exert an influence on the      
process of      evolution of the organic
 world1 though to a much more limited   
extent than was formerly supposed40     
,it is clear that in these original     
innate capabilities of the living       
substance we have a power which alone   
may fully account for the  evolution of 
the organic world1 though natural       

selection can emphasize  and hasten its 
action4 ,its nature and limits are still
 undetermined4  ,biologists are very    
chary of expressing this power save in  
terms of  chemistry and physics4 ,men of
 science are afraid--sometimes ,i       
venture to  think even morbidly         
afraid--of opening any door by which the
 fantastic  horde of arbitrary dogmas   
and superstitions which they have cast  
out  with so much toil and peril might  
find their way back into the temple  of 
,knowledge4 ,but philosophy must warn   
them that in shutting out  all forces   
that cannot be weighed and measured in a
 laboratory they  may be shutting out   
life itself4 ,and those who strenuously 
insist on  reducing nature to a         
mechanism often find themselves obliged 
to let  in the mysterious life-force by 
some more or less clandestine entry  in 
order to make their mechanism work4     
,thus ,ngeli1 the originator  of the    
theory of heredity which ,weismann has  
developed1 attributes  the phenomena of 

growth and evolution not to natural     
selection but  to 8internal forces40#ha 
,he disclaims for these forces any but a
  physical and chemical significance2   
but ,professor ,eimer1 in spite of  all 
disclaimers1 cannot get rid of the      
suspicion1 well justified in  my        
opinion1 that there is in these forces1 
as conceived by ,ngeli1  something      
purposeful and teleological--admit them1
 he says in effect1  and who knows what 
we shall next be asked to believe8#hb   
,yet for ,eimer  himself we find that1  
as ,schopenhauer says1 8the lotus of    
physics  is rooted in metaphysics40     
,twice in his work on organic evolution1
  he refers with approval to the view of
 8our profound philosopher1  ,oken10#hc 
who regarded all existing beings as     
members or organs of  some vast and     
transcendental organism whose           
development conditioned  theirs4 ,eimer 
even makes a somewhat daring application
 of this  principle to a concrete       
instance in the physical world1 one     

which we  have already referred to1 the 
problem of the inheritance of qualities 
in ants1 bees1 etc41 when these         
qualities are possessed and exercised   
only by individuals who cannot transmit 
them4        8,we must regard10 he      
writes1 8the different forms of bees1   
queens1      drones1 workers1 as        
discontinuous organs of one whole1 which
 have      been evolved from a single   
indifferent ancestral form4444 ,only    
thus can we explain to ourselves the    
fact that the peculiarities      of the 
workers1 notwithstanding that they do   
not reproduce1 are      inherited40#hd  
,when we are asked to believe in        
physico-chemical laws of such a  nature 
that they enable the habits of life of a
 worker-ant or bee to  react upon the   
germ-cells of the queen1 just as the    
exercise of an  organ1 on ,lamarckian   
principles1 affects the reproductive    
cells of  the creature to which it      
belongs1 it becomes plain enough that   
for  modern investigators the so-called 

mechanical and the so-called psychic    
conceptions of the universe are really  
running out at the same point4  ,the    
gulf between these conceptions1 which   
seemed to yawn so widely  after         
,darwinism1 was a mere illusion1 arising
 from a point of view now  left behind4 
,to resume the argument of the foregoing
 chapters4 ,we have seen that at  the   
basis of all theories of evolution lies 
the fact of the responsive  powers of   
living protoplasm4 ,but what does it    
respond to8 ,that is the  question of   
questions4 ,to put it accurately in     
relation to the process  of evolution we
 must ask1 ,to what do the determinants 
in the germinal  cells of plants and    
animals respond8 ,to what call did      
unicellular  organisms respond when they
 first began to interchange chromatin   
with  each other8 ,to what1 when they   
began to divide and form new organisms8 
,to what1 when multicellular organisms  
began to specialize certain cells  for  
reproduction1 and these cells to mature 

themselves for fusion by  throwing out  
half their chromosomes8 ,and when the   
higher plants and  animals came on the  
scene1 reproducing their kind under     
conditions  which make strongly for the 
fixity of species1 how are we to        
interpret  the response of protoplasm   
when we see organs and structures melt  
away1  and others grow1 giving rise to  
the innumerable types which yield us    
the existing world with its overwhelming
 richness and variety of life8          
,weismann tells us that the response is 
only to differences in the  amount of   
nutriment obtainable by the various     
determinants of the germ  cell1 and has 
but a fortuitous connexion with the     
results attained4  ,we have seen the    
inadequacy of this theory1 in the light 
of the many  adaptations such as that of
 which the fish1 ,anableps1 with its    
bifocal eyes1 and the double sexual     
organs of terrestrial snails1 are       
types4 ,lamarck and ,darwin1 besides the
 belief in fortuitous variation1  held  

that heritable characters arise from    
exercise of function4  ,innumerable     
cases can be quoted in favour of this   
explanation1 but  we have seen instances
 in which it is absolutely untenable1   
and yet  where the required response    
takes place just the same4 ,the         
influence  of light and colour tells on 
the colouring of animals1 and           
impartially  protects them when they are
 preyed upon1 or helps them to secure   
their  prey2 and this influence is      
frequently explainable by chemical or   
electric agencies originating in the    
environment of the animal1 acting  on   
the blood1 and thus influencing         
pigmentation of the skin1#he but        
chemistry is helpless to account for the
 manner in which nature shapes  the     
contour of the wing of a tropical       
butterfly and paints upon it  the       
veinings of a leaf1 or protects a       
harmless fly by giving it a  resemblance
 to a stinging one1 or protects a       
caterpillar by making it  look like a   

vicious and dangerous reptile4 ,yet all 
these protective  arrangements are      
evidently1 at bottom1 facts of the same 
order4  ,protoplasm lives and responds  
not only discretely in the lowest unit  
perceptible by the microscope1 but      
collectively in the connected groups  of
 these units called multicellular       
organisms1 and in the disconnected      
groups of these organisms called        
species4 ,it really responds not to the 
exercise of function or to the play of  
physical forces1 but to vital           
tendencies of the organism4 ,there seems
 an expansive force in nature  which1   
though working strictly under the       
dominion of physical laws1 is  capable  
of using the combinations brought about 
by those laws for the  preservation and 
development of life4 ,it is in love with
 life1 it is  ever pressing toward      
action and self-realization1 and all    
roads are one  to it if they lead to    
that end4 ,in it are included the very  
chemical  and physical agencies which it

 obeys1 and also that something beyond  
which eludes the analysis of the        
laboratory4    ,how it acts1 under what 
conditions1 what limitations1 why here  
in one  way1 there in another1 are      
questions of profound interest1 the     
fringe  of which philosophy has hardly  
begun to touch4 ,nor is philosophy yet  
in a position to do more1 for the       
scientific conception of nature is  but 
a recent birth of thought2 much remains 
to do in the collection and             
organization of the facts with which the
 framework must be filled in1  and a    
philosophy which does not keep closely  
in touch with scientific  fact can have 
no message for the modern world4 ,but it
 does seem  possible to discern1 and it 
shall now be our endeavour to set forth1
  in broad outline1 certain principles  
of deep significance from which  we may 
obtain an answer to the question3 ,what 
can we learn from the  physical universe
 that has a bearing on the spiritual    
life of man8          ,,chapter ,,vi    

,,the ,,directive ,,theory ,,of         
,,evolution        8,who is there that  
cannot distinguish between the actual   
cause      of a thing and that without  
which the cause could never be a        
cause80--,plato1 ,phdo4      ,the       
problem set at the close of our first   
chapter was to find a fit  explanation  
of the guiding power apparent in natural
 phenomena4 ,we  have not been able to  
interpret this guiding power either in  
terms of  conscious1 intelligent        
contrivance or in terms of blind1       
mechanical  law4 ,the investigations    
which followed have led us up to another
  explanation4 ,we have seen that the   
vivifying1 transforming1 progressive    
power in nature may be conceived as a   
power of ,response4 ,every particle  of 
matter1 organic and inorganic1 has this 
power4 ,every particle of  matter can   
react and respond to some stimulus4 ,the
 more it can respond  to1 the higher it 
is in the scale of being4 ,and we have  
found1 as ,i  think1 one constant and   

universal stimulus to which both the    
fixity of  nature's laws and the        
plasticity of her mysterious substance  
may be  conceived as a response4 ,this  
stimulus is the call of ,life4 ,stimulus
  and response taken together constitute
 the directive force in obedience  to   
which the world unfolds itself in the   
evolutionary process4 ,we have  been led
 to interpret nature as the concrete    
expression of the will to  live1 a will 
which for the first time comes into     
rational consciousness  in man4 ,having 
brought this conception1 ,i hope1 into  
clear light1 it  is the aim of the      
present chapter to illustrate and       
enforce it in more  detail1 and thus to 
gain a secure foundation for the        
application of  the conception to the   
more strictly human problems with which 
we have  ultimately to deal4    ,it must
 be confessed that the existence in     
nature of any directive  power          
transcending and utilizing the          
mechanical forces and relations  of     

matter1 call it #8vital force1' the     
#8hand of ,providence1' the #8,x'  of   
evolution1 or what one will1 has never  
readily been admitted by  scientific    
naturalists4 ,they feel that1 if once   
admitted1 it offers a  prompt and facile
 explanation of every difficulty1 and is
 available as  the cheap resource of all
 those who study nature with a view to  
the  grinding of their moral or         
religious axes1 rather than to the      
discovery  of truth4 ,those who feel    
obliged to believe in the existence of  
some  such power are therefore bound to 
be more than ordinarily on their  guard 
against all loose thinking4 ,they must  
not be content with vague  generalities1
 but must be prepared to indicate as    
exactly as possible  the distinction    
existing between the mechanical and the 
non-mechanical  or transcendental       
agencies in nature4 ,it does not follow 
that one's  account of the matter will  
prove to be exactly true in every       
detail4  ,one must always speak in such 

matters with that wise reservation of   
,socrates1 8,if this be not the truth1  
something of the kind is40 ,but it  is  
not allowable to fall back on that      
8something of the kind0 until an        
attempt has been made definitely to     
establish the 8kind10 by searching  into
 the inmost heart of the fact4    ,the  
fact here is the responsive power of    
living protoplasm4 ,it will be  well to 
examine it first in its operation in an 
individual organism  before we consider 
it in relation to the species4          
,reaction or response of a chemical and 
mechanical type takes place  alike in   
dead matter and in living organisms1 but
 certain stimuli  will induce action in 
an organism which they could not        
possibly  induce in a mineral4 ,for in  
every cell1 as ,reinke well says1 there 
are a chemist and an architect who guide
 its energies1 and who have  something  
quite different from chemistry and      
physics in view4 ,consider  the         
following case4 ,every tuber of a potato

 plant is covered with  a light skin    
composed of a corky substance intended  
to protect the  internal structure from 
injury4 ,this skin is produced by the   
action of  the surface cells of the     
tuber4 ,chemically and physically these 
cells  are just the same as the cells in
 the interior of the tuber4 ,but the    
interior cells do not produce this corky
 substance1 because it would  be        
injurious to the plant if they did4 ,the
 cells below the surface  of the tuber1 
though they are by no means secluded    
from the chemical  influences of the    
earth around them1 behave quite         
differently from  those actually in     
contact with the earth4    ,now let us  
take our tuber1 slice it in half1 and   
replace it in the  earth again4 ,if we  
look at it again in a few days we shall 
find that  the interior cells1 now      
exposed by the cutting1 have done what  
they  could not or did not do           
before--they have produced a layer of   
skin to  cover the exposed surface of   

the tuber just as if they had been      
surface  cells from the outset4    ,this
 kind of response seems to take us quite
 out of the region of  chemical and     
physical action as understood in the    
case of inorganic  matter4 ,it is a     
response directed to maintaining as far 
as possible the  life and form of the   
organism1 a thing which mere chemical   
action in  mineral substances never     
does4    ,it may perhaps1 however1 be   
argued that the actual contact with the 
earth has a possible chemical stimulus  
which is not communicable to  cells even
 a hair's-breadth below the surface1 and
 that the cells laid  bare by slicing   
react as they do simply because they are
 exposed to  this stimulus4 ,let us     
take1 then1 another common and typical  
case of  response to altered conditions 
in plant life4    ,the taproot of a     
tree1 as we have seen1#hf grows straight
 downwards  towards the centre of the   
earth in obedience to the stimulus given
  by the pull of gravitation4 ,the same 

stimulus impels the stem to  shoot      
upwards1 and the other roots and the    
branches to grow more or  less          
laterally4 ,new growth always takes     
place at the extreme tip of  the shoot  
or root4 ,lay bare the taproot1 cut away
 this growing tip1  and that root can   
grow no more2 no fresh tip charged with 
vegetative  vitality can form itself    
over the scar4 ,but mark what happens6  
,the nearest lateral root1 instead of   
pursuing its normal course1  straightway
 begins to bend downwards and takes the 
place of the  mutilated taproot4        
,similarly if the leading shoot of the  
stem is nipped  off1 the nearest lateral
 branch will turn upwards4 ,in this case
 the  lateral root or shoot has not been
 subjected to any new influences        
whatever1 or at least to none of a      
chemical or physical nature4 ,yet it    
responds1 not to anything affecting     
itself1 but to the needs of the         
organism as a whole4#hg    ,none of the 
forces which living organisms have in   

common with minerals  will account for  
this kind of response4    ,how are we to
 represent to our minds the nature of   
the forces which  apply to the          
innumerable cases of which the above is 
a type8 ,reinke1  who deals exhaustively
 with this question1 conceives the      
vitality of  living things1 manifested  
in growth1 development1 and             
reproduction1  as lodged in what he     
calls 8,dominants40#hh ,these dominants 
exist  in all parts of the organism1 and
 govern those processes which  ordinary 
physical laws do not explain1 i4e4 the  
phenomena which  are specifically vital4
 ,they are not themselves chemical or   
physical  energies1 but they guide these
 energies toward the fulfilment of the  
objects of life4        8,dominants10 he
 writes1#hi 8are those secondary#ij     
forces in the      organism whose       
existence we recognize in their         
operations1 but      which we cannot    
further analyse4 ,thus ,i understand    
under this form      that principle of  

control which takes effect in every     
organism and      which sways whatever  
energies are available just as men use  
tools      and machines4 ,since this    
control is manifold in its              
manifestations1      one is obliged1    
when seeking for a technical designation
 for      it1 to express it in the      
plural4 ,the dominants are therefore an 
abstraction2 a symbol for phenomena1    
just like the conceptions1      ,force1 
,matter1 the ,atom1 etc42 the term has  
been devised in order      to provide a 
short explanatory description of certain
 essential      processes4        8,i   
therefore repel the objection1 if anyone
 should make it1 that      the dominants
 are a fiction1 a troop of ghosts with  
which ,i have      peopled the cells and
 organs of animals and plants4 ,they    
are1 in      some sense1 merely a       
paraphrase of the description of certain
      phenomena1 a personification of   
forces not to be ranged under the       
conception of energy--the directive     

impulses in the animal and              
vegetable world40    ,to continue       
,reinke's explanation3 ,two different   
classes of dominants  are to be         
recognized4 ,these are the operative and
 the formative4 ,the  former control    
principally the chemical activities of  
the organism1 as  when a plant turns    
inorganic substances into sugar1        
albumen1 etc42 the  latter are the      
invisible architects in the organism who
 control its  form and structure4 ,both 
are heritable1 and are capable of       
modification  within certain limits4    
,closely bound up with matter and       
energy1 they  are neither matter nor    
energy4 ,they can be indefinitely       
multiplied and  7to all appearance7     
totally destroyed4 ,their multiplication
 does not  abstract energy from other   
known sources1 nor does their           
destruction  restore it2 they do not    
therefore come 7visibly7 under the law  
of the  conservation of energy4 ,they   
operate entirely within the framework of

  natural laws1 and can only utilize    
what energies are available for  them at
 the given time and place4 ,every cell  
has its dominants2 and as  an organism  
is a synthesis1 not a mere aggregate1 of
 cells1 so its  individual dominant is a
 synthesis of the dominants of its      
parts4 ,the  evolution of species1 like 
the development of an embryo1 is under  
the  control of dominants4 ,the         
conditions under which they work for    
this end  are material and physical2    
these conditions can1 to a great extent1
 be  ascertained and defined1 but the   
driving force lies beyond scientific    
analysis4    ,such is the conception of 
,reinke2 and taken as he presents it1   
that is  to say1 merely as a kind of    
working hypothesis1 as a means of making
  intelligible a vast and various mass  
of phenomena1 it seems admirably  suited
 to its purpose4 ,it remains to add1    
though ,reinke himself does  not say so1
 that this conception of the dominants  
appears to harmonize  remarkably with   

what has been put forward in regard to  
cell-structure  and reproduction4 ,the  
chromosomes are probably the material   
vehicles  of the dominants2 in fact1    
,weismann's determinants seem to be the 
same thing under another name1 though   
,weismann conceives them rather  from   
the point of view of the scientist1 and 
,reinke from that of the  metaphysician4
      ,we have now arrived at an        
intellectual conception under which to  
range  the phenomena 7not the ultimate  
nature7 of vital response4 ,let us apply
  it to the question of evolution4 ,the 
following passage from ,henslow's       
,origin of ,plant ,structures#ia may    
serve to introduce this part of our     
discussion3--        8,the question 444 
resolves itself into this3 which        
probability or      hypothesis do the   
facts of the case seem to favour most1  
viz4      that indefinite variations    
arise from some assumed internal        
causes1 of which variations only those  
in harmony with the      environment    

survive1 and are said1 therefore1       
metaphorically1      to be selected by  
it2 or is it that the external forces of
 the      environment excite the        
variability which is inherent in plants1
      and call into action the          
responsive power of the protoplasm in   
the      various species of plants1     
which thus all tend to put on the       
same1 or similar1 or at least adaptive  
and definite variations      of one sort
 or another1 so that there are no       
indiscriminate or      wasted           
variations#ib at all8 ,i know an        
abundance of facts which      support   
the latter contention1 but none whatever
 in illustration of      the former     
hypothesis40    ,here is the action of  
the dominants in evolution placed in the
  clearest light4 ,to prove the truth of
 ,professor ,henslow's contention  it is
 necessary not only to study organisms  
in situations where they  have been     
established for many generations or     
centuries1 but to see  how they behave  

on transportation to a new kind of      
environment4 ,the  cases which can be   
adduced are numerous and convincing4    
,thus ,mr4 ,d4  ,dewar reported to ,mr4 
,henslow that on introducing at ,kew a  
cress1  ,arabis anachortica1 found in   
cave-like situations in the ,alps1 and  
having very thin1 papery leaves1 it     
turned1 when raised from seed1  into a  
different species1 ,arabis alpina4 ,the 
change took only three  generations to  
accomplish4#ic    ,bulbous roots have it
 among their functions to store up      
moisture  for the plant they belong to4 
,haeckel has shown that the grass ,poa  
bulbosa1 on being cultivated in moist   
soil1 almost lost its bulbous           
character4 ,contrariwise we find that   
many plants not bulbous elsewhere  are  
observed to be so when growing on the   
dry ,karoo in ,south ,africa4#id        
,spines on a plant are usual            
accompaniments of dryness in soil or    
atmosphere4 ,ononis spinosa has an      
excessively spiny variety1 termed       

horrida1 which is found on maritime     
sands4 ,grown in very rich moist        
situations1 it gradually loses its      
spines and they ultimately disappear    
entirely4#ie    ,in the animal world    
experimental cultivation is not at all  
so easy1  but the facts observed all go 
to support the view that the response to
  environment is direct and definite4   
,the small shrimp-like crustacean1      
,artemia salina is a case frequently    
quoted4 ,it lives in salt pools  by the 
,black ,sea1 and it has been found that 
by breeding it in water  of which the   
salinity is gradually decreased1 the    
creature in a few  generations assumes a
 type commonly assigned not merely to a 
different  species but to a different   
genus--,branchipus stagnalis4#if        
,perhaps the most remarkable instance of
 a transformation produced  by the      
influence of environment is that of the 
,mexican water-newt1  ,axolotl4 ,when   
gradually accustomed to live on dry     
land1 this creature  usually throws off 

its gills1 develops lungs1 alters the   
shape of its  tail1 and takes on all the
 characteristics of a terrestrial       
instead of  an aquatic reptile4 ,this   
transformation does not take generations
 to  accomplish--it happens in one      
individual in the course of a few weeks 
or months4 ,when found in the           
terrestrial form1 the ,axolotl is called
  ,amblystoma tigrinum1 and is classed  
among the salamanders4 ,its  progeny are
 then ,amblystomas1 and they do not     
naturally revert to the  ,axolotl type1 
although under certain circumstances the
 steps of this  amazing transformation  
can be retraced4 ,the ,axolotl is not a 
larva in  the ordinary sense of the     
word1 for it is not an imperfect        
creature2  it is sexually mature1 and in
 most cases1 in nature1 probably never  
develops into an ,amblystoma1 nor do the
 progeny of the ,amblystomas  begin as  
,axolotls4 ,what we have here is        
probably1 as ,weismann plausibly        
suggests1 a case of a species which has 

almost reached the stage of  evolution  
from an aquatic into a terrestrial form1
 so that a sufficient  impulse from its 
environment suffices to send it over the
 border4  ,internal forces have         
evidently prepared the way for the      
change1 and  the process does not in the
 least resemble the mechanical selection
 of  suitable characters from a crowd of
 fortuitous variations4#ig    ,the case 
of the ,porto ,santo rabbit may also be 
quoted in this  connexion4 ,in the year 
#adai the young born of a tame ,spanish 
rabbit  were put ashore on the island of
 ,porto ,santo near ,madeira4 ,no       
rabbits  then existed on the island4    
,they have since increased enormously1  
and  have quite changed their           
appearance4 ,they have acquired a       
peculiar  colour1 are very small1       
rat-like in shape1 have nocturnal       
habits1 and  are noted for their extreme
 wildness4 ,they no longer pair with the
  ,european rabbit4 ,the case was       
observed by ,haeckel1 who styled the new

  species ,lepus ,huxleyi4#ih           
,cases like the foregoing show the      
organism affected during its process  of
 transformation by large elemental      
influences1 and the response to  these  
influences is so familiar that often it 
does not surprise us4 ,we  veil the real
 mystery of the process by talking of   
the chemical and  other physical        
properties of protoplasm which render   
this response  possible4 ,but when we   
come to the protective mimicry of       
stinging  insects by stingless ones1 of 
leaves by butterflies1 and so forth1    
these physical explanations manifestly  
fail us4 ,the explanation  which assumes
 the building up of these extraordinary 
resemblances  bit by bit1 through       
natural selection working upon a        
multitude of  fortuitous variations1    
fails us as completely4 ,it would be    
difficult  to accept it if only a single
 species of insect showed these mimetic 
markings4 ,the unlikelihood of their    
production by mere chance in the  case  

not of one but of hundreds of species of
 butterflies1 flies1 and  caterpillars  
is stupendous1 and defies all           
calculation4 ,it must1 we  repeat1      
always be borne in mind that1 if chance 
variations are all we  can postulate1   
these variations must at first be       
confined to one or  few individuals1 and
 that the influence of intercrossing    
would always  be at work to obliterate  
individual peculiarities before they    
could  develop to the point of affording
 any protection worth mentioning4 ,we   
are bound1 therefore1 so far as ,i can  
see1 to conclude1 first1 that  these    
mimetic markings originate not in       
individuals but in the species  as a    
whole1 and are an expression of the     
communal life of the species2  secondly1
 that they are a real and direct        
response to the external  conditions of 
danger from attacks of birds1 etc41 and 
of protection  afforded by deceiving    
these foes through mimicry of something 
which  they do not care to attack4 ,they

 can only originate in the dominants  of
 the reproductive cells1 and there1     
where undoubtedly forces and  affinities
 of which we have no conception are ever
 at work1 the  initial changes take     
place4 ,these changes1 no doubt1 take   
place by  forming new combinations or   
modifications of existing dominants4    
,the  directive force must have         
something to work on4 ,it does not      
follow  that because some things are    
possible to it therefore all things are4
  ,it is not to be expected1 for        
instance1 that human beings1 although it
  would be a great advantage to them to 
fly1 could ever develop wings1  like the
 conventional angels of medival art1 for
 that would violate  the essential      
character of the archetypal form4 ,it is
 true1 however1  that life is ultimately
 responsible for the material with which
 it  works as well as the directive     
agency that breathes through it4 ,this  
point is of importance and must be made 
perfectly clear4 ,the view of  cosmic   

action here put forward does not        
contemplate #8interventions'  in the    
order of nature from a source outside   
it4 ,there never was a  moment when1 if 
law prevailed1 one result would take    
place1 while  another result actually   
does occur in obedience to some         
mysterious  life-force4 ,no2 it is the  
life-impulse which makes the law1 obeys 
it  and utilizes it4 ,one can never say1
 8,such and such would have happened  if
 the life-force had not been in action1 
but1 as it was1 the event  was          
so-and-so02 for if it were not in action
 nothing would ever happen  at all--the 
,universe would be the ,eternal         
,nothing4 ,one might as well  speculate 
as to what would happen in a game of    
whist if nobody held  a trump4 ,the     
voluntary limitations under which nature
 works resemble1  in the conception here
 put forward1 the playing of a game1 say
 a game  of #8,patience1' where there is
 only one player1 who plays the game    
with  himself4 ,there are laws to be    

obeyed1 combinations which are          
necessary1  but a guiding force can take
 advantage of the conditions as they    
arise  and lead them to a certain end4  
,if there were no laws and conditions   
there would be no game4 ,if1 on the     
other hand1 matter were absolutely      
plastic life could not realize itself2  
nature's game would be finished  ere it 
was begun4 ,a concrete illustration may1
 while we are on this  topic1 serve to  
suggest the kind of limitations under   
which nature  seems to work4#ii ,during 
the last century or so the ,african     
elephant  has been ruthlessly hunted    
down for its ivory1 and since rifles and
  expanding bullets came into play the  
process of extermination has been       
greatly hastened4 ,elephants are now1 ,i
 believe1 protected by law over  a great
 part of ,south ,africa1 but if it were 
not for this the species  would at      
present be in considerable danger of    
extinction4 ,the case is  very like that
 of the ,kallima butterfly and similar  

mimetic forms  before they acquired     
their protective markings4 ,now1 how    
might we  expect nature to attempt the  
protection of the elephant8 ,doubtless  
by  increased fleetness1 cunning1       
watchfulness1 capacity of one kind or   
another for concealing itself from      
hostile observation4 ,but could we  look
 for any such development as1 for       
example1 a deterioration in the  quality
 of the ivory8 ,suppose1 for example1   
the interior structure of  the tusk were
 to become spongy and cellular instead  
of being dense4  ,the tusk1 if coated   
with hard enamel1 might be almost if not
 quite as  useful to the elephant1 but  
it would cease to be of any use for most
  of the purposes to which it is now    
applied by man4 ,the protection  would  
be most effective2 yet we know that     
nothing of this kind can  possibly take 
place1 though intrinsically the process 
would be far less  remarkable than the  
painting of the butterfly's wing4 ,it   
cannot take  place because it would     

either imply a supernatural knowledge on
 the  part of the evolution-dominants of
 the elephant tribe of the reasons  why 
it is hunted1 or a conscious supervising
 and co-ordinating power  above nature1 
a manlike ,deity1 omnipotent and        
omniscient1 such as ,paley  assumed2 to 
both of which explanations the actual   
processes of nature  stand              
uncompromisingly opposed4      ,it is   
much easier to say what the life-impulse
 is not than what it is4  ,i cannot1 for
 my own part1 conceive it as personal or
 conscious1 in  the sense in which ,i   
feel myself a conscious person4 ,if we  
ask1 ,has  it or has it not the quality 
of intelligence8 we shall find both the 
affirmative and the negative answers    
equally hard to square with the  facts4 
,our own intelligences working in a     
mysterious relation to a  bodily        
organism are perhaps fundamentally      
incapable of forming a clear  idea of   
the nature of the cosmic intelligence   
which is revealed to  us in the outside 

world1 8like the dim view of a country  
seen in the  twilight1 with forms half  
extricated from the darkness1 with      
broken  lines1 and isolated masses40#ajj
    ,but those who find it difficult to 
believe that anything having  the nature
 of intelligence is at work in the      
physical world might  reflect on the    
striking analogy which that world offers
 to a certain  sphere where it is quite 
certain that the human spirit1 including
 its  intelligence as well as its       
appetites and instincts1 is the         
governing  power4 ,social institutions  
are a product of the human spirit4 ,yet 
the  development of these institutions  
is extraordinarily like that of the     
functions and structures of an animal or
 vegetable organism4 ,the value  of ,mr4
 ,herbert ,spencer's philosophic system 
may be disputed on many  points1 but his
 elaborate analysis of the phenomena of 
social life and  his exposition of the  
minute analogies they exhibit to the    
processes  of evolution in nature must  

always remain a landmark indicating the 
conquest of a great territory of human  
thought4#aja ,here1 as in  nature1 we   
find a principle of movement and        
progress conflicting with  a principle  
of inertia4 ,we find all grades of      
development existing at  the same time4 
,we see the gradual progression1 by     
means of all kinds  of by-ways1 to a    
goal which one might have expected      
intelligence to  attain simply and      
directly4 ,we see parallels in human    
societies to  arteries1 nerves1 to      
co-ordinating and ruling brain-centres1 
to the  specialization of different     
members or organs for different tasks2  
and we see all these things growing up  
slowly1 from point to point1  in        
obedience to immediate and pressing     
requirements4 ,we find1 both  in nature 
and in society1 survivals of past       
structures1 whose use is  gone1 carried 
forward into new stages of development4 
,a particularly  interesting analogy is 
that of structures which develop to meet

 one  kind of requirement1 and1 on the  
cessation of that1 persist into a       
further stage and are then modified to  
meet quite other requirements4  ,thus   
the swim-bladder of the fish became1 it 
is supposed1 the lung  of the           
terrestrial animal4 ,we may compare this
 with the development  of municipal     
institutions4 ,originally intended to   
enable bodies of  craftsmen and         
merchants to make head against the      
aggressions of a  feudal aristocracy    
they have survived the fall of          
feudalism1 and have  become more        
important than ever as independent      
agencies for carrying on  the functions 
of social administration and education4 
,thus1 operations in the physical world 
which certainly do not look as  if they 
were the work of intelligence1 as we    
understand it1 are seen to  be closely  
paralleled by transactions in the       
history of man's social  life4 ,the     
development of life1 in fact1 is carried
 forward when the  plane of human       

consciousness is reached on just the    
same lines as those  which prevailed on 
the vegetable and the animal plane3     
there is no  breach of continuity in the
 broad outlines of evolutionary         
progress4 ,it  is difficult to          
over-estimate the significance of this  
fact4    ,perhaps nothing that man has  
evolved is so purely a work of mind as  
,language4 ,here1 the analogy with the  
phenomena of physical evolution is  very
 close and very illuminating4 ,as in    
nature1 the ultimate origins  are       
obscure--we can only form hypotheses as 
to how language came to  arise from the 
cries of animals1 as we can only form   
hypotheses  how life arose from the play
 of molecular forces4 ,but when both    
are once established on the earth we see
 in them the same general               
features--unity1 in a few leading types1
 branching out into infinite            
modifications in subordinate groups4    
,greek1 ,erse1 ,german1 ,russian1       
,sanskrit are all ,aryan tongues and    

have all a common ancestry4 ,they       
differ widely among each other1 but all 
alike are marked off from  the ,semitic 
or the ,mongolian families4 ,so a man1 a
 snake1 a bear1 a  fish are all         
vertebrates1 and belong to a type       
essentially distinct  from that of a    
lobster or a snail4 ,as in nature1 we   
find all stages  of development existing
 at the same time--some lines of        
development  show a rapid advance1 some 
a very slow one4 ,some types have1 in   
both  cases1 perished completely--there 
are fossil languages as there are       
fossil species4 ,a new invention1 an    
advance per saltum1 without  the        
utilization of existing constituents1 is
 almost as rare in the  evolution of    
language as in that of species4 ,just as
 the lung is  developed from the        
swim-bladder1 so the human mind1 in the 
development  of language1 takes hold of 
whatever existing form will suit its    
purpose  and transforms it to another   
end1 as when it takes a word for        

#8breath'  and makes it #8spirit4'      
,there are laws governing the           
development of  root-forms1 linguistic  
or physical1 in various different orders
 or  species4 ,the same osseous         
framework yields us in one class of     
animal a  hand1 in another a hoof1 in   
another a paw1 in another 7as in bats7 a
  wing4 ,so in language the same root   
yields us the words1 in different       
languages1 for shining1 showing1        
speaking1 proving1 a face1  a story1    
whiteness4 ,another gives us1 young1 a  
stepmother1  a certain musical string1 a
 messenger4#ajb ,contrariwise we see    
both in nature and in language forms    
which have grown from entirely          
different roots into a close external   
and functional similarity4 ,what        
unlearned observer would suspect that a 
whale was not a fish1 and that  it      
descends from a furry land animal with  
four legs1 or that the ,latin  ,deus and
 the ,greek ,theos with their perfect   
identity of meaning and  their almost   

perfect identity of sound have probably 
a widely divergent  etymological        
pedigree8#ajc    ,on the other hand1 the
 etymological identity of such words as 
vque  and bishop is as obscure on the   
surface as would probably be the        
relationship of a greyhound with a      
bull-dog to an anatomist who saw  them  
only in fossil form4    ,again we note  
that languages1 like species1 when they 
send out a  migratory colony1 are       
capable of gradual transformation to    
meet new  conditions1 and of marked     
divergence from the parent stock4 ,thus 
,english1 as spoken and written in the  
,united ,states1 in spite of  the       
retaining influence of a common literary
 tradition1 is steadily  diverging from 
the ,english of ,great ,britain4#ajd ,so
 with the ,french  of ,canada1 the      
,spanish of ,south ,america1 and the    
,dutch of the ,cape4 ,we  note also in  
both cases that curious phenomenon1 the 
survival of the  useless relics of      
earlier structure1 e4g4 in the silent   

letters which  reveal the historic      
origin of innumerable ,english words1   
which are  paralleled in nature by the  
vermiform appendix of man1 or the splint
  bones in a horse1 or the rudimentary  
legs of the whale or the python4    ,but
 analogies of detail like these1        
interesting as they are1 are not  the   
main thing4 ,the main thing is the      
organic likeness prevailing  between the
 work of nature and this work of        
man--the likeness of growing  and       
developing structures1 with their       
response to immediate needs1  their     
development by specialization of        
function1 their lack of a  strict       
logical scheme1 their anomalies and     
capricious variations1 and  their       
control of these variations within      
certain archetypal forms4 ,the          
substance of language is sound1 as the  
substance of life is protoplasm4        
,phonetic laws govern the one as        
mechanical and chemical laws do the     
other4 ,but phonetic laws and the       

capability of producing sound could     
never have made a language4 ,the        
evolution of language is urged forward  
by the constant pressure and expansion  
of human thought2 and on human  thought1
 in its turn1 it reacts1 giving the     
stimulus and the starting  ground for   
fresh expansion4 ,we have the heart of  
the analogy before  us now4 ,as thought 
acts on language so the pressure and    
expansion  of the life-impulse acts on  
the forms of matter4 ,let us see whither
  the comparison leads us4 ,language is 
a product of the human mind1 but  not of
 a mind4 ,when a human mind consciously 
applies itself to the  fashioning of a  
language it produces ,esperanto4 ,if we 
were living in  an ,esperanto universe1 
such as ,paley makes out this to be1 we 
might  draw ,paley's easy conclusions as
 to its ,maker2 but the reality is  very
 unlike that4 ,on the other hand1 if    
mind has produced the natural  languages
 which we see1 with all their anomalies1
 imperfections1 and  slow organic       

growth1 then the corresponding phenomena
 in nature1 as the  evolution doctrine  
has brought them out1 are evidently no  
bar to the  belief that mind has had a  
part in this work also4 ,i should go    
farther  and say that the facts compel a
 belief in the existence in nature of   
something that can only be described in 
terms of mind4 ,in other words1  the    
universe is1 at bottom1 rational4       
,it is true that the cosmic ,reason acts
 not as a single personal  being1 but   
more or less independently at a         
multitude of points4 ,but  it must not  
be forgotten that it is observed1 up to 
a certain point1  to act through groups 
as well as through units4 ,even the life
 and  structure of a single cell show us
 distinct parts acting in harmonious    
subordination to the interests of the   
whole4 ,an organism composed of  many of
 these cells exhibits a series of       
syntheses or groupings rising  in       
comprehensiveness and complexity till   
the individual is complete and  the     

wheel of development has come full      
circle1 beginning with a single  unit   
and ending with a complex unit4 ,but the
 synthetic movement of  cosmic control  
does not end there1#aje for aggregates  
of individuals  can be collectively     
animated by it4 ,the numerous cases of  
co-operation  among animals of the same 
species are an instance of this4 ,all   
animals  which live in communities      
exhibit this co-operation habitually1   
and  many others do so occasionally4    
,when ,professor ,eimer1 as we have     
seen1  reflected on the phenomena of    
reproduction and heredity in ants and   
bees1 he was driven1 like ,oken1 to     
account for them by regarding these     
creatures as 8discontinuous organs0 of  
one being1 having the same  power of    
affecting each other as have the        
distinct1 though connected1  parts of   
any single animal or plant4#ajf ,as an  
illustrative analogy1  helping us to    
understand the invisible bond of the    
communal life of a  species1 this       

conception is of service1 but ,i hardly 
think that we are  in a position at     
present to affirm it in any exact and   
literal sense4  ,can we1 however1 trace 
the analogy1 as ,oken did1 beyond       
species1 and  show anything of the      
nature of an adaptation of one order of 
beings  to the use of another8 ,to do so
 convincingly1 it is evident that  the  
adaptation must be of no use to the     
creature possessing it2  for1 if it     
were1 we might expect to see it evolved1
 whether it were  incidentally of use to
 a neighbour species or not4 ,honey1 for
 instance1  though apparently of no     
direct use to flowers1 is secreted by   
them  because it attracts insects1 and  
insects fertilize the flowers4 ,if      
flowers secreted honey solely for       
insects' use1 deriving no benefit  from 
their visits1 we should have a case of a
 synthesis of communal  life wider than 
that of the species4 ,are there such    
cases1 or does  every species fight     
exclusively for its own hand8           

8,if10 wrote ,darwin1 8it could be      
proved that any part of the             
structure of any one species had been   
formed for the exclusive good      of   
another species1 it would annihilate my 
theory1 for such could      not have    
been produced through natural           
selection40#ajg    ,certainly it could  
not1 but neither could other            
adaptations4 ,natural  selection1 as    
,darwin knew well enough1 does not      
8produce0 anything--all  it can do is to
 depress the less favourable variations 
presented to  it in favour of the more  
favourable ones4 ,as ,darwin never      
professed  to have sounded the depths of
 the problem of variation1 it is not    
clear why variations favourable to      
another species than the one in  which  
they occur should be presumed to be     
impossible4 ,it is true that  they would
 not illustrate or come under the       
operation of natural  selection1 but    
neither would they contradict it--they  
would simply be  outside it4            

,individuals unquestionably exhibit     
modifications intended  not for their   
own personal benefit1 but for that of   
the species--for  instance1 the maternal
 instincts4 ,the modification of a part 
in the  interest of the whole to which  
it belongs may1 perhaps1 turn out to    
have the same essential significance    
whether the part is an organ  or        
instinct belonging to the synthesis     
called an individual1 or an  individual 
belonging to the synthesis called a     
species1 or a species  belonging to some
 fauna or flora of the globe4 ,in any   
case1 the  question where synthesis is  
arrested1 and where the fight for one's 
own hand begins1 is one of great        
interest and must be here briefly       
discussed4 ,cases such as those of which
 ,darwin rejected the possibility       
certainly appear to be rare1 if they    
exist at all4 ,the naturalists of  the  
older school1 of course1 saw them       
everywhere--the rattlesnake's  rattle   
was to warn its victims1 the colouring  

of flowers was to give  pleasure to man1
 and so forth4 ,most of these cases have
 been exploded  by modern research4 ,the
 modern naturalists1 however1 may not be
 right  in refusing to see them         
anywhere4 ,the question demands much    
special  study and observation4         
,reverting to the case of flowers and   
their  secretion of honey1 one is struck
 by the fact that in the ,viola  family 
there exist flowers more or less        
conspicuous1 and endowed  with scent and
 with honey-filled nectaries1 which     
usually do not  play any part at all in 
fertilization4 ,the process of          
fertilization  in ,viola is carried on  
by small flowers hidden under the leaves
  which never open1 and which fertilize 
themselves4 ,again1 at the base  of the 
laurel leaf1 on each side of the midrib1
 there are two small  glands filled with
 honey1 and bees may be observed biting 
into these  in the early part of the    
year before flower-honey is plentiful4  
,ngeli has an ingenious argument to show

 the existence1 not exactly  of         
disinterested aid among species1 but of 
something which would make  such aid    
look more possible than it does1 of a   
mutual responsiveness1  namely1 between 
the form of the honey-receptacles of    
certain flowers  and the probosces of   
the insects which frequent them4 ,taking
 a short  honey-tube as the normal and  
original condition among plants1 and a  
short proboscis among insects1 he argues
 that the honey-tube could  not have    
lengthened without depriving the species
 in which it did so  of the chances of  
insect-fertilization unless the         
insect-proboscis  in certain species    
lengthened simultaneously4#ajh ,cases   
also have  been noticed of sea-anemones1
 which attach themselves to the shells  
of hermit crabs and by their poisonous  
tentacles repel attacks on the          
crab4#aji ,the crab is no doubt useful  
to its guest by providing it  with the  
means of locomotion4 ,still1 the case of
 mutual help between  two such different

 orders of beings is remarkable4 ,a very
 peculiar case  is that of the          
waterfern1 ,azolla1 which has certain   
roomy cavities  on the underside of its 
leaves4 ,these are always found to be   
occupied  by a small unicellular        
organism of the ,alga order 7,anabna74  
,it  is of no apparent use to the       
,azolla1 which provides it a home4 ,the 
arrangement must have been of immensely 
long standing1 for it occurs in  all the
 four species of ,azolla1 one of which  
is found in ,america1 two  distributed  
over ,australia1 ,asia1 and ,africa1 and
 one only in the ,nile4  ,it must1      
therefore1 have arisen before the       
original species split into  four4#aaj  
,it would be rash to conclude from these
 and some similar curiosities  that we  
are really in the presence of the       
phenomenon of disinterested  aid given  
by one species to another4 ,the question
 needs more  investigation4 ,but an     
important general consideration arises  
in this  connexion4 ,it is clear that   

there could be no advance in evolution  
if  nature consisted solely of a        
multitude of independent units of life1 
fiercely competing against or warring   
with each other4 ,it is equally  clear  
that no advance could take place if     
every organism found an  environment so 
perfectly adapted to it as to call for  
the very minimum  of effort and strain  
in the maintenance of life4 ,between the
 chaos of  the first supposition and the
 lubberland of the second there must be 
a  condition of nature in which         
synthetic organization is carried just  
to  the point at which life will have   
the maximum power to perfect and to     
realize itself4 ,looking at the         
conditions of nature as we know them1   
and at the majestic expression of       
material and spiritual life which  those
 conditions have permitted1 we may well 
be content to believe  that both the    
synthetic process1 as far as it goes1   
and its apparent  suspension at a       
certain point in the ascending scale1   

are the outcome  of one and the same    
motive and have one and the same        
significance--they  both alike mean and 
make for the conservation1 the          
development1 the  enrichment of life4   
,against this view there is an argument 
which has hitherto only been  glanced   
at1 but which must now be discussed in  
more detail4 ,it is  represented in a   
recent work by ,prof4 ,conrad ,gnther1  
one of the latest  champions of the     
theory of chance variations and natural 
selection  as the sole explanation of   
evolution1 who has assembled a number of
  instances to show that the 8purposive 
force0 which biologists are now  coming 
to believe in 8often fails in living    
beings40 ,such are1 for  example1 the   
fact that an ,amba seeking nourishment  
will take in a  particle of stone or    
anything that comes in its way2#aaa that
 the  mutual relations of flowers and   
insects are often unsuitable2 that a    
bee will sting a human being just as it 
will another insect1 although  the      

sting1 only meant for the latter kind of
 use1 cannot be withdrawn  from the     
human skin2 that embryos often go astray
 during development2  that a cricket    
which tries to escape in the open by    
burying itself  in the earth will act   
similarly if you set it on a glass      
plate2 and  so forth4 ,nature1 of       
course1 teems with such cases--one might
 add the  singular degeneration of the  
slave-making ants already described in  
some detail4#aab 8,if10 he concludes1   
8the purposive reaction in  the vital   
force of animals were independent of the
 external world1  they would be armed   
against all contingencies1 and that is  
not the  case40#aac    ,thus1 too1      
,prof4 ,eimer1 who in dealing with cases
 where the alleged ,x  factor in ,nature
 has gone wrong1 writes3--        8,the 
zoologist can hardly accept the         
existence of such a      dominant inner 
factor ever pushing toward advance1 when
 he recalls      the host of regressive 
structures which he has to see40#aad    

,now when the cause of physico-chemical 
versus vital agencies comes to  be      
tried1 not in the laboratory but in the 
study1 not by science but  by           
philosophy1 the first question that will
 be asked is1 ,what1 then1  is your     
distinction between #8vital' and        
#8physico-chemical' energies8  ,how are 
we to recognize when we are in presence 
of the one or of the  other8 ,the usual 
answer to this searching question is    
that in vital  agency we find a         
directive1 a purposeful1 a psychic      
element1 whereas  physico-chemical      
energies seem to be nothing but the play
 of a blind1  indifferent mechanism4    
,but1 it will be rejoined1 how can any  
one affirm  that physico-chemical       
energies are not also vital1 directive1 
psychic8  ,is there not1 in fact1       
something psychic in the very conception
 of  energy8 ,to these questions there  
seems to me no conceivable reply4 ,when 
a #8vital' energy has been reduced to a 
#8physico-chemical1' we have  evidently 

explained nothing--we have only         
exchanged one mystery for  another4     
,yet if there is no difference in       
essential nature between one kind  of   
energy and another1 there does appear a 
marked difference when  we come to      
consider them in relation to particular 
results of their  operation4 ,let us    
take an example4 ,we explain that       
classic instance of  gravitation1 the   
fall of an apple1 by reference to the   
law formulated  by ,newton which extends
 to every particle of matter in the     
visible  universe4 ,but we also find    
that the fall of the apple is1 for      
apples1  a necessity of life2 if the    
seed did not fall to the ground when    
ripe there would be no more apple trees4
 ,yet gravitation acts quite            
indifferently to the life of the apple4 
,whether the branches overhang  a river1
 or a street1 or a plot of fertile      
ground1 the apple will fall  straight   
towards the centre of the earth4 ,the   
fulfilment1 therefore1  of the vital    

needs of the apple is plainly a         
by-product of the force  of gravitation4
 ,in this relation1 gravity has no      
directive or psychic  element4 ,yet in  
larger relations1 we have to take note  
of the fact  that if there were no such 
thing as gravity1 there would be no     
apples  and no earth4 ,thus the law of  
gravitation is a condition of life as we
  now know it4 ,the fact that it acts   
mechanically1 without selection or      
purpose1 in relation to particular      
occurrences is quite consistent with    
the view that it1 or the conditions of  
the ether from which it possibly        
arises1 may be directive and psychic in 
relation to life as a whole1  or rather 
to what we recognize as the             
manifestation of life in the  material  
universe4    ,we have now got hold of a 
valid distinction between mechanical and
  directive agencies4 ,we can           
distinguish them not by their nature but
  in relation to the particular         
phenomenon we are considering4 ,we call 

them mechanical where that phenomenon is
 a by-product of the agency1  and       
directive where1 if the agency were     
conscious1 we should say that  this was 
its main intent4 ,i can see no more     
fundamental distinction4 ,it  follows   
from this that the same action can be at
 once both mechanical                   
7physico-chemical7 and directive4 ,the  
old distinction between vital and       
mechanical energy disappears4 ,the      
question resolves itself simply into    
that of the number of distinct agencies 
which are deemed necessary to  account  
for the universe4    ,now the true way  
of dealing with this problem of the     
unity or  multiplicity of agencies in   
nature is1 ,i would suggest1 to assume  
the  existence of a single power which  
is of course psychic and directive  but 
which can only be communicated to matter
 by degrees and under  certain          
conditions still very obscure4 ,these   
conditions it itself both  creates and  
uses4 ,its development in ,time and that

 of matter go on1  as it were1 on       
parallel paths1 eternally apart 7to our 
limited view7  yet eternally            
inseparable4 ,the key to the course of  
its development  in nature lies in the  
word ,synthesis4#aae ,here we seem to   
have the  explanation of the apparent   
difference between the so-called        
#8vital'  and the physico-chemical      
forces4 ,when matter has been so grouped
 as  to form not a mere aggregate of    
particles but a synthesis1 then that    
synthesis is enabled to make use of     
energy in a manner not open to  its     
parts4 ,synthesis is a condition of the 
discovery of liberation  of unsuspected 
forces4 ,thus a synthesis of molecules  
produces the  stage for ,life1 a        
synthesis of living particles produces  
the ,cell1  a synthesis of cells        
produces an organism1 a synthesis of    
organisms  is a species--for the        
evidence 7most notably that derived from
 the  consideration of bee and ant      
communities7 seems to show that material

  discontinuity in the members does not 
preclude the existence of a true        
synthetic union4#aaf ,the characteristic
 power gained by a species  is that of  
evolutionary development working in the 
obscure region of  germinal combination 
and variation4 ,of course1 ,i am aware  
that all this  is merely a way of       
representing facts so as to make them   
intelligible  to and manageable by the  
mind4 ,if any one should object that we 
do not  know what kind of grouping a    
synthesis is1 except precisely through  
that very organic activity which ,i have
 described as its product or            
accompaniment1 ,i entirely agree4 ,all  
these terms are intellectual            
forms--like atoms1 molecules1 and other 
concepts of physics4 ,they do  not      
reveal anything2 they merely help us to 
comprehend4 ,in the region  of the      
controversy of ,vitalism versus         
,mechanism1 the conceptions  which ,i   
have been trying to explain enable us1  
without introducing  a multiplicity of  

different energies1 to understand how an
 organism  synthetized by life may      
exhibit directive action which looks    
entirely  different from any action     
possible in dead matter4 ,yet it works  
under  laws of its own1 and no doubt the
 particles of such an organism1 if  they
 were conscious1 would be unaware that  
any but physico-chemical  processes were
 in operation2 in fact1 ,i should have  
no hesitation in  agreeing with the     
statement with which the great          
physiologist1 ,verworn1  concludes an   
exhaustive analysis of this obscure     
subject3 8,the general  fact must be    
regarded as established1 that all the   
work of the organism  is based finally  
upon chemical energy40#aag ,but what    
directs the  chemical energy8 ,something
 which is not itself a chemical energy  
and  which is associated with the       
organic synthesis which that energy     
serves  to maintain4 ,verworn's         
statement1 it must be borne in mind1 is 
as true  of the composition of the      

,iliad as it is of the digestive process
 of an  animalcule4    ,the explanations
 above suggested are purely tentative2  
but so1 it must  be remembered1 are the 
theories which they combat4 ,no one     
pretends  that the mechanical           
explanation of the universe1 including  
the  phenomena of organic life1 is at   
present made out so as to cover the     
known facts1 or even that expert opinion
 is at all unanimous in the  belief that
 it can ever do so4    ,i know no single
 work in which the present position of  
the controversy  is so well set forth as
 in ,professor ,v4 ,l4 ,kellogg's       
,darwinism  ,to-day4#aah ,a great array 
of scientific authorities will there be 
found mustered1 and the verdict of      
,professor ,kellogg 7reluctantly  given1
 for he clings to the mechanical        
explanation of the universe7  is that   
evolution is not explained by any       
mechanical force at  present known to   
science4 8,with ,osborn10 he concludes1 
8let us join  the believers in the      

unknown factors in evolution40#aai ,he  
does  not1 however1 contemplate their   
remaining unknown--we have to say       
,ignoramus1 not ,ignorabimus2 and by    
#8known' he means apparently1  reducible
 to a mechanical process4 ,he will have 
nothing to say to  any internal force   
directing the energies of matter1 such  
as the  ,vervollkomnungsbewegung of     
,ngeli4#abj        8,such an            
assumption10 he writes1 8of a mystic1   
essentially      teleologic force1      
wholly independent of and dominating all
 the      physico-chemical forces and   
influences that we do know1 and the     
reactions and behaviour of living matter
 to their influences      which we are  
beginning to recognize and understand   
with some      clearness and            
fulness--such a surrender of all our    
hardly won actual      scientific       
knowledge in favour of an unknown1      
unproved1 mystic1      vital force we   
are not prepared to make40#aba    ,the  
above passage is very well fitted to be 

the pivot of the whole  controversy4 ,we
 shall examine it therefore in some     
detail4    ,it is1 in the first place1  
hardly correct to say that the ,x       
factor in life and evolution is supposed
 by thinkers like ,driesch1  ,reinke1   
and ,ngeli to be #8wholly independent   
of' and to #8dominate'  all the         
physico-chemical forces that we do      
scientifically know4  ,man1 for example1
 cannot be said to be #8wholly          
independent' of the  physico-chemical   
energies of which he makes use for a    
multitude of  objects4 ,he is very      
dependent1 both on those outside him and
 those  in his own organism4 ,he cannot 
originate the smallest quantum of       
physical energy4 ,yet he is             
unquestionably capable of directive     
action  upon matter4    ,in the second  
place it must be pointed out that the ,x
 factor1  conceived as it is in this    
book1 though ,prof4 ,kellogg may call it
  #8mystic' if he likes1 is certainly   
anything but #8unknown4' ,there is      

nothing more mystic than the human      
spirit--does not mysticism mean the     
attribution of spiritual significance to
 material things8--but there  is nothing
 more real and certain4 ,the very act of
 knowing1 however  material or          
mechanical may be the object of         
knowledge1 is an act of the  spirit1 and
 we know the spirit itself better than  
anything else4 ,how  did this spirit    
come into active being8 ,there are only 
two conceivable  ways4 ,either it was at
 a certain moment projected into the    
universe  from without by a ,supreme    
,spirit1 or it was1 like everything     
else1  evolved4 ,if we accept the former
 view we may say good-bye to science4   
,miraculous interventions will explain  
anything1 and if we admit them in  one  
case they may be valid everywhere4 ,but 
if we take the second view1  as do      
practically all men of science1 we are  
bound to admit that spirit  had from the
 beginning some constant and natural    
relation to matter1  for evolution does 

not work miracles--it cannot make       
something out of  nothing4 ,if1 then1 we
 regard ,man not as an outside observer 
of the  universe but as an organic part 
of it--and ,i believe no thinking about 
nature can be of any value until we have
 grasped and fully realized  that       
position--then there can be nothing to  
surprise us if we find  traces of a     
directive control in the elementary     
processes of life and  development4 ,it 
would be more surprising if we did not4 
,if we reduce  the whole universe1 apart
 from the human spirit1 to              
physico-chemical  processes we are at   
once confronted with the problem of     
evolving the  human spirit out of such  
processes2 and that1 on the face of it1 
is a  sheer impossibility4 ,all physical
 and all chemical phenomena as such  are
 reducible to the movements and         
groupings of atoms and molecules4       
,these movements and groupings can      
affect the spirit which finds itself    
mysteriously implicated in their        

activity1 and the spirit can affect     
them4 ,but that molecular movements can 
create spirit is unthinkable  by any one
 who realizes what spirit is and what   
movement4 ,rather should  we say that in
 the power of movement1 in action1      
change of any kind1 we  are to see the  
evidences of spirit4    ,we are now in a
 position to discuss the difficulty     
raised by ,eimer and  by ,gnther1 when  
they point to instances where the       
supposed psychic  force in nature has   
failed to achieve its end4 ,it fails    
because1  on its mechanical side1 it    
sometimes encounters obstacles which on 
the psychic side were not provided for4 
,the law of gravitation is a  condition 
of life1 but it will kill a man who     
falls over a precipice4  ,the           
adaptability of protoplasm is a         
necessary condition of evolution1  but  
circumstances will occur in which the   
adaptation means degeneracy  for the    
organism as a whole4 ,eimer's argument  
is good1 indeed1  against the           

mythological conception of a supreme    
,creator1 perfect in  prescience and in 
power1 who orders the goings-on of the  
universe  from his throne above and     
outside it4 ,but we seek for no such    
being  in natural phenomena4 ,perfection
 is no attribute of anything that       
operates in ,time1 and so far as we     
regard the divine life as working  in   
,time we must regard it as becoming1 not
 as being1 perfect4 ,again1  ,eimer's   
objection shows that he conceives the   
psychic force against  which he is      
arguing as in itself something          
mechanical1 a mechanized  kind of       
vitality1 which ought to achieve its end
 with a flawless  exactitude4 ,of this1 
also1 nature knows nothing4 ,the        
universe is what  it is precisely       
because the ,power behind its phenomena 
is neither blind  ,chance on the one    
hand nor rigid determination on the     
other--because it  is vital1            
progressive1 and free4 ,this power is   
certainly capable of  making imperfect  

adaptations and of diverging into false 
side-tracks  of development4 ,that is a 
fact of much significance1 but it is no 
argument against the existence of such a
 power--it merely reveals its           
character4 ,a special study of          
regressive structures and of the laws   
and  principles which lead to them would
 have extreme interest1 both for        
biology and for philosophy4 ,but it     
could not affect the significance of    
the broad fact that1 in a world where   
the highest living being was once  a    
particle of shapeless protoplasm1 we    
have now ,man1 a being lamentably       
unfit1 indeed1 to be the last birth of  
,time1 but uniquely great by his  very  
consciousness of that unfitness4    ,in 
contemplating this wonderful ascending  
movement let us not forget  that the    
warrant for its continuance rests in    
ourselves4 ,the false  tracks1 the      
regressive forms1 which meet us in      
nature prove at least  this3 that the   
line of development which we observe on 

earth may  conceivably end in a disaster
 which would bear to the course of ,life
  in general just such a relation as the
 degeneration of the ,amazon  ants does 
to life on this globe4 ,we are by no    
means entitled to sit  still and expect 
that the current of evolution will bear 
mankind along  irresistibly to its goal4
 ,with the development of the conscious 
will  we are made responsible for the   
advance of life in the only sphere      
which we know and which our actions can 
affect4 ,man is1 as it were1  the       
growing-point of that progressive life4 
,if his strange passion  for the        
perfection which he has never seen      
should be smothered in the  struggle for
 mere existence1 or corrupted by brutal 
luxury1 then growth  will be at an end1 
atrophy or degeneration will set in4    
,the vision of  a nobler1 freer1 more   
humane life than is anywhere widely     
possible on  earth at present cannot be 
realized without the strenuous help of  
men  and women who have learned to      

subdue the ,ego with its fierce egotisms
  into harmony with the purposes of the 
divine ,whole4 ,but this much we  may   
say--that they will not fight alone4 ,no
 one ever pursued a high and  worthy aim
 without finding that he had drawn to   
himself those #8great  allies' of whom  
,wordsworth has written so greatly2     
powers implicit  in the nature of the   
world1 and always waiting to be unlocked
 by the  heroic ,will4      ,the ,power1
 some of whose workings it has been     
attempted to trace in the  foregoing    
pages1 is a controlling and directive   
force1 making1 through  countless       
varieties of being1 for one clear and   
definable end--the  realization of life4
 ,it may be asked1 ,are we to regard    
this divine  ,power as wholly immanent  
in matter or as partly transcending it  
and  governing it from without8    ,the 
nature of the divine principle1 so far  
as we are able to discern  it1 cannot be
 fully discussed until we come to       
consider it in the  highest sphere of   

manifestation yet known to us1 that of  
the human  soul4 ,but with the question 
which has just been raised we are now in
  some measure able to deal1 and the    
consideration of it may bring this      
section of our study to a close4    ,in 
the world of inorganic matter1 the      
tendency of units to form  themselves   
into groups having relation to other    
groups is already  visible4 ,a force    
immanent in the atom clearly becomes    
transcendent in  relation to the atom   
when atoms group themselves into        
molecules4 ,and  when molecular         
affinities come into play1 and obey     
definite laws of  form1 as in the       
wonderful phenomena of crystallization1 
we see that  the force immanent in each 
molecule becomes transcendent1 as       
regards  the molecules taken separately1
 when we look at them from the point  of
 view of the completed group4           
,crystallization is a process which     
trembles on the very verge of vital     
action4 ,and in vital action the        

alternation of immanence and            
transcendence in an ever-ascending scale
  becomes still clearer and more        
significant4 ,every cell is a collection
  of forces controlled by a power which 
transcends each one of them1 or  any    
number of them below the whole4 ,every  
cell colony1 like the ,alga  described  
in an earlier chapter1#abb has a life   
which is immanent in  the colony but    
transcendent as regards its component   
members4 ,definite  groups of cells make
 up the structure of the highly         
organized plant  or animal1 and exhibit 
the same combination of forces immanent 
in the  parts and transcendent1 as      
regards those parts1 in the whole4      
,again1  each whole1 each individual1 is
 moved by life-impulses immanent in     
itself but transcendent in so far as    
they represent the communal life  of the
 species to which it belongs4 ,this     
communal life of the species  becomes   
immanent again when we regard it as     
embraced in the life of  the totality of

 beings on the globe4 ,the thought must 
at once occur1  as the ascending series 
passes out of reach of man's            
intelligence3  ,whither1 then1 does it  
lead us in the end8 ,is there any end8  
,and is our  knowledge of ,being        
absolutely limited to those parts of it 
which lie  beneath us8    ,we are1 ,i   
think1 able1 without going beyond the   
limits of observation  and experience1  
to frame a synthesis of all physical    
nature1 and to  express its character in
 terms of ,life and ,response4 ,but at  
the next  step we have to embrace man   
with his moral nature1 his intelligence1
  his personal consciousness1 and there 
may for aught we know be beings  far    
higher than man who must also be        
included4 ,now here we are not only  in 
the synthesis and therefore unable to   
grasp and survey it1 but we  are also   
quite unaware of its contents and       
limits4 ,we ask1 ,is the ,all  of       
,things personal8 is ,it conscious8 has 
,it a manlike intelligence8 and  so     

forth1 and ,i confess ,i see no way of  
answering these questions with  our     
present capacities4 ,we can only        
say--but this is much--that as the      
universe is one1 the part of it which we
 do not see cannot stand in any         
essential contradiction to that which we
 do4    ,furthermore we must remember   
that since1 in that aspect of us which  
observes and studies1 we are distinct   
personalities1 we are obliged1 in  so   
observing and studying1 to regard things
 as outside of ourselves4  ,this is the 
core of the whole difficulty4 ,at       
bottom1 the relativity  of human        
knowledge does not depend on the fact   
that time1 space1 and  causality are1 as
 ,kant has taught us1 modes of thought  
imposed upon  our #8,i1' with nothing   
external answering to them2 it goes     
deeper1  it depends on the ultimate fact
 that ,i am an #8,i1' and therefore     
separate 7as such7 from what ,i observe1
 and therefore only capable  of studying
 my own states as affected by external  

things1 not the very  things themselves4
 ,real knowledge1 then1 must consist in 
getting out  of this prison of          
#8,i'-hood and entering into actual     
union with what we  observe4 ,could we  
do that1 we should at once live not in  
our #8selves'  but in the ,whole4 ,the  
question then is1 whether it is ever    
possible so  to escape1 and how8    ,we 
must note1 however1 that no one who has 
done this could ever tell  us precisely 
what he has done4 ,for the moment he    
begins to put his  experiences into an  
intellectual form1 the laws of the mind 
reassert  themselves1 things externalize
 themselves again1 the #8,i' reappears1 
the  gulf yawns again between subject   
and object4    ,and yet the instinctive 
language of man shows that he does      
regard  it as possible to lose himself  
in the contemplation of something       
transcending his powers of ordinary     
intellectual apprehension4 ,why  should 
he not8 ,if a transcendent ,reality     
exists1 as it must1 then the  faculty of

 entering into conscious relation with  
it is one which ,time  would surely some
 day bring to birth4    ,and although no
 man1 as ,i have said1 can ever express 
to other minds in  terms of the         
intellect the reality he has thus       
witnessed1 he has found  means to do    
better than this--he can help them to   
share his vision4  ,these means we call 
,poetry1 ,art1 and ,religion which is   
the poetry of  ,ethics4 ,through these  
it is that man most truly lives1 because
 united  in spirit with a larger life   
than his #8self' and his senses are     
aware  of4 ,through them it is that     
while the eye sees the sunrise1 the     
spirit  sees the glory1 that while the  
intellect apprehends ,truth1 the soul   
is ready to die for it1 that while      
self-interest bands men together  in    
communities for mutual service1 ,love   
prompts to the services that  will never
 be recompensed4 ,we are not then1 it   
seems1 absolutely  imprisoned in our    
#8,i1' strait as the bonds may seem4    

,but this must be  added1 that they will
 never seem so strait as when we fancy  
that we can  get out of them by any     
purely intellectual conception of the   
,ultimate  ,reality4 8,god10 says       
schylus most nobly1 8is the ,air1 ,god  
is the  ,earth1 ,god is the ,heavens2   
yea1 ,god is all things1 and ,that which
 is  above them40#abc ,there is always a
 #8beyond' for the explorations of  the 
intellect4 ,the function of the         
intellect is to combine and reduce  to  
order the experiences of sense1 thus    
guiding us with definite aim  through   
the bewildering wonders of life4 ,but   
let us not dream that  it can ever guide
 us to any goal or terminus4 ,the goal  
is at once  infinitely distant and      
nearer than our breath and blood4 ,the  
search  for it will last as long as     
,time4 ,it is of the essence of the view
 of  the universe here put forward that 
the intellect can never embrace it  in  
any closed system of thought4 ,turn as  
we may to one after another  of these   

closed systems as each grows out of     
harmony with advancing  knowledge and   
insight1 the true conclusion1 at least  
for readers who  have followed these    
pages with assent1 will be to stand     
cheerfully  ready to renounce all       
systems1 trusting in the last resort to 
no  formulas1 but to the play of eternal
 ,powers on the imagination1 the  heart1
 the will3--        8,they bring none to
 his or her terminus or to be content   
and full1      ,whom they take they take
 into space to behold the birth of      
stars1        to learn one of the       
meanings1      ,to launch off with      
absolute faith1 to sweep through the    
ceaseless        rings and never be     
quiet again40#abd          ,,part ,,ii3 
,,ethics          ,,chapter ,,vii       
,,law1 ,,free ,,will1 ,,personality     
8----,and this main miracle that thou   
art thou1      ,with power on thine own 
act and on the world40                  
,tennyson4      ,there is1 according to 
,mr4 ,herbert ,spencer1 a question lying

 at the  root of all ethics1 a question 
which must be 8definitely raised and    
answered before entering on any ethical 
discussion40#abe ,this is 8the  question
 of late much agitated1 ,is life worth  
living80#abf ,i confess  that this      
question does not seem to me at all a   
radical or pressing one  in comparison  
with another of which ,mr4 ,spencer1 in 
his ,data of ,ethics1  takes no account 
whatever--the question whether we have  
any real choice  in the way we ought to 
live so as to make life of value1 or in 
other  words whether there is an        
#8ought' in the business at all4 ,can   
any man  regulate his own living8 ,is he
 not1 even while he lives and thinks1   
,rolled round in ,earth's diurnal course
        ,with rocks and stones and      
trees1    as much a helpless victim of  
external forces as they are8 ,does the  
realm of natural law extend to human    
actions and volitions2 and if  so1 must 
it not be an illusion to suppose that   
these can possess any  ethical quality  

whatever8    ,a great deal of the       
perplexity attaching to the old problem1
 how to  reconcile human free will with 
divine predestination and omniscience1  
has1 it seems to me1 been carried       
forward quite needlessly into the new   
problem of the reconciliation of free   
will with the reign of natural  law4    
,the problem in the old form which      
occupied ,milton's rebel angels  has    
scarcely any meaning for modern thought4
 ,human actions are a part  of the world
 of phenomena1 existing in time and     
space4 ,when we think  in that sphere of
 things we conceive the ,deity as the   
synthesis of  all things1 and as the    
intellect can never arrive at this      
synthesis1  it follows that we can never
 represent the ,deity in terms of the   
intellect4 ,an infinitely wise1         
infinitely good and powerful ,being has 
no definable relation to the phenomenal 
world at all4 ,therefore there  can be  
no question either of reconcilement or  
of opposition between  the attributes of

 each4 ,god has not planned beforehand  
the course of  the world because        
7speaking in this sphere7 ,god is the   
world--past1  present1 and to come2 and 
,his being is in process of completion  
by  the world's development4 ,in another
 sphere1 behind the veils of space  and 
time1 of causality and of sense1 resides
 the ,eternal ,beauty1 the  ,eternal    
,wisdom1 the ,eternal ,love1            
approachable indeed by those who  come  
to it 8as a little child10 but evading  
the questionings of the  intellect4     
,but the modern problem of ,determinism 
and ,free ,will has meaning enough  for 
us all1 without bringing any            
transcendental relation into the        
question4 ,let us state briefly the     
position of the ,determinists4 ,it  is  
held by them that every human           
thought--in fact1 every mental change   
whether of the nature of volition1      
thought1 or emotion--is a necessary     
effect of certain antecedent causes1    
just like every change in the  material 

world4 ,every act of will is1 on this   
view1 the mechanically  accurate        
resultant of two forces3 7a7 the        
particular nature of the  man who wills2
 7b7 the circumstances which supplied   
the occasion for  the volition4 ,it     
would seem to follow from this that no  
man can be held  morally accountable for
 his actions4 ,were we sufficiently     
acquainted  with his nature and with the
 course of external circumstances1 we   
could  predict his action throughout his
 whole lifetime as surely as we can     
foretell an eclipse4 ,he is what he has 
been made by the circumstances  of his  
life acting on the whole mental and     
temperamental make-up which  he         
inherited from his parents4 ,he does    
good or ill as a tree bears  good fruit 
or bad according to its nature and to   
the treatment it has  received4    ,the 
old theory of ,free ,will1 which was    
content to declare that each  man's     
choice in any ethical situation         
presented to him by life was not        

imposed on him by the will of a ,deity  
but was his own choice1 thus  making him
 responsible to ,god and man for his    
acts1 evidently requires  to be restated
 in view of the conception of scientific
 ,determinism  just described1 which    
does not seek to impose on man the will 
of any  other personal being4 ,but when 
we come to restate it1 the distinction  
between ,free ,will and ,determinism    
appears to be by no means so clear  and 
intelligible as it seemed at first      
sight4 ,the essence of the  ,determinist
 theory is simply that the same man will
 always1 under the  same set of external
 circumstances1 act in exactly the same 
way4 ,but  how far does the advocate of 
,free ,will really deny this8 ,imagine a
 man  whom we regard as a type of honour
 and integrity1 a ,general ,gordon1 for 
instance1 in the position of being      
offered a bribe to betray a trust       
reposed in him4 ,we are quite assured   
that he would reject it1 and that  he   
would reject it again and again to the  

end of the chapter4 ,so long  as his    
mind and character remained unchanged1  
his action would never  vary4 ,was his  
will therefore not free8 ,and if so1 how
 do we distinguish  its freedom from    
scientific ,determinism8    ,we shall   
find that while the statement of the    
,determinist position is  quite easy and
 simple1 the statement of ,free ,will1  
the explanation of  what we really mean 
when we talk of the will being #8free1' 
is1 when we  look closely into it1 a    
matter of much intricacy4 ,believers in 
,free  ,will1 says ,j4 ,s4 ,mill in his 
essay #8,on ,social ,freedom1' are those
 who  8believe1 in fact1 that they      
themselves can1 within certain limits1  
do what they please40#abg ,this is1     
indeed1 the answer which comes at  once 
to the lips of the average man when     
,socratically interrogated as  to what  
he means by ,free ,will4 ,but the nature
 of the limits is just  the critical    
part of the question4 ,i cannot fly     
because ,i please4 ,i  cannot write a   

line of poetry because ,i please4 ,can  
,i live a saintly  life because ,i      
please8 ,perhaps not1 it may be replied2
 but after all  ,free ,will does not    
essentially mean the external fact of   
doing1 it  means the internal act of    
choosing--let us substitute the word    
#8choose'  for the word #8do' and see   
what we arrive at4 ,very well1 then2 ,i 
can  choose what ,i please3 let us try  
this formula4 ,but at once we perceive  
that this is a tautological expression1 
for what ,i #8please' to do is  simply  
what ,i choose4 ,so the formula is      
finally stripped to this bare           
expression1 #8,i can choose4' ,but now  
the ,determinist will say1 #8,who       
denies it8' ,the psychological process  
known as #8choosing' is within  every   
one's experience4 ,the question as to   
what governs the choice  remains        
untouched4 ,the core of the problem1    
then1 has been found to  lie not in the 
word #8do1' not in the word #8please1'  
not in the word  #8choose4' ,where is it

 then8 ,it is not in #8can1' for #8,i   
can choose' adds  nothing               
philosophically to the contents of #8,i 
choose4'    ,the core of the problem is 
the word #8,i4' ,and until we have      
settled  what #8,i' am1 we shall not    
reach a clear issue between ,free ,will 
and  ,determinism4    ,so the test which
 we have applied to human actions with a
 view to  finding out whether they      
conform to law as do physical phenomena 
or  not--the test1 namely1 whether they 
always come out the same under the  same
 circumstances or not--breaks down4 ,the
 #8circumstances' include the  man      
himself1 and the question #8,what is a  
man8' turns out to be the real  point at
 issue4    ,the ,determinist usually    
belongs to a school which has a clear   
and  simple answer to this question4    
,man1 for him1 is a complex of vessels1 
nerves1 ganglia1 and molecular          
configurations of brain matter          
responding to external stimuli as       
uniformly and inevitably as a plant4    

,consciousness is merely a sort of      
by-product of this mechanism1 which     
would go on just the same without       
it4#abh    ,but this view is in direct  
contradiction to the deepest and        
clearest  deliverance of human          
consciousness1 which affirms that ,i am 
a  deliberative and ruling ,mind1 and   
bids me regard my ,will as ,reason in   
action4 ,i seem to know this so         
intimately and profoundly that if it  is
 an illusion there appears to be nothing
 else in the world of which  ,i can ever
 venture to feel sure4 ,we know the     
outside world only at two  removes4 ,the
 external object has first to impress   
itself in some as yet  unexplained      
manner on our physical organism1 and the
 latter has then  in a manner equally   
mysterious to produce a state of        
consciousness in  the observer4 ,but    
consciousness1 in ,man1 can turn upon   
and interrogate  itself2 it is subject  
and object in one2 and its deliverances1
 so far  as they go1 so far as they are 

pure deliverances of consciousness with 
no argumentative deduction subtly       
mingled with them1 are the truest       
things we know or ever can know4 ,i do  
not see how they can possibly be        
brought to the test by any other kind of
 knowledge3 they are the test  of       
everything4    ,we find1 then1 that when
 we talk of #8free' choice as the       
prerogative  of man what we mean at     
bottom is the choice of a               
self-determining  ,mind4 ,we find1 also1
 that while for every event in the      
physical world  we are obliged to assume
 an antecedent cause1 we are under no   
such  obligation as regards ,mind4 ,when
 we have traced any sequence of causes  
and effects up to a ,mind1 we require to
 go no further4 ,we can conceive  a     
self-determining ,mind4 ,if man is such1
 or so far as he is such1 his  will is  
what we call free4    ,but to say that  
we are profoundly conscious of the      
existence of our  will does not by any  
means get rid of the difficulties       

connected with  this belief1 and it is  
incumbent on us either to attempt a     
solution of  them or frankly to dismiss 
them as1 for the present1 insoluble4    
,if possible1 to begin with1 we must    
obtain a clear idea of the  difference  
of the will from other forms of vital   
action4    ,at one end of the ascending 
scale of organic life we see an         
animalcule  swimming in the direction in
 which it is attracted by food4 ,at the 
other end1 we find a man in the full    
flush of conscious life going           
deliberately to a shocking death rather 
than deny his faith or break  a trust4  
,what is the essential difference       
between the action of  the animalcule   
and that of the martyr8 ,to the         
,determinist there is  none4 ,both are  
alike the inevitable response to certain
 stimuli from  the outside world acting 
on a certain nervous system4 ,but there 
is  one difference in the circumstances 
of the action which will be  admitted by
 all4 ,the animalcule has no choice4    

,the martyr has4 ,the                   
animalcule-consciousness has not been   
developed to the point at which  it can 
take in alternative courses of action   
and compare them with  one another4 ,it 
is doubtful to me whether any of the    
lower animals or  even of the lower     
races of man can really do this4 ,at any
 rate there  can clearly be no ,will    
where there is no distinct consciousness
 of  at least two possible courses of   
action4 ,the ,will1 therefore1 must  be 
regarded as coming for the first time   
into action when a certain  stage in the
 development of consciousness has been  
reached1 the stage  at which man is     
fully conscious of more than one motive4
 ,furthermore1  even when the           
consciousness has been developed to this
 point we cannot  recognize a true act  
of will unless1 on that particular      
occasion1  two or more motives were     
fully present4 ,for instance1 a lad     
brought  up in a thieves' kitchen1 when 
he sees an opportunity for stealing a   

purse1 cannot properly be said to have  
any counter-motive to the theft4  ,and  
common sense1 without having            
philosophically analyzed the matter1    
quite recognizes this position of       
affairs and graduates the moral         
responsibility of every criminal action 
roughly in accordance with the          
facilities which the subject has had for
 #8knowing better4'    ,two or more     
motives1 then1 fully present to         
consciousness1 form the  conditions     
under which alone the ,will can be said 
to act4 ,this is in  accord with the    
whole scheme of evolution4 ,the presence
 of certain  conditions gradually evokes
 the faculty or organ which deals with  
them4  ,but here an important question  
arises4 ,when these motives differ from 
each other morally1 can the ,will be    
said ever to choose the evil one8  ,has 
it any moral bent8 ,and if not1 what is 
the use of it8    ,there is no doubt    
that the ascription to the ,will of a   
certain moral  character1 and that a    

very lofty one1 is characteristic of    
nearly  all thinkers who accept its     
existence at all4 8,ill for him10 writes
  ,tennyson in lines of ,sophoclean     
dignity1                8,who1 bettering
 not with time      ,corrupts the       
strength of heaven-descended ,will10    
as though evil came from the corruption 
and slackness of ,will1 not from  its   
wrong direction4    ,in the ethics of   
,plato it was a cardinal principle that 
men did evil  only through ignorance4   
,make the soul conscious of goodness1   
and  it could not fail to follow it4    
,yet it seems that this doctrine1       
strongly as it appeals to the moral     
sense of man1 would1 if held with       
philosophic rigour1 really make the     
,will unfree4 ,no man can truly  choose 
the good who is unable to choose the    
evil4 ,the ,platonic doctrine  may1     
however1 be fully accounted for1 and    
even put in a form in which  it can1 to 
a great extent1 be justified1 if we give
 weight to the  following               

considerations4 ,moral action is usually
 recognized in the  renunciation of a   
strong personal gratification for the   
sake of some  social or other altruistic
 end4 ,now in such cases we are always  
sure  that the two motives have been    
duly present1 the moral motive1 for     
otherwise it would not have been        
followed1 and the personal motive1  for 
these are common to all living things1  
they are at the base of our  being1 and 
our own experience tells us only too    
well how insistent  and powerful such   
motives are4 ,the volitional character  
of such an  act is therefore manifest4  
,but if the lower motive be followed1   
the  significance of the event is more  
obscure4 ,for we all understand these   
lower motives1#abi and they are fairly  
uniform over the whole of  humanity4 ,we
 can always take for granted that they  
are present in full  force4 ,the martyr 
undoubtedly hates the idea of being     
burnt4 ,but we are  not so sure of the  
other class of motives4 ,we cannot in   

every case feel  certain 7unless the    
event has verified it7 that they were   
distinctly  in view1 for man's moral    
nature is still only at the beginning of
 its  development1 we are still far from
 having evolved anything like a         
universal moral code1 not to speak of   
the instincts for obeying it4 ,we  are  
inclined to assume1 therefore1 and ,i   
think we are perfectly right  in        
assuming1 that when the ,will appears in
 human action it is far more  often to  
good purpose than to evil4 ,in order    
that it may be free to act  on any      
ethical question1 there must be a       
sufficient degree of ethical            
development2 the character of moral     
worth must have been impressed upon  the
 spirit4 ,in the strength and stay which
 it affords to such a spirit1  the      
faculty of ,will is most clearly        
recognized and honoured4    ,we are now 
in a position to meet one of the gravest
 of the objections  which have been     
brought against the doctrine of ,free   

,will4 ,if  temperament and             
circumstance1 it is urged1 determine    
human action1  there is1 of course1 no  
place for the ,will--it is a mere       
illusion4  ,but if ,will is present and 
is supreme1 how can temperament and     
circumstance play the part they         
manifestly do--how does the history of  
man come to present1 as we have seen1 an
 aspect so strikingly similar  to that  
of the orderly evolution of physical    
organisms under natural  law8 ,if you   
bring in ,will at all as an arbiter of  
human action1 do you  not thereby drive 
out everything else8    ,the answer will
 be clear to those who accept the       
foregoing analysis of  the elements of  
choice4 ,the ,will is neither a faculty 
of perception  nor a faculty of         
judgment1 but a power of free choice4   
,free as it  is1 it can only act on what
 is presented to it2 and here1 beyond   
question1 it is subject to serious      
limitations4 ,every man has round  his  
soul1 as it were1 a refracting medium1  

through which the external  objects that
 excite the ,will to action must        
normally pass before they  reach the    
centres of decision and control4 ,and   
this medium is probably  never quite the
 same in any two individuals4 ,often it 
is very widely  different4 ,the sight of
 an unguarded heap of treasure may      
appear to  one man simply in the aspect 
of a perfectly legitimate opportunity   
for  enriching himself4 ,to another man 
it may come as a violent temptation  to 
do what he knows in his soul to be      
wrong4 ,a third1 equally needy1  equally
 capable of enjoying all that wealth    
represents1 may never have  a thought on
 the subject except that of protecting  
the treasure for its  true owner4 ,the  
object is the same1 the physical        
perception of it is  the same1 but the  
#8apperception' in each case is as      
different as ,peter  ,bell's perception 
of the 8primrose by the river's brim0   
was from that  of ,wordsworth4 ,this    
difference is caused by the modifying   

influence  of temperament1 training1 all
 that forms a man's disposition1 whether
  acquired or inherited4 ,it is as      
though each man moved in an atmosphere1 
an aura of his own which colours all the
 objects of his thought4  ,whether every
 invitation to action that can be       
presented to the ,will  must necessarily
 pass through this aura is a very       
obscure question  and one on which ,i do
 not at present wish to dogmatize4 ,but 
it is  certain that the great majority  
pass through it4    ,thus on every      
occasion where the ,will is exercised1  
it has to act not  only on the facts    
which are perceived but as they are     
perceived4 ,now  so far as the influence
 of what is called apperception is      
concerned  we are in the realm of       
natural law4 ,each man1 to that extent1 
is  unquestionably under the dominion of
 his environment1 that is to say of     
geographic1 historic1 social1 and other 
influences which affect whole           
communities1 and which vary but slowly  

when they vary at all4 ,the ,will1  in  
fact1 acts within the framework of      
nature and its laws exactly as  does    
that directive agency to which1 in the  
view of the writer1 is to  be attributed
 the phenomenon of progressive evolution
 from lower forms  of life to higher    
forms1 that is1 from forms which admit  
of less life  to those which admit of   
more4 ,the ,will is really this         
directive agency  coming into           
consciousness in ,mind4    ,in all life1
 whether human1 animal1 or material1    
there is an element  of change and an   
element of constancy4 ,between these    
poles it moves  and has its being1 nor  
could life1 as we know it1 exist for a  
moment  if either of these two opposing 
but complementary principles were       
withdrawn4 ,we have now seen that with a
 full belief in the innovating  and     
incalculable quality of the ,will1 with 
the infinite vistas which  that belief  
opens up to human hope and effort1 there
 is yet ample room  for the opposing and

 equally necessary element in life1 the 
element  of constancy1 uniformity1 law4 
,human ,will does not come into nature  
as a catastrophic force--it develops    
pari passu with the development  of     
consciousness2 and it will naturally be 
found in its highest  development where 
the whole nature is most wholesomely    
attuned to the  purposes of the cosmic  
,will4      ,we have now to notice      
certain grave objections which every    
student  of modern science and          
philosophy will expect to see dealt with
 by a  defender of the principle of     
,free ,will4    ,it has been objected   
from the evolutionist standpoint that1  
as no  one attributes ,free ,will to the
 lower forms of animal life1 it is      
impossible to conceive it as having     
arisen in man except by a miracle4  ,at 
what point1 it is asked1 did it first   
appear8 ,and if one cannot  fix the     
point1 the presumption is supposed to be
 that it has never  appeared at all4 ,it
 will be remembered that some scientific

 thinkers  such as ,mr4 ,a4 ,r4         
,wallace1 and one may add ,prof4        
,reinke1 have been so  much impressed by
 the mental difference between man and  
the beasts that  they have assumed the  
gulf to have been bridged by a          
catastrophic or  miraculous act and not 
by any evolutionary process4    ,now ,i 
quite admit that one cannot conceive    
mind being evolved from  not-mind4 ,but 
neither can ,i conceive life being      
evolved from not-life1  nor1 in fact1   
when one looks into the process         
minutely1 can ,i believe  in anything   
whatever1 physical or spiritual1 turning
 into something  else4 ,i conceive the  
evolutionary process strictly as the    
#8unfolding'  of latent capacities1     
faculties1 organs1 by means of psychic  
agencies  acting within the framework of
 the fixed relations which we call      
natural law4 ,the fact that one cannot  
lay one's finger on the exact  point in 
the history of nature where mind and    
will began to be is not  relevant to the

 question whether they are now present  
or not4 ,as well  might one be          
challenged to fix the moment when the   
embryo becomes a  man4 ,there are no    
such exact points in nature4 ,if there  
were1 nature  would be discontinuous1   
and the smallest real discontinuity in  
nature  would be enough to shatter the  
frame of the universe4    ,from another 
side it has been urged that the         
conception of the  continuity or oneness
 of the universe is fatal to ,free      
,will4 ,the  ,monist1 according to that 
brilliant champion of chaos1 ,mr4       
,william  ,james1#acj must believe in a 
universe fixed like cast-iron in all its
  parts1 for1 being all interrelated1   
not one of them can be different        
without altering the whole structure of 
things4    ,but does not ,mr4 ,james    
here overlook the fact that essential   
oneness  is not incompatible with       
temporal incompleteness8 ,the universe  
is one1  true--but this one universe    
comprises not only all that has been and

  that is1 but all that will be4 ,it is 
to be conceived at present as  a growing
 organism2 it will not be a fixed and   
completed whole till  time is at an end4
 ,on this basis ,i see no difficulty in 
fitting into a  ,monistic scheme of     
thought ,mr4 ,james's admirable         
statement of the ,free  ,will           
position3--        8,our acts1 our      
turning-places1 where we seem to        
ourselves to make      ourselves and    
grow1 are the parts of the world to     
which we are      closest1 the parts of 
which our knowledge is most intimate and
      complete4 ,why should we not take 
them at their face-value8 ,why may      
they not be the actual turning-places   
and growing-places of the               
world--why not the workshop of being    
where we catch fact in the              
making80#aca    ,the next and last      
objection ,i propose to deal with cuts  
closer to  the heart of the question and
 will have to occupy us1 ,i hope not    
unfruitfully1 for some time4    ,i      

instanced some time ago the case of     
martyrdom as one in which every  one    
would recognize the action of the ,will1
 if it can be recognized  anywhere4 ,let
 me recall that extremest form of       
martyrdom which ,john  ,stuart ,mill    
once declared himself ready to face     
rather than outrage  his moral sense4   
,speaking in his ,examination of ,sir   
,william ,hamilton's  ,philosophy of    
what passed in his day for the          
#8orthodox' conception of  the ,supreme 
,being he wrote3--        8,whatever    
power such a being may have over me1    
there is one thing      which he shall  
not do3 he shall not compel me to       
worship him4 ,i      will call no being 
good1 who is not what ,i mean when ,i   
apply that      epithet to my fellow    
creatures2 and if such a being can      
sentence me      to hell for not so     
calling him1 to hell ,i will go40#acb   
,mill1 as we see1 relied on his personal
 freedom of ,will to stiffen  his neck  
against any homage to a ,power whom his 

moral sense declared  unworthy of       
reverence4 ,but a modern physiologist   
would tell him--and  even if the fact be
 not fully demonstrated at present1 it  
would1  ,i think1 be very rash for any  
psychologist to deny it--that by a      
slight change in the molecular          
configuration of the brain cells the    
heroic recusant could have been turned  
into a devout worshipper of  any being  
who was able to exhibit the credentials 
of superior force4  ,such a change would
 certainly not be beyond the powers of a
 being who  had heaven and hell at his  
disposal2 even a skilful surgeon might  
accomplish it4 ,what1 then1 is the      
freedom of the ,will worth 7it may  be  
asked7 if the direction it takes is at  
the mercy of the physical  configuration
 of our brain-matter8 ,and the #8,i'    
which1 we say1 wills--if  material      
changes can thus profoundly alter its   
character1 how can we  attribute to it  
any kind of real and independent        
existence8 ,must not  the complete      

dispersal of the molecules of the brain 
at death cause  the #8,i' to vanish     
altogether like a blown-out flame8 ,must
 it not be at  their mercy during the   
brief illusion of existence8    ,our    
discussion has thus plunged us into the 
intricate question of the  relations of 
mind and matter1 and we must pause to   
dwell on it for a  while4    ,what is   
matter8 ,nobody can tell4 ,it is that   
which resists when we  push against     
it--a tactile or muscular sensation4 ,it
 is that of which  two portions cannot  
occupy the same space at the same       
time--a visual  sensation4 ,it is the   
source of certain sensations2 and the   
most recent  physical investigations    
points to its being composed of         
innumerable  centres of force4 ,but     
force manifesting itself in orderly and 
harmonious fashion is ,reason4 ,if1     
then1 ,reason is at the base of  things1
 ,matter ceases to be a bogey4    ,still
 the fact remains that it is not ,i and 
it is not ,you1 and the real  cogency of

 the physiological argument against     
,free ,will and the soul  7which1 as we 
saw1 must stand or fall together7 is    
that something done1  perhaps by mere   
accident1 to this ,not-me1 can1 it      
appears1 powerfully  influence and      
change the ,me in spite of all the will 
,i can exert to the  contrary4 ,the fact
 that ,i1 the innermost ,i1 can be got  
at through my  brain1 means             
philosophically exactly the same as the 
old superstition  according to which ,i 
can be got at by an enemy who sticks a  
waxen image  of me full of pins and     
dissolves it before a fire4 ,and        
normally  7there seem to me good reasons
 for not going further than that71      
normally1 it is only through ,matter    
that the ,me can be reached and         
influenced at all1 even by the other    
,me's in the universe4 ,now ,matter1    
whatever else we may say about it1 is   
certainly under the law of  causation4  
,from the other1 the spiritualistic1    
side of the argument1 it has been       

sought to meet the above considerations 
by an interesting analogy4  ,matter 7the
 brain in this case7 may1 it is urged1  
be regarded as the  instrument by which1
 under present conditions1 ,thought     
manifests itself  and acts4 ,you can    
take a piano and put it out of tune or  
otherwise  damage it1 so as to render it
 incapable of conveying the real mind of
  the performer1 who1 nevertheless1     
remains quite unaffected4 ,the soul  is 
the invisible performer4 ,you can damage
 the brain so that the soul  can no     
longer express itself under the         
conditions of our present  existence1   
but it is an entirely unwarrantable     
inference to say that  you have thereby 
damaged or destroyed the soul itself4   
,the analogy of  physical energy will   
make this clear4 ,you can make an engine
 work by  the oxidization of coal1 but  
this process can only loosely be        
described  as the source of the energy  
which is manifested by the engine4 ,all 
that  one does by burning the coal is to

 turn potential energy into active or   
kinetic energy4 ,when the engine goes to
 pieces1 or the coal burns out1  not a  
particle of energy is lost2 it merely   
goes back into the shape of  potential  
energy again4    ,i think this reply is 
substantially a sound and effective one4
 ,at the  same time it must be allowed  
that the physiological argument is more 
subtle than is usually recognized by    
those who try to meet it as above4  ,you
 may so damage a piano as to render it  
incapable of being properly  played     
on--you may get from it the incoherent  
janglings of insanity1  without         
affecting our belief in the existence of
 a real musician  behind these          
unintelligible manifestations4 ,but how 
if it can be shown  that certain        
mechanical alterations will result1 not 
in nonsense but1  let us say1 in        
bringing out mere ,offenbach when the   
performer has  always hitherto been wont
 to play ,beethoven8 ,a simple injury to
 the  instrument1 it may justly be      

argued1 has no such vital significance  
as  this change in the nature of the    
thing expressed4 ,shall we not have to  
conclude that the man really is the     
instrument1 that the mind is a          
phenomenon accompanying the temporary   
combination of certain material         
constituents1 lasting only as long as   
that combination shall endure and       
varying pro tanto with everything that  
causes it to vary8    ,now1 for my own  
part1 ,i must confess that if mind with 
all its nobler  manifestations such as  
,will1 ,love1 ,duty1 and so forth1 be a 
mere  rainbow hovering above the        
cataract of material force1 it does not 
seem  to me worth while to discuss      
anything1 for we1 mere particles that   
glimmer for a moment1 can never affect  
anything1 and must soon be where        
nothing can any longer affect us4 ,it is
 happily quite true as ,santayana  says 
in his ,reason in ,science1#acc that    
people who do not think about  these    
matters at all may 8know how to live    

cheerily and virtuously for  life's own 
sake0 on the strength of the normal     
source of vitality which  has made for  
its own ends from the beginning of      
things without the aid  of our          
consciousness or criticism4 ,but this   
consciousness1 turning  inward as well  
as outward1 this questioning and        
speculative spirit1  are themselves     
forms of vitality1 phases in the gradual
 conquest of  ,nothingness 7i4e4        
undifferentiated ,being7 by ,life4 ,we  
stunt and maim  ourselves if we try to  
keep them aloof4 ,it is true that in    
encouraging  them we may often seem to  
be turning the terrible1 two-edged      
weapon  of ,analysis against our own    
higher life4 ,be it so6 ,we have taken  
that  sword in hand2 we have cut down   
with it a hundred forms of superstition 
and wrong2 and the time to sheath it is 
not yet4 ,whatever dangers there  may be
 in it1 we must face those dangers2 and 
though it may be left to  another       
generation completely to overcome them1 

let that generation1  at least1 say of  
us that we did not drop our weapons on  
the field of  battle1 even if our own   
life-blood sometimes flowed upon the    
blade4#acd    ,let us now return to that
 analogy of the piano and the unseen    
player  and see if we can get some more 
light from it than has yet appeared4 ,in
  view of the last considerations which 
were urged in this connexion--the       
possibility of effecting not merely the 
ruin of the instrument but  the more    
vital change of the character of the    
music it will perform1  we must slightly
 alter one of the terms of the          
comparison4 ,the analogy  will be a     
strikingly close and suggestive one if  
we bring into view  the latest          
development in musical mechanism1 the   
pianola4 ,suppose that  the music-rolls 
of a pianola were made of different     
sizes and shapes  according to the      
different classes of music4 ,there would
 then1 let  us say1 be one kind of roll 
for classical music1 another for        

,italian  opera1 another for            
,palestrinian polyphony1 another for    
music-hall  ditties1 and subvarieties of
 all these4 ,now let us suppose that    
each pianola were so constructed as to  
take some particular type of  music     
easily1 other types with more           
difficulty1 and others1 again1  not at  
all1 and let us assume that all these   
types are continually  being presented  
for performance4 ,the construction of   
the pianola  will then correspond to the
 physical constitution of the brain4    
,this constitution1 in each case1 is the
 material equivalent of the  dominance  
of a particular kind of personality1 or 
what we have called  above aura4 ,but   
the records which have lately been so   
much studied  of cases of what is called
 #8multiple personality' tend to show   
that  in each of us there are several   
distinct personalities--or if that  word
 seems to beg an important question as  
to the unitary character of             
personality1 let us say streams of      

consciousness--which are pressing  for  
manifestation4 ,the brain selects       
automatically among these1  and normally
 keeps one particular type to the front4
 ,but just as a  mechanical alteration  
in our hypothetical pianola might       
entirely change  the type of music it   
would play1 so a lesion or shock of any 
kind might  change1 more or less1 the   
type of personality which a particular  
brain  was fitted to express2 and such  
cases are1 of course1 well known to     
occur4    ,but now we come to a fact    
than which none is better known1 none   
more absolutely verifiable in           
experience1 but to which there is       
nothing in the least analogous in the   
pianola or any other piece of  mechanism
 taken by itself4 ,i can1 with time and 
toil1 with patience  and resolution1    
change the structure of my brain and    
make easy  for it that which before was 
difficult or impossible4 ,within limits 
which cannot be defined 7because human  
life is too short71 ,i can even  adapt  

it to the expression of a new type of   
personality4 ,no musical  instrument can
 do that to itself4 ,one would have to  
call in for that  purpose the initiating
 and controlling force of the man who   
made  it4#ace    ,a conscious pianola1  
even if we supposed it to possess the   
endowment of  memory1 would only        
recognize itself as a succession of     
sensations4 ,the  hegemonic faculty1 the
 sense of command and control1 which    
,plato#acf  laid his finger on1 as      
indicating the difference between a     
human  personality and a musical        
mechanism1 and which ,hermann           
,lotze1#acg in  the full light of modern
 science1 still thought valid for the   
same  purpose1 would be wanting4 ,man   
does not live in the moment4 ,as ,goethe
  wrote in some of his greatest         
lines--lines that read like             
hammer-strokes  nailing up the charter  
of human right3--        ,nur allein der
 ,mensch      ,vermag das ,unmgliche2   
,er unterscheidet1      ,whlet und      

richtet2      ,er kann dem ,augenblick  
,dauer verleihn4#ach    ,behind the     
mechanism of the pianola1 behind the    
mechanism of the brain1  there stands   
this living directive force of which we 
can give no  scientific account         
whatever--we can only say that it is    
there4 ,indeed1  it is just at this     
point that all comparison between       
mechanism1 as  usually understood1 and  
vital action of any kind must break     
down4 ,but  the fact is that mechanism  
is usually not understood at all4 ,i    
spoke  above of a piece of mechanism    
taken by itself4 ,but in truth we cannot
  take it by itself4 ,nothing in nature 
can be truly isolated1 it only  exists  
in relation to other things4 ,every     
machine has a soul1 the soul  of the man
 who made or who works it4 ,without that
 it would be merely  scrap-iron2 and    
even as scrap-iron it has relations with
 things about  it--air1 water1 acids1   
and the like4 ,in these relations we    
detect the  soul of nature4 ,nothing    

exists by itself--nor even1 permanently1
 as  itself4 ,the living universe of our
 experience is not a ,being but an      
,acting and a ,becoming4 ,it is         
precisely this fact which1 on the one   
hand1 imposes a mysterious limit on the 
intellect1 and1 on the other1  opens a  
boundless horizon before the will4      
,the human brain1 the most highly       
organized form of protoplasm known to   
us1 may be called in one sense a machine
 through which the personal  will1 the  
moral emotions1 the sthetic sense1 the  
faculties of  reasoning1 have to assert 
themselves in action4 ,but to say that  
they  would never have existed but for  
this special form of protoplasm is to   
say that they were created by it out of 
nothing4 ,and1 no doubt1 one  can say   
that1 one can say anything2 but one     
cannot think it4 ,i do  not see how to  
represent the matter to our thought     
except by supposing  that every stage in
 physical evolution is accompanied by   
what has been  called #8involution1' a  

drawing in1 from the potentialities of  
,being1  of powers and faculties of     
living for which the opportunity to     
become  actual had ripened4    ,an image
 may make clearer what ,i mean1 and ,i  
offer it only for this  purpose1 well   
knowing that 8the best in this kind are 
but shadows40  ,suppose that a man were 
enclosed in a sheath composed of metal  
having  certain peculiar properties3 it 
is opaque when cold1 but when heated  it
 becomes transparent1 and the hotter it 
is the more transparent it  grows4 ,such
 a substance might easily exist1 at any 
rate it is entirely  conceivable4 ,we   
must assume in addition that the heat is
 not such as  to be injurious to the    
occupant4 ,now a man enclosed in such a 
sheath  would1 when it was at the proper
 temperature1 see what was going on     
around him2 he could also be seen1 he   
could hold communication with  other    
men1 and direct operations which he     
wished carried out4 ,if the  sheath1 in 
addition to being transparent at the    

right temperature1  were also1 under the
 same conditions1 flexible1 and fitted  
him like a  skin1 he could do things    
himself4 ,if it got cold1 however1 and  
thereby  became1 in the measure of its  
coolness1 opaque and rigid1 the man     
would be shut off from all communication
 or interaction with the world  outside1
 he would be what we call dead4    ,i   
suggest that ,consciousness with all its
 attendant phenomena is  represented by 
the man1 the sheath is ,matter1 the heat
 is ,life4 ,matter1  historically1      
precedes the manifestation of           
consciousness1 but as it is  never      
without a certain degree of life1 so1   
even in the nebular form in  which it   
exists before it has cohered into worlds
 and systems1 it is  not without the    
element of directivity1 of harmonious   
inter-relation  and interaction4 ,a     
higher organization of life makes       
possible the  subtler sensitiveness of  
the vegetable kingdom4 ,the most vital1 
the  most highly organized form of      

matter we know is the human brain and   
nervous system4 ,here the sheath has    
assumed a considerable degree of        
transparency and flexibility4 ,but      
doubtless a far higher degree of        
organization is possible1 and when this 
is reached the capacities of            
consciousness will have developed to an 
extent altogether inconceivable  to us  
at present1 though every now and then   
some exceptionally  constituted         
individual gives us a hint of stages of 
development as yet  far beyond the      
capacities of the race in general4      
,we may conceive matter1 then1 as being 
constantly fanned up into the  heat of  
life1 i4e4 as elaborating forms into    
which consciousness can  enter and      
through which it can act4 ,and we       
observe that consciousness1  when it has
 found a suitable form1 can act on it   
and improve it4 ,two  questions now     
arise4 ,the first is3 ,why should       
consciousness have need  of these forms 
at all8 ,and the second is3 ,if it has  

this need1 what  becomes of the         
individual consciousness when the form  
has grown  finally cold in death and is 
resolved into its inorganic elements8   
,to the first question ,i cannot suggest
 any answer1 except the obvious  one    
that an individual consciousness must   
have some forms through  which it can   
have relations with things not itself4  
,in the world1 as  we have it1 it is    
generally true--it would be unwise to   
venture any  absolute statement on the  
subject--that consciousness only enters 
into  relation with another             
consciousness1 or with matter1 by means 
of the  peculiarly organized form of    
matter which we call a brain4 ,i must   
leave  the question there4 ,thought and 
research1 and the advance in physical   
organization which ,i have referred to1 
may1 in the near or distant  future1    
throw further light upon it4 ,it is not 
a difficulty1 but it is  certainly a    
mystery4    ,as regards the second      
question1 that of personal immortality1 

all  we are justified in concluding on  
the negative side is that when a        
certain body and brain have perished1   
consciousness can express itself        
through that form no more4 ,but         
consciousness itself cannot be less     
indestructible than everything else that
 exists4 ,we may1 so far as ,i  can see1
 either conceive an individual          
consciousness at death as being         
resolved into the general consciousness 
from which it sprang1 even  as the      
matter composing any organic being is   
resolved into inorganic  matter1 or we  
may suppose that1 having won and        
consolidated its  selfhood by what it   
has done and what it has endured in the 
flesh1 the  selfhood is thenceforth     
capable of an independent existence     
under forms  at present beyond our ken4 
,either of these conceptions implies    
what we call the #8immortality' of  the 
soul1 the real and permanent            
significance of the experiences of the  
soul4 ,here a little further elucidation

 may be desirable4 ,i have spoken  of   
the possibility of the soul or self     
being resolved into something  which one
 can only describe as a general         
spiritual substance related  to         
individual souls as matter in general is
 related to particular  material        
organisms4 ,but the parallel with matter
 must not be pushed  too far4 ,a        
material organism1 being composed of    
different substances1  can be           
disintegrated4 ,but consciousness       
cannot1 strictly speaking1  suffer      
disintegration1 for it has no different 
substances into which  to disintegrate4 
,it can1 however1 as we see1 appear in  
the form of  a number of different      
personalities2 and this1 the normal     
existing  condition1 is the psychical   
analogue to physical disintegration4    
,if these personalities are again to    
merge into one impersonal               
consciousness1 the process would not be 
comparable to disintegration2  it would 
be the very reverse2 it would be        

reintegration2 and the  process1        
therefore1 implies nothing resembling   
the loss or dissipation  of any form of 
psychic being4    ,further1 we have to  
observe that when a material organism   
perishes  and is disintegrated1 there   
is1 so far as we can see1 an utter and  
complete end of it4 ,the human brain1   
for example1 quite apart from its       
association with a consciousness1 has in
 the course of its development  and     
activity gone through a marvellous chain
 of processes1 in which  electric and   
molecular force1 undulations1           
radiations1 and probably  other physical
 factors of which we have no conception 
at present1  have played a part4 ,yet   
when the brain dies and is resolved into
 so  much ammonia1 phosphorus1 carbon1  
gases1 and what not1 these elements     
differ in no whit from other ammonia1   
phosphorus1 and carbon in the  world4   
,for any ulterior purpose they are      
neither better nor worse2  they are     
wholly unchanged1 by all the            

extraordinary history which  they have  
passed through under the spell of life4 
,this is equally  true of the elements1 
nervous and other1 of any living being4 
,but the  physical system of every      
living being below man is organized for 
two  ends only3 7#a7 the upkeep1 during 
its lifetime1 of its own physical       
powers2 7#b7 the reproduction and       
multiplication of its kind4#aci  ,when  
an organism has fulfilled these         
functions1 it is justified2 the  object 
of life has been attained4 ,these       
functions1 of course1 persist  in man1  
but he has added to them many others2   
his brain has to serve  him for ethics1 
art1 philosophy1 religion1 and is       
therefore organized  with a subtlety    
quite unknown in the animal world4      
,here1 then1 is a  kind of organic      
action which has no significance        
whatever except in  relation to         
consciousness4 ,if it have none there it
 has none at all1  it is absolutely     
irrational and futile4 ,now the         

molecular and other  action of a beast's
 brain has reference to its physical    
life1 and it  passes on this physical   
life to its descendants4 ,but the       
action1 or  a great part of the action1 
of a man's brain has reference to his   
consciousness1 and of this he passes on 
at most the potentiality4 ,a  lion's cub
 is a lion2 a philosopher's child is not
 necessarily or even  probably a        
philosopher4 ,that path of development1 
whatever we may say  about the lion1    
must have its goal elsewhere4 ,we must1 
if the universe  is not irrational1     
believe that in some way consciousness1 
whether  after the death of the body it 
persists in individual form or not1     
carries forward into the new state the  
results of its experiences1  its        
acquisitions1 its losses1 in the bodily 
relation4 ,these are not  transitory1   
not indifferent2 8great or small they   
furnish their parts  toward the soul40  
,the reader will have probably noticed  
that one consideration of the  greatest 

moment has been left untouched4 ,i have 
spoken of matter and  consciousness as  
of two separate things1 and of the      
former as prior to  the latter4 ,this is
 a form of thought imposed upon us by   
the space and  time relations by which  
our being is conditioned4 ,but it is    
evident  that the interaction of the two
 cannot be fortuitous4 ,we cannot       
suppose  that matter pursued its long   
course of evolution1 refining and       
subtilizing at every stage to admit more
 and more of the activity of            
consciousness1 in total disconnexion    
with that consciousness4 ,the two  must 
be co-ordinated in some higher          
synthesis4 ,could we escape from the    
limitations of our thought we should see
 them1 therefore1 not as two1  but one1 
and we should see that the meanest form 
of being has an aspect  in which it     
belongs to eternity4          ,,chapter 
,,viii    ,,the ,,ethical ,,criterion   
8,things have life--,god is             
life40--,spinoza4        8,i am come    

that they may have life1 and that they  
may have it more                        
abundantly40--,rabbi ,bar-elahin4       
,the view of the meaning and purpose of 
cosmic development set forth in  the    
preceding chapters must clearly have a  
bearing on the principles  of human     
conduct4 ,men above a certain stage of  
culture do not live  by blind instinct4 
,they endeavour to harmonize their lives
 with  some conception of the ratio     
essendi of the world in which they  find
 themselves1 and in so doing they are   
most truly men4 ,the ,stoic  expressed  
this attempt in the simple formula1     
#8,live according to  ,nature4' ,but    
nature is not simple1 and the endeavour 
to interpret  nature has led to some    
very divergent ideals of human conduct4 
,every one who has meditated on the     
subject at all has become  aware that   
the world which we see and hear and     
feel1 the world of  sense-perception1 is
 not all that we have to do with4       
,behind the  visible and material world 

there lies the invisible1 the ,x world1 
which we cannot weigh and analyze1 but  
the existence and potency  of which we  
are compelled to assume4 ,it is the     
literal truth to say  that no man can   
take a single step even in the most     
mundane and  practical affairs of life  
without a belief1 implicit or explicit1 
in  the spiritual unity and reality     
underlying the fleeting panorama of     
sense-impressions4 ,nothing else can    
give him any assurance of the           
constancy1 the orderly inter-relation1  
of the phenomena with which he  has to  
deal1 and with which he could not deal  
intelligently did not  this constancy   
exist4 ,now when man begins to be aware 
that there is  something more in the    
world than is immediately apparent to   
sense1  his thinking on the subject may 
take several different lines1 but it  is
 probable that all of them may be       
referred to one or other of two  main   
divisions1 the ,dualistic and the       
,monistic4#adj ,the ,dualist will       

regard the world of sense-perception1   
whether originally produced and         
organized by the invisible or not1 as   
now more or less independent of  the    
latter1 or even hostile to it1 and he   
will generally interpret  his own being 
as something properly belonging to the  
invisible world  but for a time         
mysteriously and unhappily entangled1   
through the  flesh1 with the other4     
,this is ,platonic theology1 carried by 
,paul into  ,christianity1 and it       
eventuates1 when driven to its          
conclusion by a  rigorous and inhuman   
logic1 in ,asceticism4 ,instead of the  
,stoic1 #8,live  according to ,nature'  
7a formula in complete harmony1 it may  
be noted1  with the ,stoic ,pantheism71 
we get1 as the formula for ideal        
conduct1  #8,deny ,nature1 think the    
flesh a burden and a shame1 fit yourself
 for  the time when your real self will 
cast it off as a filthy garment4'    ,on
 the other hand the ,monistic view      
represented in ancient ,europe by  the  

great ,stoic school1 and in modern times
 by names such as those of  ,spinoza1   
,hegel1 ,schopenhauer1 ,lotze1 ,walt    
,whitman1 refuses to separate  the      
visible and the invisible worlds4 ,the  
former is the latter1 made  partially   
accessible to our minds4 ,man is a part 
of nature1 bound  up in all his being   
with the framework of the ,universe4    
,the flesh  is not a bond on the spirit 
but an instrument of life1 and what we  
acquire through it is just as valuable  
and as eternal as anything  else4       
8,objects gross and the unseen soul are 
one10 says ,whitman--the  distinction   
between subject and object1 the         
perceiver and the  perceived1 as        
,schopenhauer argues1 is but a mode of  
cognition4    ,that the human mind can  
rest only in some kind of ,monism1 that 
,dualism  must be regarded as a natural 
but a passing phase of thought1 based on
  a hasty interpretation of certain     
aspects of man's moral experience1      
would seem to follow from what has been 

urged previously from the a  priori side
 of the question4#ada ,indeed1 it may be
 doubted whether  there are any thinkers
 who seriously maintain the ,dualistic  
view as  a philosophic doctrine4 ,many1 
however1 including the whole school of  
,catholic theology1 with its ascetic    
ideal and its doctrine of eternal  hell1
 turn practically ,dualist in the sphere
 of ethics1 while they  would be        
horrified at a suspicion of anything but
 the purest ,monism in  their conception
 of the ultimate reality of being4 ,the 
cause of this  inconsistency is evident4
 ,we feel instinctively that no         
distinction in  the world of our present
 experience goes deeper than the        
distinction  between moral good and     
moral evil4 ,we feel the danger of      
obliterating  this distinction1 and     
setting loose the greedy and violent    
passions of  man to work their will     
unchecked by any sense of right and     
wrong4 ,and  undoubtedly the ,monistic  
principle might1 by a shallow           

interpretation  of it1 be held to       
obliterate the distinction4 ,if ,god is 
,one1 it  might be argued1 and ,god is  
,all1 then evil is justified in the     
world  equally with goodness1 and the   
sense of duty is1 what shall we say8 an 
illusion1 a superstition1 a relic of    
fetishism4 ,hence the practical         
,dualism on the ethical and             
eschatological side which has found its 
way into ,monistic thought4 ,it is      
brought in to save morality4 ,but       
inconsistencies like this do not last   
for ever2 they can only persist  where  
thought has become atrophied1 and       
,dualism is now rapidly  disappearing   
from the religious thought of ,europe4  
,what is to take its  place8 ,the       
problem before us is to discover a basis
 for ethics on the  ,monistic hypothesis
 without the slightest acceptance of the
 facile  solutions offered by ,dualism4 
,if we succeed in that1 and establish a 
real ,monistic meaning for the terms    
right and wrong1 we shall next  have to 

deal with the sanction of the law of    
righteousness1 and to show  why it      
should be obeyed even1 if necessary1 at 
the cost of pain and  death4      ,and  
first1 let us unreservedly admit that on
 the ,monistic view the  distinction    
between right and wrong1 moral good and 
moral evil1 is not  fundamental4 ,both  
must be regarded as moving towards      
comprehension in  some unity as yet     
unimaginable by man4 ,without renouncing
 his faith1  the ,monist can never      
escape from that position1 and he must  
be true  to the light whatever the      
apparent consequences may be4 ,a greater
  ,power than he will look after the    
consequences3    4    ,but1 on the other
 hand1 this distinction may be just as  
real and vital  as any other in the     
world of experience4 ,nobody thinks that
 pleasure  and pain are indifferent     
because they are both necessary forms of
  active life1 or that beauty and       
ugliness are indifferent1 or that       
success and failure are indifferent4    

,how we strain for success in a  game1  
for instance1 although we are perfectly 
well aware that the game  is the real   
object1 not the triumph6 ,yet without   
the possibilities of  triumph or defeat1
 there would be no game4 ,the problem is
 really part  of the primal mystery of  
the origin of cosmic life4 ,if we assume
 at  the beginning of things 7so far as 
we can conceive a beginning7 one        
infinite1 homogeneous1 absolutely       
undifferentiated ,existence1 and then   
conceive this ,existence as impelled to 
act1 and to become conscious of  itself1
 it is plain that to do so it must      
differentiate itself4 ,there  must arise
 within it the relations of subject and 
object1 simple and  complex1 better and 
worse1 and all that is involved in      
change1 variety1  progression4 ,and this
 applies as much to the moral life as to
 the  life of the senses4 ,it has often 
been pointed out that if there were  no 
,wrong to strive with there would be no 
visible and active ,right4  ,were there 

no hate1 love would be incapable of the 
noblest part of its  ministry4 ,were    
there no weakness1 strength could never 
have been called  on for the strain by  
which it is developed4 ,and if good     
should ever  overcome and absorb evil   
the stage thus attained will assuredly  
reveal  some new contrast of pursuit and
 avoidance perhaps as strange to us now 
as moral distinctions would be to the   
lower animals4    ,the ,monist will also
 urge that nature1 as we behold it1 is  
not a  fixed and rounded entity1 but is 
something in process of completion4  ,we
 must therefore interpret nature not    
alone by its contents at any  given     
moment1 but by its drift and tendency4  
,this is precisely the  consideration   
which separates ,pantheism as           
enlightened by science from  the        
,pantheism of a primitive               
nature-worship4 ,in it1 the ,greek and  
the  ,hebrew ideals are blended and     
reconciled4    ,but what1 for ethical   
purposes1 is this drift and tendency8   

,what  significance do ,i mean to attach
 to the terms moral good and moral      
evil8 ,it is hardly necessary to say    
that ,i do not propose in a couple  of  
chapters of one short book to elaborate 
an ethical system with all  its         
groundwork1 and with details ramifying  
into every branch of ethical  action1 as
 ,mr4 ,herbert ,spencer has essayed to  
do in his ,data of ,ethics4  ,all ,i can
 do here1 or in any section of this     
book1 is to indicate a  way of looking  
at things--at nature1 at human life1 at 
art--in which  the meaning of the       
universe has seemed to become           
intelligible and  satisfying to my own  
thought4 ,having found the way1 every   
one must use  it for himself or herself4
 ,i can1 in the present work1 go no     
further  into detail than is necessary  
to make my meaning clear2 to set        
whatever  readers ,i may find at my     
point of view4 ,if ,i can at all succeed
 in  doing this1 let them use their own 
eyes3 they will find a wonderful        

landscape1 vital1 fresh and boundless1  
opening before them4    ,the conception 
of ethical law which ,i wish to put     
forward differs  from what is commonly  
understood as evolutionary or scientific
 ethics  at the present day4 ,this      
system appears ultimately to rest on    
,jeremy  ,bentham as its founder1 but   
,bentham's later disciples have modified
  his doctrine at various points by a   
deeper appreciation of the  difficulties
 of the position4 ,they have            
approximated more closely to  what ,i   
consider to be the truth1 but they have 
never shaken off the  entanglement of   
the original false position of the      
modern founder  of the school4 ,bentham1
 who pursued 8the greatest happiness of 
the  greatest number0 through the medium
 of the most depressing system of       
philosophy which the world has ever     
known1 made ,pleasure the ultimate      
criterion of moral action and declared  
for the summary striking out  of the    
word #8ought' from the language of      

morals1 as corresponding to  an idea    
which1 so far as it rested on any       
reality1 was merely a relic  of         
primitive superstition4#adb ,but ,j4 ,s4
 ,mill saw that the sentiment  of duty  
and moral obligation was based on       
something deeper and more  instinctive  
than a word misunderstood1 and that it  
often survived in  persons singularly   
free from superstition4 ,he sought its  
origin in the  psychology and physiology
 of man1 and interpreted it1 on the     
principle  of association of ideas1 as a
 survival of the deep impression made by
  punishments and rewards attached      
respectively to different classes  of   
actions in each man's early life4#adc   
,the position was a more  rational and  
scientific one than that of ,bentham1   
but it still failed  to account for the 
a priori character of the moral sense1  
the ready  responsiveness with which    
early training evokes in man the        
sentiment of  duty4    ,it seemed1 as it
 were1 to have been somehow prepared    

beforehand and  to lie latent awaiting  
only the right touch to spring into     
action4  ,finally1 ,herbert ,spencer1   
who may be said to have brought all this
  line of thinking to its climax1 seized
 on the evolution doctrine as           
explaining this intuitive and innate    
quality of ethical feeling4 ,it  was    
prepared beforehand1 far back in the    
ancestry of the race4 ,not  the         
punishments and rewards applied to the  
modern individual in his own  person1   
but those which affected his near and   
remote progenitors1 had1  in the course 
of countless generations1 built up      
8moral perceptions0  resulting from     
8inherited modifications caused by      
accumulated  experiences40#add ,the     
moral sense1 therefore1 is now really   
innate  because inherited1 but was once 
acquired by the operation of pleasures  
and pains arising from man's intercourse
 with nature and with his  fellows4 ,and
 the ultimate moral criterion in the    
present day remains  simply the striking

 of a balance between pleasure and      
pain4#ade    ,it is clear that if the   
,lamarckian doctrine of the inheritance 
of  acquired characteristics is a       
delusion1 the bottom is at once knocked 
out of the ,spencerian system of ethics4
 ,but apart from this1 that  system1 on 
the historical side at least1 is        
vitiated by the cardinal  defect in ,mr4
 ,spencer's mind--his failure to        
appreciate the true nature  of the data 
with which he had to deal4 ,the         
philosophic mind is not  a mere         
logic-machine4 ,it must include the     
faculty of vision1 the  vital perception
 of the objects of thought1 as well as  
the faculty  of observing and of        
generalizing about their action and     
reaction on  each other1 and from this  
point of view ,mr4 ,spencer's deficiency
 as a  philosopher is enormous4 ,a vital
 perception of the object in this case  
makes us at once aware that you cannot  
evolve a sense of ,duty1 8stern         
daughter of the voice of ,god10 out of  

pleasures and pains4 ,pleasures  and    
pains per se will yield nothing to the  
end of the chapter but the  sense or the
 recollection of pleasure and of pain4  
,it is as impossible  in psychology as  
it is in mechanics to juggle more power 
out of the end  of a sequence of causes 
and effects than you put in at the      
beginning4    ,but what has a natural   
ethics to put in the place of pleasure  
as the  goal of right action8 ,the      
question is answered when we ask1 ,what 
does  ,nature herself put8 ,nature is   
said to have no morals1 yet a mother    
bird  will imperil and often lose its   
life for the sake of its young4 ,is it  
seeking pleasure then8 ,certainly       
not--it is protecting and fostering     
life1 the life of the race4 ,and here1  
as we have insisted so often1  is the   
master-impulse of nature4 ,we are taking
 a false and contracted  view when we   
assume that a living thing can have no  
other goal of  action except pleasure4  
,far earlier than the appearance of man 

in  the world is the appearance of the  
social instinct which prompts the       
individual to live1 and if necessary to 
die1 for the larger life of  the race4  
,what really begins in man is the power 
to think of himself1  to choose1 to     
analyze1 the power to say1 ,why8 ,to    
this question the  science of ethics    
must provide an answer if it can--that1 
in fact1 is  its origin and function4   
,but if it binds itself to provide an   
answer  in terms of pleasure1 it is     
entering the lists with naked ,egotism  
at  a fatal disadvantage4 ,on that      
ground1 it seems to me1 ,egotism must   
always win4 ,but it is not the only     
ground4 ,nature knows a whole world  of 
impulse and effort which has nothing to 
do with pleasure4 ,nature  does not     
directly want pleasure at all1 but is   
resolved1 at the cost  of pleasure and  
everything else1 to have life4 ,now life
 is maintained  at its highest point by 
harmony--a harmony of the faculties with
  each other and1 as a whole1 with the  

mighty life outside them4 ,and1  as     
,santayana admirably says1 8harmony when
 made to rule in life gives  reason a   
noble satisfaction which we call        
happiness4 ,happiness is  impossible and
 even inconceivable to a mind without   
scope and without  pause1 a mind driven 
by craving1 pleasure1 and fear40#adf ,in
 this  sense we may say that happiness  
is organically connected with right     
action4#adg ,but right action in itself 
is simply the action which best         
subserves the central purpose of nature4
 ,if that purpose is summed up  in the  
one word ,life1 we must think of the    
moral sense1 if we would  not go astray 
and be bewildered1 in terms of living   
and not in terms  of enjoying4 ,to take 
the greatest of exemplars1 who can      
venture to  affirm that ,christ had more
 pleasure living as he did and uttering 
to  the last syllable the message that  
was given him to deliver1 than if  he   
had prudently restrained himself and led
 the life of a decent and  respectable  

artisan in his ,syrian village8 ,indeed1
 even if we take very  long views1 who  
can affirm that1 on the whole1 he has by
 his life and  death increased the sum  
of pleasure in the world8 ,i doubt it   
very much4  ,no one can deny that it is 
most questionable4 ,to think of the     
matter in  terms of pleasure seems to   
lead to nothing but perplexity and      
doubt4  ,but there can be no doubt      
whatever that he lived to the full the  
life  that it was in him to live1 and   
that he immensely deepened and enriched 
the spiritual life of man4 ,when we fix 
our minds on life as the goal  and depth
 and fulness of life as the criterion1  
we come out at once  into the clear     
light where high inspirations are born  
and justified4  ,but it is not only the 
conception of life as existing for      
pleasure that  ,i think a true ethics   
will repudiate4 ,we must clear our minds
 of the  idea that life has any goal    
outside itself--pleasure1 moral         
discipline1  or what not4 ,we must fully

 realize the conception of life as its  
own  goal1 its own complete satisfaction
 and justification4 ,whoever has done   
this will feel as if he had escaped from
 a jungle of contradiction  and gloom1  
where man can only live at all by       
clearing some little  space for his     
church and his homestead1 and giving up 
the rest to the  powers of darkness4    
,yet a step brings him to a point of    
view from which  the physical1 the      
animal and the human features of the    
world's vast  landscape seem to flow    
into a happy and organic union1 where   
every part  becomes luminous with       
meaning and charged with divine purpose4
    ,moral action then1 ,i conceive1 as 
a certain kind of life-promoting        
action4 ,it is action which promotes    
life in the whole as opposed to the     
part1 which sacrifices the lower1       
narrower1 more immediate life for the   
fuller1 nobler1 more permanent life1    
whenever they are found to clash4  ,it  
does not differ in kind from other      

wholesome vital action1 but it  differs 
in the heightening1 the saliency1 the   
intention conferred upon  it by the     
circumstances under which it is taken4  
,and if we ask how it  was evolved in   
man1 the answer is that it was there    
already in the  instincts of the lower  
animals1 which are never1 as man often  
so sadly  is1 at odds with their true   
functions and duties4 ,it is not        
morality  which has been evolved in man1
 but the capacity for immorality1 due to
  his personal self-consciousness4      
,the ultimate question1 then1 as regards
 the abstract morality of any  act or   
class of acts must be1 ,does it make for
 life8 ,does it tend to  help man       
towards the maximum development of all  
his faculties and  capacities8 ,these   
faculties and capacities are what the   
universe  has now evolved at the highest
 level of which we have any knowledge4  
,none of them is evil1 except in so far 
as it may thwart and stunt the          
development of others4 ,in the harmony  

of the whole range of man's  powers of  
sense and spirit lies the golden ideal  
which none of us  may realize1 but for  
which each of us may strive2 or--for    
such is the  supreme and fatal          
prerogative of man--which he may set    
himself to  dishonour and deny4         
,,chapter ,,ix    ,,the ,,ethical       
,,sanction        8,far1 far1 how far8  
from o'er the gates of ,birth1      ,the
 faint horizons1 all the bounds of      
earth40                                 
,tennyson4      ,ethical philosophy     
centres on two main points--the ethical 
criterion  and the ethical sanction4 ,we
 have to ask ourselves1 ,what kind of   
life  ought ,i to live1 and secondly1   
,why ought ,i to live it8 ,the first of 
these questions we have answered simply 
thus3 ,life is self-justified2  in      
merely living we fulfil the whole       
purpose of nature2 and as life  is a    
thing admitting of degrees it follows   
that that life is best in  which there  
is most of life4 ,but this does not mean

 apparent life for  the individual at   
the present moment4 ,it means most life 
for the ,whole1  so far as the          
individual acts upon the ,whole4 ,and he
 acts on it in two  ways--first 7one    
which is often overlooked7 by living his
 own life  which is equally a part of   
that ,whole whether he lives on a desert
  island or in the heart of a city2 and 
secondly by the influence he  radiates  
on other lives with which his own is    
socially related4    ,this1 it is clear1
 is quite the same thing as to say that 
the right  life for any man is that in  
which for him there is most of life--the
  richest and the fullest life--if he   
were to go on living indefinitely4  ,for
 whatever depresses or exalts life in   
the ,whole must ultimately  depress or  
exalt it in the individual also2 the two
 interests are  clearly identical in the
 long run4 ,this #8long run' or         
universal  point of view1 which makes   
identical the interests of the ,whole   
and the interests of the individual1    

gives to a natural ethics the  criterion
 for all human action4 ,it gives the    
contents1 though not the  cogency--with 
this we have to deal in the present     
chapter--of the word  #8ought4'    ,by  
the mere fact of his social relations   
with other men each individual  is      
continually being trained to take this  
view1 to harmonize together  his        
egoistic and his altruistic instincts2  
and is continually amassing  a store of 
social experiences out of which a       
universal moral code is  gradually      
shaping itself4 8,life10 it has been    
well said1 8has saved up  much wisdom40 
,ethical wisdom1 in this regard1 will   
clearly involve such  kind of action1 of
 organization1 as will afford to each   
individual the  fullest opportunities   
for vital development in mind and body4 
,the life in which there is most of     
life6 ,by holding fast to this clue  we 
shall1 ,i think1 see our way through    
many of the obscurities in  which1      
partly by the search for an             

extra-natural basis of morality1  partly
 by the reactionary attempt to base     
morality simply on the  striking of a   
balance between pleasures and pains1 the
 philosophy  of right and wrong has been
 involved4 ,we get a natural basis for  
establishing a scale in human action1 a 
distinction between #8higher'  and      
#8lower1' without which a philosophic   
ethics is clearly impossible4  ,i do    
not1 of course1 mean to say that it is  
possible to apply a  mechanical rule and
 measure to moral action in the manner  
of ,catholic  casuistry1 according to   
which it is a venial sin to steal #ais4 
#f;d4 but  a mortal sin to steal #a4adh 
,still1 the existence of a natural scale
  is evident at once when we consider   
the fact that man is constantly  being  
placed in positions in which his action 
may either thwart and  depress life1 or 
simply maintain it1 or markedly enrich  
and extend  it4 ,the ethical quality of 
his action appears to arise from the    
fact  that it is possible for him1 under

 the impulse of immediate personal      
gratification1 to do things which if    
commonly done by men would destroy  the 
beauty and order of human life4 ,the    
interests of the whole and of  the      
individual may be identical1 as we have 
said1 in the long run1 but  at the      
moment they are often in violent        
conflict4 ,allowing for the  fact that  
it is never possible in nature to draw a
 sharp dividing  line between different 
classes of being1 and to say absolutely 
that  things are thus on one side of it 
and thus on the other1 we may  repeat   
that this opposition between the        
long-run or universal and the  momentary
 or personal interest is a              
characteristic of human life as  opposed
 to that of the lower animals4 ,it      
arises from the strong sense  of        
individuality1 of selfhood1 which       
emerges in man and of which the  animals
 know little or nothing4 ,in itself it  
is a new and noble power  of life1 but  
it has its fatal and mischievous aspect4

 ,without it we  should know neither    
good nor evil4 ,personality is at once  
man's pride  and his fall4    ,with this
 sense of selfhood there have grown up  
in humanity the  faculties of           
,conscience and of ,will4 ,conscience ,i
 interpret as the  sense of what is due 
to the ,whole1 to the nobler and more   
permanent  self4 ,inasmuch as man is    
only gradually discovering what it      
really  is that the ,whole demands of   
us1 it follows that the utterances of   
conscience may be misdirected1 and that 
they need to be corrected and  purified 
by intelligence and experience4 ,we see 
here an example of  that principle of   
the combination of evolution and        
involution which  alone seems to make   
intelligible the development of life4   
,never1 by  organizing into a social    
system a multitude of individual        
appetencies1  can one produce a moral   
sense1 a conscience4 ,but neither is    
conscience  concerned to give the true  
laws of that organization4 ,it adds its 

peculiar numen1 its sanctity1 to every  
effort to ,set up a mark of  everlasting
 light ,above the howling senses' ebb   
and flow1 and though  the mark itself   
may1 indeed must1 shift and be          
transformed with the  ripening insight  
of man1 yet1 as between it and the      
temptations of  sense1 conscience must  
always be obeyed4 ,now as nature is     
organically  one1 we should expect to   
find this truth not dependent merely on 
an  intuitive perception but written in 
the experiences of life4 ,and is  not   
this exactly what we do find8 ,the      
ethical ideals of ,judaism1 of          
,hinduism1 and of ,roman ,catholicism1  
with their extreme reliance on  external
 observance and ritual1 are lower1 no   
doubt1 than those of  ,christianity as  
conceived1 say1 by ,st4 ,paul4 ,yet let 
a ,jew or a ,hindu  turn ,christian1 or 
a ,catholic turn ,protestant or         
,freethinker1 for the  mere sake of     
material advantages or an easier way of 
living1 and a  general moral            

deterioration seems at once to set      
in4#adi ,whenever a  man allows his     
sense of personal ease and gratification
 to overpower  his sense of what is due 
to his fellow man1 to his own higher    
self1  to his ,god1 he weakens his will 
and his capacity for living the nobler  
life4 ,ultimately he destroys the       
capacity altogether1 and with it        
vanishes even that for which he sinned1 
the capacity for pleasure  itself4 ,the 
poison of self-indulgence will slacken  
and corrupt  every fibre of his moral   
and physical being4 ,to grasp at        
pleasure  indiscriminately1 recklessly1 
greedily is a way that makes not for    
life but death4 ,on the other hand1 the 
capacity for renunciation and           
self-control1 the following of the law  
of love1 the passion for justice  and   
equality1 not only grow strong by       
exercise but1 far from injuring  the    
other capacities which it may1 on       
occasion1 be right to suppress  for     
their sake1 they rather intensify these4

 ,as self-indulgence  corrupts and      
fatigues the whole man1 even on the     
self-indulgent side1  so duty and       
righteousness vitalize and brace the    
whole man1 both on  their own side and  
the other4 ,for ,nature is one--sweet   
and mighty are  the powers which        
conspire to create the harmony she loves
 in the  spirits faithful to her        
world-wide revelation4    ,now since the
 moral faculties bear this common stamp 
upon them1  that they are those which   
oppose to the temptations of personal   
gratification the sense of duty to      
something outside ourselves1 and  since1
 when these two clash1 the claim of the 
moral law is always to  be obeyed1 it is
 inevitable that men will sometimes take
 the denial of  personal gratification  
for an end per se and attach to it a    
notion  of peculiar holiness and purity4
 ,and this error will be intensified by 
the ancient and inveterate habit of     
regarding the ,supreme ,being as a      
malignant ,power1 to be propitiated by  

suffering4 ,thus we get the false       
sanction with its ,ascetic ideal which  
has appeared so often in history4  ,it  
is the other extreme to licence1 and    
rests equally on disregard  for the     
rational ideal of ,sophrosyne or        
,temperance which lies between  them4   
,yet it may truly be said that          
asceticism has its due place in  the    
world4 ,the ascetic life cannot indeed  
be the ideal life for any  one who holds
 that plenitude of life is the true     
ideal4 ,but it may be  the best life for
 this or that individual4 ,a nature     
maimed or scathed  from birth1 or by    
unhappy fortune1 may best be able to    
realize itself  in complete withdrawal  
from the interests of ordinary social   
life4 ,such  withdrawal may also be     
necessary for the pioneer or leader of a
 cause1  for a great reformer1 for a    
teacher absorbed in his mission4        
,philosophy1 in fact1 has its saints and
 ascetics as well as any  religion that 
rests on extra-natural sanctions4 ,but  

in each case the  ascetic ideal rests on
 quite a different basis4    ,looking   
broadly at the part which religious     
,orders have played in the  religious   
and intellectual history of ,europe1 it 
may well be doubted  whether even the   
most gracious and human figure in the   
history of  asceticism1 ,francis of     
,assisi1 would not have better served   
his time  and land by the natural       
development1 in secular life and        
activity1 of  the beautiful if sometimes
 wildly ebullient character portrayed in
 the  records of his youth1 than by     
cutting away half his life in order to  
force the other half into a distorted   
rarity4 ,in recognizing the beauty  and 
sweetness of his nature let us not be   
misled into attributing it  in any      
degree to the influence of that fatal   
miasma from a faith more  ancient than  
any religion which has a name and place 
on earth to-day1  the dim terror of the 
unseen which has embodied itself for    
ages in  expiatory sacrifices and rites 

of blood and pain4    ,had ,francis not 
been a saint he would certainly have    
been one of his  country's greatest     
poets4#aej ,different minds will        
probably estimate  differently the loss 
and gain4 ,as a poet he produced the    
#8,canticle of  the ,sun'2 as an        
ascetic1 the ,franciscan ,order4 ,now it
 is fair to point  out that this1 like  
other ,orders of his church1 must not be
 judged  by what it is like in times    
when it is surrounded by watchful and   
by no means adorant eyes4 ,a ,catholic  
religious ,order in a ,catholic  country
 naturally lives and moves in an        
atmosphere of veneration4  ,to preserve 
this atmosphere pure from the sceptical 
thought which1  from the monastic point 
of view1 would vitiate it so            
dangerously1  is naturally a prime      
object of every religious community2    
hence the  bigotries1 superstitions1 and
 tyrannies of which these communities   
have so often been the sources or       
agents1 from the days of ,hypatia to    

the days of ,dreyfus4 ,such communities1
 developing themselves under  such      
circumstances1 cannot attract many men  
of intellect and character  to join     
them4 ,they rapidly deteriorate1 and    
,european literature from  ,boccaccio   
and ,chaucer to ,erasmus shows us the   
repute in which they  come to be held by
 the uncloistered intellect4 ,a false   
ideal may  stimulate1 but it poisons4   
,st4 ,francis1 dreaming that he serves  
,god  by making himself blind to ,god's 
world through a course of pitiless      
austerities1#aea produces an ,order     
whose licence in one generation  after  
his death has become a scandal to       
,christendom4#aeb    ,let us turn now to
 the theory of asceticism as conceived  
by the  humane and rational spirit of   
,stoic philosophy4 ,epictetus--to my    
mind  the greatest ethical thinker of   
antiquity--has a valuable and carefully 
reasoned chapter on the subject in his  
,dissertations4 ,in reading this  after1
 let us say1 ,the ,little ,flowers of   

,st4 ,francis1 one seems to  pass from  
the drugged atmosphere of a medival     
church to the free air  and sunlight of 
the world4 ,the ascetic1 or ,cynic as he
 was called in  ,stoic phraseology1 is  
painted for us as a man who adventures  
himself to  the extreme limit of        
abnegation1 not from any mystic         
sentiment of the  holiness of pain and  
poverty1 but simply to help himself and 
others to  realize the soul's           
independence of external things4 ,it was
 a cardinal  doctrine of ,stoicism 7as  
it was of the ,christianity of ,christ7 
that the  things which a man wrought and
 thought1 the things under the control  
of his will1 were the only things that  
really mattered4 ,what happened  to a   
man from outside was1 indeed1 of great  
importance in regard to  how he dealt   
with it2 in itself it was of none2 it   
was like a ball  in a game which you    
have to do your best to catch1 knowing  
well that  you do so not for the sake of
 the ball but of the game4 ,such was the

  ,stoic view of life1 and the ,cynic   
represented not the perfected ,stoic1   
not an ideal towards which all should   
tend--for the ideal was that of         
citizenship and well-ordered social     
life--but simply the method of          
verification which consists in taking an
 extreme case and showing that  one's   
theory will fit in with it4 ,and so     
,diogenes lived in a barrel  instead of 
a house1 and asked nothing of ,alexander
 except to stand out  of his light4 ,it 
is not more pleasing to ,god1 not better
 in any way1  that a man should live in 
a barrel rather than in a house1 that he
  should be single rather than married1 
poor rather than rich2 yet in the       
chances and changes of this mortal life 
all these things may happen to  a man1  
will he1 nill he1 and the point is to   
show that he may still  be confident and
 cheerful1 knowing that his true self is
 untouched by  these calamities4 ,and   
while ,st4 ,francis and the more devoted
 of his  followers so tortured and      

wrecked the body which ,st4 ,paul had   
called  the temple of the ,holy ,spirit 
that many of them perished or had to    
linger out their lives in the           
infirmary1#aec with the ,cynic the      
cultivation of the body and its         
faculties was a part of his discipline4 
8,for10 says ,epictetus1#aed 8if he     
shall appear consumptive1 meagre        
and pale1 his witness hath not the same 
emphasis4 ,not only by      showing     
forth the things of the spirit must he  
convince foolish      men that it is    
possible1 without the things that are   
admired of      them1 to be good and    
wise1 but also in his body must he show 
that      plain and simple and open-air 
living are not mischievous even to      
the body3 #8,behold1 even of this ,i am 
a witness1 ,i and my body4' ,so         
,diogenes was wont to do1 for he went   
about radiant with health1 and      with
 his very body he turned many to good4  
,but a ,cynic that men      pity seems  
to be a beggar--all men turn away from  

him1 all stumble      at him4 ,for he   
must not appear squalid2 so that neither
 in this      respect shall he scare men
 away2 but his very austerity should be 
cleanly and pleasing40    ,how sane and 
wholesome1 how wisely adapted to the    
fundamental facts of  life1 is the      
,stoic ideal as compared with the       
monastic6 ,in it we see  that there is a
 place in a natural ethics for a        
rational asceticism4  ,of such there    
will always be need--we must admit1     
whatever we may think  of the           
#8spirituality' of self-destruction1    
that there are1 and are  always likely  
to be1 many more men and women who      
deteriorate in soul  and body through   
petty acts of self-indulgence than who  
do so by an  excess of austerity4 ,and  
this makes it all the more necessary    
that the  matter should be conceived    
rightly1 reasonably1 from the side of a 
reverence for life and its              
manifestations1 not from that of disdain
 and  repulsion2 that we should take    

hold of it 7to quote ,epictetus again7  
by the handle by which it can be        
carried1 not that by which theory and   
experience alike have shown that it     
never can4 ,when ,tennyson wrote  8,move
 upward1 working out the beast10 he was 
not so well inspired as  in some of his 
other appreciations of modern science4  
,the religious  ascetic aims at working 
out the beast--not so ,nature1 who does 
not  progress by substituting one form  
of living for another1 but by growing   
from a central core and continually     
harmonizing the old radical  elements of
 being with the new assimilations4 ,one 
can1 perhaps1  work out the beast--what 
cannot the will achieve8 ,but the beast 
surely  avenges himself1 and often in   
terrible fashion4      ,when1 however1  
we have recognized the false sanction   
and the false  ideal associated with it1
 we have still the more difficult       
problem of  establishing the true4 ,if  
,righteousness--to use that term for all
 kinds  of action ethically right--is to

 be followed in the interests of life1  
how can it ever be required that much   
suffering1 and even death itself  may   
have to be faced for its sake8 ,man is a
 part of a ,whole--in the  effective    
realization of that conception all      
ethics is summed up--but he  is also an 
individual4 ,why should the individual  
give way to the ,whole  if their        
interests seem to clash8 ,in other      
words1 though we have the  contents1 the
 static significance of the word        
#8ought1' we have still to  find its    
dynamic significance1 its cogency4      
,every beast does what it #8ought'      
without any question1 and this          
constantly involves acts of co-operation
 or self-sacrifice for the  interests of
 the race4 ,in man1 ethical action has a
 greater value for  life1 simply        
because1 unlike the beast1 he is able to
 question its  grounds and to forgo it  
if he chooses4 ,he observes1 as we have 
said1  that the #8long run' or universal
 point of view is often in conflict     

with the individual point of view4 8,let
 us eat and drink1 for to-morrow  we    
die0 is the extreme expression of the   
individual point of view4 ,it  has been 
called a #8pig-philosophy1' and if the  
expression is just1 it  is not because  
the pig will die to-morrow1 for it will 
probably live as  long as anything else1
 but because no matter how long it lives
 it is1  qua pig1 incapable of any other
 form of life4    ,but a man is capable 
of other forms of life1 and to realize  
these he  must keep the pig-life in     
check1 not despising or disowning it1   
but  restraining it1 lest it should     
throw him out of harmony4 ,unchecked1 it
  will do that in the long run2 but what
 if he is to have no long run8  ,where  
the lower life can yield an hour of     
delight1 why deny it for the  sake of a 
higher life1 if in the next hour both   
must end together8    ,i confess that ,i
 see no escape from the implied         
conclusion if the  premiss is true4 ,but
 if the view of life outlined in these  

pages be  true1 then this premiss is    
palpably false4 ,neither the higher nor 
the  lower life can ever have any end1  
though no doubt they may pass into      
forms outside the category of ,time1 in 
which the terms beginning and  end have 
no longer any meaning4 ,life is not     
dependent on its visible  and tangible  
forms4 ,the question here involved is   
one on which the  drift of certain      
modern speculations in physics obliges  
us to dwell for  a little4    ,the      
question of the present inhabitability  
of ,mars or other planets has  been much
 debated of late1 pro and con4 ,opinions
 differ on this point2  but there is a  
very general agreement among physicists 
that the state  of the moon1 cold1 dead1
 and barren as a burnt-out cinder1 must1
 by the  equalization of energy1 be     
sooner or later the necessary fate of   
every  planet and of every sun in the   
universe4 ,science has thus apparently  
come to justify by its solemn verdict   
that cry of the ,latin poet1 more       

charged with the pathos of eternal death
 than perhaps any other human           
utterance3--        8,soles occidere et 
redire possunt3      ,nobis1 cum semel  
occidit brevis lux1      ,nox est       
perpetua una dormienda40#aee    ,the    
conditions under which life is possible 
will then no longer exist4  ,one        
nothingness awaits the saint1 the sage1 
the ox1 the oak tree1 and  the fungus4  
8,life10 says ,le ,dantec1 8has not     
always existed on the  earth02 we are to
 regard it as merely 8a surface accident
 in the  history of the thermic         
evolution of the globe40#aef    ,this   
remark1 which is one that a thermometer 
might be expected to make  if it could  
talk1 is in ,le ,dantec's mouth probably
 no more than a  little rhetorical fling
 at orthodoxy1 for it is really answered
 by his  whole book4 ,his main thesis is
 8the absence of all essential          
difference  and all absolute            
discontinuity between living and        
not-living matter40  8,a surface        

accident0 can hardly be a reasonable    
description of a  development thus      
prepared for in the essential nature of 
the substance  of the world4 ,but other 
physicists have lately cut deeper1 and  
will not  allow the suns of ,catullus1  
even when cold1 to set and rise again   
for  ever4 ,according to the very       
interesting and apparently              
well-supported  speculations of ,gustave
 ,le ,bon1#aeg all matter is at present 
engaged  in that process of             
disintegration of which radium offers   
the most  conspicuous example4 ,the     
energy which produces life and response 
of all  kinds is explained as simply the
 result of this long1 disintegrating    
process1 and may be compared to the     
action of a released spring1  seeking   
its state of quiescence and             
immobility4#aeh ,when the process  is   
complete1 matter will be resolved into  
the primordial ,something  from which it
 somehow originated4 ,and where will the
 saint and the  sage1 or anything that  

we can recognize as life1 be then8      
,the answer to all this rises to the    
mind at once when we abandon  the point 
of view of the thermometer and place    
ourselves at that of  rational ,man4    
,this ,matter1 on whose states life is  
supposed to be  dependent1 is1 after    
all1 known to us only through the fact  
that we  are living to observe it4 ,if  
it disappeared1 no doubt we should cease
  to see it1 and if it were transformed 
we should see it otherwise1 but  to make
 the life which sees dependent on our   
seeing anything exactly  as it appears  
now on this globe is surely the wildest 
of assumptions4  ,we observe that life  
makes use of certain conditions of      
matter--a  certain range of temperature1
 the presence of certain minerals and   
gases--in order to express itself4 ,we  
regard these conditions as the  product 
of a ,power which desires life and has  
produced them to obtain  it4 ,but there 
may be many other conditions too4 ,all  
we can tell is  that beyond certain     

physical limits our senses cannot       
perceive life  or get responses from it4
 ,m4 ,le ,dantec would1 no doubt1 treat 
as an  illusion the belief that man can 
communicate with and be responded to  by
 a ,power1 a ,life1 transcending that of
 which the senses inform us4 ,i  am1    
with the multitude of men1 profoundly   
convinced that we can4 ,but  leaving    
this entirely aside1 is it not evident  
that1 even as there are  invisible rays 
in the spectrum which are now and then  
discovered by  some unexpected chemical 
or electrical action1 so there may be   
modes  of living of which none of our   
present senses can give us the faintest 
conception8 ,whoever may deny this      
possibility1 and on whatever grounds1   
it certainly cannot be denied on any    
grounds that physics or biology  are    
aware of4 ,and to those who believe that
 life is the central thing1  and that   
matter exists only for it1 the          
possibility is a certainty1  for life   
must have been when as yet matter was   

not--life set it going4  ,to convey the 
idea that everything that exists1       
however it may be  transformed1 is part 
of a divine ,whole which cannot die     
because it is  essential ,life1 we say  
that it is #8immortal1' and conceive    
ourselves  as existing after death in a 
spiritual form just as the body exists  
after the bodily death in other bodily  
forms4 ,whether time and space1  or even
 personality1 will exist for us after   
death we dare not say2  we are totally  
unable to imagine the conditions of such
 an existence4  ,but we can perfectly   
grasp the broad fact that whatever we do
 and are1  whatever we think1 whatever  
transacts itself even in the unconscious
  sphere of our existence1 must have    
eternal endurance and significance      
because it is knit with the eternal     
,whole4        8,to the foot10 says     
,epictetus1 8,i shall say that it is    
according to      ,nature that it be    
clean2 but if you take it as a foot1 and
 not as a      solitary thing1 it shall 

beseem it to go into the mud1 and to    
tread      on thorns1 and perchance to  
be cut off1 for the sake of the whole2  
otherwise it is no longer a foot4       
8,and some such thing we should suppose 
about ourselves also4 ,what      art    
thou8 ,a man4 ,look at thyself as a     
solitary creature1 and it is            
according to ,nature for thee to live to
 old age1 to grow rich1 and      to keep
 good health4 ,but if thou look upon    
thyself as a man1 and as      a part of 
a certain whole1 for the sake of that   
whole it may become      thee now to    
have sickness1 now to sail the seas1 and
 run into      peril1 now to suffer     
need1 and perchance to die before thy   
time4        8,why1 then1 dost thou bear
 it hard8 ,knowest thou not that1 as the
      foot1 alone1 is not a foot1 so    
thou1 alone1 art not a man40#aei    ,the
 broad fact on which a system of natural
 ethics must be based1 if  it is to have
 any ethical quality at all1 is that the
 individual  life finds its goal in the 

cosmic life1 not in pleasure1 or any    
other term by which we may choose to    
express a sensation of personal         
enjoyment4 ,the distinction between the 
bonum honestum and the bonum            
delectabile is really a valid one--it is
 no invention of moralists  8suckled in 
a creed outworn10 but is revealed by a  
study of life and  its manifestations to
 have been deeply rooted in nature from 
a period  far anterior to the advent of 
man upon the earth4 ,in man1 the bonum  
honestum takes the form mainly of what  
,epictetus calls the sense of  8natural 
fellowship0 among men1 and what ,christ 
expressed in the  word which gave to the
 ideas of ,stoicism the penetrating     
power they  had lacked1 the great and   
divine word1 ,love4 ,but we must never  
forget  that even this word will not    
take us to our end and sum up a system  
of  ethical thought unless we rightly   
conceive the ultimate object to which   
it is directed4 ,this is not the visible
 community of men1 nor even that  of all

 nature1 now existing or to exist in the
 future4 ,it is the ideal1  eternal     
community1 of which every man remains   
equally an organic part1  whether he has
 any means of physical communication    
with his fellows or  not4 ,it is that   
without which the visible community1    
with all its laws  and inter-relations1 
would never have come into being4 ,it is
 the 8city  of ,god10 builded without   
hands1 the ,universal ,polity whose     
8troubled  image10 as ,plato says1 we   
discern in the polity we know4    ,when 
,socrates1 after his sentence1 lay in   
prison awaiting the summons  to die1 his
 friends gathered round him entreating  
him to make his  escape1 and explaining 
to him the safe and easy means they had 
provided  for that end4 ,freely and     
cheerfully as was his wont1 delighting  
in the  play of dialectical fence1 he   
debated the matter with them4 ,then he  
laid dialectics aside1 and spoke to them
 from the heights of vision4  ,rightly  
or wrongly1 he declared1 the laws of his

 mother-city1 to  which he owed all he  
had and all he was1 had bidden him die4 
,whatever  happened now1 there could be 
no escape in the end4 ,some day he must 
face death1 and stand before the ,laws  
of the ,underworld4 ,what answer  should
 he make to ,them when they demanded how
 he had dealt in life by  their brethren
 in the world above8    ,this grand     
impersonation of the eternal ,laws in   
their kinship with  the laws of the     
visible world illumines a whole region  
of thought1  extending far beyond the   
limits of the particular moral question 
which  evoked it4 ,it strikes the note  
of all high thinking on man's duty to   
man4 ,the laws1 written or unwritten1   
that govern societies of men can  claim 
no reverence from the individual who    
does not feel that they are  the shadows
 or copies of laws belonging to the     
sphere of the eternal4    ,it is one    
thing to admit that the social relations
 of mankind give the  start to ethical  
feeling1 provide it with a wide and     

varied field of  action1 and with a     
criterion as to what is right and what  
is not4 ,it is  quite another to argue  
that this ethical feeling is merely a   
product of  these relations1 and has1   
apart from them1 no meaning or purpose4 
,this  is another case of the principle 
which ,i have described before#afj in   
speaking of ,evolution and ,involution4 
,without both of these ,i cannot  see   
how any movement from one state of being
 to another is to be  accounted for4    
,people1 or even animals1 living in     
communities find that  mutual aid is    
useful to them1 and they practise it4   
,the utilitarian  school think1 when    
they have demonstrated this1 that the   
whole ethical  question is solved4 ,but 
in reality they have not even approached
 it4  ,mutual aid is useful8 ,well1     
then1 it is useful4 ,how are we going to
  get any further8 ,how are we going to 
account for love1 duty1 fidelity1       
self-sacrifice8 ,because certain things 
appear in the world under  certain      

conditions we have1 many of us1 got into
 a slipshod way of  saying that they are
 the product of these conditions1 but a 
strict  examination of the terms will   
frequently show that they are nothing   
of the kind4 ,there is no valid reason  
why social life and mutual aid  should  
not go on for ever without producing    
anything higher than the  sense of      
mutual advantage4 ,the nobler passions  
do indeed come into life  when the      
proper stage of social evolution has    
been reached1 but their  source is not  
within the bounds of the visible order1 
nor do ,i see how  they can ever justify
 themselves with reference to it alone4 
,neither1  on the other hand1 can they  
be realized without it4 ,the divine air 
which we breathe on the mountain height 
is not made by the mountain1  but we    
must climb the mountain to breathe it4  
,every step we take  upwards in the     
visible order is1 as it were1 the       
discovery of something  in that         
invisible order which is its spiritual  

counterpart and gives it  its spiritual 
significance4      ,i have said that    
ethics is for life2 but to the          
individual it must  sometimes appear to 
be rather for death than for life1      
unless he knows  that there is a life   
beyond the visible life4 ,in this faith 
only--in  whatever varied forms the     
intellect of man has embodied and       
expressed  it--are martyrdoms possible4 
,and martyrdoms have been so often the  
great  turning-points and inspirations  
of human history that an ethics which   
cannot justify them would seem to be an 
ethics at odds with nature4  ,consider  
from our point of view the significance 
of the two martyrdoms  of history which 
have most deeply impressed and          
influenced the minds of  men4           
,socrates had no gospel1 no new truth to
 proclaim4 ,he dissociated  himself from
 the #8rationalistic' theories of his   
time1 not indeed  because he was        
particularly attached to ancient ideas  
in religion1 but  because theorizing on 

these subjects had no interest for      
him4#afa ,on  his trial he expressly    
disclaimed heretical views on religion4 
,it is  clear that these were only      
charged against him because the real    
offence  was no crime in ,athenian or   
any other law4 ,the real offence was    
that  ,socrates was a relentless critic1
 within reach of whose tongue no        
patriotic rhetorician could feel himself
 confident and comfortable4  ,it was a  
time of rhetorical patriotism in        
,athens4 ,from the bitter  humiliation  
of the ,peloponnesian ,war had arisen an
 impulse towards  national regeneration1
 a genuine and worthy impulse in itself1
 but  one which unfortunately took shape
 not in a manly facing of facts1 a      
courageous march forward to the future1 
but rather in a panic-stricken  retreat 
to old conservative formulas and        
bigotries1 to the abandonment  of which 
by cultivated ,athenians was ascribed   
all the evil that had  fallen on the    
city4 ,socrates1 however1 delighted in  

taking popular  convictions and reducing
 them by a series of ingenious          
interrogations  to their verifiable     
residuum of truth1 if there happened to 
be any4  ,they commonly emerged from the
 ordeal in a dilapidated condition4 ,at 
a  time when the whole city was high    
strung with patriotic fervour while     
inwardly very uncertain about its       
principles of action1 the presence of  a
 thinker like ,socrates1 with his       
pitiless arraignment of every gaudy     
fallacy before the bar of ,reason1 was a
 continual scandal and offence1  and was
 easily interpreted as a public danger4 
,had he consented to  keep silent1 and  
affected to fall in with the general    
trend of public  sentiment1 he would1 as
 he well knew1 have been safe4 ,but he  
refused  all compliance and compromise1 
and declared with absolute truth that   
,athens would do better to reward him   
for stinging it into a perception  of   
realities than to punish him for the    
wholesome pain of the process4  ,so he  

went with clear-sighted deliberation to 
his death1 and that  death1 so          
wonderfully recorded for us by the      
greatest prose writer  of all time1 has 
ennobled all criticism1 all sceptical   
thought1  thenceforward4 ,none can think
 lightly of what ,socrates thought it   
worth  his while to die for4    ,turn to
 the death of ,christ1 and into how     
different an atmosphere  we seem to     
pass6 ,no philosopher has here recorded 
for us the death  of a philosopher4     
,myth and legend have clustered round   
the great  event--the ,jewish conception
 of an expiatory sacrifice--the truer   
and  profounder myth of a slain and     
re-arisen ,god--and these have wrapped  
the ,crucifixion in such a cloud of     
mystical light and colour that the      
outlines of the historical fact are lost
 to view4 ,when this cloud is  pierced1 
however1 an intelligible human          
transaction remains4 ,in ,christ  the   
luminous purity of ,greek reason was so 
blended with the religious  fervour of  

the ,eastern mind that he may justly be 
called the ideal  man1 the ,son of ,man 
and of ,god1 the incarnation of the     
divine thought4  ,unlike ,socrates1 he  
was distinctly a heretic in his place   
and time4  ,he appeared among a people  
deeply religious but one in whom        
religion  had taken the form of an      
immense fabric of ceremonial and        
observance1  guarded and administered by
 a special caste who conceived          
themselves as  the appointed vehicle of 
the will of ,god for the untaught       
multitude4  ,to this multitude ,christ  
went direct4 ,he led them straight to   
the  ancient founts of light and life1  
disregarding the narrow channels  hewn  
by ,pharisaic formalism4 ,he bade them  
open their eyes and see for  themselves2
 he taught them that the truth was for  
all men2 beside the  conceptions of the 
authorized religion he set new          
conceptions which  made the old seem    
barren or ludicrous4 ,the people heard  
him gladly1  and the great fabric of    

,pharisaism was manifestly tottering4   
,the fury  of a monopolist caste was    
aroused4 ,there is no more merciless    
anger  than the anger of the religious  
monopolist who sees his monopoly        
threatened1 and to this anger ,christ   
fell a victim4 ,as ,socrates died  for  
the right to disbelieve1 so ,christ died
 for the right to believe1  and whatever
 the churches have made of him he has   
inspired every  revolt against          
priestcraft and authority ever since4   
,no creed is worth  living for which is 
not worth dying for4 ,christ's death and
 spiritual  resurrection#afb set the    
seal on this truth and gave the world   
the  most signal instance in history of 
triumph arising out of defeat and       
death4    ,volumes of argument and      
analysis could not confute an ethical   
system so  effectually and so severely  
as the bare fact that it looked paltry  
or  incongruous beside such lives and   
deaths as these4      ,the conclusions  
we have reached in this discussion of   

the basis of a  natural ethics may now  
be summed up4 ,we have interpreted the  
object of  phenomenal ,being as ,life4  
,the ethical quality of life lies in its
 conscious and active harmony  with the 
,whole4    ,the motive for ethical      
action lies in the fact that we are a   
part of  that ,whole4 ,the sense of this
 relation is as deep a part of man's    
nature as the sense of his selfhood1 or 
deeper4    ,to live for ,others1 then1  
is no more the true epitome of a natural
  ethics than is1 to live for ,self4    
,the true epitome is1 ,live for the     
,whole--the ,whole which includes both  
others and yourself1 which is  greater  
than all humanity1 yet is capable of    
being faithfully served in  the silence 
of one human breast4    ,we have now    
before us1 therefore1 a clear conception
 of the criterion  and the sanction of  
ethical action4 ,the criterion is       
applied when we  ask of anything done by
 man1 8,does it further life in the     
,whole80 ,the  sanction is found in the 

fact that each of us is an organic part 
of  that ,whole4 ,the richest and       
fullest life is evidently to be won by  
the  most complete development of all   
our faculties which is allowed us by    
our opportunities4 ,ethics1 therefore1  
exists for life1 not life for  ethics4  
,this simple proposition arises         
inevitably from the scientific          
conception of the world4 ,the greatest  
of fallacies is to conceive life  as    
existing for any other object           
whatsoever1 or to define its aim as     
something more or less remote from our  
present existence4 ,our #8eternal  life'
 is not something to come--we are living
 it here and now4 ,this is  not a       
pilgrimage or a place of preparation2 it
 leads us to no heaven1  no hell1 no    
distant judgment seat4 ,we are before   
that judgment seat  every hour2 the     
heaven and the hell which it dispenses  
are the daily  experiences through which
 we move2 and the saints and prophets of
 this  faith are those who have felt    

most deeply and revealed most profoundly
  the great realities of existence1     
hidden from us not so much by the       
darkness of the grave as by the         
impalpable veils of use and wont4 ,the  
grave has mystery indeed but no terror  
of gloom for those who realize  that the
 universe is but an eddy on the stream  
of life4 ,by that eddy we  see the      
stream1 we feel its power and movement2 
and we know that the  substance of which
 it is made is the stuff of life itself4
          ,,part ,,iii3 ,,art           
,,chapter ,x    ,,art ,,and ,,life      
8,like a living thing1 one and          
whole40--,aristotle4#afc      ,the third
 chapter of ,tolstoy's book1 ,what is   
,art8 contains a summary  of the        
opinions of some sixty modern writers   
7taken chiefly from  ,schasler's        
,kritische ,geschichte der ,aesthetik7  
on the essential meaning  of the terms  
,art and ,beauty4 ,all these opinions1  
after having been  duly paraded across  
the stage1 are dismissed by ,tolstoy as 

a mass of  8enchanted confusion and     
contradictoriness10 and he then proceeds
 to  build up his own theory of art4 ,as
 the latest critical treatment of  the  
subject on a large scale by a thinker   
and an artist who has made a  deep      
impression on the minds of men1 his     
conclusions deserve careful  attention  
on the part of any later writer who     
desires to deal with the  perennially   
attractive but very obscure problems of 
sthetics4 ,let me  begin by quoting the 
passage with which ,tolstoy closes the  
fourth  chapter of his work3--          
8,to the question ,what is this ,art1 to
 which is offered up the      labour of 
millions1 the very lives of men1 and    
even morality      itself8 we have      
extracted replies from the existing     
sthetics      which amount to this--that
 the aim of art is beauty1 that beauty  
is      recognized by the enjoyment it  
gives1 and that artistic enjoyment      
is a good and important thing because it
 is enjoyment4 ,in a      word1 that    

enjoyment is good because it is         
enjoyment4 ,thus1 what      is          
considered the definition of art is no  
definition at all1 but      only a      
shuffle to justify existing art4        
,therefore1 however strange      it may 
seem to say so1 in spite of the         
mountains of books written      about   
art1 no exact definition of art has been
 constructed4 ,and the      reason of   
this is that the conception of art has  
been based on the      conception of    
beauty40#afd    ,now in one point at    
least1 that which is embodied in the    
last sentence1  these words of          
,tolstoy's appear to me to go straight  
to the mark4  ,art can no more be       
founded on beauty than morality can be  
founded on  pleasure4 ,a greater than   
,tolstoy has spoken the same truth in a 
couple  of his mighty lines4 ,the great 
masters1 says ,whitman1        444 do   
not seek beauty1 they are sought1       
,forever touching them or close upon    
them follows beauty1        longing1    

fain1 love-sick4    ,but let us see what
 ,tolstoy would set up in place of what 
he throws  down4 ,art1 he tells us1 is  
8one of the means of intercourse between
  man and man40 8,by words a man        
transmits his thoughts to another1 by   
means of art he transmits his feelings40
 ,but the transmission must1 if  it is  
art1 be intentional1 premeditated4 8,art
 begins when one person  with the object
 of joining another or others to himself
 in one and the  same feeling expresses 
that feeling by certain external        
indications40  ,the 8indications0 may1  
of course1 be a certain kind of         
language1 or  gesture1 or plastic       
representation1 or sound4 ,if1 by such  
means1 a man  has succeeded in making   
his own feeling infectious1 and         
affecting  others by it1 he has1 to that
 extent achieved art4 ,art is therefore 
8a  means of union among men1 joining   
them together in the same feelings1  and
 is indispensable for the life and      
progress towards well-being of          

individuals and of humanity40#afe       
,certainly one cannot but admire the    
strong clear-headedness and common      
sense with which ,tolstoy blows away the
 mists into which he had plunged  us in 
his third chapter1 and brings us into a 
region of daylight  realities1 with firm
 earth under our feet4 ,undoubtedly if  
man does  want to get into real contact 
with his fellow-men he must not merely  
tell them what he feels1 he must make   
them feel the same thing4 ,and  art1    
produced with 8individuality1 clearness 
and sincerity0 has this  property1 to   
use ,tolstoy's own term1 of             
infectiousness4 ,moreover it  is of     
enormous antiquity and has exceedingly  
primitive forms4 ,there  may have been  
art before there was speech--there was  
certainly art  before there was writing1
 before there was anything remotely     
resembling  intellectual culture or     
religion4 ,the metaphysical definitions 
of  ,hegel1 8,the ,idea shining through 
,matter10 or of ,knight1 8,the union of 

object and subject1 the drawing forth   
from nature of that which is  cognate to
 man10 and of the rest of the sixty and 
odd philosophers1  do1 ,i think1 look a 
little irrelevant when we think of the  
cave-man  scratching his bit of mammoth 
ivory4 ,but ,tolstoy's account of the   
matter glows with reality4 ,the         
cave-artist was struck with something in
  nature--the reindeer drinking at a    
pool1 the mammoth swinging through  the 
jungle--he longed to express it1 to make
 others see4 ,it can hardly  be doubted 
that this was the origin of art as      
art4#aff ,i think it  is its fundamental
 quality even now1 though we must       
include among the  objects rendered     
things not in external nature but in the
 artist's own  imagination4    ,the     
questions then arise1 ,what is it that  
the artist is trying to  infect other   
people with8 ,is art quite indifferent  
to the nature of the  feeling           
communicated8 ,is there any common      
feeling expressed by things  apparently 

so diverse as a strain of music1 a piece
 of pottery1 a  cathedral1 a lyric1 a   
statue1 and a landscape painting8       
,tolstoy does not overlook these        
questions2 he has1 in fact1 a great     
deal to say about them4 ,but here1 in   
his analysis of the sthetic  faculty1   
the obsession with the exclusively      
ethical view of things  which has so    
much impaired his own art seems to have 
led him on a false  track4 ,having      
decided that infectiousness is the      
common quality of all  art1 he is struck
 with the fact that this quality varies 
very much in  different works1 and he   
uses it to obtain a scale of merit3--   
8,not only10 he writes1 8is infection a 
sure sign of art1 but the      degree of
 infectiousness is also the sole measure
 of excellence      in art4 ,the        
stronger the infection the better is the
 art1 as art1      speaking now apart   
from its subject matter1 i4e4 not       
considering      the quality of the     
feelings it transmits40#afg    ,this    

statement is obviously meaningless      
unless you define the nature  of the    
person who is to be infected4 ,infection
 is as much a matter of  the mind       
infected as of the agent which infects4 
8,the stronger the  infection for such  
and such an audience 4440 is what we    
shall have to  read4 ,the audience must 
be a constant element if the definition 
is to  convey any distinct meaning4     
,perceiving this1 as so acute a mind    
could  not fail to do1 ,tolstoy falls   
back on exactly the same criterion as   
that of ,bishop ,butler when he         
endeavoured to get a universal standard 
of right and wrong4 ,butler set up as   
final judge in these matters the  8plain
 honest man40#afh ,you were to appeal to
 the unsophisticated  conscience of this
 ideal being1 and that ended the matter4
 ,so1 with  ,tolstoy1 you are to get the
 8unperverted0 man who1 like an animal1 
8unerringly finds what he needs40#afi   
,most people in our society1  says      
,tolstoy1 8are quite unable to          

distinguish a work of art from the      
grossest counterfeit40 ,they like1 or   
pretend to like1 ,beethoven better  than
 a peasant folk-song6 ,but the          
peasant's1 i4e4 the untaught1           
appreciation1 which is merely bewildered
 by ,beethoven1 is right4#agj  ,this1 we
 ultimately find1 simply means that the 
8plain honest man10 as  conceived by    
,tolstoy1 is one who appreciates the    
moral contents of a  work of art1       
provided that it has any1 and that it   
has infection enough  to get them into  
his mind4 ,and ,tolstoy 7the art-critic7
 does not care  about anything except   
these moral contents4    ,this is clear 
when he comes to deal with the element  
which he mentions  above as having been 
omitted from his consideration of the   
comparative  value of art-work1 namely  
the quality of the feeling transmitted  
by  the medium of art4 ,here he lays it 
down that the object of all art is  to  
unite mankind1 and to make them feel at 
one with ,god and with each  other4#aga 

,this may pass very well if by uniting  
is meant enabling  us to enter with     
sympathy into the life of man1 and even 
of things  that are not man4 ,even so a 
drawing by ,nettleship can make us feel 
at one with a python or a tigress4 ,but 
,tolstoy does not mean that4  ,his      
uniting is a moral and practical idea   
based on the doctrine that  combat1 and 
everything that could lead to combat1 is
 wrong4 ,ancient  religious perceptions1
 he argues1 confined the sense of unity 
to the  tribe or nation1 and art had to 
glorify solely the might or greatness   
of the people who produced it4 ,modern  
religion1 on the contrary1 takes        
account of all humanity without         
exception4 8,and therefore the feelings 
transmitted by the art of our time not  
only cannot coincide with the  feelings 
transmitted by former art1 but must run 
counter to them40#agb  ,only two kinds  
of art1 according to ,tolstoy1 8can be  
considered good  art in our time40      
,these are first1 8art transmitting     

feelings flowing  from a religious      
perception of man's position in the     
world in relation  to ,god and to his   
neighbours10 and secondly1 8art         
transmitting the  simplest feelings of  
common life1 but such1 always1 as are   
accessible  to all men in the whole     
world--the art of common life--the art  
of a  people--universal art40#agc ,as   
instances of these types of good modern 
art1 ,tolstoy gives his amazing         
list--,schiller's ,robbers1 ,les        
,misrables1  ,dickens's and             
,dostoievsky's novels1 ,uncle ,tom's    
,cabin1 and ,adam ,bede4  ,in painting  
we are to take as types of excellence   
8the drawing by  ,kramskoy 7worth many  
of his finished pictures71 showing a    
drawing-room  with a balcony past which 
troops are marching in triumph on their 
return from the war4 ,on the balcony    
stands a wet-nurse holding a baby  and a
 boy4 ,they are admiring the procession 
of the troops1 but the  mother1 covering
 her face with a handkerchief1 has      

fallen back on the  sofa1 sobbing40 ,or 
one may turn to 8a picture by the       
,french artist1  ,morlon1 depicting a   
lifeboat hastening in a heavy storm to  
the relief  of a steamer that is being  
wrecked40#agd    ,it is easy to make fun
 of this headlong descent to the level  
of the  parish magazine1 but it is not  
so easy to challenge the position from  
which ,tolstoy deduces his criticisms of
 individual works1 or to deny  that he  
has again and again struck home with    
incomparable force against  the         
factitious art so current in the present
 day4 ,his book is a piece  of genuine  
thinking1 and in this it has few rivals 
among contemporary  works of sthetic    
criticism1 especially in ,english4 ,most
 of these works  are either pans of     
praise for what the critic finds        
attractive and  stimulating to his own  
temperament1 or attacks conducted with  
every  resource of satire and ridicule  
on what he does not understand or care  
for4 ,but a serious attempt like that of

 ,tolstoy to discover and to  apply a   
true principle of art criticism is very 
much to seek2 and ,i  venture to think  
that many critics who are horrified at  
the notion of  putting ,uncle ,tom's    
,cabin above ,king ,lear would find it  
by no means so  easy as they suppose to 
give a rational account of the faith    
that is in  them4 ,tolstoy's            
conclusions1 like those of ,plato in    
,the ,republic 7which  they very much   
resemble71 are wrong-headed1 but his    
manner of thinking  is that of a massive
 and nobly ordered intellect1 and is    
well worthy of  respectful imitation at 
whatever distance lesser powers can     
contrive to  follow it4    ,i know      
nothing whatever 7,i regret to say7     
about the art of ,kramskoy or  of       
,morlon1 but one imagines1 from         
,tolstoy's way of talking about the     
works referred to1 that they are        
attempts to capture admiration for a    
work of art by the aid of something     
which is not art1 but sentiment4  ,at   

any rate1 that is just what ,tolstoy    
desires them to do4 ,is art1  then1     
entirely indifferent to subject1 as some
 of the philosophers of  the            
,impressionist school contend8 ,not at  
all--so long as the subject  is         
something in the picture1 and capable of
 being expressed in the  medium of that 
branch of art4 ,a crew of men pulling a 
boat through a  heavy sea may be a good 
subject for a painting1 but to the      
artist it  does not matter a pin's point
 whether they are going to rescue life  
or  to board an enemy or to catch       
lobsters4 ,under the circumstances they 
will all look just the same4 ,the wreck 
in the offing has its value  in the     
design of the picture1 no more and no   
less4 ,and those who are  always on the 
look out for false values1 sentimental  
values1 will never  learn what art      
really has to teach them1 what art alone
 can teach4 ,what  is this8      ,the   
master key with which we have tried to  
open certain doors in  biology and in   

ethics will1 ,i hope1 serve us also in  
discovering the  principles of art4 ,i  
accept fully ,tolstoy's postulate of    
infectiousness  as a primary quality of 
art4 ,there can be no art which does not
  communicate to others the feeling of  
the artist4 ,this implies that the      
artist must have a distinct and sincere 
feeling to communicate4 ,but  it does   
not at all imply that the finest art is 
that which is most  widely or powerfully
 communicable at its first appearance or
 at any  given period in history4 ,to   
say that infectiousness is an essential 
characteristic of art is not the same   
thing as to say that the more  it       
infects1 either extensively or          
intensively1 the better art it is4  ,one
 might as well say that if1 as has been 
done1 you define man as #8a  political  
animal1' it would follow that the more  
strenuously political  he was the more  
he fulfilled the purpose of his being as
 a man4 ,but  politics and art are both 
of them simply ways in which man        

endeavours  to remould his universe     
8nearer to the heart's desire40 ,how    
does he  make use of political methods  
for his true purpose8 ,how does he make 
use of art and its infectiousness for   
his true purpose8 ,these are the  real1 
the decisive questions4    ,what is the 
essential thing communicated in art8    
,the question is  answered at once if we
 reflect that as life can have no       
ulterior  object beyond life1 and is    
satisfied when the maximum of living is 
attained1#age so life must be the       
ultimate object of art also4 ,it is  the
 quality of art to communicate feeling2 
it is the object of  art to communicate 
a feeling for life4 ,art is man's       
expression of  life2 and he delights in 
art precisely because and in so far as  
he  delights in life4 ,but if this be   
all1 it may be objected1 why1 with  life
 in full glow and activity all around   
him1 should man turn to this  reflection
 or rendering of it which he calls art8 
,what place does the  reality leave for 

the enjoyment of the shadow8 ,this was  
substantially  ,plato's indictment of   
art in the last book of ,the ,republic4 
,all things  exist1 according to his    
well-known doctrine of ideas1 in an     
ideal  or archetypal form1 a 8pattern   
laid up in heaven40 ,there is such a    
pattern1 let us say1 of a ,bed1 and this
 is the real1 the archetypal  ,bed4     
,copying some reflection of this in his 
own mind1 the carpenter  makes a        
material1 individual bed4    ,then comes
 in the painter1 who copies the bed of  
the carpenter1 and who  is thus at two  
removes from ,reality2 art1 in ,plato's 
view1 being simply  imitation1 and      
therefore somewhat despicable4#agf      
,there are some minor1 yet by no means  
trivial1 reasons which might be  given  
in answer to this objection2 as1 for    
instance1 that art enables  one to      
assemble together in small compass the  
expressions of a great  variety of life 
not to be directly enjoyed1 save at wide
 intervals of  time and place4 ,but the 

primary and fundamental reasons are our 
main  concern here4    ,in the first    
place1 the material world around us1 or 
such portion of  it as we are able to   
perceive1 is not1 as it stands1 a pure  
expression  of life4 ,holding as we do  
with ,cleanthes in his majestic ,hymn to
 ,zeus  that all things redundant have  
their place in the ,whole1 and that in  
it all things ugly have their beauty and
 all things hateful their share  of     
love1#agg it is still true that the     
world as we see it presents  us with a  
pell-mell of varied forms--some mature  
and beautiful1 some  in process of      
transition1 some in decay1 some         
stationary1 unchanging1  dead4 ,the     
inner harmony which holds them together 
is rarely perceptible  in any one       
fragment of actual life4 ,but the artist
 adds this harmony1  this completeness2 
his work1 within its own limits1 is a   
whole4 ,he  gives us something which    
nature cannot give4 ,taking some aspect 
of  life which he wishes to convey by   

means of line1 colour1 or tone1 he      
suppresses1 alters1 composes1           
emphasizes1 till he has expressed his   
feeling in its purity1 with everything  
immaterial left out and with  the things
 essential to his conception lifted     
clearly into view4 ,his  work is        
therefore greater and more vital than   
nature1 that is to say  than any        
fragment of nature1 for he is looking at
 the part he renders  sub specie        
aeternitatis1 in the light of the       
,whole4 ,and living in the  conception  
of a great work of art1 we live in the  
,whole2 the individual  has sunk from   
view4    ,zola has finely said1 8,art is
 a bit of ,nature seen through the      
medium  of a temperament40 ,this        
temperament means the artist's personal 
way of  seeing life2 it means all that  
makes his art different from a mere     
record4 ,and the audience who see or    
hear his work become acquainted  with   
this temperament--there is no other way 
in which the artist can  express it so  

well4 ,the artist1 then1 is giving us   
himself along with  his subject1 and    
this is the greatest thing he can give4 
,whether the  wars of ,troy ever        
happened is of very little consequence  
compared with  ,homer's way of imagining
 them4 ,and when we have learned        
,homer's way we  can and do apply it for
 ourselves1 for has he not #8infected'  
us with  it8 ,the artist opens our eyes1
 and leaves us in a world infinitely    
more significant and beautiful than     
without his aid we should ever  have    
known it to be4 ,his function is thus   
the liberation within us of  faculties1 
of powers of living1 which otherwise    
might never have risen  into            
consciousness4 ,we commonly call this   
#8idealizing the facts of  life4' ,it   
would be nearer the mark to say that it 
makes them real4 ,art  turns our formal1
 sensible1 external perceptions of      
things into real  and vital perceptions1
 and thus enormously increases the range
 and  volume of life of which those who 

apprehend it are capable4 ,the glory  of
 light1 the music of winds and waters1  
the dignity of man's common             
occupations1 the wonder and sweetness of
 the love of men and women1 all  these  
have been revealed to us by the artist1 
8a man speaking to men  444 pleased with
 his own passions and volitions1 who    
rejoices more than  other men in the    
spirit of life that is within him40#agh 
,the essential purpose of any art-work1 
then1 is to be expressive of  life--more
 expressive than the raw facts of life  
ever can be4 ,the  practical problem for
 every artist in every kind of material 
is how  to make his work expressive2    
only thus can it be what ,tolstoy calls 
8infectious40 ,to do this1 besides the  
acquirement of technique1 he  must      
clearly have something to express4 ,let 
us not imagine1 however1  as the 8plain 
honest man0 is apt to do1 that this must
 necessarily be  something capable of   
being put into terms of the intellect--a
 fact1  a story1 a 8criticism of life40 

,art is rather an exploration than a    
criticism of life4#agi ,and life is very
 great and manifold4 ,primarily  the    
painter is a man who likes to apprehend 
life in colour1 the  sculptor one who   
apprehends it in the form of masses1 the
 musician in  sound1 the poet in        
actions1 emotions1 ideas4 ,each may1 and
 probably  must1 have some of the gifts 
and faculties of the others1 but as     
painter1 musician1 or whatever he may   
be1 he thinks and feels in the  material
 of his own art1 and he uses that       
material to express its own  virtues1   
not to imitate those of another4        
,the question of the relation of art to 
beauty1 and the meaning of  beauty      
itself1 may now be considered4 ,what is 
this mysterious element  about the      
nature of which such a torrent of       
opinion has been poured out  since man  
first began to reflect on his own states
 of mind8 ,between  the view which holds
 it to be an absolute and ultimate      
principle1  recognized in1 rather than  

arising from1 experience1 and that which
  denies it any right to be called a    
principle at all1 referring it  simply  
to the effect of habit1 and refusing to 
see any essential  difference between   
the ,hottentot conception of beauty and 
the ,greek1  we can find1 ,i think1 a   
position in strict accordance both with 
the  historical facts of the evolution  
of the conception and with the claims   
of the ,idealists4    ,let us look back 
a moment to the analysis of moral action
 which we  made in the preceding        
chapters4 ,we found then that while all 
healthy  action tends to maintain and   
promote life1 there are circumstances   
under which this life-promoting quality 
comes more saliently into view  than is 
usual4 ,this happens in general when    
mere personal desires are  subjected to 
the larger life of the ,whole1 or when a
 lower form of  living is subjected to a
 higher4 ,this heightening and          
intensification  of life-promoting      
action we called moral action4 ,and we  

drew no sharp  and distinct line between
 it and ordinary healthy action1 for    
nature  knows no such distinctions1 and 
the philosophy which tries to establish 
them is stamped with unreality4    ,in  
regard to ,beauty we have only to take  
up the same point of view as  we did in 
regard to ,ethics1 and the mystery lies 
clear before us at  once4 ,all nature is
 in some sense expressive of life1 even 
when it  seems most desolate or most    
degraded2 for life as we know it means  
change1 variety1 contrast1 and1 under   
the conditions of space and time1  one  
can no more have life without death and 
decay than one can have  height without 
depth4 ,but all nature does not equally 
express life1  and much of it1 as we    
have seen1 does not express it at all to
 our  perceptions4 ,beauty arises1 then1
 when we find a certain heightening1  a 
saliency1 an intensity in the expression
 or vitality1 whether by  external      
nature or1 in art1 by man4 ,thus ,life1 
not ,beauty1 is the mark  of art1 but   

beauty is the signal that the mark has  
been hit4    ,as with the moral1 so with
 the sthetic sense--we find it in all   
stages  of development4 ,a man or a race
 whose range of life is contracted  to a
 few physical enjoyments and pains will 
set the idea of beauty  in whatever     
expresses or is associated with these   
enjoyments4  ,a wider1 loftier1 subtler 
conception of life will bring forth a   
nobler beauty4 ,we are not1 on this     
theory1 abandoned to a mere  subjective 
and arbitrary preference1 according as  
we are trained and  accustomed to this  
type or to that4 ,there is a perfectly  
valid and  objective criterion in the   
question1 ,which represents the fullest 
and  strongest life8 ,the ,greek ideal  
surpasses the ,hottentot--to take two   
extremes--because the ,greek is capable 
of all that the ,hottentot can  do or   
feel--he takes it all up into his larger
 life2 but the ,hottentot  can only live
 in a small sector of the sphere        
occupied by the ,greek4  ,instead1      

therefore1 of the two opposing          
battlecries of #8,art for ,morals'  and 
#8,art for ,art1' let us set that of    
#8,art for ,life4' ,for ,life is        
greater than either art or morals2 it   
includes and justifies them both4       
,the characteristics of ,beauty will be 
further discussed in connexion  with    
some of the individual arts1 which we   
have now to range under our  general    
principle4      ,the more deeply life is
 studied and felt1 the more strongly do 
two  great and cardinal principles of it
 come into view4 ,these are opposed  to 
each other1 but complementary2 and thus 
life in general appears to  exhibit that
 singular quality of polarity which     
seems so intimately  to pervade all its 
separate manifestations2 everything     
which lives  and moves appearing to do  
so by virtue of the action of two       
opposing  forces4 ,these two poles of   
the axis of life are1 on the one hand1  
what  we call ,order1 ,continuity1      
,rhythm2 and on the other1 ,change1     

,variety1  ,contrast4 ,if ,order were   
not1 ,change would become chaos4 ,if    
,change  were not1 ,order would become  
death4 ,in neither case would growth and
  development be possible4    ,an art1  
therefore1 however abstract1 like ,music
 or like the decorative  pattern in a   
,celtic ,,ms41 which expressed the union
 of these two  principles might be      
profoundly expressive of life4 ,it need 
not set  before us any definite living  
thing provided it expresses the cardinal
  principles of all life4 ,it will do   
this the better the more intimately     
these principles are blended1 as in     
nature1 into a vital unity4    ,on the  
other hand1 art does1 of course1        
frequently represent individual         
objects1 and probably had its first     
distinguishable beginnings in so        
doing4#ahj ,we may1 then1 get a broad   
classification of the arts by  placing  
on one side those which deal with       
objects of sense1 and on  the other     
those which convey life under forms     

devised by the artist  himself1 and not 
found in the external world4 ,one is    
tempted to call  these respectively     
,imitative and ,creative4 ,but1 after   
all1 what is  essentially artistic in   
the first category is just the fact that
 it is  not purely imitative1 for1 as   
,mr4    ,whistler observed1 to suppose  
that you can get art by copying nature  
is  equivalent to thinking that you can 
get music by sitting on the piano4  ,on 
the other hand1 it does not seem fitting
 to use so exalted a word  as creation  
with reference to the pattern which a   
,zui ,indian draws on  a piece of       
pottery1 while denying it to a painting 
by ,titian4 ,instead1  therefore1 of    
using the words ,creative and           
,imitative--now that we know  what we   
mean by them--we shall contrast those   
arts which are directly  ,presentative  
with those which are ,representative4   
,in the one case the  artist presents us
 with the whole artistic product1 form  
and substance1  as devised by himself4  

,in the other1 he represents to us forms
 already  presented by nature1 but      
re-composed1 re-presented1 and          
harmonized by  him for an sthetic       
purpose4      ,the ,presentative arts   
fall into two classes4 ,in one of these 
,music  stands alone4 ,here the artistic
 purpose is not only dominant but 7,i   
speak1 of course1 of music in its       
highest and most characteristic         
development7 there is no other purpose  
whatever4 ,the forms elaborated  by     
combinations and sequences of sound have
 no object except that of  art and mean 
nothing apart from that4 ,hence ,music  
has been called #8pure  style4' ,we     
shall recur to this subject when we have
 dealt with the  other class1 that of   
the ,decorative arts1 the essence of    
which it is  to add an expression of    
rhythm1 of world-harmony1 to objects    
whose  primary purpose is something     
different--a building1 a vase1 a piece  
of  furniture1 or a hanging4 ,this      
class1 again1 can be subdivided into    

arts  which attain this effect by the   
structure of the object1 and those      
which do so by the application of       
ornament to its surface2 both being1  of
 course1 often combined in the same     
object4    ,in structure the expression 
of life is gained by so arranging the   
lines and masses as to give an          
impression that power is at work--that  
something is being done--done           
triumphantly yet not without strain and 
effort4 ,every object of utility does   
something--art shows it to us in  the   
act4 ,an example may help to make clear 
what ,i mean1 and may show  how the     
principle can be applied to any kind of 
object which may be the  subject of     
artistic treatment4    ,a ,greek temple 
in its simplest external aspect consists
 of a  quadrilateral group of columns   
surrounding a walled shrine and         
supporting a low-pitched roof4 ,nothing 
could well be simpler than the          
structural conditions thus expressed4   
,but the artistic expression of  them is

 not so simple4 ,this depends in the    
main upon the proportion  observed      
between the pillars and the weight1 or  
apparent weight1 above  them4 ,if the   
pillars are too massive or too numerous 
there will be no  sense of strain1 and  
if they are too slender or too few there
 will be  no sense of security4 ,in     
either case the expression of vital     
energy in  the structure will be        
imperfect1 and beauty1 which waits on   
the golden  moment of the perfect       
adaptation of means to ends1 will not   
dwell in  that structure4 ,there is     
nothing more inartistic than            
superfluity2  and there is no lesson    
more emphatically taught by nature than 
this4  ,the avoidance of insufficiency  
is generally enforced in practice on    
utilitarian grounds1 but its artistic   
justification is equally evident4  ,the 
golden mean is what we call ,just       
,proportion4    ,the kind of vitality   
expressed in ,greek architecture is     
quite different  from that expressed in 

,gothic1 but the sthetic basis of both  
styles is  the same2 the principle we   
have in view will justify any art in    
which  there is the spirit of life4 ,a  
,greek temple shows us power1 braced and
  conscious1 but in repose4 ,there is   
nothing daring or sensational in its    
construction4 ,stress and thrust answer 
each other directly1 simply1  massively4
 ,the stately calm of such a structure  
might easily become  dull and monotonous
 were it not for the delicate sense of  
proportion  governing the relations of  
the parts1 for the introduction of      
slight  deviations from strict          
rectangularity and symmetry1#aha and for
 the  beautiful decoration in form and  
colour on frieze1 pediment1 and         
capital4    ,the principle of the arch  
was known in very early times to        
,pelasgians  in ,greece and to          
,etruscans in ,italy1 both of whom1 no  
doubt1 derived  it from the ,east4 ,but 
it was valued more for its utility in   
certain  constructions than for its     

artistic quality1 and ,greek classical  
architecture knows nothing of it4 ,it   
was freely used in ,rome1 and here  its 
extraordinary effect of vital energy as 
a supporter of weight first  began to be
 perceived4 ,when ,romanesque and       
,gothic architecture seized  on this    
principle1 the strength of stonework1   
heretofore essentially  placid1 leapt   
into vehement life and action4 ,a       
,gothic cathedral is the  expression of 
a war of mighty forces held in          
equilibrium by their own  antagonism4   
,every part seems to threaten           
destruction to some other4  ,there is1  
of course1 a war of forces in a ,greek  
temple also1 but there  the weight and  
thrust answer each other1 as we have    
said1 directly2 a  vertical column      
supports a horizontal architrave1 and   
must support  it1 for nothing can give  
way without crumbling to pieces4 ,in    
,gothic  building the counter-stresses  
meet indirectly1 a dead weight or a     
thrust is met by the springing curve of 

an arch2 the whole structure  would fall
 to ruin were it not for something in   
the stone which is not  mere solidity1  
which arises from something vital and   
energetic in the  scheme of the         
structure4 ,the expression of conflict1 
therefore1 as  compared with ,greek     
architecture1 is greatly intensified2   
the serenity  of power has given place  
to the play of forces rushing into eager
 and  often tempestuous action1 and     
saved from being mutually destructive by
  the control of a far-seeing           
design4#ahb    ,to treat fully the      
various ways in which structure may be  
made  expressive of life would need a   
volume rather than a chapter4 ,enough   
has however been said to indicate the   
principle and to suggest a  criterion by
 which good and bad structure may be    
judged4 ,let us turn  to the question of
 ornament4 ,in ,european art it is very 
common for  ornament to be used as a    
kind of adjunct to structure2 it follows
 the  lines of structure and accentuates

 them4 ,in ,japanese art1 however1  the 
contours of an object often appear to   
determine the ornament  applied to it as
 little as a window-frame determines the
 landscape  we see through it4 ,the     
apparent insouciance of ,japanese       
ornament is1  however1 carefully        
calculated in relation to the field     
which is to be  covered4 ,in either case
 ornament as such--that is to say1 apart
 from  whatever charm of colour and     
rhythm its individual forms may have--is
  to be interpreted as an attempt to    
give life by introducing what is  so    
characteristic of life--the element of  
change and variety4 ,popular  language  
has hit the mark when it talks of a     
#8dead' wall1 meaning  thereby a wall   
whose surface is unbroken by openings or
 ornament4  ,ruskin has somewhere spoken
 of the magnificent work of ,ghiberti on
 the  bronze doors of the ,baptistery in
 ,florence as having been primarily     
designed to produce 8a pleasant         
bossiness of surface40 ,the breaking up 

of the surface will not1 however1 be    
pleasant unless the forms of the        
decoration are in themselves good and   
instinct with life4    ,the beauty which
 so often arises from the effects of use
 and exposure  may perhaps seem in some 
cases hard to reconcile with the        
principle  which it is here sought to   
establish4 ,if aptness for use1 it may  
be  asked1 is an element in the beauty  
of an object of use1 how are we  to     
account for the strong appeal which the 
ruin of a noble building  certainly     
makes to the sense of beauty8 ,for my   
own part ,i am inclined  to think that  
the taste for ruins is often a sign of a
 want of taste  for art4 ,a beautiful   
thing is better whole and sound than in 
decay4  ,yet the spectacle of the silent
 struggle of strength and grace with    
destructive forces has in it a sense of 
action1 of drama1 to which  beauty      
cannot be denied4 ,apart from the       
question of actual decay1 every  one    
feels the sthetic gain which has been   

made when a thing ceases  to be blankly 
new4 ,a natural adornment has then been 
added to it4 ,a  room that has been     
lived in1 a piece of silver that has    
been rubbed  and handled for a lifetime1
 the steps of an ancient building worn  
by thousands of passing feet1 a wall    
whose angles are softened and  whose    
surface is stained by having fronted the
 sun and rain for many  years--all these
 have the natural and inimitable charm  
produced by the  touch of life--they no 
longer stand in crude isolation1 they   
are related  to the goings-on of the    
world4      ,of all the arts there is   
none which seems to evade analysis so   
much  as ,music2 none whose power is at 
once so mighty and so mysterious4       
,saying nothing it seems to mean        
everything4 ,we can think of nothing in 
the world so lofty1 so sweet1 so        
profound as to be the fit embodiment  of
 what ,music conveys to us4 ,closely    
analogous in its outward form to  what  
in line and colour is called ,pattern1  

we are yet evidently far  short of      
expressing the whole character of ,music
 when we say1 what in  itself is quite  
true1 that it is beautiful pattern in   
sound4 ,it has  more of humanity about  
it than pattern can have4 ,it neither   
gives us  representations of objects of 
sense1 nor even definite emotions1 but  
it has a unique power over the moods of 
the soul4 ,this power seems to  arise   
first from its complete control over the
 resources of movement  and rhythm1     
secondly from the fact that by virtue of
 certain acoustic  laws it can excite   
the sense of fulfilment1 of suspense1 of
 unexpected  sweetness1 unexpected      
failure and depression1 in a way open to
 no  other art which appeals directly to
 the senses4 ,but rhythm and movement   
are the main things in ,music1 and the  
nature of the power which it  exercises 
by means of them must now be considered4
    ,rhythm and movement are closely    
related to each other1 but they are not 
quite the same thing4 ,the term rhythm  

is given to any kind of movement  which 
is marked by the regular recurrence of  
stresses1 undulations1  beats4 ,this is 
the essential character of the movement 
of life4 ,action  and reaction1 systole 
and diastole1 the vibrations of the     
atom1 the  breaking of sea-waves1 the   
changes of day and night1 the           
alternations  of the seasons--wherever  
we look1 into things great or small1 we 
find the same principle of rhythmic     
movement pervading all4 ,man has  found 
out how to turn this principle to       
account in his mechanical  contrivances1
 indeed in all ways in which he         
endeavours to exercise  force on matter4
 ,once get your force to work           
rhythmically1 and it will  do ten times 
the work it is capable of when evenly   
continuous4 ,our own  bodies and nervous
 systems are attuned to the same law4   
,under the spell  of rhythm the mind is 
capable of moods and emotions which     
without it  could never have been evoked
 into consciousness4 ,and that makes the

  difference between telling a thing in 
verse and in prose4 ,verse arouses  the 
mood in which the subject has emotional 
value and significance4  ,even prose    
always becomes more or less rhythmic    
when impassioned4    ,now ,music has a  
control unrivalled among the arts over  
this element of  rhythm4 ,other arts can
 suggest rhythm1 ,music actually is     
rhythm--it  is the very pulse of life4  
,it can produce rhythm1 moreover1 in a  
great variety of ways4 ,the mere        
succession of sounds is rhythm1 but     
music also has at command the varying   
stresses or accents of notes1           
alternations in volume of sound1        
alternations in pitch and quality of    
sound4 ,and since a sequence of notes   
will cling to the memory1 ,music  can   
put into rhythmical relations1 not only 
single notes1 but groups of  notes1 i4e4
 musical phrases1 and chords1 which are 
musical phrases  played all at once4    
,music can therefore not only thunder   
upon the brain  with mighty shocks of   

sound1 but can enchant it with the most 
delicate  complexities4 ,the range of   
its power over rhythm is incomparably   
greater and subtler than that of the    
only two other arts in which  rhythm    
works directly on the senses--dancing   
and metrical verse4    ,the element of  
beauty in a rhythmical phrase seems to  
depend mainly  on the kind of mood it   
awakens4 ,there are moods of meditation1
  moods of tenderness1 moods of ardour1 
moods of yearning1 moods of  gaiety--all
 these and many more are under the      
control of rhythmic  phrases4 ,and there
 are common-place1 self-assertive1      
bouncing rhythms  which produce         
corresponding moods1 and which may      
therefore be called  ugly4 ,the precise 
connexion of certain phrases with       
certain moods  depending1 as it does1 on
 a world of dim associations stretching 
far beyond our personal1 conscious life1
 is probably incapable of  scientific   
statement4 ,in the last result ,i think 
we should find  that the characters of  

different rhythms are associated with   
bodily  movements1 attitudes1 gestures1 
in short with dancing2 but a host of    
other associations1 branching out from  
this in many directions1 have           
introduced a complexity of meaning which
 defies analysis4    ,to turn to the    
consideration of ,movement in art1 we   
find that the  power of rendering this  
characteristic of life is shared by     
,music only  with ,dancing and with     
,literature4 ,by movement in an art-work
 ,i mean  movement whose sequences have 
proportion and design1 progressing by   
stages linked to each other through     
natural and organic associations        
towards a significant conclusion4 ,in   
nature1 movement can be immensely       
varied in character4 ,it can be slow or 
swift1 rough and laboured or  smooth and
 fluent1 massive and voluminous or      
arrowy and intense2 it  can leap or     
undulate1 march or dance1 soar or swoop1
 and each of these  kinds of movement   
means something to the spirit of man4   

,all these ,music  controls1 and can    
order and harmonize at will4 ,it can    
represent that  in the movement of      
nature which goes beyond and overmasters
 ,rhythm2  for ,rhythm in itself does   
not involve ,progression2 in fact1 a    
perfect  rhythm would forbid it4 ,if    
,action and ,reaction were always       
precisely  equal1 we should have a      
universe as stationary as a spinning    
top--it  might be in vehement action1   
but it would never develop into         
something  new4#ahc ,music by its       
complete command of the phases of       
movement can  illustrate the progressive
 force1 the life-impulse in nature1 and 
this  not merely by symbols and         
intellectual forms1 but by playing      
directly  on the nervous system as a    
harp-player on the strings of his       
instrument4    ,no art is more sensuous 
than ,music1 and none more abstract1    
more  removed from what are called      
realities1 in the substance of what it  
conveys4 ,its entire independence of    

objects of sense as given in            
experience1 combined with its mastery of
 the inner law1 the spiritual           
significance1 of life has led to its    
being ranked by some as the  highest of 
the arts4 ,i doubt if such comparisons  
are profitable1 but it  is easy to      
recognize a sense in which ,schopenhauer
 speaks truth when he  says that the    
other arts deal with the shadows of     
life1 ,music1 however1  with its        
essence4#ahd      ,let us now consider  
the ,representative ,arts in the light  
of the  principle which we are trying to
 establish4 ,since they depend on the   
portrayal of objects actually found in  
nature and not created by the  artist1  
their relation to life is obvious4      
,there are1 however1 some  minor        
problems of great interest and intricacy
 connected with them1 and  these we must
 briefly touch on4    ,a great school of
 artists and art critics has in recent  
times  maintained that ,painting is     
concerned with nothing except harmonies 

of  light and colour1 and that subject  
is therefore completely indifferent  to 
it save in so far as it affords         
opportunity for the rendering of        
surfaces variously illuminated and      
composed4 ,the sun falling on a heap  of
 refuse is on this theory as much to the
 artist as when it lights up  the       
features of ,cordelia under her tragic  
fate4 ,a champion of this1  as it is    
called1 ,impressionist school has       
explained its particular  point of view 
by suggesting the manner in which two   
painters1 one of  the older type and one
 an ,impressionist1 would treat such a  
subject  as the death of ,agamemnon4    
,the former would think of the magnitude
 of  the event and the greatness of the 
characters of those concerned in        
it--the ,impressionist would probably   
try to fix the attention of the         
spectator on some note of colour such as
 the red robe which a character  in the 
scene might be wearing4#ahe ,can we     
judge between these rival  conceptions  

of the function of the representative   
arts8    ,let us revert to our          
formula--,art is the expression of      
,life4 ,in the  ,representative ,arts it
 is the expression of visible life4 ,if 
one wishes  to paint the death of       
,agamemnon it will not do to rely for   
one's  effect upon the spectator's      
knowledge of that bit of ,greek history 
and  to make one's art impressive simply
 because its allusions are freely       
recognizable4 ,so far undoubtedly the   
,impressionists are right4 ,but on  the 
other hand1 the assassination of a great
 man is a bit of life and  a very       
notable and memorable one4 ,the visible 
world is1 after all1 not  entirely      
summed up in the texture of surfaces    
under light4 ,character  and spirit have
 also their visible manifestations1 and 
the painter who  can render them1 as    
well as the aspects of physical life by 
which they  are accompanied1 is surely  
cutting a wider swathe of life than he  
who  thinks only of the red robe of the 

actor in a tragic scene4 ,goethe        
satirized a whole false theory of art   
when he remarked in a well-known        
epigram that 8pictures which work       
miracles are mostly very poor           
paintings40 ,yet one is reminded of his 
own feeling before the painting  of ,st4
 ,agatha1 by ,raphael1 which he saw on  
his first ,italian journey  at ,bologna4
 8,i have marked this figure well10 he  
writes4 8,i shall one  day read my      
,iphigenia before her in spirit1 and    
shall put no words  in the mouth of my  
heroine which might not have been spoken
 by this  saint40 ,was there not        
something here for ,goethe1 for all of  
us1 beyond  painting for the sake of    
light and colour8    ,in considering the
 plastic arts in relation to subject1   
the large  question of their function as
 illustration comes into view4 ,an      
immense  range of art1 from that which  
deals with religion and history down  to
 the drawings in our comic journals1    
evidently presupposes in the            

spectator's mind a background of        
information with which the work of  art 
itself does not and cannot furnish him4 
,a work of this kind must  certainly be 
said to rely for part of its interest   
upon something  which is not in the     
picture4 ,it is therefore not a pure art
 product2  it is a complex of artistic  
with historical or religious or critical
  interest2 but so long as we do not    
confuse the different elements it  would
 be absurd to say that they may not be  
legitimately united4 ,still1  the       
subject of a picture1 as a picture1     
remains always something which  is in   
the picture4 ,it would therefore be a   
contradiction in terms to  speak of a   
poor picture on a great subject4 ,if the
 painting be poor1  the subject is      
poor--the painter's intention may have  
been great1 but  he has not expressed   
it4 ,a reference to portraiture may help
 to make  the matter clear4 ,an         
indifferent portrait of a person held in
 special  love or veneration by me      

would1 if it were not so bad as to belie
 him1  have an interest and value for me
 which it would entirely lack in the    
case of one who knew or cared nothing   
for the person represented4 ,this       
superadded interest1 the interest which 
travels through the painting  to some   
concrete person or thing behind it1 must
 be thought away before  a work of art  
can be judged as a work of art4 ,the    
application to  religious or historical 
art is obvious4 ,here is a painting in  
which an  uninformed observer sees a    
woman and an angel4 ,what is he to make 
of  it8 ,the painter is evidently       
representing a moment of great          
exaltation  and significance4 ,the woman
 is receiving a message2 and the painter
 can  tell us1 within the limits of his 
art1 not what the message is1 but of    
what kind it is--sad1 or solemn1 or     
joyful1 or tragic4 ,he can make all  the
 accessories of the theme1 the lighting1
 colour1 etc41 reinforce  his           
conception1 and the observer can        

discern1 if he has intelligence  in such
 things1 that the painter is putting    
before us his conception  of the way in 
which a soul conceives a mighty destiny4
 ,that is the  subject2 the universal   
idea1 although the label on the frame be
 #8,the  ,annunciation4'    ,i hope it  
will not be thought that ,i am in any   
degree seeking to  disparage the        
beautiful art of the ,impressionists in 
maintaining that  the highest art is    
that in which there is most of life4    
,life is so  abundant and rich that one 
can find it almost anywhere in          
sufficient  measure to delight and to   
enchant4 ,moreover1 the great laws by   
which  life acts and endures1 the laws  
of rhythm1 contrast1 harmony1 can be    
amply suggested in the plastic arts even
 when dealing with the most  familiar   
things of earth1 and these exalt and    
glorify any theme4    ,i remember to    
have heard once of a visitor to an      
exhibition of  paintings by--,i need not
 name him--a certain well-known purveyor

 of  sensuous religiosities1 a kind of  
nineteenth-century ,carlo ,dolci4 ,on   
entering he met two ladies passing out  
through the ante-room1 which  happened  
to be hung with landscapes by an artist 
whom ,i need not  hesitate to name1 ,mr4
 ,mark ,fisher4 ,one of them wished to  
pause over  these4 ,the other1 who      
walked with wet eyes and flushed cheek1 
cried1  8,trees1 trees6 ,do you want me 
to look at trees after having had my    
soul  uplifted80 ,this little anecdote  
will bear some thinking over4 ,can we   
call an art bad which has power to      
uplift the soul8 ,but we have to ask1   
,was it really the art which did so1 or 
the allusions in the art8 ,and  again1  
as in the case of ,tolstoy and his canon
 of infectiousness1 we  must ask1 ,what 
soul8 ,it is difficult to imagine that  
the soul capable  of being uplifted by  
the art of the painter in question would
 be very  quick to recognize the signs  
of nobility and heroic passion in real  
life4 ,to recognize that the trees of   

,mr4 ,mark ,fisher might be worth  many 
,martyrdoms would be at least a sound   
beginning of an artistic  education4    
,dancing1 so far as it is an art1 must  
be classed under the  ,representative   
,arts4 ,unlike most of these it can     
render movement2  and its art is to     
display movements in a progressive and a
 rhythmic  sequence4 ,it is sculpture in
 motion4 ,unless when combined with     
,music1  however1 its range of artistic 
expression is not great1 beautiful      
effects are not under strict control1   
and in their rapid change the  eye      
cannot properly take them in4 ,the      
impression left by a succession  of     
attitudes seems more confused and more  
transitory than that of a  musical      
phrase4      ,the question of the place 
of ,literature in the scheme is one of  
some  difficulty4 ,unlike all the other 
arts1 its subject matter is not  brought
 directly before the senses1 but evoked 
by conventional symbols  which have in  
themselves no sthetic value whatever4   

,thus in one sense  it may be called the
 only strictly national art in          
existence4 ,the most  beautiful poem in 
the world1 though it were graven in     
,egyptian basalt1  would be a collection
 of meaningless scratches if the        
language in  which it was written were  
lost4 ,if1 however1 the language be     
known1  ,literature has not only the    
power of evoking the conceptions desired
  by the maker1 but also that of working
 directly on the senses by means  of the
 rhythmic qualities of speech4 ,still   
the range of rhythmic  expression in    
language is so limited that in itself   
7i4e4 as we might  feel it if spoken in 
an unknown tongue7 it may be regarded as
 quite  subordinate to the matter       
conveyed4 ,strictly1 therefore1 we ought
  perhaps to call ,literature neither a 
,presentative nor a ,representative1    
but an ,evocative art4 ,within its own  
circle1 however1 it falls  naturally    
into classes corresponding to those of  
the other arts1 for  narrative          

literature and drama1 which deal with   
actions and images  taken from external 
life1 are clearly ,representative in    
character1  while lyrical and meditative
 poetry1 which place the maker's mind1  
mood1 or passion directly before us1 are
 ,presentative4    ,literature has one  
great superiority over the plastic arts4
 ,like  ,music1 it can render the       
movement of life4 ,in the dramatic form 
this  movement can be brought to bear   
directly upon the senses4 ,it resembles 
,painting and ,sculpture in being able  
to deal with concrete objects of  sense1
 though1 as we have seen1 its method of 
dealing with them is not  strictly      
representative4 ,it stands absolutely   
alone in the fact that it  can render   
thoughts#ahf as well as passions or     
moods4 ,i should1 then1  be inclined to 
reckon ,drama as the greatest of all the
 arts in its  range of expression1 while
 at the same time it cannot be claimed  
for it  that it approaches ,music in the
 control of moods or in the intensity   

of effect which audible rhythm alone    
seems to command4 ,the conclusion  drawn
 by ,wagner1 that the supreme art must  
be sought in a combination  of ,music   
and ,drama1 is a tempting one1 but ,i   
doubt its validity4 ,the  question      
arises whether in this combination one  
or other of the united  arts does not   
surrender much of its own special power4
 ,so at least  one great poet seems to  
have felt4 8,c'est defendu10 announced  
,victor  ,hugo about his dramas1 8de    
mettre des notes de musique le long de  
ces  vers40 ,the poetic use of language 
has its own conventions and laws1  and  
these1 when used by a master1 are so    
subtle and so powerful that  to set his 
words to music is often to produce an   
effect of distortion4  ,what is most    
truly poetic in the language is turned  
into an empty mask  by withdrawing the  
underlying substance to place it under  
the control  of another convention1     
another law4 ,one can1 no doubt1 as in  
the case  of a ,greek chorus1 set great 

poetry to the measure of a simple chant1
  or one can unite rhythmic diction of a
 broad and simple character with  great 
music1 but the highest poetry and the   
highest music do not seem  to combine to
 good purpose4      ,in this rapid      
survey of the arts there are1 of course1
 large and  attractive fields of        
exploration which have not been even    
glanced at4  ,it has been sought on the 
present occasion merely to give the clue
  by which the arts may be related to   
the main thesis of this book4  ,ethics  
and ,art constitute the two great fields
 of what we may call the  disinterested 
activity of man4 ,they engage his       
highest powers1 they set  him on fire   
with ardour and sympathy1 yet they do   
nothing1 directly  at least1 towards    
satisfying the primary and personal     
needs of his  nature4 ,our problem has  
been to relate them to life1 and to give
 them  a place in a scheme of organic   
unity4 ,both have been seen to have that
  place only by reference to something  

which in one sense is immanent in       
nature1 and clearly perceptible there1  
but which in another aspect is  outside 
8the realm of clock-time and measuring  
rod10 the transcendent  ,whole4 ,all    
spiritual ethics1 all art which is not  
of the nature of a  mere record1 must in
 the last resort rely on this wholeness 
of things  for their justification4 ,but
 in the earlier parts of this study we  
have  tried to show that even the       
physical organization of nature must    
rely  on it too2 for the driving force  
of evolution1 as well as the framework  
of law in which it works1 have been both
 interpreted as a manifestation  of the 
,will to live1 to act2 of the impulse   
towards the richest and  fullest        
development of the material1 animal1 and
 spiritual life4 ,it is  in this        
life-impulse that ,god reveals ,himself 
in the world of time and  space4 ,this  
is the visible aspect of ,his           
all-embracing unity2 this is  ,his      
essential relation to earthly things2   

and this is the clue to their  rational 
interpretation as parts of a divine     
cosmic ,order4 ,to learn  to apprehend  
the vast ,purpose with conscious        
intelligence1 to further  it with       
conscious will and with deliberate      
faith1 is the sweet and  wholesome      
gospel which ,nature preaches to all who
 have ears to hear4          ,,appendix 
,a    ,,sum ,,ergo ,,cogito      ,not to
 encumber the text with too much        
abstruse metaphysics1 ,i place  here    
what seem to me some important          
corollaries of the position stated  at  
the close of ,chapter ,i4    ,if the    
,universe is not a mere aggregate but a 
coherent ,whole1 then  it follows of    
necessity that the units which compose  
it will have  relations not only with   
each other but also with the ,whole4    
,when any  of these units reaches the   
stage of consciousness it may be        
expected  that it will become conscious 
of these relations1 and that this       
consciousness will1 like other things1  

develop in time to greater and  greater 
fulness4    ,but here1 from the analytic
 side of the ,kantian philosophy1 comes 
the  warning which tells us that all we 
can really know is the stream of        
sensation which passes through our mind 
and which derives the order  and        
coherence it seems to possess from the  
laws of that mind4 ,how can  we         
transcend this apprehension of fleeting 
appearances1 and attain  knowledge of   
the ,one1 the ,real1 and of our         
relations with ,it8    ,to answer this  
question we must look a little deeper   
into the basis of  this doctrine of the 
subjectivity of human knowledge4        
,this subjectivity1 when we examine it  
closely1 does not 7as it is  often1 ,i  
think1 supposed7 appear to be a special 
and inexplicable  condition imposed in  
some external way on human              
consciousness4 ,it is  a condition      
absolutely bound up with the state of   
existence implied  in being a ,person1  
an #8,i4' ,the moment the mind is able  

to turn inward  upon itself and to      
separate the thing known or felt from   
that which  knows and feels1 in that    
moment the ,thing stands a whole        
infinity away  from the #8,i'2 they are 
separated by the analytic faculty of the
 ,ego and  they can never by that       
faculty be reunited4 ,the state of being
 an  #8,i' is essentially a state of    
analytic consciousness4 ,the intuitions 
of space and time are simply the        
instruments by which the analytic       
faculty works1 for it is only by their  
relations in space and time that  things
 in the world can be divided and        
distinguished by the intellect4  ,this  
analytic faculty has1 it must be noted1 
an unbounded power of  disintegration4  
,it does not spare even the ,ego itself1
 which it reduces  to a mere flux of    
sensations4 ,there is no answer to its  
destructive  logic except the sufficient
 one1 that this boundless power of      
analysis  in both directions1 inward and
 outward1 is simply a function          

inevitably  bound up with being an #8,i'
 at all--it is because of that function 
that  ,i am an #8,i4' ,every being      
possessing #8,i'-hood must1 eo ipso1 be 
capable of reducing all external things 
to its own sensations1 and of           
externalizing its own self4 ,one cannot 
be an #8,i' on any other terms4    ,now 
let us suppose that this analytic       
faculty did not exist1 and that         
consciousness went on1 as perhaps it    
does in beasts1 by acts of pure         
intuition1 without ever turning inward  
to regard itself1 without ever  making  
distinctions between external objects1  
save as a matter of  unreasoned         
sense-responsiveness2 what would the    
consequences be then8    ,clearly in    
that case object and subject would be   
one1 and knowledge1  so far as it went1 
would be absolute knowledge4 ,but it    
would neither  be true nor false1 since 
without analysis and comparison there   
could  be no criterion of truth and     
falsity4 ,nor1 similarly1 could the     

actions springing from this state of    
what may be called ,impersonal          
,consciousness be either ethically good 
or bad in relation to the  creature     
which performed them4 ,in this state1   
things in space and time  would be seen 
simply as they really are--as moments in
 the life of the  ,spirit4    ,our      
relations with the ,whole1 then1 must be
 sought in this region of  pure         
impersonal consciousness1 which implies 
entire forgetfulness of  ,self1 entire  
surrender to the life-movement of the   
universe4 ,we can  understand now why   
man has always had yearnings for this   
state1 and has  so often sought to      
attain it by false means1 by the trance 
or ecstasy  produced through            
self-hypnotism1 drugs1 etc42 means      
ultimately and  necessarily destructive 
of their object since a self-regarding  
motive  lies at the root of them4    ,if
 there are illegitimate ways of         
attaining this state what1 it may be    
asked1 are the legitimate ones8 ,the    

difficulty of this question lies  in the
 fact that the state of impersonal      
consciousness disappears the  moment we 
begin to think about it4 ,we live in it1
 in fact1 a great deal  more than1 in   
our states of analytic                  
self-consciousness1 we have any  idea   
of4 ,but as a rule we only live in it   
with a part of our nature--the          
instinctive1 animal part4 ,to enter it  
with our whole nature1 to live  in it as
 ,man1 two ways have been found and     
these we call the way of  ,religion and 
the way of ,art2 or1 if we describe them
 by the faculties  respectively dominant
 in each1 as the way of ,love and the   
way of  ,beauty4 ,through these         
essentially harmonizing and synthesizing
 powers  ,man can for a while merge     
himself in the vast ocean of ,being1 and
  return from it1 renewed and purified1 
to the narrow confines of his  selfhood4
    ,but return he must2 for selfhood is
 not an accident or a deformity1  not a 
thing to be despised and shuffled off   

the moment we can get rid  of it4 ,it1  
also1 is a power of life1 and through it
 we are enabled to  harvest an immense  
store of experiences4 ,through the ,ego1
 no doubt1  with its rapacious egotisms1
 come sin and wrong into the world2 but1
  as ,heracleitus finely says1 8,men    
would not have known the name of        
,justice if these things had not been40 
,moreover1 man has to act as  well as to
 be and to feel4 ,for all complex       
action1 regarding distant  ends and     
involving choice and discrimination1 the
 faculty of analysis1  with which       
selfhood is bound up1 is absolutely     
essential4 ,man is not  to be raised in 
the scale of being by cutting away any  
part of his  nature1 but by developing  
the whole harmoniously2 and the analytic
  self-consciousness is harmonized with 
the impersonal consciousness when  the  
one is used to translate into its own   
sphere the experiences of the  other--to
 fashion in the visible and material    
life some counterpart of  the realities 

known in the spirit4          ,,appendix
 ,b    ,,co-,,operation ,,and           
,,competition      ,in ,kropotkin's     
,mutual ,aid3 ,a ,factor in ,evolution1 
it seems to me 7for  all that it finds  
little favour with some men of science7 
that real  light has been thrown on     
certain principles of cardinal          
importance  which had been obscured in  
the too exclusive contemplation of the  
,darwinian principle of the survival of 
the fittest in the struggle for  life4  
,ample proof is given by ,kropotkin of  
the truth of the following  passage3--  
8,as soon as we study animals--not in   
laboratories and museums      only1 but 
in the forest and the prairie1 in the   
steppe and the      mountains--we at    
once perceive that though there is an   
immense      amount of warfare and      
extermination going on amidst various   
species1 and especially among various   
classes of animals1 there is1      at   
the same time1 as much1 or perhaps even 
more1 of mutual support1      mutual    

aid1 and mutual defence amidst animals  
belonging to the same      species1 or1 
at least1 to the same society4          
,sociability is as much      a law of   
nature as mutual struggle4 ,of course it
 would be extremely      difficult to   
estimate1 however roughly1 the relative 
numerical      importance of both these 
series of facts4 ,but if we resort to an
      indirect test1 and ask ,nature3   
#8,who are the fittest3 those who       
are continually at war with each other1 
or those who support one      another8' 
we at once see that those animals which 
acquire habits      of mutual aid are   
undoubtedly the fittest4 ,they have more
 chances      to survive1 and they      
attain1 in their respective classes1 the
      highest development of            
intelligence and bodily organization4   
,if      the numberless facts which can 
be brought forward to support this      
view are taken into account1 we may     
safely say that mutual aid is      as   
much a law of animal life as mutual     

struggle1 but that1 as a      factor of 
evolution1 it most probably has a far   
greater importance1      inasmuch as it 
favours the development of such habits  
and      characters as ensure the       
maintenance and further development of  
the      species1 together with the     
greatest amount of welfare and enjoyment
      of life for the individual1 with  
the least waste of energy0 7pp4 #e1     
#f4 #aijc74    ,from the mass of facts  
which ,kropotkin has adduced in support 
of the  above-quoted view1 ,i cannot    
forbear quoting one1 an observation of  
his  own1 relating to a creature of by  
no means high organization3--           
8,as to the big ,molucca crab           
7,limulus71 ,i was struck 7in #ahhb1 at 
the ,brighton ,aquarium7 with the extent
 of mutual assistance which      these  
clumsy animals are capable of bestowing 
upon a comrade in      case of need4    
,one of them had fallen upon its back in
 a corner of      the tank1 and its     
heavy1 saucepan-like carapace prevented 

it from      returning to its natural   
position1 the more so as there was in   
the      corner an iron bar which       
rendered the task still more difficult4 
,its comrades came to the rescue1 and   
for one hour's time ,i watched      how 
they endeavoured to help their          
fellow-prisoner4 ,they came two      at 
once1 pushed their friend from beneath1 
and after strenuous      efforts        
succeeded in lifting it upright2 but    
then the iron bar      would prevent    
them from achieving the work of rescue1 
and the crab      would again fall      
heavily upon its back4 ,after many      
attempts1 one      of the helpers would 
go in the depth of the tank and bring   
two      other crabs1 which would begin 
with fresh forces the same pushing      
and lifting of their helpless comrade4  
,we stayed in the ,aquarium      for    
more than two hours1 and1 when leaving1 
we again came to cast a      glance upon
 the tank3 the work of rescue still     
continued6 ,since ,i      saw that1 ,i  

cannot refuse credit to the observation 
quoted by ,dr4      ,erasmus ,darwin1   
namely1 that #8the common crab during   
the moulting      season stations as    
sentinel an unmoulted or hard-shelled   
individual      to prevent marine       
enemies from injuring moulted           
individuals in      their unprotected   
state'0 7pp4 #aj1 #ab74 _/              
,,appendix ,c    ,,is ,,life ,,worth    
,,living8      ,this grave question is1 
according to ,mr4 ,herbert ,spencer1 one
 which  must be 8definitely raised and  
answered before entering on any ethical 
discussion0 7,data of ,ethics1  #i74 ,he
 goes on to restate it in the  form3    
,does life yield 8a surplus of          
pleasurable feeling over painful        
feeling80 and he argues that 8goodness  
or badness can be ascribed to  acts     
which subserve life or hinder life only 
on this supposition0 7  #aj74 ,but can  
one really strike a balance between     
pleasures and pains in  human life8 ,mr4
 ,spencer himself admits1 later on1 that

 pleasures and  pains1 8unlike in their 
kinds1 intensities and times of         
occurrence1  are incommensurable0 7     
#eg74 ,moreover1 the maintenance of life
 in the  present day means passing it on
 for countless generations ahead1 and   
how can we feel satisfied that the      
conditions then existing will make  more
 for pleasure than for pain1 even       
assuming that they do so now8  ,the     
question1 then1 whether it is good to   
maintain life does not seem  capable of 
philosophic decision on this ground4    
,mr4 ,spencer's sense of logic1 however1
 seems to me to be here at fault  as    
well as his fundamental conception of   
ethics4 ,the question which  he begins  
by asking is not the question which he  
ends by answering4  ,in the original    
question1 ,is life worth living8 a      
comparison is set  up between living and
 not-living4 ,but we find this merging1 
in ,mr4  ,spencer's mind1 into the quite
 different comparison of one kind of    
living with another kind of living--the 

pleasurable and the painful4  ,let us   
translate the original question into the
 language of ,mr4  ,spencer's ethical   
system4 ,in that system 8the good is    
universally the  pleasurable0 7 #aj74   
,the word #8worth1' then1 connotes      
pleasure1 and the  question resolves    
itself simply into this1 ,is it more    
pleasurable to  live than not to live8  
,seeing that in not-living there is no  
pleasure  at all1 the only possible     
answer is an affirmative--the question  
answers  itself4 ,and in fact this must 
always be the case whatever connotation 
we attach to the word #8worth1' for life
 has at any rate possibilities1  whereas
 not-living has none4 ,the question1    
then1 8of late so much  agitated10 is   
really a nonsense question1 and the     
reason why it is  necessarily devoid of 
meaning will appear at once when we     
analyze the  terms4 ,for #8worth1'      
#8goodness1' #8blessedness1'            
#8pleasure1' and so  forth1 are simply  
terms of life and have no significance  

whatever  apart from it4 ,so the        
question1 ,is it better to live than not
 to live8  is merely the same thing as  
to ask1 ,is there more life in living   
than  in not living8 ,instead1          
therefore1 of the unverifiable          
assumption on  which ,spencer bases his 
system of ethics1 that life yields on   
the whole  a surplus of pleasure over   
pain1 we merely affirm the indubitable  
proposition that it yields a surplus of 
life4    ,from another side than that of
 the ,spencerian ethics1 however1 it may
  be argued1 against the conception     
which we are trying to substitute  for  
it1 that1 if ,life is something more    
than the physical phenomena  attending  
it on earth1 if1 in fact1 it is what we 
call #8immortal1' we  need be at no     
pains to preserve it for ourselves or   
others in the form  in which we find it 
going on here1 since death can merely   
have the  effect of translating it into 
another form4    ,true2 but suppose us  
to hold as lightly by that form as we   

are urged  to do by this--suppose us to 
show no persistence in any of the forms 
of being into which our life may pass1  
what kind of life would be  realizable  
under such conditions of eternal        
volatility8 ,could life  ever have risen
 above the stage of the ,amba if the    
,amba had not  the instinct to maintain 
itself on earth8 ,can ,man ever hope to 
rise to  anything higher without a      
strong element of continuity1 of fixity1
 of  #8fighting it out on these lines'  
in his feeling about the form of life   
in which he actually finds himself8 ,it 
is through the thousand ties of  duty   
and service1 love and joy1 which we form
 with the visible world  around us that 
we realize the highest life of which we 
are at present  capable4 ,a light-minded
 readiness to snap those ties would     
imply an  incapacity for forming them4  
,here1 as always1 we find that ,nature  
tells  us nothing to any good purpose   
unless we look at her as an organic     
whole4 ,one cannot live by any isolated 

principle or factor1 however  great and 
true4          ,,appendix ,d    ,,st4   
,,francis ,,the ,,poet      ,no one can 
read ,st4 ,francis's one poem1 the      
,canticle of the ,sun1  without feeling 
that had poetry claimed and won him in  
time1 his might  have been one of the   
greatest and sweetest of ,italian       
voices4 ,the story  of its composition  
has a touching beauty4 ,towards the end 
of his life1  when in the deepest       
dejection over the failure of his ,order
 to live  the life of joyful humility1  
unworldliness1 and poverty to which he  
had pledged it1 he came1 blind and ill1 
to ,s4 ,clare's ,convent at ,st4        
,damien1 on his way to ,rieti1 where his
 malady was to be treated4 ,in  this    
darkest hour of his life the untroubled 
faith and loving sympathy  of his old   
friend brought consolation and peace to 
his torn spirit4 ,she  made him1 it is  
said1 a cell of reeds in the convent    
garden1 where he  could be free to come 
and go as he wished4 8,little by        

little10 writes  ,paul ,sabatier in his 
,vie de ,s4 ,franois1 8the man of       
ancient days  revived in him1 and at    
times the ,sisters heard the echo of    
strange  chants1 which mingled with the 
murmuring of the pines and olives1 and  
which seemed to come from the cell of   
reeds40 ,one day1 after a long          
conversation with ,clare1 he had sat    
down at the monastery table for         
refection4 ,scarcely had he begun to eat
 when he fell into a kind of  trance4   
8,praise be to ,god60 he cried1 on      
coming to himself4 ,he had  completed   
the ,canticle of the ,sun4    ,it is    
said that for a week afterwards he      
forgot his breviary1 and  passed his    
days in repeating to himself the        
strophes of his wonderful  poem--a work 
in which1 for all its religious ardour1 
the note of  asceticism is little       
apparent2 unless one sees it in his     
usual quaint  adoption of the things of 
creation into a religious community6 ,i 
append  a literal translation1 omitting 

two later verses composed for special   
occasions and not belonging to the first
 pure inspiration4 ,it is  written in   
unrhymed irregular stanzas3--           
,,canticle ,,of ,,the ,,sun        ,most
 high1 all-powerful1 good ,lord1        
thine are praises1 glory1 honour and all
 benediction4          ,to ,thee alone1 
,most high1 they are due1          and  
no man is worthy to name ,thee4         
,have praise1 ,lord1 with all ,thy      
creatures1          especially ,brother 
my ,lord the ,sun4          ,he gives   
the day1 and by him ,thou showest light1
          and he is beautiful and       
radiant1 with great splendour4          
,of ,thee1 ,most ,high1 he is the       
symbol4        ,have praise1 ,lord1 for 
,sister ,moon and for the ,stars2       
in the sky ,thou hast formed them1      
bright1 precious and beautiful4         
,have praise1 ,lord1 for ,brother ,wind1
          and for the ,air and the      
,clouds1 and for the clear sky1 and for 
every kind of weather1          by which

 ,thou givest sustenance to all ,thy    
creatures4        ,have praise1 ,lord1  
for ,sister ,water          who is so   
serviceable and humble and precious and 
chaste4        ,have praise1 ,lord1 for 
,brother ,fire1          by whom ,thou  
dost illuminate the night4          ,he 
is handsome and gay1 bold and strong4   
,have praise1 ,lord1 for ,sister our    
,mother1 the ,earth1          who       
nourishes and takes care of us1         
and brings forth divers fruits with     
coloured flowers1            and the    
grass4        ,praise ye and bless the  
,lord and render thanks to ,him1        
and serve ,him with great humility6     
,,appendix ,e    ,,isabella ,,and       
,,claudio      ,the ethics of           
sex-relations has always formed a       
crucial question in  ethical systems4   
,let me recall a remarkable debate upon 
it which  took place recently between a 
champion of the ,spencerian system1 ,dr4
  ,saleeby1 and ,mr4 ,w4 ,s4 ,lilly1 who
 represented1 of course1 the view of    

,catholic orthodoxy4    ,mr4 ,lilly1 in 
an article on ,shakespere's ,religion   
contributed to  the ,fortnightly ,review
 for ,june1 #aijd1 was led to dwell on  
8the  strikingly ,catholic ethos of the 
play ,measure for ,measure1 informed  as
 it is by the idea1 quite alien from the
 ,protestant mind1 of the  surpassing   
excellence and sacrosanct character of  
virginal chastity40  ,hazlitt1 whom ,mr4
 ,lilly takes to represent the typical  
,protestant view1  had declared himself 
8not greatly enamoured0 of ,isabella's  
inflexible  purity1 and had expressed   
his want of 8confidence in the virtue   
that is  sublimely good at another's    
expense40 ,mr4 ,lilly added that        
,spencer's  teaching would have         
countenanced ,hazlitt's judgment and    
enjoined upon  ,isabella compliance with
 ,angelo's desire4 ,dr4 ,saleeby having 
denounced  this as an 8outrageous0      
perversion of ,spencer's meaning1 ,mr4  
,lilly  vindicates himself in a letter  
to the ,fortnightly as follows3--       

8,i pointed1 in a letter appearing in   
your ,july number1 to ,mr4              
,spencer's express declaration1 in the  
,data of ,ethics1 that the      elements
 out of which the conceptions of right  
and wrong are      framed are pleasures 
and pains1 and that #8conduct is        
considered      by us as good or bad1   
according as its aggregate results to   
self      or others1 or both1 are       
pleasurable or painful4' ,i concluded1  
therefore1 that if we are to go by ,mr4 
,spencer's #8scientific      ethics1'   
,isabella ought to have been willing to 
make the sacrifice      of her virginity
 in order to prevent the disagreeable   
feeling      which would be caused to   
herself through the loss of a beloved   
brother1 to ,claudio through the process
 of decapitation1 and to      ,angelo   
through disappointed desire1 and thus to
 have procured1 as      #8aggregate     
results1' a great balance of pleasure   
over pain to all      concerned0        
7,fortnightly ,review1 ,september1      

#aijf74    ,dr4 ,saleeby's answer to    
this is the obvious one that the        
,spencerian  ethics do not contemplate  
immediate personal pleasures and pains1 
but  rather ultimate utility to the race
 at large1 and that 8,isabella's        
virtue1 if merely by example alone1     
would make for the strengthening  of the
 society in which she found herself40   
,mr4 ,lilly then practically  surrenders
 his first position--he admits that     
,spencer's 8scientific  ethics0 are     
intended to have little or no concern   
with the immediate  sensations of       
,isabella1 ,claudio1 and ,angelo1 but he
 turns to confront  ,dr4 ,saleeby and   
,spencer from a new and much stronger   
position4 ,what  claim1 he asks1 have   
8scientific ethics0 on the individual8  
,ultimate  utility for the race might   
7if one could estimate it correctly7 be 
taken as giving us the what of moral    
action1 but can it ever give  us the    
why8 ,isabella was not thinking of      
8ultimate utility0 in  her refusal1 but 

of the laws that ,sophocles wrote of so 
memorably1  8unwritten and invincible   
laws which ever live1 and no man knows  
their  birthplace40 ,she was not        
thinking of the effect of her           
example--her  action would have been1   
and ought to have been1 just the same   
though  she had had the most complete   
assurance that none but ,angelo and     
herself would ever know the reason for  
,claudio's pardon4 ,the motive  which   
constrained her was derived from the    
system of ethics which  ,spencer's was  
constructed to replace4 ,this new system
 has never  succeeded in supplying an   
answer to the demand of the individual  
man or  woman1 #8,what is the advantage 
of the race to me that ,i should        
sacrifice  the least of my inclinations 
for its sake8' ,but till that piercing  
question is answered1 all hedonistic    
systems1 however elaborate and  perfect 
their fabric1 are building on 8wood1    
hay1 stubble40 ,touch their  foundations
 with the pitiless edge of that         

question1 and in a moment  they are in  
the dust4 ,so far1 in effect1 ,mr4      
,lilly4    ,before we go on to deal with
 these conflicting views of the ethical 
problem in ,measure for ,measure1 let us
 take a parallel presentation in        
literature of the same problem1 in which
 the implied judgment of the  dramatist 
appears entirely different4             
,maeterlinck1 in his ,monna ,vanna1     
shows us a beautiful and high-souled    
woman1 the loving and faithful  wife of 
the commandant of the city of ,pisa4    
,the city is beleaguered  by foes1 its  
power of defence is at an end1 an       
assault is imminent1  and the           
inhabitants will be exposed to all the  
havoc and outrage which  attended       
warfare in the days when the conceptions
 so much prized by ,mr4  ,lilly held    
undisputed sway4 ,the captain of the    
besieging ,florentine  forces1 a great  
soldier of fortune named ,prinzivalle1  
had been an  ancient playmate of ,monna 
,vanna1 and1 unknown to her1 had been   

her  ardent lover4 ,being entreated for 
mercy1 he sends an ultimatum4 ,let      
,monna ,vanna spend a night in his tent1
 and he will provision the city  and    
withdraw his army next day4 ,amid the   
indignation and distraction  which the  
cruel dilemma causes in the household of
 the prince1 ,monna  ,vanna's resolve   
shapes and hardens itself4 ,she decides 
to sacrifice  herself for the city4 ,but
 ,prinzivalle finds her a woman of      
marble4  ,her soul is so high-strung    
with heroic devotion that she regards   
her  body as little as a cast-off       
rag--she is become as incapable of fear 
or shrinking as she is of base desire4  
,his passion is chilled by the  icy     
completeness of her self-surrender1     
while all that is noble in him  responds
 to her nobility1 and the city is saved 
without the terrible  sacrifice which   
she was ready to perform4    ,such is   
the tale of ,monna ,vanna1 so far as it 
concerns our present  discussion4 ,in   
reading it1 it is impossible not to feel

 that she was  right1 just as in reading
 ,measure for ,measure it is impossible 
not to  feel that ,isabella was right4  
,what has a system of natural ethics1 a 
system based on the conception of life  
and nature put forward in this  book1 to
 say upon the searching ethical question
 involved in these two  great dramas8   
,it is not an easy nor a pleasant       
question to subject to  philosophic     
analysis1 but it is a very important and
 critical one4    ,in the first place   
neither science nor sense will1 ,i      
think1 agree with  ,mr4 ,lilly's        
estimate of 8the surpassing excellence  
and sacrosanct  character of virginal   
chastity40 ,virginity1 in itself and    
apart  from all qualifying              
circumstances1 is the reverse of        
excellent and  admirable4 ,it means     
death1 not life2 it violates nature4    
,what is really  sound doctrine in this 
connexion is not the sanctity and       
excellence  of virginity1 but the deep  
degradation of making sexual relations a

  subject of barter4 ,wherever this     
prevails1 whatever the church and the   
law may or may not have had to do with  
the transaction1 the beauty and  romance
 of life is blighted and destroyed4     
,there is no conquest of  culture which 
should be guarded more devotedly than   
the dignity and  sweetness which are    
brought into the relations of man and   
woman by  love1 as the great poets have 
understood that word1 love moving in its
  guarded circle of mutual trust and    
intimacy4 ,a life is well lost in       
defence of this most sacred treasure of 
the spirit4    ,isabella and ,monna     
,vanna both felt this truth in the      
depths of their  nature as all good     
women do4 ,yet absolute laws of action  
can rarely1  if ever1 be laid down to   
cover every individual case4 ,one can   
conceive  either of them deciding as    
,monna ,vanna actually did4 ,but in the 
realm  of high tragedy which we are now 
dealing with1 where principles and      
actions have a simplicity and integrity 

rarely found in common life1  it must be
 felt that neither of them could have   
taken up life again as  if nothing had  
happened4 ,had they recognized that     
there were higher  reasons stringent    
enough to compel them to tread the way  
to that  sacrifice1 they would1 ,i      
think1 like the ,roman ,lucretia1 have  
solemnly  marked it with their          
life-blood as an expiation1 and as a    
warning1 were  it only to ,prinzivalle  
or ,angelo1 that such a thing must not  
be done  save at the most terrible cost 
that man can pay4 ,for ,isabella1 then1 
the problem would practically resolve   
itself into the question whether  she   
should surrender her own life for that  
of a single worthless  relative4 ,there 
was no moral obligation on her to do    
that4 ,had she  loved him so intensely  
as to go willingly to her doom for his  
sake1 no  one could have blamed her2 no 
one could blame her if she refused1 and 
bade him summon up his manhood to die   
for his own sin4    ,but in ,monna      

,vanna's case it was not a single life  
that was at stake1  but the life and    
honour of a multitude of men and women  
with whose  protection1 moreover1 she   
was1 in part1 charged by the high       
position  she held in their midst4 ,if  
right and wrong are to be interpreted as
  ,mr4 ,lilly would interpret them1     
solely with regard to the arbitrary     
commands of a supernatural ,power1 then 
the extent to which a given  action may 
influence life can hardly be a matter of
 any moment4 ,on the  other hand1 in    
,spencer's scheme1 with its criterion of
 the greatest  ultimate pleasure of the 
greatest number1 hardly anything else   
can  matter except precisely this       
question of the extent or area affected 
by our action4 ,in the scheme of natural
 ethics which ,i am trying  to commend1 
and which1 if ,i am right1 grows        
logically out of the  conception of a   
living universe1 the element of extent  
has its due  place in determining       
action1 but none in fixing the character

 of the  action4 ,and this1 it may be   
observed1 is just what the good sense of
  humanity has practically arrived at in
 its daily judgments and doings4  ,no   
ordinary man would be required by any   
ethical law to lay down his  life as a  
substitute for another who had no claim 
on him4 ,but for a  community1 or a man 
such as a sovran1 who for the time      
represents a  community and embodies its
 interests1 it would be thought base not
 to  die if occasion demanded it4 ,and  
so ,monna ,vanna might rightly feel     
herself constrained to do for her city  
what ,isabella was in no way  required  
to do for a brother1 but the quality of 
the action would  remain in each case   
the same1 and the tragedy could have    
ended nobly  only in the one stern way4 
,on the general question of the ordering
 of sex-relations1 it needs no  argument
 to show that the conditions fixed by   
nature forbid them1 in  the interests of
 life1 to be casual and fleeting4 ,on   
the other hand  to require that1 when   

these relations have once been entered  
into1 no  vices1 no cruelty1 no variance
 of any kind on either side would       
justify  the dissolution of the         
connexion and the formation of a new    
one1 is  surely a superstitious         
exaggeration of a principle in itself   
right and  sound4 ,probably the law and 
practice in ,england at the present day 
are as good a rough approximation to a  
sound marriage system as man  has yet   
devised2 with1 however1 this large      
qualification1 that cases  of divorce   
when they come before the law should be 
heard in camera4  ,the ,anglo-,saxon has
 not yet got rid of all his             
superstitions1 and his  belief in       
salvation by publicity is distinctly one
 of them4          ,,footnotes3      #a 
,metabolism3 see p4 #bg4    #b ,j4      
,reinke4 ,die ,welt als ,tat1 p4 #agc4  
,the term #8development'  7,entwicklung7
 includes both what we commonly         
understand by that term  7as1 the       
transformation of an embryo into a      

complete animal7 and also  what we call 
,evolution1 the development of one      
species into another4    #c ,see p4 #bd4
    #d ,sylva ,sylvarum1 ,century ,,vi4 
#e ,zoonomia1 ,vol4 ,,ii1 p4 #bdg1 third
 edition1 #ahja4 ,darwin is here        
adopting ,david ,hume's conjecture1     
which is worked out in some detail in   
the ,zoonomia1 the conclusion being that
 probably 8one and the same kind  of    
living filaments is and has been the    
cause of all organic life0 7p4  #bdd74  
,he attributed evolution to internal    
forces impressed on living  matter by   
the ,creator4    #f ,he taught that     
nature had produced a multitude of      
disconnected  parts which afterwards    
combined and recombined at random until 
the  appropriate parts had come together
 and remained stable4    #g           4 
4                                       
,jac4 ,anth41 ,,ii1 #bj4    #h 8,it has 
lately become the fashion1 at least     
among the younger  school of biologists1
 to attach small value to natural       

selection1 if  not1 indeed1 to regard it
 as a superseded formula40 7,a4         
,weismann1 ,the  ,evolution ,theory1    
,engl4 trans41 ,,ii1 #cia47    #i ,text 
,book of ,botany1 p4 #c4 ,english       
translation by ,dr4 ,h4 ,c4 ,porter1    
#ahih4 ,in the fifth ,german edition1   
which served as the basis of a  revised 
,english translation 7#aijc71 another   
passage 7taking note of ,de  ,vries'    
,mutations ,theory7 is substituted for  
the above quoted1 but the  essential    
meaning is the same4    #aj ,leitfaden  
in das ,studium der experimentellen     
,biologie der  ,wassertiere1 p4 #fg4    
,the subject is ably treated by         
,keyserling1 ,das  ,gefge der ,welt1 p4 
#aij4    #aa ,for instance1 the         
development of an embryo in the womb    
takes place  in strict accordance with  
physico-chemical laws4 ,but withdraw the
  element which we call life and how    
different a set of processes would  at  
once supervene6 ,yet the physical       
energies in the embryo would remain  in 

amount exactly what they were before4   
#ab ,see ,weismann1 ,the ,evolution     
,theory1 ,,ii1 #ceh4    #ac ,for my own 
part1 ,i may say ,i have a difficulty in
 conceiving the  ,divine under the human
 and limited category of intelligent    
personality4    #ad ,das ,gefge der     
,welt1 ,hermann ,graf v4 ,keyserling1   
#aijf4    #ae ,see ,appendix ,a4    #af 
,see ,jagadis ,chunder ,bose1 ,response 
in the ,living and the  ,non-,living1   
passim4 ,the following passage sums up  
the results of  many delicate           
experiments in the response to          
electrical stimulus4  8,we have seen10  
writes the ,indian physicist1 8that the 
criterion by  which vital response is   
differentiated is its abolition by the  
action  of certain reagents--the        
so-called poisons4 ,we find1 however1   
that  #8poisons' also abolish the       
response in plants and metals4 ,just as 
animal tissues pass from a state of     
responsiveness while living to  a state 
of irresponsiveness when killed by      

poisons1 so also we find  metals        
transformed from a responsive to an     
irresponsive condition by  the action of
 similar poisonous reagents0 7p4 #ahh74 
#ag ,at a meeting of the ,british       
,association in #aije1 ,professor ,h4   
,a4 ,miers1 in a lecture on #8,the      
,growth of a ,crystal1' is reported to  
have said1 ,the most wonderful feature  
of crystals was the manner  in which    
they grew1 just as though they were     
living things4 ,two  features deserved  
special attention4 ,the first was the   
remarkable  power crystals possessed of 
healing themselves when mutilated4 ,if a
  growing crystal were removed from a   
solution1 broken at one of its  corners1
 and re-immersed in the solution1 it    
would continue to grow1  and as it grew 
would restore the missing part1 and     
become once more a  completely          
symmetrical figure4 ,this power of      
continuing to grow was  possessed by a  
crystal even after countless ages1 so   
soon as it was  immersed into the       

appropriate solution4 ,in this sense the
 crystal was  immortal1 for it never    
lost its vitality1 or power of growing4 
,the  other remarkable feature was the  
growth of crystals in over-saturated    
solutions4 ,in solutions only slightly  
over-saturated1 no spontaneous          
generation of crystals was possible4 ,it
 was true that a solution only  slightly
 over-saturated would often begin to    
crystallize1 apparently  spontaneously1 
when exposed to the air1 but this was   
because there were  minute crystal      
fragments of the dissolved substance    
floating about in  the air which got    
into the solution with the dust and so  
inoculated  the solution with crystal   
germs1 just as the human body might be  
inoculated with disease by a disease    
germ4 ,if these germs were kept  out1   
the solution would not crystallize until
 it was very strongly  over-saturated1  
and then1 at a certain strength1 it     
would suddenly  begin to crystallize    
spontaneously and with great            

rapidity4--,times1  ,august #e1 #aijg4  
#ah ,the ,nature and ,origin of ,life   
7,eng4 trans471 p4 #bej4    #ai ,it is  
not to be assumed1 however1 that these  
substances are merely  passive objects  
in the process4 ,the life which is in   
them has doubtless  as much to do with  
the result as the life which is in the  
plant4 ,this  is a side of the question 
which calls for further investigation4  
#bj ,it is however suggested by         
,professor ,e4 ,ray ,lankester1 in his  
article1 #8,protozoa1' in the           
,encyclopdia ,britannica1 that the most 
primitive forms of organic life did not 
possess chlorophyll but fed on          
albuminoids1 etc41 which constituted the
 earliest steps in their own  evolution4
    #ba ,in ,beddard's ,animal          
,coloration note is taken of the green  
fur of  the sloth as a most uncommon if 
not unique phenomenon4 ,it has been     
ascertained that the sloth has grooved  
or fluted hairs1 which form the  habitat
 of a minute green fungus to which the  

colour is due4    #bb ,or starch1 which 
easily decomposes into sugar1 and which 
is  composed of the same elements4      
#bc ,ray ,lankester1 op4 cit4    #bd    
,verworn1 ,general ,physiology1 pp4     
#ajb1 #dgh3 8,physiological  chemistry  
has shown that between the two kinds of 
substance very  essential chemical      
differences exist1 which prove that     
living substance  experiences in dying  
pronounced chemical changes4 ,a         
widespread  difference between the two  
consists in their reaction4 ,the        
reaction  of living substance is almost 
without exception alkaline or neutral1  
and with death changes usually to       
acid4444 ,physiological chemistry has   
shown similar changes in death in great 
number4 ,all these facts prove  that in 
the death of living cell-substance      
certain chemical compounds  undergo     
transformations2 hence substances exist 
in it which are not to  be found in dead
 cell-substance40    #be ,in #ahib4 ,an 
,english translation of ,btschli's work 

on ,microscopic  ,foams and ,protoplasm1
 by ,e4 ,a4 ,minchin1 appeared in #ahid4
 ,the nucleus  is really a form of      
protoplasm1 chiefly differentiated from 
the  #8cytoplasm1' or protoplasm of the 
cell1 by containing a large amount of   
phosphorus4    #bf ,the ,cell in        
,development and ,inheritance1 #bnd     
edition1 p4 #i4    #bg ,by ,j4 ,a4 and  
,m4 ,r4 ,thomson1 #aijd4    #bh ,the    
,evolution ,theory1 ,,ii1 p4 #cia4      
#bi ,ibid41 ,i1 p4 #cfh4    #cj ,ibid41 
,i1 p4 #djd4    #ca ,the ,evolution     
,theory1 ,i1 p4 #cec4    #cb ,ibid41    
,,ii1 p4 #eb4    #cc ,but note the      
transition stage exemplified in the     
natural history  of crystals 7vide p4   
#bb74    #cd 8,it has been ,weismann's  
great service to place the keystone     
between the work of the evolutionists   
and that of the cytologists1 and  thus  
to bring the cell-theory and the        
evolution-theory into organic           
connexion0 7,e4 ,b4 ,wilson1 ,the ,cell1
 p4 #ac74    #ce ,prof4 ,wilson's work  

on the cell 7see note on p4 #cc7 may be 
referred to for a comprehensive and     
detailed statement of all that is  known
 at present on this subject4    #cf     
,according to ,wilson 7op4 cit47 this   
was guessed by ,haeckel in  #ahff1 and  
confirmed in #ahhd-e by the almost      
simultaneous discoveries of  ,o4        
,hertwig1 ,strasburger1 ,klliker1 and   
,weismann4    #cg ,sixteen have been    
counted in the human cell4 ,a           
grasshopper has  twelve1 a lily         
twenty-four4 ,the number is almost      
always an even one1  but as with        
everything in ,nature there are         
exceptions to the rule4    #ch ,the     
process briefly described above is that 
of #8mitotic' division  71 a thread1    
from the appearance of the chromosomes74
 ,amitotic  division1 in which the cell 
and nucleus simply divide in two without
  the formation of chromosomes1 also    
occurs under certain conditions1 but  is
 usually an abnormal or degenerative    
process 7cf4 ,wilson1 ,the ,cell1  pp4  

#aaf-aai74    #ci 8,every animal appears
 as a sum of vital entities1 each of    
which bears within itself the complete  
character of life0 7,virchow1           
,cellular-pathologie1 p4 #ab1 #aheh74   
#dj ,weismann1 ,the ,evolution ,theory1 
,i1 #bea4    #da ,it is cast out into   
the cytoplasm--the substance surrounding
 the  nucleus--where it degenerates 7see
 ,wilson1 ,the ,cell1 p4 #adg74    #db  
,amb4 ,see p4 #cj4    #dc ,the          
,evolution ,theory1 ,i1 #bfe4    #dd    
,the ,cell1 p4 #agh4    #de ,scientific 
,papers and ,addresses1 ,,ii1 pp4       
#hfb-c4    #df ,english trans41 #bnd    
edition 7#aijc71 p4 #aei4    #dg ,the   
,cell1 p4 #dcd4    #dh ,against this    
view might be quoted the fact that the  
unfertilized  eggs sometimes laid by the
 workers 7imperfect females7 of bee and 
ant  communities always develop into    
drones4    #di ,pp4 #bfb-c4 ,the bird   
was examined by ,prof4 ,max ,weber1 of  
,amsterdam1  and ,mr4 ,beddard refers to
 the ,zoologischer ,anzeiger for #ahij1 

p4 #ejh1  for ,weber's account of the   
case4    #ej ,the now famous ,mendelian 
,law of ,inheritance1 first discovered  
in  #ahfe by ,mendel1 an ,augustinian   
monk and ,abbott of ,brnn1 and          
completely  ignored till the year #aijj1
 when it was rediscovered by ,de ,vries 
and  others1 is also strongly           
confirmatory of ,weismann's analysis of 
the  principle of heredity4 ,according  
to this law it is possible1 as it  were1
 to isolate any particular              
characteristic of a species or even  7if
 heritable7 of an individual1 and by a  
definite system of crossing  to attach  
this characteristic alone to any other  
variety capable  of crossing with the   
first4 ,this means that inheritance is  
governed  by separable units of         
formative energy4 ,these units are      
,weismann's  determinants4 ,the         
discovery of the methods of turning this
 principle  to practical account is     
obviously of great importance for       
agriculture  and stockbreeding4 ,the law

 has some inexplicable limitations which
 are  now closely engaging the attention
 of biologists4 ,it is impossible to    
enter upon the subject more fully here1 
but a good account of it will  be found 
in ,lock's ,recent ,progress in the     
,study of ,variation1 and in a          
brochure1 ,an ,address on ,mendelian    
,heredity1 by ,w4 ,bateson1 reprinted   
from ,brain1 pt4 cxiv1 #aijf4    #ea    
,the actual stimulus which prompts the  
division is probably to be  found in the
 disturbance of equilibrium which arises
 when the cell is  taking in more       
nutriment than its digestive system can 
deal with4 ,this1  of course1 does not  
explain why it should divide instead of 
dying of  indigestion4    #eb ,see      
,strasburger1 loc4 cit4    #ec ,the     
,evolution ,theory1 ,i1 #djb-c4    #ed  
,the subject of degenerated and lost    
organs is very fully treated  by ,m4    
,edmond ,perrier in his ,trait de       
,zoologie1 pp4 #cbe sqq4 ,it may  be    
noted that animals which are fixed      

usually lack eyes1 even in  light4 ,in  
the depths of the sea1 where total      
darkness reigns except  for the         
phosphorescence emitted by certain      
animals1 it is found that  some         
creatures have completely lost their    
organs of sight1 while others  have them
 extraordinarily developed4 ,those which
 have lost them are the  walkers        
7,crustace72 those which show an        
exceptional development are  the        
swimmers4 ,this goes to show that the   
needs of the animal1 rather  than the   
external conditions1 are the determining
 cause4    ,cave fishes are all         
extremely sensitive to light1 which     
affects them  disagreeably1 even when   
the optic nerve is wholly destroyed4    
,see ,armand  ,vir1 ,la ,faune ,actuelle
 des ,cavernes1 ,revue des ,ides1 ,march
 #ae1  #aije1 and ,la ,faune            
,souterraine de ,france1 #aijj4    #ee  
,a4 ,r4 ,wallace1 ,darwinism1 chapters  
,,iii4 and ,,xv4    #ef ,origin of      
,species1 chapter ,,ii4    #eg ,sexual  

selection--the competition of males and 
females for their  mates--is merely a   
form of natural selection1 and need not 
be specially  dealt with here4    #eh   
,origin of ,species1 chapter ,v4    #ei 
,see ,eimer1 ,organic ,evolution 7,eng4 
trans471 pp4 #agc-ahd1 for a  full      
discussion of the question from the     
,lamarckian standpoint4    #fj          
#8,right-handedness and                 
,left-brainedness' by ,d4 ,j4           
,cunningham3 the  ,huxley ,lecture for  
#aijb4 ,printed in the ,journal of the  
,anthropological  ,institute1 ,vol4     
,,xxxii1 pp4 #bgc-ie4 ,i may refer also 
to a brochure  by ,dr4 ,geo4 ,sigerson1 
,f4,r4,u4,i41 ,consideration of the     
,structural and  ,acquisitional         
,elements in ,dextral ,pre-eminence1    
,dublin1 #ahhd4 ,dr4  ,sigerson believes
 that primitive man was ambidextrous1   
and that  #8dexterity' is a case of     
specialization of function1 and has     
supported  this view by a novel and     
interesting line of pathological        

observation4    #fa ,op4 cit41 p4 #bhe4 
#fb ,ibid41 pp4 #bhd-e4    #fc ,journal 
of ,anatomy and ,physiology1 ,vol4      
,,xxxvi1 p4 #dja4 #8,on the  relative   
weights of the right and left sides of  
the body in the foetus4'    #fd ,origin 
of ,species1 chap4 ,,vi4    #fe #8,the  
,inadequacy of ,natural ,selection1'    
,herbert ,spencer4  ,contemporary       
,review1 ,february and ,march1 #ahic4   
#8,prof4 ,weismann's ,theories1'        
,herbert ,spencer4 ,contemporary        
,review1  ,may1 #ahic4    #8,the        
,all-,sufficiency of ,natural           
,selection1' ,aug4 ,weismann4           
,contemporary ,review1 ,september1      
#ahic4    #8,a ,rejoinder to ,prof4     
,weismann1' ,herbert ,spencer4          
,contemporary  ,review1 ,december1      
#ahic4    ,the ,romanes ,lecture for    
#ahid1 by ,aug4 ,weismann 7,frowde74    
#ff #8,lamarck et le ,transformisme     
actuel'3 ,musum d',histoire ,naturelle1 
,centenaire2 ,vol4 ,commemoratif1 #aijc1
 p4 #ejh4 ,m4 ,perrier adds that  the   

metaphysical alternative 8est1 en effet1
  quoi le professeur ,a4  ,weismann1 de 
,fribourg1 a t conduit40 ,this1 ,i      
think1 can only be ,m4  ,perrier's way  
of saying that he finds ,weismann       
unintelligible1 for  ,weismann's        
ostensible object is certainly to steer 
between the ,scylla  of ,lamarckism and 
the ,charybdis of #8metaphysics4' ,with 
what success he  attempts this feat we  
shall see4    #fg ,the ,evolution       
,theory1 ,,ii1 p4 #gh4    #fh ,,ii1 p4  
#ccj sqq4    #fi ,the ,evolution        
,theory1 ,,ii41 #cdf4    #gj ,see p4    
#hc4    #ga ,the ,evolution ,theory1    
,,ii1 #bfd4    #gb ,i take this from ,j4
 ,t4 ,cunningham's ,sexual ,dimorphism1 
p4 #af4    #gc ,useless structures and  
organs are regarded by ,weismann1 and ,i
  think with justice1 as in some degree 
unfavourable4 ,they make demands  on the
 organism for nourishment1 and are thus 
in the position of  non-productive      
members of a working family4    #gd ,op4
 cit41 p4 #gc4 ,see ,appendix ,b4    #ge

 ,wallace1 ,darwinism1 p4 #bd4    #gf   
,animal ,coloration1 p4 #beb4    #gg    
,poulton1 ,the ,colours of ,animals1 p4 
#bch4    #gh ,ibid41 p4 #bcg4    #gi    
,see p4 #g1 note #b4    #hj ,eng4 trans4
 revised from fifth ,german edition1    
#aijc1 p4 #c4    #ha                    
,mechanisch-physiologische ,theorie der 
,abstammungslehre4 #ahhd4    #hb ,see   
especially ,organic ,evolution1 pp4 #eb1
 #c4    #hc ,organic ,evolution1 pp4    
#bbe1 #dcc4 ,eimer is a believer in the 
inheritance of acquired characteristics2
 hence ,oken's conception1  taken       
literally1 offers him a ready method of 
disposing of the  ant-problem dealt with
 on p4 #he1 sqq4    #hd ,organic        
,evolution1 p4 #bfh4    #he ,see ,eimer1
 ,organic ,evolution1 p4 #ace sqq4      
#hf p4 #fb4    #hg 8,it is10 writes     
,wilson1 8becoming more and more clearly
 apparent  444 that ,schwann went too   
far in denying the influence of the     
totality  of the organism upon the local
 activities of the cells4 ,it would  of 

course be absurd to maintain that the   
whole can consist of more  than the sum 
of its parts4 ,yet1 as far as growth and
 development are  concerned1 it has now 
been clearly demonstrated that only in a
 limited  sense can the cells be        
regarded as co-operating units4 ,they   
are rather  local centres of a formative
 power pervading the growing mass as a  
whole0 7,the ,cell1 pp4 #eh1 #i74       
,what ,prof4 ,wilson1 absorbed like most
 scientists in the consideration  of    
ponderable and visible masses1 assumes  
to be 8absurd0 is of course  the very   
thing which he is proving to be a fact  
,the whole can be not  merely the 8sum0 
but the synthesis of its parts4    #hh  
,die ,welt als ,that41 chap4 ,,xxiv4    
#hi ,loc4 cit4    #ij ,krfte zweiter    
,hand4 ,the primary forces are the      
chemical and  mechanical forces1 the    
secondary are those which control and   
guide  these for certain ends4    #ia   
,pp4 #i1 #aj4 ,the italics are ,prof4   
,henslow's4    #ib ,this statement taken

 literally is1 of course1 quite too     
sweeping4  ,professor ,henslow clearly  
means here by 8variations0 those alone  
which  are important enough to have     
selection-value1 favourable or          
otherwise4  ,insignificant variations   
are always occurring4    #ic ,henslow1  
,origin1 etc41 p4 #ajb4    #id ,ibid41  
p4 #hj4    #ie ,ibid41 p4 #dj4    #if   
,a4 ,r4 ,wallace1 ,darwinism 7#ahij71 p4
 #dbg4    #ig ,marie v4 ,chauvin1       
#8,ueber die ,verwandlungsfhigkeit des  
mexikanischen ,axolotl4' ,zeitschrift fr
 wissenschaftliche ,zoologie1  ,,xli1 p4
 #che4 ,see also ,the ,cambridge        
,natural ,history1 sub voce4    #ih     
,haeckel1 ,history of ,creation         
7,english trans471 ,i1 p4 #aej4    #ii  
,see also pp4 #ae1 #af4    #ajj ,j4 ,h4 
,newman4    #aja ,see ,principles of    
,sociology1 ,part ,,ii4    #ajb ,see    
,curtius1 ,griechische ,etymologie1     
s4v41 1 4    #ajc ,deus descends from a 
root meaning #8to shine1' hence the     
,day1  the ,sun1 ,god2  is referred by  

,curtius to a root 1 to desire1         
pray--,god is 8der ,angeflehte40    #ajd
 ,are there many ,englishmen who would  
understand the following  sentence which
 ,i lately came across in a ,st4 ,louis 
paper8 8,this graft  was one of the     
scrap-head variety1 and it was hard     
therefore to get the  boodlers good40   
#aje ,the #8wheel' is really a          
spiral--the line of all natural growth4 
#ajf ,see p4 #aaa4    #ajg ,origin of   
,species1 chapter ,,vi4    #ajh         
,mechanisch-,physiologische ,theorie der
 ,abstammungslehre1 p4 #aej4    #aji    
,weismann1 ,the ,evolution ,theory1 ,i1 
p4 #afb4    #aaj ,ibid41 ,i1 p4 #agg4   
#aaa ,so the cogwheels of a machine     
designed for some useful purpose  will  
lacerate the hand of a man who gets in  
their way4    #aab ,see p4 #he4    #aac 
,darwinism and the ,problems of ,life1  
#aijd4 ,eng4 transl4 by ,j4  ,mc,cabe1  
#aije1 pp4 #ced sqq4    #aad            
,orthogenesis der ,schmetterlinge       
7#ahig74 ,the passage will be found  in 

,kellogg's ,darwinism ,to-day1 p4 #bhe4 
,instances of #8regression1' etc41  are 
given by ,kellogg1 op4 cit41 p4 #bbg4   
#aae ,when ,heracleitus wrote 8,the ,one
 arises from the ,all and the  ,all from
 the ,one0 7,frag4 ,,lix4 ,bywater7 he  
was stating with his usual  pregnant    
brevity a position of deep significance 
for modern scientific  thought4    #aaf 
,it must be borne in mind that strict   
physical continuity does not  exist in  
nature4 ,sir ,oliver ,lodge has         
somewhere remarked that science  is     
entirely at a loss to explain how it    
comes that when one picks up a  stick by
 one end the rest of the stick comes up 
with it4    #aag ,general ,physiology1  
p4 #eej4    #aah ,published by ,bell    
,son1 #aijg4    #aai ,darwinism ,to-day1
 p4 #cgg1 quoting ,h4 ,f4 ,osborn's ,the
 ,unknown  ,factors of ,evolution4      
,osborn1 like the writer 7see p4 #ij71  
holds  ,spencer and ,weismann to be     
mutually destructive4 8,if acquired     
variations are transmitted there must be

 therefore some unknown  principle in   
heredity2 if they are not transmitted   
there must be some  unknown factor in   
evolution40    #abj                     
,mechanisch-,physiologische ,theorie der
 ,abstammungslehre4 ,see  especially pp4
 #acb1 and #cdj sqq4    #aba ,darwinism 
,to-day1 p4 #bgh4    #abb p4 #di4       
#abc             1   1  ' 1             
1  ' 4                                  
,frag41 #bie4    #abd ,walt ,whitman1   
#8,the ,answerer4'    #abe ,data of     
,ethics1 #bi4    #abf ,see ,appendix ,c4
    #abg ,oxford and ,cambridge ,review1
 ,june1 #aijg4 ,sic also ,bishop        
,berkeley1 ,alciphron1 ,dial4 ,,vii1    
#ai1 8,a man is said to be free1 so far 
forth as he can do what he will40       
,berkeley's analysis of this statement  
is substantially the same as that in the
 text4    #abh ,herbert ,spencer1       
translating these physical terms into   
their  psychic equivalents1 declares    
that the illusion of ,free ,will        
8consists  in supposing that at each    

moment the ego is something more than   
the aggregate of feelings and ideas1    
actual and nascent1 which then  exists0 
7,psychology1 ,i1 p4 #ejj74 ,the pivot  
of the doctrine is the word  aggregate4 
,we have seen that the most primitive   
living organism is  something more than 
that4 ,cf4 p4 #aai note4    #abi ,of    
course they are only relatively         
lower--there are no essentially  #8low' 
motives in life at all4    #acj ,the    
,will to ,believe--#8,the ,dilemma of   
,determinism1' p4 #ade sqq4    #aca     
,pragmatism1 pp4 #bhg-h4 ,compare       
,bishop ,berkeley4 8,to me it  seems1   
that if we begin from ,things particular
 and concrete1 and  thence proceed to   
general ,notions and ,conclusions1 there
 will be no  ,difficulty in this        
,matter4 ,but if we begin with          
,generalities1 and lay  our ,foundation 
in abstract ,ideas1 we shall find       
ourselves entangled  and lost in a      
,labyrinth of our own making40          
,alciphron1 ,dial4 vii4 #bj4  ,berkeley 

had fully apprehended the ,determinist  
position2 see vii4 #af4    #acb p4 #abi1
 #eth edition1 #ahgh4 ,there is an      
evident fallacy in ,mill's  position4   
,the ,deity who could make a hell and   
sentence men to it for  not worshipping 
him could not also have created the     
conscience which  would resist him4 ,the
 authorship of the moral sense and of   
hell are not  to be combined in our     
conception of the divine4 ,but ,mill1 of
 course1 in  this flash of rhetoric1 was
 merely taking popular religious        
conceptions  as he found them4    #acc  
p4 #bih4    #acd ,plato1 in that great  
dialogue1 the ,phaedo1 has a noteworthy 
passage on those who when once betrayed 
by ,reason are apt to fall into         
unbelief or superstition1 just as those 
who1 when they have found bad  faith    
among men1 may fall into cynicism3--    
8,would it not1 ,phaedo10 said          
,socrates1 8be a lamentable condition1  
when  a certain thesis is true1 firm1   
and intelligible1 if a man supporting   

something of the kind should find       
arguments which seemed true at one  time
 to be false at another1 and in the end1
 instead of blaming himself  or his own 
want of skill1 should1 in his           
ill-temper1 make haste to  shuffle off  
the blame from his own shoulders to     
,reason itself1 and  spend the rest of  
his life in hating and slandering it1   
being deprived  of the truth and science
 of things80    8,by ,zeus10 said ,i1   
8it would be lamentable40    8,let us   
take heed then1 before all else1 that we
 never admit into our  minds the idea   
that there can be no soundness in       
reasonings1 but rather  believe that we 
ourselves are not yet sound1 and study  
manfully and  with a will how to be so0 
7 xxxix74    #ace ,every mental         
acquisition1 such as the knowledge of a 
new  language1 results in a definite    
alteration in a certain locality of  the
 brain4 ,the human brain1 as an         
instrument of thought and knowledge1    
is1 in fact1 built up by a long series  

of purposeful efforts beginning  in     
early infancy4 ,these efforts do not1 of
 course1 originate in the  matter of the
 brain itself1 nor can the different    
nerves1 which bring  it messages from   
the outside world1 carry with them      
anything of the  nature of conscious    
purpose and will4 ,these arise from     
,personality4 ,i  may refer for a full  
and very interesting treatment of this  
subject to  ,dr4 ,w4 ,h4 ,thomson's     
work1 ,brain and ,personality 7#aijg74  
#acf ,in the ,phaedo1 xliii4    #acg    
,microcosmus1 ,bk4 ,,ii1 ,chaps4 ,,ii   
and ,v4    #ach           ,man1 and man 
only           ,can do the impossible2  
,he can ,distinguish1           ,choose1
 and give ,judgment2           ,he to   
the moment lends           ,power to    
endure4      #aci ,this includes the    
nourishment and protection of its young 
while  helpless4    #adj ,this word is1 
,i believe1 used by ,prof4 ,haeckel to  
describe his  system of philosophy4 ,i  
am very imperfectly acquainted with that

  system1 and therefore think it well to
 note here that the term must not  be   
taken with any special implications     
which ,haeckel may have attached  to it4
    #ada ,see pp4 #ag-bj4    #adb       
,deontology1 ,i1 p4 #cb4    #adc        
,examination of ,hamilton1 pp4 #ehf sqq4
    #add ,data of ,ethics1 #bj4    #ade 
8,i conceive it to be the business of   
moral science to deduce1  from the laws 
of life and the conditions of existence1
 what kinds of  action necessarily tend 
to produce happiness1 and what kinds to 
produce  unhappiness0 7,data of ,ethics1
 #ba74 ,happiness is always taken by    
,spencer as equivalent to pleasurable   
feeling4    #adf ,reason in ,science1 p4
 #beb4    #adg ,see ,data of ,ethics1 p4
 #cf4 ,it has been proved by exact      
physiological experiment that happiness 
promotes healthy vital action  in the   
living organism1 and that sorrow and    
pain depress it4 ,but of  course human  
life is not conducted solely on the     
physiological plane4    #adh ,sic1 ,fr4 

,slater1 ,s4,j41 in the ,irish          
,ecclesiastical ,record1  ,february1    
#aije4 8,if such a sum l could be stolen
 without grave sin1  its amount would   
prove too great a temptation for the    
virtue of large  numbers of people who  
wish to save their souls1 but make      
little of  venial sins0 7p4 #aji74 ,but 
,fr4 ,ojetti is much more liberal to    
persons  of the class described1 and    
gives them up to #d 7p4 #ajj74    #adi  
,i may draw attention in this connexion 
to a striking and valuable  study of the
 effect of ,american democracy on       
,jewish immigrants  published in the    
,times of ,january #d1 #aijh4 ,as       
regards ,catholicism1 it  appears from a
 comparison of the statistics of        
emigration from ,ireland  with those of 
,catholicism in the ,u4,s4,a4 that about
 #ej per cent of the  ,irish ,catholics 
abandon their religion in the ,new      
,world4 ,the ,irish  are also shown by  
the criminal statistics of the ,states  
as well as by  the observation of       

students of the criminal classes like   
,mr4 ,josiah  ,flynt1 to furnish a far  
greater proportion of criminals in that 
country  than obtains in the case of any
 other nationality contributing to its  
population4 ,yet they also give to      
,american life some of its very best    
elements1 and they are notoriously the  
most crimeless of people at  home4 ,the 
degradation of character commonly       
produced by ,christianizing  the ,hindu 
is so uniformly attested by residents in
 ,india that it  cannot be discredited4 
,see1 in this reference1 an article     
entitled  #8,the ,failure of ,christian 
,missions in ,india1' by ,dr4 ,josiah   
,oldfield1  ,hibbert ,journal1 ,april1  
#aijc4 ,of course it may be said that   
the  original error lies in the         
identification of ritual and observance 
with  religion and morality4    #aej    
,see ,appendix ,d4    #aea 8,per l'     
asprezza della penitenza e continuo     
piagnere1 era  diventato quasi cieco1 e 
poco vedea40--,fioretti1 ,,iii4 ,he had 

8wholly  shattered his body10 says      
,thomas of ,celano 7,second ,life of    
,st4 ,f41 ,ch4  ,,clx474    #aeb ,a     
discussion of the subject1 with special 
reference to the  rapid decay of the    
,franciscan ,order1 will be found in    
,mr4 ,g4 ,g4  ,coulton's paper #8,the   
,failure of the ,friars1' in the        
,hibbert ,journal  for ,january1 #aijg4 
,see also criticisms on this paper by   
two ,english  ,franciscans1 ,friar      
,cuthbert and ,friar ,stanilaus1 in the 
same journal  for ,april1 #aijg1 and    
,mr4 ,coulton's rejoinder1 ,july1 #aijg4
    #aec ,when the ascetic ideal is     
regarded as admirable in a saint1 it    
naturally leads to still more lamentable
 perversions by being practised  by     
persons who have never withdrawn        
themselves from ordinary social         
relations4 ,thus a ,catholic priest has 
lately given as an instance of  the     
8spiritual tendency and unworldliness of
 the ,irish peasant0 the  case of a     
farmer's wife1 the mother of a large    

family1 who1 by a long  course of secret
 austerities1 brought herself 8to an    
untimely grave1  and1 no doubt10 adds   
the reverend author1 8a martyr's crown40
 ,to keep  herself in health and do her 
duty to her husband and children would1 
it appears1 have been 8worldliness40    
,such cases1 we are told1 are not       
uncommon4 7,scenes and ,sketches in an  
,irish ,parish1 by the ,rev4 ,j4        
,guinan1 ,c4,c41 #dth ed41 #aijf1 p4    
#hg47    #aed ,the ,teaching of         
,epictetus1 by ,t4 ,w4 ,rolleston1 p4   
#cf4  ,dissertations1 ,,iii1 xxii4      
#aee           ,suns that have set      
return as bright1           ,but we1    
when sets our little light1             
,sleep on through one eternal           
night4--,catullus1 ,v4    #aef ,the     
,nature and ,origin of ,life1 by ,felix 
,le ,dantec1 p4 #bb 7,engl4  trans41    
#aijg74    #aeg ,the ,evolution of      
,matter4    #aeh ,of course the question
 remains1 ,what compressed the spring8  
,if  ,matter and ,motion are continually

 wasting1 it follows that they must  at 
some time have been originated1 and that
 the power which originated  them is not
 dependent on them4    #aei ,the        
,teaching of ,epictetus1 p4 #ajc4       
,dissertations1 ,,ii1 v1 #bd1 etc4      
#afj ,see pp4 #ahf1 #ahg4    #afa ,see1 
e4g41 the opening of the ,phdrus4       
#afb ,for a discussion of this subject  
,i may refer the reader to an  article  
by the writer in the ,hibbert ,journal  
for ,april1 #aijf3 #8,the               
,resurrection3 ,a ,layman's ,dialogue4' 
#afc    4 ,poetics1 ,,xxiii1 #a4 ,he is 
speaking  of the design of a narrative  
poem4    #afd ,what is ,art81 by ,leo   
,tolstoy4 ,english translation by       
,aylmer  ,maude1 pp4 #dd-e4    #afe     
,what is ,art81 chap4 v4    #aff ,i do  
not mean to exclude the possibility that
 man may have first  learned his        
capacity for art by making signs        
intended for quite other  purposes1 such
 as identification of tribehood1 etc4   
#afg ,what is ,art81 p4 #aec4    #afh   

,fifteen ,sermons1 ,,iii4    #afi ,what 
is ,art81 p4 #adf4    #agj ,ibid41 p4   
#adh4    #aga ,what is ,art81 p4 #afc4  
#agb ,ibid41 p4 #afa4 ,how wide of the  
mark all this is becomes clear  when we 
think1 for instance1 of the sympathetic 
treatment of the  ,trojans in ,homer1 or
 the nobility of feeling about the      
,moors which  runs through ,the ,cid4 ,a
 great art may glorify battle1 but cant 
and  fanaticism are hateful to it4      
#agc ,what is ,art81 p4 #aff4    #agd   
,ibid41 p4 #afg4    #age ,as1 of course1
 it never can be in ,time4    #agf ,it  
is very hard to understand why1 when    
,athens was producing  some of the      
greatest art of the world and the       
profoundest philosophic  thought1 the   
attempt to develop a philosophy of the  
arts should not  have succeeded better  
than it did4 ,plato felt instinctively  
that he  had entangled himself in a     
chain of false logic1 and he appeals to 
,art to vindicate its truth1 if it can4 
,he would yield himself to its          

8enchantment0 only too gladly were it   
not 8a sin to betray what seems  to us  
the cause of truth40 ,but it never      
occurs to him that what the  painter is 
really copying is not the carpenter's   
bed1 but the heavenly4  ,aristotle1 on  
the other hand1 well knew that there is 
something  creative about art4 ,witness 
his famous saying that 8,poetry is both 
a  more philosophic and a higher thing  
than ,history1 since ,poetry looks at   
things in a universal1 ,history only in 
a particular aspect0 7,poetics1  ,,ix1  
#c74 ,he was1 however1 still too much   
under the control of the  popular view  
of ,art as ,imitation to be able to see 
the full scope of  his own principle4   
,thus1 he excluded ,architecture from   
the realm of ,art  because it did not   
imitate anything in nature4    #agg     
1              1      4    #agh ,preface
 to ,wordsworth's ,lyrical ,ballads4    
#agi 8,i have not been afraid of the    
charge of obscurity10 says ,walt        
,whitman1 8in either of my two volumes1 

because human thought1 poetry  or       
melody1 must leave dim escapes and      
outlets--must possess a certain  fluid1 
aerial character1 akin to ,space itself1
 obscure to those of  little or no      
imagination1 but indispensable to the   
highest purposes4  ,poetic style1 when  
address'd to the ,soul1 is less definite
 form1  outline1 sculpture1 and becomes 
vista1 music1 half-tints1 and even less 
than half-tints4 ,true1 it may be       
architecture2 but again it may be the   
forest wild-wood1 or the best effects   
thereof1 at twilight1 the waving  oaks  
and cedars in the wind1 and the         
impalpable odour0 7,preface to ,two     
,rivulets1 p4 #ac74    ,let me set      
beside this a passage from that         
singularly beautiful book1  ,kakasu     
,okakura's ,ideals of the ,east3        
8,shakaku in the fifth century lays     
down six canons of pictorial art1 in    
which the idea of the depicting  of     
,nature falls into a third place1       
subservient to two other main           

principles4 ,the first of these is #8the
 ,life-movement of the ,spirit  through 
the ,rhythm of ,things4' ,for art is to 
him the great ,mood of  the ,universe1  
moving hither and thither amidst those  
harmonic laws of  matter which are      
,rhythm0 7p4 #eb74    #ahj ,i may refer 
in passing to the researches of ,a4 ,c4 
,haddon and  ,henry ,balfour1 who have  
made it seem at least highly probable   
that all  decorative forms originated in
 the copying of natural objects4    #aha
 ,f4 ,c4 ,penrose showed in #ahea that  
all the quasi-horizontal lines  in the  
,parthenon are really arcs of circles1  
that the #8entasis' or  swelling of     
every pillar is the true arc of an      
hyperbola1 and that  there is not a true
 right-angle nor a strictly vertical    
column in the  building4 ,all good      
,greek buildings are similarly full of  
8curves1  leaning faces1 irregular      
spacings1 and other optical refinements0
  7,investig4 of the ,princs4 of        
,athenian ,architecture74 ,this         

principle1  called by ,ruskin #8life'   
7,seven ,lamps7 and by some             
#8symmetrophobia1' was  most daringly   
applied in medival building4 ,a very    
striking and well  illustrated series of
 articles on the subject was contributed
 by ,mr4 ,w4  ,h4 ,goodyear to the      
,architectural ,record1 ,vol4 ,,vi1     
#ahif-g4    #ahb ,i am indebted in      
connexion with these remarks on ,gothic 
architecture to a very interesting paper
 by ,mr4 ,l4 ,march ,phillipps in  the  
,contemporary ,review for ,september1   
#aijg4    #ahc ,for example1 when       
molecules first grouped themselves      
7supposing  that was how it came about7 
into the form which resulted in living  
protoplasm1 their action was one of a   
chemico-physical nature1 but the        
response is not expressible in purely   
chemico-physical terms4 ,similarly  when
 sensation first appeared in protoplasm4
    #ahd ,die ,welt als ,wille und      
,vorstellung1 ,drittes ,buch1 ,die      
,platonische ,idee das ,objekt der      

,kunst4    #ahe ,camille ,mauclair1     
,french ,impressionists4 8,light10      
writes ,m4  ,mauclair1 8becomes the sole
 subject of the picture2 the interest of
  the object upon which it plays is     
secondary4 ,painting thus conceived     
becomes a purely optic art0 7p4 #cb74   
8,the principal person in a  picture10  
said ,manet1 8is the light0 7p4 #db74   
#ahf ,no one who has seen 8,le          
,penseur10 by ,rodin1 will doubt that   
plastic art can render ,thought4 ,but   
literature alone could tell us what  he 
is thinking4          ,,index    ,when a
 subject is treated on more than one    
consecutive page1 reference  is usually 
made to the first page only4            
,action and ,reaction1 #bfd             
,adaptability1 #ac1 #fc                 
,adaptation1 in nature1 how regarded by 
,paley1 #c2      argument from imperfect
 adaptations1 #d1 #ad1 #acf1 #adc1 #aeb2
      how conceived by evolution theory1
 #aj1 #ab2      ,lamarck's theory of1   
#fh2      ,weismann's theory1 #ic sqq42 

,darwin's explanation1 #gb2             
directive theory1 #aae sqq42            
effects of new environment1 #abc sqq4   
,see ,co-adaptation      schylus1 #aei  
,amblystoma1 #dj 7illustration facing71 
#abe      ,amba1 #cj1 #dg1 #adc         
,amphimixis1 #ci1 #ih      ,anabna1 #ada
      ,anableps1 #ajj1 #aab      ,ants1 
#gh1 #he1 #hi1 #aaa1 #aed               
,apperception and ,free-will1 #agb      
,arch1 effect of1 in architecture1 #beh 
,aristotle1 #bdg note      ,art1 #aeh2  
and ,beauty1 #bcg1 #bea2      origin of1
 #bci2      question of subject in1     
#bdd1 #bfh2      an expression of life1 
#bdf1 #bej2      ,greek and ,hottentot  
ideals of1 #bec2      classification of 
the arts1 #bed2      art in structure1  
#bef2      in ornament1 #bei2           
artistic effect of use and service1     
#bfj4      ,see ,music1 ,dancing1       
,literature1 etc4      ,asceticism1 #bad
 sqq41 #bah note      ,axolotl1 #abe    
,azolla fern1 #ada        ,bacon1 ,f41  
#f      ,becoming1 the universe a1 #bj1 

#ahf2      ,deity conceived as          
#8becoming1' #e      ,beddard1 ,f4 ,e41 
#bd note1 #eh1 #ajf      ,bentham1 ,j41 
#bjj      ,berkeley1 ,bp41 #afe note1   
#agf note      ,bifocal eyes in fish1   
#ii      ,bisexuality1 significance of1 
in ,mollusca1 #aja      ,bose1 ,j4 ,c41 
#ba note      ,brain-structure and      
,will1 #agh1 #ahd      ,brown-,squard1  
#gh      ,butler1 ,bp41 #bda            
,btschli1 ,o41 #cj      ,butterflies1   
protective colouring of1 #ae1 #hc1 #ih1 
#ajf1 #aac1 #abg        ,catullus1 #bbb 
,cave-animals1 #ga1 #gb note1 #gh       
,cell1 the1 #bi1 #ch2      division of1 
#dj sqq42      germ and sperm           
cells1 #de1 #ea2      fusion of1 in     
reproduction1 #ec      ,chaffinch1 case 
of hermaphrodite1 #eh      ,chlorophyll1
 #bd2      in animals1 #bf      ,christ1
 #bje2      martyrdom of1 #bcb          
,chromatin1 #ci sqq4      ,cleanthes1   
#bdg      ,co-adaptation1 #gj1 #hj1 #ih1
 #ach      ,competition1 #eh1 #aje      
,conjugation1 #dg      ,conscience1 #baa

      ,co-operation among animals1 #ajd1
 ,appendix ,b2      among species1 #ach 
,crabs1 hermit1 #ada2      ,molucca1    
#bhj      ,crystallization1 #bb note1   
#aef        ,dancing1 #bgj      ,darwin1
 ,erasmus1 #f1 #bha      ,darwin1       
,francis1 #g1 #cc1 #gb1 #hg1 #ach       
,death1 significance of1 for the spirit1
 #aij1 #bce      ,deity1 the end1 not   
beginning of nature1 #e2                
personality of1 #ad1 #ag2      immanent 
or transcendent8 #aee2      defined by  
schylus1 #aei2      an infinite1 not    
related to phenomena1 #afb2      how    
approached by man1 #aei1 #afb1 ,appendix
 ,a      ,determinants1 #dd2            
competition among1 #ih2                 
significance of1 in evolution1 #fh1 #if 
,determinism1 doctrine of1 #afc sqq4    
,development contrasted with growth1 #cb
      ,dice1 of nature loaded1 #ib1 #ajb
      ,dominants4 ,see ,reinke          
,drama1 #bgb      ,dualism1 #aie        
,duty1 sense of1 not created by         
pleasures and pains1 #bjc2      effects 

of1 compared with those of              
self-indulgence1 #bab        ,ego1 the1 
#aeg1 #bjg1 ,appendix ,a      ,eimer1   
,g41 #gg note1 #aaj1 #aac note1 #acg1   
#adc1 #aeb      ,elk1 the ,irish1 #gj   
,energy1 how obtained by plants1 #be2   
developed by synthesis1 #bg1 #adg2      
vital and mechanical1 how distinguished1
 #add1 #adf1 #adh2      supposed effects
 of the equal distribution of1 #bbb     
,epictetus1 #bah1 #bbf      ,ethics1 how
 affected by determinism1 #afb-c2       
ethical development a condition of      
,free-will1 #aga2      the problem of   
evil1 #aii1 #bjg2      utilitarian      
systems of1 #bja2      goal of ethical  
action1 #bjc sqq42      sanction of     
ethical action1 #bcd2      ethics       
epitomized1 #bcd2      ethics of sex    
relations1 ,appendix ,e      ,evolution1
 change in point of view produced by1   
#g1 #h1 #af1 #ag2      produced         
competition1 #ajd2      unknown factors 
in1 #adi2      evolution and involution1
 #ahf1 #bbh4      ,see ,adaptation1     

species        ,fisher1 ,m41 #bgj       
,francis of ,assisi1 #bae1 ,appendix ,d 
,free-will1 position stated1 #afd sqq42 
reason in action1 #aff2      ,spencer   
on1 #aff note2      conditions of1 #afi2
      moral bias of1 #afi sqq42         
limitations of1 #aga sqq42      how     
evolved1 #agd2      can it be reconciled
 with ,monism8 #age2      will and      
brain1 #agg sqq4        ,germinal       
,selection1 #ic1 #if      ,goethe1 #f1  
#ca1 #ahe1 #bfg      ,goodyear1 ,w4 ,h41
 #beh note      ,gravity1 action of1 on 
plants1 #fb1 #ade      ,guinan1 ,rev4   
,j41 #bah note      ,gnther1 ,c41 #adb1 
#aeb        ,haeckel1 ,e41 #ci note1    
#abd1 #abf1 #aif1 #bci      ,henslow1   
,g41 #abc      ,heracleitus1 #adf note1 
#bgh      ,hermaphroditism1 #eh1 #aja   
,hugo1 ,v41 #bgc      ,hume1 ,d41 #f    
note      ,hydra1 #bf        ,ids1 #dd  
,immortality1 #ahi1 #bbe1 #bhc          
,imperfections in nature1 #d1 #ad1 #adc1
 #aeb      ,impressionist school1 #bff  
,intelligence in nature1 #ad1 #af1 #acj1

 #aeg      ,irish1 the1 in the          
,u4,s4,a41 #bab note      ,isabella and 
,claudio1 problem of1 ,appendix ,e      
,james1 ,w41 on ,free-will1 #agf        
,kakasu ,okakura1 #bej note             
,kallima paralecta1 #hc1 #abi           
,kellogg1 ,v4 ,l41 #add note1 #adi      
,keyserling1 ,h4 v41 #ac note1 #ag      
,knight1 ,w41 #bci      ,kramskoy1 #bdc 
,kropotkin1 ,p41 #ajd1 ,appendix ,b     
,lamarck1 ,j4 ,b41 #f1 #fh2             
arguments against his theory1 #ge1 #aab1
 #bjb2      ,lamarckism the only        
alternative to #8metaphysics1' #ia      
,language1 evolution of1 #acc           
,lankester1 ,ray1 #bd note      ,le     
,bon1 ,g41 #bbc      ,le ,dantec1 ,f41  
#bb1 #bbb      ,lepus ,huxleyi1 #abf    
,life1 universality of1 #ba2            
characteristics of organic1 #bc2        
mechanical conception of1 #ce1 #ib1 #ig2
      continually being produced1 #cg2  
innate capabilities of1 #aji2      final
 cause of1 #bjf1 #bjh2      the         
individual and the cosmic1 #bbf2        

the goal of nature1 #aad1 #bdf2         
polarity of1 #bec      ,literature1 #bga
      ,lodge1 ,o41 #adg note            
,lotze1 ,h41 #ahe1 #aif                 
,maeterlinck1 ,m41 #bij      ,manet1    
,e41 #bff note      ,man1 the           
growing-point of life1 #aed             
,martyrdoms1 significance of1 for       
ethics1 #bcj1 #bcc2      of ,socrates1  
#bcj2      of ,christ1 #bcb             
,matter1 its nature unknown1 #agh2      
transmitter of consciousness1 #ahh2     
relation with consciousness not         
fortuitous1 #aib2      known only       
through life1 #bbd      ,mauclair1 ,c41 
#bff note      ,mendel1 ,abbott1 #eh    
note      ,metabolism1 #bg              
,metaphysics1 physics rooted in1 #aaj   
,miers1 ,h4 ,a41 #bb      ,mill1 ,j4    
,s41 #afd1 #agg1 #bja      ,mind1 #acg1 
#afg4      ,see ,spirit1 ,intelligence  
,mitosis1 #db note      ,monism1 #ag    
sqq42      compatible with ,free-will1  
#agf2      dualism and1 #aie            
,moorhead1 ,t4 ,g41 #hc      ,morlon1   

#bdc      ,movement1 in music1 #bfb1    
#bfd2      in literature1 #bgb          
,music1 #bfa sqq41 #bgb      ,mysticism1
 #aej        ,ngeli1 ,c4 v41 #ci1 #aaj1 
#adj1 #adi      ,natural ,selection1 a  
#8superseded formula1' #g note2         
meaning of1 #gb2      originates        
nothing1 #ge2      a pillar of          
,weismann's theory1 #ajc2      effect1  
not cause1 of evolution1 #ajd2      a   
real though not the main force1 #aje1   
#aji2      in relation to mimetic       
markings1 #ajf sqq42      and to mutual 
aid among species1 #ach      ,neuter    
insects4 ,see ,ants      ,noctiluca1 #dg
      ,nucleus1 of cell1 #cj1 #ci4      
,ojetti1 ,fr41 #baj note      ,oken1    
,l41 #aaj1 #acg      ,oldfield1 ,j41    
#bac note      ,osborn1 ,h4 ,f41 #adi   
note      #8,ought1' ,bentham on the    
word1 #bja2      contents of the word1  
#bji      ,oysters1 bisexuality in1 #aja
        ,paley1 ,w41 his analogy of the 
watch1 #a sqq42      on the annular     
ligament1 #h2      his conception of an 

#8,esperanto' universe1 #acf            
,pandorina1 #di1 #fa1 #aef      ,papilio
 meriones1 #ajg      ,parthenogenesis1  
#ee      ,penrose1 ,f4 ,c41 #beg note   
,perrier1 ,e41 #gb note1 #ia            
,personality1 #aeg1 #aff1 #bjg1 #baa1   
,appendix ,a      ,pianola1 analogy of1 
#ahc      #8,pig-philosophy1' #bba      
,plato1 #f1 #agj1 #ahb note1 #ahe1 #aie1
 #bbg1 #bdd1 #bdf      ,poetry1 #aeh4   
,see ,literature      ,porto ,santo     
rabbit1 #abf      ,potato1 response to  
mutilation1 #aag      ,poulton1 ,e4 ,b41
 #ajg      ,proteid1 #bc1 #bh           
,protoplasm1 the substance of life1 #bg2
      structure of1 #cj2                
distinguished from minerals1 #cg2       
response in1 #fa1 #aab1 #aac1 #aag1 #aai
 note1 #add2      a synthesis of        
molecules1 #adg        ,reinke1 ,j41 on 
the ,x factor in life1 #a1 #fc1 #aag2   
his theory of dominants1 #abj1 #age     
,religion1 #aei1 #bab1 #bgg             
,reproduction1 #ci1 #df2      in        
multicellular organisms1 #dh2           

sexual1 #ea      ,response1 #fa1 #aab1  
#aae4      ,see1 ,life1 ,protoplasm     
,rhythm1 #bed1 #bfb                     
,right-handedness1 #ha      ,rolleston1 
,geo41 #ed      ,ruskin1 ,j41 #beh note 
,saleeby1 ,c4 ,w41 #bhh      ,sanction1 
ethical1 #bad1 #bbj1 #bbf sqq41 #bcd    
,santayana1 ,g41 #aha1 #bjd             
,schopenhauer1 ,a41 #aaj1 #aif1 #bfe    
,selection4 ,see ,natural ,selection1   
,germinal ,selection      ,sex1         
determination of1 #eg2      ethical     
problems connected with1 ,appendix ,e   
,sigerson1 ,g41 #ha note      ,sins1    
mortal and venial1 #baj note            
,slater1 ,fr41 #baj note      ,sloth1   
green fur of1 #bd note      ,snails1    
bisexuality in1 #aja      ,species1     
fixity of1 #dc1 #ff2      mutability of1
 #fg2      origin of1 not modification  
of structure by use1 ch4 ,,iv42      not
 chance variations1 ch4 ,v42      due to
 directive or psychic factor1 ch4 ,,vi42
      species an organic whole1 #di1    
#ach1 #adg4      ,see ,adaptation1      

,evolution      ,spencer1 ,h41          
controversy with ,weismann1 #hg1 #adi   
note2      on social institutions1 #aca2
      on ,free-will1 #aff note2      his
 ethical system1 #bjb1 ,app4 ,c  ,e     
,spinoza1 ,b41 #aif      ,spirit1 the   
human1 how accounted for1 #aea1 #age2   
relations to ,matter1 #agh2      death  
not a disintegration of1 #aij           
,socrates1 #bbg1 #bcj      ,stoicism1   
ethical formula of1 #aid2               
conception of ,asceticism1 #bag2        
what ,stoicism lacked1 #bbg             
,strasburger1 ,e41 #aa1 #ed1 #aji       
,synthesis1 principle of1 in nature1    
#aai note1 #acg1 #adb1 #adf1 #aeg       
,tennyson1 ,a41 #agj1 #bai              
,thomson1 ,w4 ,h41 #ahd      ,tolstoy1  
,l41 on ,art1 #bcf sqq4      ,tree1     
response of roots and shoots to         
mutilation in1 #aai        ,uexkll1 ,j4 
v41 #ac      ,unity of nature1 #ag1 #aeg
      ,useless structures1 #ajc note    
,utilitarian school of ethics1 #bjj1    
#bbi1 ,appendices ,c  ,e                

,variations1 in reproduction cells1 #gc1
 #ge2      do chance variations afford  
basis for selection8 #ib1 #id sqq4      
,verworn1 ,max1 #bg note1 #adh          
,viola1 #adj      ,virchow1 ,r41 #de    
note      ,vir1 ,a41 #gb note           
,volvox1 #di        ,wagner1 ,r41 #bgb  
,wallace1 ,a4 ,r41 #aje1 #abe note1 #age
      ,watch1 ,paley's analogy of1 #a   
sqq4      ,weed1 in ,new ,zealand1      
destroyed by willows1 #aje              
,weismann1 ,a41 #g note1 #cd1 #dh1 #fa1 
#fc2      controversy with ,spencer1    
#hg2      his alternative to            
,lamarckism1 #ic2      his determinants 
equivalent to ,reinke's dominants1 #abb 
,whale1 evolution of1 #fg      ,whitman1
 ,walt1 #afj1 #aif1 #bcg1 #bej note     
,whole1 the1 its demands on the         
individual1 #bbj2      what it gives to 
the individual1 #bbe2      the universe 
a1 #ag2      a whole more than the sum  
of its parts1 #aai note2                
consciousness1 etc41 of the1 #aeg       
,wilson1 ,e4 ,b41 #cc1 #ch notes1 #da1  

#ej1 #ee1 #aai note      ,whler1 #bd    
,wordsworth1 ,w41 #bdi        ,x factor 
in life1 #a2      directive character   
of1 #fc1 #aac1 #aaf1 #abh4      ,see    
,adaptation1 ,intelligence1 ,language   
,zola1 ,e41 #bdh      ,,printed ,,by    
,,william ,,brendon ,,and ,,son1 ,,ltd4 
,,plymouth      8,a model of what a     
scientific work for the general public  
ought to  be40    ,,life ,,and          
,,evolution    ,,by    ,f4 ,w4          
,,headley1 ,f4,z4,s4    ,with upwards of
 #ajj ,illustrations4 ,demy #hvo1 #hs4  
net4      ,extract from                 
,preface4--8,everything has been done1  
by means of headings  to sections1      
references to pages in the table of     
contents1 and a fairly  complete index1 
to make it easy to find one's way about 
in the book40        ,,chapter          
,i4 ,plants and ,animals4        ,,ii4  
,the ,sea and its ,inhabitants4         
,,iii4 ,gills and ,lungs4        ,,iv4  
,reptiles and their ,kin4         ,v4   
,from a ,reptile to a ,bird4            

,,vi4 ,the ,flight of ,birds4           
,,vii4 ,the ,minds of ,men and ,animals4
      ,,viii4 ,the ,struggle for        
,existence4        ,,ix4 ,natural       
,selection4    ,these are the headings  
to the chapters1 but each chapter is    
subdivided  into a number of sections1  
with marginal references1 so as to make 
the  book of value as a work of         
reference4        ,lancet4--8,we        
consider this small book with its big   
title extremely      well done40        
,tribune4--8,the book is remarkable for 
its extreme lucidity4 ,it      is       
alluring and instructive1 and is        
supplemented by a set of                
illustrations which correspond in every 
way to the merits of the      text40    
,guardian4--8,these interesting         
questions are dealt with by one who     
understands them1 and has investigated  
many of them experimentally      in a   
lucid1 almost conversational style1 but 
in good and attractive      ,english1 so
 that we can heartily recommend this    

volume to all who      desire to learn  
something of what evolution really      
means1 but are      deterred by the     
technicalities of text-books40          
,outlook4--8,mr4 ,headley's volume on   
,evolution is a charming book1      not 
simply indeed for the student who wants 
an introduction to the      theory of   
evolution1 but for the general reader4  
,it is a model of      what a scientific
 work for the general public ought to   
be1 readable      and interesting1 but  
withal accurate and well informed1 and  
in      this case full of touches of the
 imagination of the kind which          
illuminate knowledge40      ,london3    
,,duckworth  ,,co41 #c ,henrietta       
,street1  ,,covent ,,garden1 ,w4,c4     
,duckworth  ,co4's ,publications4       
,,goodwin1 ,w4        ,,the ,,scientific
 ,,feeding ,,of ,,animals4 ,by ,w4      
,goodwin4 ,crown #hvo4    ,in           
,preparation4      ,,percival1 ,,john4  
,,agricultural ,,botany3 ,,theoretical  
,,and ,,practical4 ,by ,john ,percival1 

,m4,a41 ,f4,l4,s41 ,professor of ,botany
 at the ,south-,eastern ,agricultural   
,college1 ,wye4 ,crown #hvo1 with #bfe  
illustrations by the ,author4 #gs4      
#f;d4 net4 ,third ,edition4             
,nature4--8,we have no hesitation in    
recommending it as the      elementary  
handbook for the agricultural student4  
,the chapters on      weeds and on      
diseases of farm-plants are distinctly  
better than      those in any previous  
,english works dealing with agricultural
      botany40      ,,hill1 ,m4 ,d41 and
 ,,webb1 ,,wilfred ,,mark4        ,,eton
 ,,nature-,,study ,,and ,,observational 
,,lessons4 ,by ,m4 ,d4 ,hill and        
,wilfred ,m4 ,webb4 ,with numerous      
illustrations from photographs1 line    
drawings and wash drawings4 ,in two     
parts4 #cs4 #f;d4 net each4        ,the 
book deals in a systematic way with such
 subjects as the use      and misuse of 
8collections10 the migrations of birds1 
the effects      of the action of water 
on the conformation of landscape1 as    

well as      with the life histories of 
flowers1 trees1 insects1 reptiles1 birds
      and mammals4      ,,webb1         
,,wilfred ,,mark1 and ,,sillem1         
,,charles4        ,,the ,,british       
,,woodlice3 ,being a ,monograph of the  
,terrestrial ,isopod      ,crustacea4   
,by ,wilfred ,mark ,webb1 ,f4,l4,s41 and
 ,charles ,sillem4 ,with      #be plates
 and #ei figures in the text4 ,large    
crown #hvo4 #fs4 net4      ,,owen1 ,j4  
,a41 and ,,boulger1 ,,professor4        
,,the ,,country ,,month ,,by ,,month4   
,by ,j4 ,a4 ,owen 7,collaborator in     
all the ,work signed 8,a ,son of the    
,marshes07 and ,professor ,g4 ,s4       
,boulger4 ,new ,edition1 with ,notes by 
the late ,lord ,lilford4 ,in one        
volume4 ,demy #hvo4 #ejj pp4 #fs4 net4  
,london3 ,,duckworth  ,,co41 #c         
,henrietta ,street1  ,,covent ,,garden1 
,w4,c4    ,,massee1 ,,george4        ,a 
,,text-,,book ,,of ,,plant ,,diseases1  
caused by ,cryptogamic ,parasites4      
,by ,george ,massee1 ,mycologist and    

,principal ,assistant1 ,royal           
,herbarium1 ,kew4 ,with #ib             
illustrations1 drawn from ,nature by the
      ,author4 ,crown #hvo4 #fs4 net4   
,third ,edition4        ,farmers'       
,gazette4--8,the information is fully up
 to date1 and      gathered from the    
latest ,british1 ,german1 ,french1 and  
,american      authorities4 ,the book   
deserves to become the leading ,english 
text-book on the subject40      ,by the 
,same ,author4        ,a ,,text-,,book  
,,of ,,fungi1 including ,morphology1    
,physiology1      ,pathology1 and       
,classification4 ,by ,george ,massee1   
,mycologist and      ,principal         
,assistant1 ,royal ,herbarium1 ,kew4    
,with no illustrations4      ,crown     
#hvo4 #fs4 net4        ,gardeners'      
,chronicle4--8,the #8,text-book of      
,fungi' is an important      addition to
 our literature1 and it ought to find a 
place on the      shelves not merely of 
the fungologist1 but also of every one  
who studies botany4 ,students preparing 

for the ,national ,diploma      for     
,agriculture or ,university             
,examinations will find the book        
especially useful and up to date in     
those general principles which      it  
is so important they should grasp       
clearly40      ,by the ,same ,author4   
,,european ,,fungus ,,flora3            
,,agaricace4 ,by ,george ,massee4 ,crown
 #hvo4      #fs4 net4                   
,nature4--8,the method is excellent and 
the work well done1      fully indexed  
and carefully arranged4 ,as a field-book
 it can be      recommended40           
,,jackson1 ,b4 ,,daydon4        ,a      
,,glossary ,,of ,,botanic ,,terms1 with 
their derivation and accent4      ,by   
,benjamin ,daydon ,jackson1 ,secretary  
of the ,linnean ,society of             
,london4 ,crown #hvo4 #gs4 #f;d4 net4   
,new and ,enlarged ,edition4            
,gardeners' ,chronicle4--8,a much-needed
 glossary4 ,should find a      place in 
every garden library40                  
,nature4--8,exceedingly valuable40      

,science ,gossip4--8,no botanist can    
afford to dispense with this      work40
      ,,moyle ,,rogers1 ,,the ,,rev4 ,w4
        ,a ,,hand-,,book ,,of ,,british 
,,rubi4 ,by the ,rev4 ,w4 ,moyle        
,rogers1 ,f4,l4,s4      ,demy #hvo4 #es4
 net4      #c ,henrietta ,street1       
,covent ,garden1 ,london1 ,w4,c4        
,,fairless1 ,,michael4        ,,the     
,,roadmender4 ,by ,michael ,fairless4 ,a
 ,new and ,illustrated      ,edition4   
,eleventh impression4 ,with ,six        
,full-page ,drawings and                
,cover-design by ,will ,g4 ,mein4 #es4  
net4        ,,the ,,roadmender4 ,fcp4   
#hvo4 ,bound in ,limp ,leather1 ,cover  
,design1      fully gilt4 #cs4 #f;d4    
net4        ,,the ,,roadmender4         
,eighteenth impression4 ,fcp4 #hvo4     
,cloth4 #bs4 #f;d4      net4        ,st4
 ,james's ,gazette4--8,straight to the  
reality and beauty of      things with a
 touch often recalling ,r4 ,l4          
,stevenson's40      ,by the ,same       
,author4        ,,the ,,grey ,,brethren3

 and other ,fragments in ,prose and     
,verse4 ,by      ,michael ,fairless4    
,uniform with 8,the ,roadmender40       
,second impression4      ,fcp4 #hvo4    
,bound in ,limp ,leather1 #cs4 #f;d4    
net4 ,cloth1 #bs4 #f;d4 net4            
,,anonymous4        ,a ,,modern         
,,mystic',s ,,way4 7,dedicated to       
,michael ,fairless47 ,uniform      with 
the above4 #bs4 #f;d4 net4              
,,cripps1 ,,arthur4        ,,magic      
,,casements4 ,by ,arthur ,cripps4       
,uniform with the above4 #bs4      #f;d4
 net4      ,mc,c,u,r,d,y1 ,,edward4     
,,leonardo ,,da ,,vinci',s ,,thoughts   
,,as ,,recorded ,,in ,,his              
,,note-,,books4      ,edited by ,ed4    
,mc,curdy4 ,uniform with 8,the          
,roadmender40      ,,brooke1 ,,rev4     
,,stopford ,a4        ,,the ,,sea       
,,charm ,,of ,,venice4 ,by the ,rev4    
,stopford ,a4 ,brooke4 ,uniform         
with 8,the ,roadmender40 #bs4 #f;d4 net4
      ,,buckley1 ,,arthur4              
,,god',s ,,thoroughfare3 ,a ,way of ,new

 ,dimensions4 ,by ,,arthur ,,buckley4   
,being an investigation made by a       
,logician1 a ,scientist and a           
,theologian in the ,forest of ,science  
and other places1 resulting in      a   
discovery of ,new ,dimensions which form
 a ,way of ,being leading to      the   
,spiritual4 ,fcp4 #hvo4 #bs4 #f;d4 net4 
8,if we seclude space1 there will remain
 in the world but matter and      mind1 
body and spirit40        8,and a highway
 shall be there1 and a way40            
,london3 ,,duckworth  ,,co41 #c         
,henrietta ,street1  ,,covent ,,garden1 
,w4,c4