,a ,,modern ,,zoroastrian4 ,a ,,modern ,,zoroastrian4 #ajjj copies printed1 ,february1 #ahhh4 #ajjj 0 0 ,march1 #ahhi4 #ajjj 0 0 ,march1 #ahij4 #ajjj 0 0 ,june1 #ahij4 #ajjj 0 0 ,march1 #ahia4 #ajjj 0 0 ,june1 #ahib4 #ajjj 0 0 ,february1 #ahic4 #ajjj 0 0 ,november1 #ahic4 ,a ,,modern ,,zoroastrian ,,by ,s4 ,,laing1 ,,author ,,of 8,,modern ,,science ,,and ,,modern ,,thought10 8,,problems ,,of ,,the ,,future10 8,,human ,,origins40 ,eighth ,thousand4 ,,london3 ,,chapman ,,and ,,hall1 ,,ld4 #ahic4 ,,charles ,,dickens ,,and ,,evans1 ,,crystal ,,palace ,,press4 ,,preface ,,to ,,new ,,edition4 ,from some of the criticisms on the ,first ,edition of this work ,i fear that the distinction ,i endeavoured to draw between the use of the term 8polarity0 in the inorganic and in the spiritual worlds has not been made sufficiently clear4 ,i stated in the ,introduction 8,that while the principle of polarity pervades both worlds1 ,i am far from assuming that the laws under which it acts are identical2 and that virtue and vice1 pain and pleasure1 are products of the same mathematical laws as regulate the attractions and repulsions of molecules and atoms40 ,but this warning has been apparently overlooked by some readers who have assumed that instead of analogy ,i meant identity1 and that it was a mistake to use the same word 8polarity0 for phenomena so essentially distinct as those of the material and the spiritual worlds4 ,thus my 8guide1 philosopher1 and friend10 ,professor ,huxley1 for whose authority ,i have the highest respect1 observed in a recent article1 that he had long ago acquired a habit1 if he came across the word polarity applied to anything but magnetism and electricity1 of throwing down the book and reading no farther4 ,i must confess that ,i felt a little disconcerted when ,i read this passage2 but ,i was soon consoled1 for1 in a month or two afterwards1 ,i came across another passage in the same ,review which said1 8,however revolting may be the accumulation of misery at the negative pole of ,society1 in contrast with that of monstrous wealth at the positive pole1 this state of things must abide and grow continuously worse1 as long as ,istar 7the dual ,goddess of the ,babylonians7 holds her way unchecked40 ,surely1 ,i thought1 here is a case in which the ,professor must have thrown down the ,review when he came to these words3 but when ,i came to the end1 ,i found that it was not the ,review1 but the pen1 which must have been thrown down1 for the article is signed 8,t4 ,huxley40 ,can there be a more conclusive proof that there are a vast variety of facts outside of magnetism and electricity1 connected by an underlying idea1 which inevitably suggests analogy to them1 and which can be most conveniently expressed by the word 8polarity08 ,words after all are only coins to facilitate the interchange of ideas1 and the best word is that which serves the purpose most clearly and concisely4 ,thus instead of using a waggon load of copper1 or the verbiage of a conveyancer's deed1 to express the ideas comprised in such words as 8theism10 8pantheism10 or 8agnosticism10 we coin them for general use1 as ,huxley did the word 8agnosticism10 in order to convey our meaning4 ,polarity is such a word4 ,it sums up what ,emerson says in his ,essay on ,compensation3 8,polarity1 or action and reaction1 we meet in every part of ,nature2 in darkness and light2 in the ebb and flow of waters2 in male and female2 in the inspiration and expiration of plants and animals2 in the undulations of fluids and of sound2 in the centripetal and centrifugal gravity2 in electricity1 galvanism1 and chemical affinity4 ,superinduce ,magnetism at one end of a needle1 the opposite ,magnetism takes place at the other end4 ,if the ,south attracts1 the ,north repels4 ,an inevitable dualism besets nature1 so that each thing is a half1 and suggests another to make it whole3 as spirit1 matter2 man1 woman2 odd1 even2 subjective1 objective2 in1 out2 upper1 under2 motion1 rest2 yea1 nay40 ,these1 by whatever name we like to call them1 are facts and not fancies1 and facts which enter largely into all questions1 whether of science1 philosophy1 religion1 or practical policy4 ,every one who wishes to keep at all abreast with modern culture1 ought to have some general knowledge of the ideas and principles which underlie them and which are embraced in the comprehensive word 8polarity40 ,my object in this book has been to assist the reader1 who is not a specialist1 in arriving at some general understanding of the subjects treated of1 and ,i may hope1 in awakening such an interest in them as may induce him to prosecute further researches4 ,if ,i succeed in this1 my object will have been attained4 ,,preface4 ,the reception given to my former work1 on #8,modern ,science and ,modern ,thought1' has induced me to write this further one4 ,i refer not so much to the reviews of professional critics1 though as a rule nothing could be more courteous and candid1 but rather to the letters ,i have received from readers of various age1 sex1 and condition1 saying that ,i had assisted them in understanding much interesting matter which had previously been a sealed book to them4 ,if ,i am good for anything1 it is for a certain faculty of lucid condensation1 and ,i have thought that ,i might apply this to some of the less-known branches of modern science1 such as the new chemistry and physiology1 as well as1 in my first work1 to the more familiar subjects of astronomy and geology2 while at the same time ,i might extend it to some of the more obvious problems of religion1 morals1 metaphysics1 and practical life1 which force themselves1 more and more every day1 on the attention of intelligent thinkers4 ,as in the former work the scientific speculations were linked together by the leading idea of the universality of law1 so1 in this1 unity is given to them by the all-pervading principle of polarity1 which manifests itself everywhere as the fundamental condition of the material and spiritual universe4 ,for the scientific portion of the work ,i am indebted to the most approved authorities1 such as ,darwin1 ,huxley1 ,haeckel1 and ,professor ,cooke's volume on the ,new ,chemistry in the ,international ,scientific ,series4 ,for the religious and philosophical speculations ,i am myself responsible2 for1 although ,i have derived the greatest possible pleasure and profit from ,herbert ,spencer's writings1 ,i had arrived at my principal conclusions independently before ,i had read any of his works4 ,i can only hope that ,i may have succeeded in presenting a good many abstruse questions in a popular form1 intelligible to the average mind of ordinary readers1 and calculated1 if it teaches nothing else1 to teach them a practical philosophy which inculcates tolerance and charity1 and assists them in finding ,sermons in stones and good in everything4 ,,contents4 ,,page ,,chapter ,i4 ,,introductory4 ,experiment with magnet--,principle of polarity--,applies universally--,analogies in spiritual world--,zoroastrian religion--,changes in modern environment--,require corresponding changes in religions and philosophies #a ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,polarity ,,in ,,matter--,,molecules ,,and ,,atoms4 ,matter consists of molecules--,nature of molecules--,laws of their action in gases--,law of ,avogadro--,molecules composed of atoms--,proved by composition of water--,combinations of atoms--,elementary substances--,qualities of matter depend on atoms--,dimensions and velocities of molecules and atoms--,these are ascertained facts1 not theories #i ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,ether4 ,ether proved by light--,light-waves--,elasticity of ether--,its universal diffusion--,influences molecules and atoms--,is influenced by them--,successive orders of the infinitely small--,illustrated by the differential and integral calculus--,explanation of this calculus--,theory of vortex rings #ba ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,energy4 ,energy of motion and of position--,energy can be transformed1 not created or destroyed--,not created by free-will--,conservation of mechanical power--,convertibility of heat and work--,nature of heat--,the steam-engine--,different forms of energy--,gravity--,molecular energy--,chemical energy--,dynamite--,chemical affinities--,electricity--,produced by friction--,by the voltaic battery--,electric currents--,arc light--,induction--,magnetism--,the magnetic needle--,the electric telegraph--,the telephone--,dynamo-electric engine--,accumulator #cf ,,chapter ,v4 ,,polarity ,,in ,,matter4 ,ultimate elements of universe--,built up by polarity--,experiment with magnet--,chemical affinity--,atomic poles--,alkalies and acids--,quantivalence--,atomicity--,isom erism--,chemical stability--,thermochemistry--,definition of atoms--,all matter built up by polar forces #fe ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,,polarity ,,in ,,life4 ,contrast of living and dead--,eating and being eaten--,trace matter upwards and life downwards--,colloids--,cells--,protoplas m--,monera--,composition of protoplasm--,essential qualities of life--,nutrition and sensation--,motion--,reproduction--,spon taneous generation--,organic compounds--,polar conditions of life #gf ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,,primitive ,,polarities--,,plant ,,and ,,animal4 ,contrast in developed life--,plants producers1 animals consumers--,differences disappear in simple forms--,zoophytes-- ,protista--,nummulites--,corals--,fungi- -,lichens--,insectivorous plants--,geological succession--,primary period1 ,alg and ,ferns--,secondary period1 ,gymnosperms--,tertiary and recent1 ,angiosperms--,monocotyledons and ,dicotyledons--,parallel evolution of animal life--,primary1 protista1 mollusca1 and fish--,secondary1 reptiles--,tertiary and recent1 mammals #ib ,,chapter ,,viii4 ,,primitive ,,polarities--,,polarity ,,of ,,sex4 ,sexual generation--,base of ancient cosmogonies--,propagation non-sexual in simpler forms--,amba and cells--,germs and buds--,anemones--,worms--,spores--,origi n of sex--,ovary and male organ--,hermaphrodites--,parthenogenesis --,bees and insects--,man and woman--,characters of each sex--,woman's position--,improved by civilisation--,christianity the feminine pole--,monogamy the law of nature--,tone respecting women test of character--,women in literature--,in society--,attraction and repulsion of sexes--,like attracts unlike--,ideal marriage--,woman's rights and modern legislation #ajb ,,chapter ,,ix4 ,,primitive ,,polarities--,,heredity ,,and ,,variation4 ,heredity in simple forms of life--,in more complex organisms--,pangenesis--,varieties how produced--,fixed by law of survival of the fittest--,dr4 ,temple's view--,examples3 triton1 axolotl--,variations in individuals and species--,lizards into birds--,ringed snakes--,echidna #aag ,,chapter ,x4 ,,the ,,knowable ,,and ,,unknowable--,,brain ,,and ,,thought4 ,basis of knowledge--,perception--,constitution of brain--,white and grey matter--,average size and weight of brains--,european1 negro1 and ape--,mechanism of perception--,sensory and motor nerves--,separate areas of brain--,sensory and motor centres--,abnormal states of brain--,hypnotism--,somnambulism--,tranc e--,thought-reading-- ,spiritualism--,reflex action--,ideas how formed--,number and space--,creation unknowable--,conceptions based on perceptions--,metaphysics--,descartes1 ,kant1 ,berkeley--,anthropomorphism--,laws of nature #abe ,,chapter ,,xi4 ,,religions ,,and ,,philosophies4 ,religions1 #8working hypotheses'--,newman's illative sense--,origins of religions--,ghosts and spirits--,fetishes--,nature-worship--,so lar myths--,planets--,evolution of nature-worship--,polytheism1 pantheism1 and theism--,evolution of monotheism in the ,old ,testament--,evolution of morality--,natural law and miracle--,evidence for miracles--,insufficiency of evidence--,absence of intelligent design--,agnosticism--,origin of evil--,can only be explained by polarity--,optimism and pessimism--,jesus1 the ,christian ,ormuzd--,christianity without miracles #adf ,,chapter ,,xii4 ,,christianity ,,and ,,morals4 ,christianity based on morals--,origin of morality--,traced in ,judaism--,originates in evolution--,instance of murder--,freedom of will--,will suspended in certain states of brain--,hypnotism--,mechanical theory--,pre-established harmony--,human and animal conscience--,analysis of will--,explained by polarity--,practical conclusion #ahd ,,chapter ,,xiii4 ,,zoroastrianism4 ,zoroaster an historical person--,the ,parsees--,iranian branch of ,aryan family--,zoroaster a religious reformer--,scene at ,balkh--,conversion of ,gushtasp--,doctrines of the #8excellent religion'--,monotheism--,polarity--,dr4 ,haug's description--,ormuzd and ,ahriman--,anquetil du ,perron--,approximation to modern thought--,absence of miracles--,code of morals--,its comprehensiveness--,and liberality--,special rites--,fire-worship--,disposal of dead--,practical results--,the ,parsees of ,bombay--,their probity1 enterprise1 respect for women--,zeal for education--,philanthropy and public spirit--,statistics--,death and birth rates #aig ,,chapter ,,xiv4 ,,forms ,,of ,,worship4 ,byron's lines--,carnegie's description--,parsee nature-worship--,english ,sunday--,the sermon--,appeals to reason misplaced--,music better than words--,the ,mass--,zoroastrianism brings religion into daily life--,sanitation--,zoroastrian prayer--,religion of the future--,sermons in stones and good in everything #bai ,,chapter ,,xv4 ,,practical ,,polarities4 ,fable of the shield--,progress and conservatism--,english and ,french colonisation--,law-abidingness--,irish land question--,true conservative legislation--,ultra-conservatism--,law and education--,patriotism--,jingoism and parochialism--,true statesmanship--,free trade and protection--,capital and labour--,egoism and altruism--,socialism and laissez faire--,contracts--,rights and duties of landlords--,george's theory--,state interference--,railways--,post ,office--,telegraphs--,national defence--,concluding remarks #bbg ,a ,,modern ,,zoroastrian4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,,introductory4 ,experiment with magnet--,principle of polarity--,applies universally--,analogies in spiritual world--,zoroastrian religion--,changes in modern environment--,require corresponding changes in religions and philosophies4 ,scatter a heap of iron filings on a plate of glass2 bring near it a magnet1 and tap the glass gently1 and you will see the filings arrange themselves in regular forms4 ,if one pole only of the magnet is brought near the glass the filings arrange themselves in lines radiating from that pole4 ,next lay the bar-magnet on the glass so that the filings are influenced by both poles2 they will arrange themselves into a series of regular curves4 ,in other words1 the ,chaos of a confused heap of inert matter has become a ,cosmos of harmonious arrangement assuming definite form in obedience to law4 ,as the old saying has it1 that #8every road leads to ,rome1' so this simple experiment leads up to a principle which underlies all existence knowable to human faculty--that of ,polarity4 ,why do the iron filings arrange themselves in regular curves8 ,because they are magnetised by the influence of the larger magnet1 and each little particle of iron is converted into a little magnet with two opposite poles attracting and repelling4 ,illustration ,what is a magnet8 ,it is a special manifestation of the more general principle of polarity1 by which energy1 when it passes from the passive or neutralised into the active state1 does so under the condition of developing opposite and conflicting energies3 no action without reaction1 no positive without a negative1 and1 as we see it in the simplest form in our magnets1 no ,north ,pole without a ,south ,pole--like ever repelling like and attracting unlike4 ,the magnet1 again1 may be considered as a special form of electricity1 for if we send an electric current through a coil of copper wire encircling a bar of soft iron1 the bar is at once converted into a magnet2 so that a magnet may be considered as the summing up1 at two opposite extremities or poles1 of the attractive and repulsive effects of electric currents circulating round it4 ,but this electricity is itself subject to the law of polarity1 whether developed by chemical action in the form of a current or electricity in motion1 or by friction in the form of statical electricity of small quantity but high tension4 ,in all cases a positive implies a negative2 in all1 like repels like and attracts unlike4 ,conversely1 as polarity produces definite structure1 so definite structure everywhere implies polarity4 ,the same principle prevails not only throughout the inorganic or world of matter1 but throughout the organic or world of life1 and specially throughout its highest manifestations in human life and character1 and in the highest products of its evolution1 in societies1 religions1 and philosophies4 ,to show this by some familiar and striking examples is the main object of this book4 ,but here let me interpose a word of caution4 ,i must avoid the error which vitiates ,professor ,drummond's interesting work on #8,natural ,law in the ,spiritual ,world1' of confounding analogy and identity4 ,because the principle of polarity pervades alike the natural and spiritual worlds1 ,i am far from assuming that the laws under which it acts are identical2 and that virtue and vice1 pain and pleasure1 ugliness and beauty1 are products of the same mathematical changes of sign and inverse squares or cubes of distances1 as regulate the attractions and repulsions of molecules and atoms4 ,all ,i say is1 that the same pervading principle may be traced wherever human thought and human knowledge extend2 that it is apparently1 for some reason unknown to us1 the essential condition of all existence within the sphere of that thought and that knowledge2 and that what lies beyond it is the great unknown1 behind the impenetrable veil which it is not given to mortals to uplift4 ,in like manner1 if ,i call myself #8a modern ,zoroastrian1' it is not that ,i wish or expect to teach a new religion or revive an old one1 to see ,christian churches dedicated to ,ormuzd1 or right reverend bishops exchanging the apron and shovel-hat for the mitre and flowing robes of the ancient ,magi2 but simply this4 ,all religions ,i take to be #8working hypotheses1' by which successive ages and races of men try to satisfy the aspirations and harmonise the knowledge which in the course of evolution have come to be1 for the time1 their spiritual equipment4 ,the best proof of any religion is1 that it exists--i4e4 that it is part of the same evolution1 and that on the whole it works well1 i4e4 is in tolerable harmony with its environment4 ,when that environment changes1 when loftier views of morality prevail1 when knowledge is increased and the domain of science everywhere extends its frontier1 religions must change with it if they are to remain good working1 and not become unworkable and unbelievable hypotheses4 ,now of all the religious hypotheses which remain workable in the present state of human knowledge1 that seems to me the best which frankly recognises the existence of this dual law1 or law of polarity1 as the fundamental condition of the universe1 and1 personifying the good principle under the name of ,ormuzd1 and the evil one under that of ,ahriman1 looks with earnest but silent and unspoken reverence on the great unknown beyond1 which may1 in some way incomprehensible to mortals1 reconcile the two opposites1 and give the final victory to the good4 ,oh6 yet we hope that somehow good ,will be the final goal of ill4 ,so sings the poet of the nineteenth century3 so1 if we understand his doctrine rightly1 taught the ,bactrian sage1 ,zoroaster1 some forty centuries earlier4 ,this1 and this alone1 seems to me to afford a working hypothesis which is based on fact1 can be brought into harmony with the existing environment1 and embraces1 in a wider synthesis1 all that is good in other philosophies and religions4 ,when ,i talk of our new environment1 it requires one who1 like the author1 has lived more than the ,scriptural threescore and ten years1 and has1 so to speak1 one foot on the past and one on the present1 to realise how enormous is the change which a single generation has made in the whole spiritual surroundings of a civilised man of the nineteenth century4 ,when ,i was a student at ,cambridge1 little more than fifty years ago1 ,astronomy was the only branch of natural science which could be said to be definitely brought within the domain of natural law4 ,and that only as regards the law of gravity1 and the motions of the heavenly bodies1 for little or nothing was known as to their constitution4 ,geology was just beginning the series of conquests by which time and the order and succession of life on the earth have been annexed by science as completely as space by astronomy2 and theories of cataclysms1 universal deluges1 and special recent creations of animals and man1 still held their ground1 and were quoted as proofs of a universe maintained by constant supernatural interference4 ,and when ,i say that space had been annexed to science by astronomy1 it was really only that half of space which extends from the standpoint of the human senses in the direction of the infinitely great4 ,the other equally important half which extends downwards to the infinitely small was unknown1 or the subject only of the vaguest conjectures4 ,chemistry was1 to a great extent1 an empirical science1 and molecules and atoms were at best guesses at truth1 or rather convenient mathematical abstractions with no more actual reality than the symbols of the differential calculus4 ,the real causes and laws of heat1 light1 and electricity1 were as little known as those of molecular action and of chemical affinity4 ,the great laws of the indestructibility of matter1 the correlation of forces1 and the conservation of energy1 were unknown1 or only just beginning to be foreshadowed4 ,as regards life1 protoplasm was a word unheard of2 scientific biology1 zoology1 and botany were in their infancy2 and the gradual building up of all living matter from a speck of protoplasm1 through a primitive cell1 was not even suspected4 ,above all1 the works of ,darwin had not been published1 and evolution had not become the general law of modern thought2 nor had the discovery of the antiquity of man1 and of his slow development upwards from the rudest origins1 shattered into fragments established beliefs as to his recent miraculous creation4 ,science and miracle have been fighting out their battle during the last fifty years along the whole line1 and science has been at every point victorious4 ,miracle1 in the sense in which our fathers believed in it1 has been not only repulsed1 but annihilated so completely1 that really little remains but to bury the dead4 ,the result of these discoveries has been to make a greater change in the spiritual environment of a single generation than would be made in their physical environment if the glacial period suddenly returned and buried ,northern ,europe under polar ice4 ,the change is certainly greater in the last fifty years than it had been in the previous five hundred1 and in many respects greater than in the previous five thousand4 ,it may be sufficient to glance shortly at the equally great corresponding changes which this period has witnessed in the practical conditions of life and of society4 ,if astronomy and geology have extended the dominion of the mind over space and time1 steamers1 railways1 and the electric telegraph have gained the mastery over them for practical purposes4 ,commerce and emigration have assumed international proportions1 and ,india1 ,australia1 and ,america are nearer to us1 and connected with us by closer ties1 than ,scotland was to ,england in my schoolboy days4 ,education and a cheap press have even in a greater degree revolutionised society1 and knowledge1 reaching the masses1 has carried with it power1 so that democracy and free-thought are1 whether for good or evil1 everywhere in the ascendant1 and old privileges and traditions are everywhere decaying4 ,with such a great change of environment it is evident that many of the old creeds1 institutions1 and other organisms1 adapted to old conditions1 must have become as obsolete as a schoolboy's jacket would be as the comfortable habiliment of a grown-up man4 ,but as a lobster which has cast its shell does not feel at ease until it has grown a new one1 so thinking men of the present day are driven to devise1 to a great extent each for themselves1 some larger theory which may serve them as a #8working hypothesis' with which to go through life1 and bring the ineradicable aspirations and emotions of their nature into some tolerable harmony with existing facts4 ,to me1 as one of those thinking units1 this theory1 of what for want of a better name ,i call #8,zoroastrianism1' has approved itself as a good working theory1 which reconciles more intellectual and moral difficulties1 and affords a better guide in conduct and practical life than any other2 and1 in a word1 enables me to reduce my own individual ,chaos into some sort of an intelligible and ordered ,cosmos4 ,i feel moved1 therefore1 to preach through the press my little sermon upon it1 for the benefit of those whom it may concern1 feeling assured that the process of evolution1 by which ,the old order changes1 giving place to new1 can best be assisted by the honest and unbiassed expression of the results of individual thought and experience on the part of any one of those units whose aggregates form the complicated organisms of religions and philosophies1 of societies and of humanity4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,polarity ,,in ,,matter--,,molecules ,,and ,,atoms4 ,matter consists of molecules--,nature of molecules--,laws of their action in gases--,law of ,avogadro--,molecules composed of atoms--,proved by composition of water--,combinations of atoms--,elementary substances--,qualities of matter depend on atoms--,dimensions and velocities of molecules and atoms--,these are ascertained facts1 not theories4 ,if in building a house that is to stand when the rains fall and the winds blow1 it is requisite to go down to the solid rock for a foundation1 so much the more is it necessary in building up a theory to begin at the beginning and give it a solid groundwork4 ,nine-tenths of the fallacies current in the world arise from the haste with which people rush to conclusions on insufficient premises4 ,take1 for instance1 any of the political questions of the day1 such as the ,irish question3 how many of those who express confident opinions1 and get angry and excited on one side or the other1 could answer any of the preliminary questions which are the indispensable conditions of any rational judgment8 ,how many marks would they get for an examination paper which asked what was the population of ,ireland2 what proportion of that population was agricultural2 what proportion of that agricultural population consisted of holders of small tenements2 what was the scale of rents compared with that for small holdings in other countries2 how much of that rent was levied on them for their own improvements2 and other similar questions which lie at the root of the matter8 ,in how many cases would it be found that the whole superstructure of their confident and passionate theories about the ,irish difficulty was based on no more solid foundation than their like or dislike of a particular statesman or of a particular party8 ,i propose therefore to begin at the beginning1 and1 taking the simplest case1 that of dead or inorganic matter1 show how the material universe is built up by the operation of the all-pervading law of polarity4 ,what does matter consist of8 ,of molecules1 and molecules are made up of atoms1 and these are held together or parted1 and built up into the various forms of the material universe1 primarily by polar forces4 ,let me endeavour to make this intelligible to the intelligent but unscientific reader4 ,suppose the ,pyramid of ,cheops shown for the first time to a giant whose eye was on such a scale that he could just discern it as a separate object4 ,he might make all sorts of ingenious conjectures as to its nature1 but if microscopes had been invented in ,giant-land and he looked through one1 he would find that it was built up1 layer by layer1 on a regular plan and in determinate lines and angles1 by molecules1 or what seemed to him almost infinitely small masses1 of squared stone4 ,for pyramid write crystal1 and we may see by the human sense1 aided by human instruments and human reason1 a similar structure built up in the same way by minute particles4 ,or again1 divide and subdivide our iron filings until we reach the limit of possible mechanical division discernible by the microscope2 each one remains essentially a bar of iron1 as capable of being magnetised1 and showing the same qualities and behaviour under chemical tests as the original bar of iron from which the filings were taken4 ,this carries us a long way down towards the infinitely small1 for mechanical division and microscopic visibility can be carried down to magnitudes which are of the order of #a_/ajjjjjth of an inch4 ,but this is only the first step2 to understand our molecules we must ascertain whether they are infinitely divisible1 and whether they are continuous1 expanding by being spread out thinner and thinner like gold-beater's skin3 or are they separate bodies with intervals between them1 like little planets forming one solar system and revolving in space by fixed laws4 ,ancient science guessed at the former solution and embodied it in the maxim #8that nature abhors a vacuum'3 modern science proves the latter4 ,in the first place bodies combine only in fixed proportions1 which is a necessary consequence if they consist of definite indivisible particles1 but inconceivable if the substance of each is indefinitely divisible4 ,thus water is formed in one way and one only3 by uniting one volume or molecule of oxygen with two of hydrogen1 and any excess of one or the other is left out and remains uncombined4 ,but if the molecules could be divided into halves1 quarters1 and so on indefinitely1 there can be no reason why their union should take place always in this one proportion and this only4 ,a still more conclusive proof is furnished by the behaviour of substances which exist in the form of gases4 ,if a jar is filled with one gas1 a second and third gas can be poured into it as readily as into a vacuum1 the result being that the pressure on the sides of the jar is exactly equal to the sum of the separate pressures of each separate gas4 ,this evidently means that the first gas does not occupy the whole space1 but that its particles are like a battalion of soldiers in loose skirmishing order1 with such intervals between each unit that a second and third battalion can be marched in and placed on the same ground1 without disturbing the formation1 and with the result only of increasing the intensity of the fire4 ,now gas is matter as much as solids or liquids1 and in the familiar instance of water we see that it is merely a question of more or less heat whether the same matter exists as ice1 water1 or steam4 ,the number and nature of the molecules is not changed1 only in the one case they are close to one another and solidly linked together2 in the other1 further removed and free to move about one another1 though still held together as a mass by their mutual attractions2 and in the third1 still further apart1 so that their mutual attraction is lost and they dart about1 each with its own proper motion1 bombarding the surface which contains them1 and by the resultant of their impacts producing pressure4 ,in this latter and simpler form of gas the following laws are found to prevail universally for all substances4 ,under like conditions volumes vary directly as the temperature and inversely as the pressure4 ,that is to say1 the pressure which contains them remaining the same1 equal volumes of air1 steam1 or any other substance in the state of gas1 expand into twice the volume if the temperature is doubled1 three times if it is tripled1 and so on2 contracting in the same way if the temperature is lowered4 ,if on the other hand the temperature remains constant1 the volume is reduced to one half or one third1 if the pressure is doubled or tripled4 ,from these laws the further grand generalisation has been arrived at1 that all substances existing in the form of gas contain the same number of molecules in the same volume4 ,this1 which is known as the ,law of ,avogadro1 from the ,italian chemist by whom it was first discovered1 is the fundamental law of modern chemistry1 and the key to all certain and scientific knowledge of the constitution of matter and of the domain of the infinitely small1 just as much as the law of gravity is to action of matter in the mass1 and the resulting conditions and motions of mechanics and astronomy4 ,this conclusion obviously follows from it1 that difference of weight in different substances arises not from one having more molecules in the same volume than another1 but from the molecules themselves being heavier4 ,if we weigh a gallon or litre of hydrogen gas1 which is the lightest known substance1 and then weighing an equal volume of oxygen gas find that it is sixteen times heavier1 we know for certain that the molecule or ultimate particle of oxygen is sixteen times heavier than that of hydrogen4 ,it is evident that in this way the molecules of all simple substances which can exist in the form of pure gas can be weighed1 and their weight expressed in terms of the unit which is generally adopted1 that of the molecule of the lightest known substance1 hydrogen4 ,but science1 not content with this achievement1 wants to know not the relative weight only1 but the absolute dimensions1 qualities1 and motions of these little bodies2 and whether1 although they cannot be divided further by mechanical means1 and while retaining the qualities of the substances they build up1 they are really ultimate and indivisible particles or themselves composites4 ,chemistry and electricity give a ready answer to this latter question4 ,molecules are composites of still smaller bodies1 and to get back to the ultimate particle we must go to atoms4 ,all chemical changes resolve themselves into the breaking up of molecules and rearrangement of their constituent atoms4 ,if the opposite poles of a voltaic battery are inserted in a vessel containing water1 molecules of water are broken up1 bubbles of gas rise at each pole1 and if these are collected1 the gas at the positive pole is found to be oxygen1 and that at the negative pole hydrogen4 ,nothing has been added or taken away1 for the weight of the two gases evolved exactly equals that of the water which has disappeared4 ,but the molecules of the water have been broken up1 and their constituents reappear in totally different forms1 for nothing can well be more unlike water than each of the two gases of which it is composed4 ,that it is composed of them can be verified by the reverse experiment of mixing the two gases together in the same proportion of two volumes of hydrogen to one of oxygen as was produced by the decomposition of water1 passing an electric spark through the vessel containing the mixture1 when with a loud explosion the gases reunite1 and water is formed in precisely the same quantity as produced the volumes of gas by its decomposition4 ,can the ultimate particles of these gases be further subdivided2 can they1 like those of water1 be broken up and reappear in new forms8 ,no2 there is no known process by which an atom of oxygen can be made anything but oxygen1 or an atom of hydrogen anything but hydrogen4 ,the only thing which is compound in the composition of oxygen is that its molecules consist of two atoms linked together4 ,this appears from the fact that while the weight of oxygen1 and therefore that of its molecules1 is sixteen times greater than that of an equal volume of hydrogen1 and therefore of hydrogen molecules1 it combines with it in the proportion not of sixteen1 but of eight to one4 ,if1 therefore1 the molecule were identical with the atom of oxygen1 we must admit that the atom could be halved1 which is contrary to its definition as the ultimate indivisible particle of the substance oxygen4 ,but if the oxygen molecule consists of two linked atoms1 ,o--,o1 and the hydrogen molecule equally of two1 ,h--,h1 as can be proved by other considerations1 everything is explained by assuming that the molecule of water consists of two atoms of hydrogen linked to one of oxygen1 or ,h,o1 and that when this molecule is broken up by electricity1 its constituents resolve themselves into atoms1 which recombine so as to form twice as many molecules of hydrogen1 ,h--,h1 as of oxygen1 ,o1--i4e4 into two volumes of hydrogen gas to one of oxygen4 ,taking the single hydrogen atom as the unit of weight as being the lightest known ponderable body1 and calling this weight a microcrith1 or standard of the smallest of this order of excessively small weights1 this is equivalent to saying that the weight of an oxygen atom is equal to #af microcriths1 and as water is composed of one such atom plus two of hydrogen1 the weight of its molecule ought to be #af #b #ah1 which is in fact the exact ratio in which the weight of a volume of steam1 or water in the form of gas1 is heavier than an equal volume of hydrogen4 ,this key unlocks the whole secret of the chemical changes and combinations by which matter assumes all the various forms known to us in the universe4 ,thus oxygen enters into a great variety of combinations forming different substances1 but always in the proportion which is either #af1 or some multiple of #af1 such as #cb1 #dh1 #fd4 ,that is1 either #a1 #b1 #c1 or #d atoms of oxygen unite with other atoms to form the molecules from which these other substances are made4 ,one atom of oxygen weighing #af microcriths combines1 as we have seen1 with two atoms of hydrogen weighing #b1 to form a molecule of water weighing #ah mc4 ,in like manner one atom of oxygen1 #af mc41 combines with one of carbon1 which weighs #ab mc41 to form a molecule of carbonic oxide weighing #bh mc42 and two of oxygen1 #cb mc41 with one of carbon1 #ab mc41 to form a molecule of carbonic dioxide weighing #dd mc4 ,the same applies to all elementary substances4 ,thus hydrogen1 two atoms of which combine with one of oxygen to form water1 combines one atom to one with chlorine to form the molecule of hydrochloric acid1 which weighs #cfe mc41 being the united weights of one atom of chlorine1 #cee mc41 and one of hydrogen1 #a mc4 ,these1 with hundreds of similar instances1 are the results not of theories as to molecules and atoms1 but of actual facts1 ascertained by innumerable experiments made independently by careful observers over long periods of years1 many of them dating back to the labours of the alchemists of the middle ages in pursuit of gold4 ,the atomic theory is the child and not the parent of the facts1 and is indeed nothing but the summary of the vast variety of experiments which led up to it1 as ,newton's law of gravity is of the facts known to us with regard to the attractions and motions of matter in the mass4 ,but as ,newton's law enables us to predict new facts1 to calculate eclipses and the return of comets beforehand1 and to compile nautical almanacs2 so the new chemistry1 based on the atomic theory1 affords the same conclusive proof of its truth by enabling us in many cases to predict phenomena which are subsequently verified by experiment1 and to infer beforehand what combinations are possible1 and what will be their nature4 ,the actual existence1 therefore1 of molecules and atoms is as well-ascertained a fact1 as that of cwts4 and lbs41 or of planets and stars1 of solar systems and nebul4 ,the researches of chemists have succeeded in discovering about #gj substances1 of which the same may be said as of the oxygen and hydrogen into which water is decomposed1 viz4 that they cannot be decomposed by any known process1 and must therefore be considered as ultimate and elementary4 ,their atoms differ widely in size and weight3 that of mercury1 for instance1 being #bjj times heavier than that of hydrogen1 and the weights varying from #a mc4 for the hydrogen atom1 up to #bdj for that of uranium4 ,when we call them elementary substances1 we merely mean that we know no means of decomposing them4 ,it is possible that all of them may be compounds which we cannot take to pieces of some substratum of uniform matter1 and it is remarkable that the weight of nearly all of these elementary atoms is some simple multiple of that of hydrogen1 pointing to their being all combinations of one common substratum of matter2 but this is merely conjecture1 and in the present state of our knowledge we must assume these #ff or #ga ultimate particles or atoms to be the indivisible units out of which all the complicated puzzle of the material universe is put together4 ,they are not all equally important to us4 ,of the #ga elementary substances enumerated in chemical treatises1 #e are doubtful1 and #cj to #ce of the remainder are either known only to chemists in minute quantities1 or exist in nature in small quantities1 having no very material bearing upon man's relation to matter4 ,the most important are oxygen1 hydrogen1 nitrogen1 and carbon4 ,oxygen diluted by nitrogen gives us the air we breathe1 combined with hydrogen the water we drink1 and with metals and other primitive bases the solid earth on which we tread4 ,carbon again is the great basis of organised matter and life1 to which it leads up by a variety of complex combinations with oxygen1 hydrogen1 and nitrogen4 ,the qualities and relations of elementary atoms afford a subject of great interest1 but of such vast extent that those who wish to understand it must be referred to professed works on modern chemistry4 ,for the present purpose it is sufficient to say that the following conclusions are firmly established4 ,all the various forms of matter are composed of combinations of primitive atoms which form molecules1 the molecules being neither more nor less than very small pieces of ordinary matter4 ,the qualities of this matter1 or1 what is the same thing1 of its molecules1 depend partly on the qualities of the atoms1 which are something quite distinct from those of the molecules1 and partly on their mode of aggregation into molecules1 affecting the form1 size1 stability1 and other attributes of the molecule4 ,all matter1 down to the smallest atom1 has definite weight and is indestructible4 ,no man by taking thought can add the millionth of a milligramme to the weight of any substance1 or make it either more or less than the sum of the weights of its component factors1 any more than he can add a cubit to his stature4 ,when ,shelley sang of the cloud1 ,i change1 but ,i cannot die1 he enunciated a scientific axiom of the first importance4 ,creation1 in the sense of making something out of nothing1 is a thing absolutely unknown and unknowable to us4 ,if we say we make a ship or a steam-engine1 we simply mean that we transform existing matter and existing energies into new combinations1 which give results convenient for our purpose4 ,so if we talk of making a world1 our idea really is that if our powers and knowledge were indefinitely increased we might be able1 given the atoms and energies with their laws of existence1 to put them together so as to produce the desired results4 ,but how the atoms and their inherent laws got there is a question as to which knowledge1 or even conceivability1 is impossible1 for it altogether transcends human experience4 ,before finally taking leave of atoms it may be well to state shortly that science1 not content with having proved their existence and weighed them in terms of the lightest element1 the hydrogen atom1 has attempted1 not without success1 to solve the more difficult problem of their real dimensions1 intervals1 and velocities4 ,this problem has been attacked by ,clausius1 ,sir ,w4 ,thomson1 ,clerk ,maxwell1 and others1 from various sides3 from a comparison with the wave-lengths of light2 with the tenuity of the thinnest films of soap-bubbles just before they burst1 and when they are presumably reduced to a single layer of molecules2 and from the kinetic theory of gases1 involving the dimensions1 paths1 and velocities of elastic bodies1 constantly colliding1 and by their impacts producing the resulting pressure on the confining surface4 ,all these methods involve such refined mathematical calculations that it is impossible to explain them popularly1 but they all lead to nearly identical results1 which involve figures so marvellous as to be almost incomprehensible4 ,for instance1 a cubic centimetre of air is calculated to contain #ba trillions of molecules--i4e4 #ba times the cube of a million1 or #ba followed by #ah ciphers2 the average distance between each molecule equals #ie millionths of a millimetre1 which is about #be times smaller than the smallest magnitude visible under a microscope2 the average velocity of each molecule is #ddg metres per second2 and the average number of impacts received by each molecule in a second is #d1gjj millions4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,ether4 ,ether proved by light--,light-waves--,elasticity of ether--,its universal diffusion--,influences molecules and atoms--,is influenced by them--,successive orders of the infinitely small--,illustrated by the differential and integral calculus--,explanation of this calculus--,theory of vortex rings4 ,perhaps the best way to convey some idea of this order of magnitudes to the ordinary reader is to quote ,sir ,w4 ,thomson's illustration1 that if we could suppose a cubic inch of water magnified to the size of the earth--i4e4 to a sphere #bd1jjj miles in circumference--the dimensions of its ultimate particles1 magnified on the same scale1 or1 as he expresses it1 its degree of coarse-grainedness1 would be something between the size of rifle-bullets and cricket-balls4 ,extraordinary as these dimensions are1 they are not more so than those at the opposite extremity of the scale1 where the distance of stars and nebul has to be measured by the number of thousand years their light1 travelling at the rate of #aib1jjj miles per second1 takes to reach us4 ,infinitely small1 however1 as those dimensions appear to our original conceptions derived from our natural senses1 they are certain and ascertained facts1 if not as to the precise figures1 yet beyond all doubt as to the orders of magnitude4 ,in dealing with them also we are to a great extent on familiar ground4 ,molecules are nothing more nor less than small pieces of ordinary matter2 and atoms are also matter1 for they obey the law of gravity1 have definite weights1 and build up molecules as surely as molecules build up ordinary matter1 and as squared stones build up pyramids4 ,but to understand the constitution of the material universe we must go a step further1 part from the familiar world of sense1 and deal with an all-pervading medium1 which is at the same time matter and not matter1 which lies outside the laws of gravity1 and yet obeys other laws intelligible and calculable by us2 of which it may be said we know it and we know it not4 ,we call it ,ether4 ,ether is a medium assumed as a necessary consequence from the phenomena of light1 heat1 and electricity--primarily from those of light4 ,respecting light two facts are known to us with absolute certainty4 #ast4 ,it traverses space at the rate of #aib1jjj miles per second4 #bnd4 ,it is propagated not by particles actually travelling at this rate1 but1 like sound through air1 by the transmission of waves4 ,the first fact is known from the difference of time at which eclipses of ,jupiter's satellites are seen according as the earth is at the point of its orbit nearest to or farthest from ,jupiter--i4e4 from the time light takes to traverse the diameter of the earth's orbit1 which is about #ahj millions of miles2 and this velocity of light is confirmed by direct experiments1 as by noting the difference of time between seeing the flash and hearing the sound of a gun1 which gives the velocity of light compared with the known velocity of sound4 ,the second fact is equally certain from the phenomena of what are called interferences1 when the crest of one wave just overtakes the hollow of a preceding one1 so that1 if the two waves are of equal magnitude1 the oscillations exactly neutralise one another1 and two lights produce darkness4 ,this is shown in a thousand different ways1 and for all the different colours depending on different waves into which white light is analysed when passed through a prism4 ,it is a certain result of wave-motion1 and of wave-motion only1 and therefore we know without a doubt that light is propagated by waves4 ,but waves imply a medium through which waveforms are transmitted1 for waves are nothing but the rhythmic motion of something which rises and falls1 or oscillates symmetrically about a mean position of rest1 slowly or quickly according to the less or greater elasticity of the medium4 ,the waves which run along a large and slack wire are large and slow1 those along a small and tightly stretched wire are small and quick2 and from the data we possess as to light1 its velocity of transmission1 its refraction when its waves pass from one medium into another of different density1 and from the distance between the waves as shown by interference1 it is easy to calculate the lengths and vibratory periods of the waves1 and the elasticity of the medium through which such waves are transmitted4 ,the figures at which we arrive are truly extraordinary4 ,the dimensions and rates of oscillations of the waves which produce the different colours of visible light have been measured and calculated with the greatest accuracy1 and they are as follows3 ,,dimensions ,,of ,,light-,,waves4 ---------------------------------------- ------------- ,colours ,no4 of waves in,no4 of oscillations in one inch one second ---------------------------------------- ------------- ,red #ci1jjj #dgg1jjj1jjj1jjj1jjj ,orange #db1jjj #ejf1jjj1jjj1jjj1jjj ,yellow #dd1jjj #ece1jjj1jjj1jjj1jjj ,green #dg1jjj #egg1jjj1jjj1jjj1jjj ,blue #ea1jjj #fbb1jjj1jjj1jjj1jjj ,indigo #ed1jjj #feh1jjj1jjj1jjj1jjj ,violet #eg1jjj #fii1jjj1jjj1jjj1jjj ---------------------------------------- ------------- ,the elasticity of this wonderful medium is even more extraordinary4 ,the rapidity with which wave-motion is transmitted depends1 other things being equal1 on the elasticity of the medium1 which is proportional to the square of the velocity with which a wave travels through it4 ,as the velocity of the sound-wave in air is about #a1ajj feet in a second1 and that of the light-wave about #aib1jjj miles in the same time1 it follows that the velocity of the latter is about a million times greater than that of the former1 and if the density of ether were the same as that of air1 its elasticity must be about a million million times greater4 ,but the elasticity is the same thing as the power of resisting compression1 which in the case of air we know to be about #ae pounds to the square inch2 so that the ether1 if equally dense1 would balance a pressure of #ae million million pounds to the square inch--that is1 it would require a pressure of about #gej millions of tons to the square inch to condense ether to the density of air4 ,on the other hand1 its density1 if any1 must be so infinitesimally small that the earth moving through it in its orbit with a velocity of #a1ajj miles a minute suffers no perceptible retardation4 ,consider what this means4 ,air blowing at the rate of #ajj miles an hour is a hurricane uprooting trees and levelling houses4 ,if ether were as dense as air the resistance to the earth in passing through it would be #fjj times that of going dead to windward in a tropical hurricane4 ,but in point of fact there is no sensible resistance1 for the earth and heavenly bodies move in their calculated paths according to the law of gravity exactly as they would do if they were moving in a vacuum4 ,even the comets1 which consist of such excessively rare matter that when one of them got entangled among the satellites of ,jupiter it did not affect their movements1 are not retarded by the ether1 or so slightly1 that any retardation in the case of one or two of them is suspected rather than proved4 ,but1 if the ether has no weight1 how can we call it material1 weight being1 as we have seen1 the invariable test and measure of all matter down to the minutest atom8 ,and yet how can we deny its existence when it is demonstrably necessary to account for undoubted facts revealed to us every day by the prism1 the spectroscope1 electricity1 and chemical action1 and deductions from these facts based on the strict laws of mathematical calculation8 ,for the existence of the ether is not based only on the phenomena of light3 it is an equally necessary postulate to explain those of heat1 electricity1 and chemical action4 ,we must conceive of our atoms and molecules as forming systems and performing their movements1 not in vacuo1 but in an all-pervading medium of this ether1 to which they impart1 and from which they receive1 impulses4 ,these impulses are excessively minute1 and when they occur in irregular order they produce no appreciable effect2 but when the vibrations of the ether keep time with those of the atoms1 the multitude of small effects becomes summed up into one considerable enough to produce great changes4 ,just so a rhythmic succession of tiny ripples may set a heavy buoy oscillating1 and the footfalls of a regiment of soldiers marching over a suspension-bridge may make it swing until it breaks down1 while a confused mob could traverse it in safety4 ,the latter affords a good illustration of the way in which molecular structures may be broken down1 and their atoms set free to enter into other combinations1 by the action of heat1 light1 or chemical rays beyond the visible end of the spectrum4 ,conversely the phenomena of the spectroscope all depend on the fact that the vibrations of atoms and molecules can propagate waves through the ether1 as well as absorb ether-waves into their own motions1 and thus give spectra distinguished by bright or dark lines peculiar to each substance1 by which it can be identified4 ,whatever ether may be1 this much is certain about it3 it pervades all space4 ,that it extends to the boundaries of the infinitely great we know from the fact that light reaches us from the remotest stars and nebul1 and that in this light the spectroscope enables us to detect waves propagated and absorbed by the very same vibrations of the same familiar atoms at these enormous distances as at the earth's surface4 ,glowing hydrogen1 for instance1 is a principal ingredient of the sun's atmosphere and of those distant suns we call stars1 and it affects the ether and is affected by it exactly in the same manner as the hydrogen burning in an ordinary gas-lamp4 ,in the direction also of the infinitely small1 ether permeates the apparently solid structure of crystals1 whose molecules perform their limited and rigidly definite movements in an atmosphere of it1 as is shown by the fact that in so many cases light and heat penetrate through them4 ,a whole series of remarkable phenomena arise from the manner in which the vibrations of ether which cause light are affected by the structure of the molecules of crystals through which they pass4 ,in certain cases they are what is called polarised1 or so affected that while they pass freely if the crystal is held in one direction1 they are stopped if it is turned round through an angle of #ij to its former position1 so that one and the same crystal may be alternately transparent and non-transparent4 ,it would seem as if its structure were like that of wood1 grained1 and more easy to penetrate if cut with the grain than against it1 so that when a ray of light attempted to penetrate1 its vibrations were resolved into two1 one with the grain which got through1 the other against it which was suppressed2 so that the emerging ray1 which entered with a circular vibration1 got out with only one rectilinear vibration parallel to the diameter which coincided with the grain4 ,other crystals of more complicated structure affect transmitted light in a more complex way1 developing a double polarity very similar to that induced in the iron filings when brought under the influence of the two poles of the magnet4 ,with this polarised light the most beautiful coloured rings can be produced from the waves of the different colours into which the white light has been analysed in passing through the crystal1 which alternately flash out and disappear as the crystal is turned round its axis1 and which present a remarkable analogy to the curves into which the iron filings form themselves under the single or double poles of the magnet4 ,the importance of this will appear afterwards1 but for the present it is sufficient to show that the waves of ether which cause light really penetrate through the molecules of crystals1 but in doing so may be affected by them4 ,illustration3 ,,rings ,,of ,,polarised ,,light1 ,,uniaxial ,,crystals4 ,,rings ,,of ,,polarised ,,light1 ,,biaxial ,,crystals4 ,in dealing with these excessively small magnitudes it may assist the reader who has some acquaintance with mathematics in forming some conception of them1 to refer to that refinement of calculation1 the differential and integral calculus4 ,and even the non-mathematical reader may find it worth while to give a little attention in order to gain some idea of this celebrated calculus which was the key by which ,newton and his successors unlocked the mysteries of the heavens4 ,the first rough idea of it is gained by considering what would happen if1 in a calculation involving hundreds of miles1 we neglected inches4 ,suppose we had a block of land to measure1 #cjj miles long and #bjj wide2 as there are1 say1 #e1jjj feet in a mile1 and the error from omitting inches could not exceed a foot1 the utmost error in the measurement of length could not exceed #a_/aejjjjjth1 and in width #a_/ajjjjjjth part of the correct amount4 ,in the area of #cjj #bjj #fj1jjj square miles1 the limit of error would1 by adding or omitting the rectangle formed by multiplying together these two small errors1 not exceed #a_/aejjjjj #a_/ajjjjjj #a_/aejjjjjjjjjjjth part4 ,it is evident that the first error is an excessively small part of the true figure1 and the second error a still more excessively small part of the first error4 ,but1 as we are dealing with abstract numbers1 we can just as readily conceive our initial error to be the #a_/ajjth or #a_/ajjjth of an inch1 as one inch2 and1 in fact1 diminish it until it becomes an infinitesimally small or evanescent quantity4 ,in doing so1 however1 it is evident that we shall make the second error such a still more infinitesimally small fraction of the first that it may be considered as altogether disappearing4 ,the first error is called a differential of the first order and denoted by d1 the second a differential of the second order denoted by d4 ,thus if we call the base of our rectangle x and its height y1 the area will be xy4 ,let us suppose x to receive the addition of a very small increment dx1 and y the corresponding increment dy1 what will be the corresponding increment of the area1 or d4xy8 ,clearly the difference between the old area xy and the new area 7x dx7 multiplied by 7y dy74 ,this multiplication gives x dx y dy ------------ xy ydx xdy dx4dy ------------------------------ xy xdy ydx dx4dy ,the difference between this and xy is xdy ydx dx4dy4 ,but dx4dy is1 as we have seen1 a differential of the second order and may be neglected4 ,therefore dxy xdy ydx4 ,in like manner dx 7x dx7-x #bxdx dx1 which last term may be neglected1 and dx #bxdx4 ,in this way the differentials of all manner of functions and equations of symbols representing dimensions and motions may be found4 ,conversely the wholes may be considered as made up of an infinite number of these infinitely small parts1 and found from them by summing up or integrating the differentials4 ,thus if we had the equation xdy ydx #bzdz we know that the left-hand side is the differential of xy1 and therefore that by integrating it we shall get xy2 while the right side is the differential of z which we shall get by integrating it4 ,the relation expressed therefore is that xy z1 or1 in other words1 that a rectangle whose sides are x and y exactly equals a square whose side is z4 ,illustration3 ,,fig4 #a4 ,,fig4 #b4 ,,fig4 #c4 ,the use of this device in assisting calculation will be apparent if we take the case of an area bounded by a curved line4 ,we cannot directly calculate this area1 but we can easily tell that of a rectangle4 ,now it is evident that if we inscribe rectangles in this area ,,abc1 the more rectangles we inscribe the less will be the error in taking their sum as equal to the curved area4 ,this is apparent if we compare fig4 #b with fig4 #c4 ,suppose we take a point ,p on the curve1 call ,,bn x and ,,pn y1 and suppose ,nn to be dx1 the differentially small increment of x1 and pq dy the corresponding small increment of y4 ,the area of the rectangle ,pqn,n ,,pn ,nn ydx1 and differs from the true curvilinear area ,ppn,n by less than the little rectangle of ,pq pq or of dx4dy4 ,but1 as we have seen1 if we push our division to the first infinitesimal order1 or make ,nn and pq differentials of x and y1 dx4dy may be neglected--i4e4 multiply the number of rectangles indefinitely1 and the sum of their areas will differ from the true area inclosed by the curve by an error which is evanescent4 ,if then x and y are connected by some fixed law1 as must be the case if the extremity of y traces out some regular curve1 the relation between them may be expressed by an equation1 which will remain one however often it may be differentiated or again integrated1 and whatever modifications or transformations it may receive by mathematical processes which do not alter the essential equality of the two sides connected by the symbol of equality 4 ,thus by differentiating and casting off as evanescent all differentials of a lower order than that which we are working with1 we may arrive at forms of which we know the integrals1 and by integrating get back to the results in ordinary numbers1 which we were in search of but could not attain directly4 ,the same thing will apply if our symbols are more numerous1 and if they express relations of motion as well as of space1 or1 in fact1 any relations which are governed by fixed laws expressible by equations4 ,if ,i have succeeded in conveying to the readers any idea of this celebrated calculus1 they will perceive what an analogy it presents to the idea of modern physical and chemical science1 that of molecules1 atoms1 and ether1 forming differentials of successive orders of the infinitely small4 ,it is certainly most remarkable that while the former was a purely intellectual idea based on mathematical abstractions1 and which was invented and worked as an instrument for solving the most intricate astronomical problems for nearly two centuries1 without a suspicion that it represented any objective reality3 the latter idea1 based on actual experiment1 seems to show that differentials and integrals have their real counterpart in nature and represent fundamental facts in the constitution of the universe4 ,those who are of a mystic or metaphysical turn of mind may discern in this1 arguments for matter and laws of matter being after all only manifestations of one universal1 all-pervading mind2 but in following such speculations we should be deserting the solid earth for cloudland1 and passing the limit of positive knowledge into the region where reflections of our own hopes1 fears1 religious feelings1 and poetical sentiments form and dissolve themselves against the background of the great unknown4 ,for the present1 therefore1 ,i confine myself to pointing out how these undoubted truths of mathematical science1 which have verified themselves in the practical form of enabling us to predict eclipses and construct nautical almanacs1 correspond with and throw light upon the equally certain facts of this succession of infinitely small quantities of successive orders in the constitution of matter4 ,an attempt has recently been made1 based on abstruse mathematical calculations1 to carry our knowledge of the constitution of matter one step further back1 and identify atoms with ether4 ,this is attempted by the vortex theory of ,helmholz1 ,sir ,w4 ,thomson1 and ,professor ,tait4 ,it is singular how some of the ultimate facts discovered by the refinements of science correspond with some of the most trivial amusements4 ,thus the blowing of soap-bubbles gives the best clue to the movement of waves of light1 and through them to the dimensions of molecules and atoms2 and the collision of billiard-balls1 knocked about at random1 to the movements of those minute bodies1 and the kinetic theory of gases4 ,in the case of the vortex theory the idea is given by the rings of smoke which certain adroit smokers amuse themselves by puffing into the air4 ,these rings float for a considerable time1 retaining their circular form1 and showing their elasticity by oscillating about it and returning to it if their form is altered1 and by rebounding and vibrating energetically1 just as two solid elastic bodies would do1 if two rings come into collision4 ,if we try to cut them in two1 they recede before the knife1 or bend round it1 returning1 when the external force is removed1 to their original form without the loss of a single particle1 and preserving their own individuality through every change of form and of velocity4 ,this persistence of form they owe to the fact that their particles are revolving in small circles at right angles to the axis or circumference of the larger circle which forms the ring2 motion thus giving them stability1 very much as in the familiar instance of the bicycle4 ,they burst at last because they are formed and rotate in the air1 which is a resisting medium2 but mathematical calculation shows that in a perfect fluid free from all friction these vortex rings would be indivisible and indestructible3 in other words1 they would be atoms4 ,the vortex theory assumes1 therefore1 that the universe consists of one uniform primary substance1 a fluid which fills all space1 and that what we call matter consists of portions of this fluid which have become animated with vortex motion4 ,the innumerable atoms which form molecules1 and through molecules all the diversified forms of matter of the material universe1 are therefore simply so many vortex rings1 each perfectly limited1 distinct1 and indestructible1 both as to its form1 mass1 and mode of motion4 ,they cannot change or disappear1 nor can they be formed spontaneously4 ,those of the same kind are constituted after the same fashion1 and therefore are endowed with the same properties4 ,the theory is a plausible one1 and the reputation of its authors must command for it respectful consideration2 but it is as yet a long way from being an established theory which can be accepted as a true representation of facts4 ,in the first place it is based solely on mathematical theory1 and not1 as in the case of atoms and light-waves1 upon actual facts of weight and measurement tested by experiment1 and to which mathematical reasoning affords only an aid and supplement4 ,no one has proved the existence of such a medium or of such vortex rings1 much less weighed or measured them4 ,moreover the theory is open to some very obvious objections4 ,how can aggregations of imponderable matter acquire weight1 and become subject to the law of gravity1 which1 as we have seen1 is one of the essential and permanent qualities of atoms8 ,if a cubic millionth of a millimetre of ether formed into a big vortex ring of1 say1 an atom of mercury1 has a weight equal to #bjj times that of an atom of hydrogen1 which itself has a definite weight1 why has it no weight in its original form8 ,and if it had weight1 however small1 how could the enormous mass of ether filling all space produce no perceptible effect on bodies1 even of attenuated cometic vapour1 revolving through it with immense velocities8 ,again1 how could these innumerable vortex rings be formed out of the ether without disturbing the uniformity and continuity of the medium1 which are essential for the propagation of the light-waves through it8 ,and how could the motions requisite to form the vortex rings be impressed on them de novo consistently with the principle of the conservation of energy8 ,energy can no more be created out of nothing than matter1 by any process known in nature or conceivable by the human intellect2 and to assume it is simply a more refined manner of falling back on the supernatural1 which is itself only a more refined manner of saying that we know nothing4 ,for the present1 therefore1 we must be content with atoms and ether as the ultimate terms of our knowledge of the material or quasi-material components of the universe4 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,energy4 ,energy of motion and of position--,energy can be transformed1 not created or destroyed--,not created by free will--,conservation of mechanical power--,convertibility of heat and work--,nature of heat--,the steam-engine--,different forms of energy--,gravity--,molecular energy--,chemical energy--,dynamite--,chemical affinities--,electricity--,produced by friction--,by the voltaic battery--,electric currents--,arc light--,induction--,magnetism--,the magnetic needle--,the electric telegraph--,the telephone--,dynamo-electric engine--,accumulator4 ,those ultimate elements1 however1 atoms and ether1 only give us what may be called the dead half of the universe1 which could not exist without the constant presence of the animating principle of force or energy4 ,energy is the term generally adopted in the language of science1 for force is apt to be associated with human effort and with actual motion produced1 while energy is a comprehensive term1 embracing whatever produces or is capable of producing motion4 ,thus1 if we bend a cross-bow1 the force with which it is bent may either reappear at once in the flight of the arrow1 if we let go the string2 or it may remain stored up1 if we fix the string in the notch1 ready to reappear when we pull the trigger4 ,in the former case it is called energy of motion1 in the latter energy of position4 ,it is important to realise this distinction clearly1 for many of the ordered and harmonious arrangements of the universe depend on the polarity1 or conflict with alternate victories and defeats1 between those two forms of energy4 ,illustration ,thus if ,a ,b is a pendulum suspended at the point ,a1 if we move it from its position of rest ,a ,c to ,a ,b and hold it there1 its whole energy is that of position4 ,if we let it go it swings backwards and forwards between the positions ,a ,b and ,a ,d1 and but for the resistance of the air and the friction at the point of suspension1 it would so swing for ever4 ,but in thus swinging what happens8 ,from ,a ,b to ,a ,c energy of motion keeps gaining on energy of position1 until when the pendulum reaches ,c1 it has annihilated it4 ,energy of position has entirely disappeared1 and the whole original force expended in raising the pendulum to ,a ,b exactly reappears in the force or momentum of the pendulum at its lowest point4 ,but is this victory final8 ,by no means2 energy of position having touched bottom1 gathers1 like ,antus1 fresh vigour for the contest1 and from the position ,a ,c upwards it gains ground on its adversary until when the pendulum reaches ,a ,d it is in its turn completely victorious4 ,the same alternation between energy of motion and of position takes place in all rhythmical movements such as waves1 which1 whether in water1 air1 or ether1 are propagated1 as in the case of the pendulum1 by particles forced out of their position of rest and oscillating between the two energies4 ,illustration ,thus if waves run along an elastic wire ,a ,b1 the particle ,p1 which has been forced into the position p1 oscillates backwards and forwards between p and q1 beginning with nothing but energy of position at p1 losing it all for energy of motion at ,p1 and regaining it at q4 ,all wave-motions therefore--that is to say1 all sound1 light1 and heat--depend on this primitive polarity4 ,if we have got this definition of the two forms of energy clearly into our heads1 we shall be the better prepared for this further generalisation--the grandest1 perhaps1 in the whole range of modern science--that energy1 like matter1 is indestructible1 and can only be transformed1 but never created or annihilated4 ,this is at first sight a more difficult proposition to establish in the case of energy than in that of matter4 ,in the latter case we have nothing in our experience that can lead us to suppose that we have ever created something out of nothing2 but in the former1 our first impression undoubtedly is that we do create force4 ,if ,i throw a stone at a bird ,i have an instinctive impression that the force which projects the stone is the creation of my own conscious will2 that ,i had the choice either to throw or not to throw2 and that if ,i had decided not to throw1 the impelling force would never have existed4 ,but1 if we look more closely at the matter1 it is not really so4 ,the chain of events is this3 the first impulse proceeds from the visual rays1 which1 concentrated by the lens of the eye on the retina1 give an image of the bird2 this sends vibrations along the optic nerve to the brain1 setting in motion certain molecules of that organ2 these again send vibrations along other nerves to certain muscles of the arm and hand1 which contract1 and by doing so give out the energy of movement which throws the stone4 ,all this process is strictly mechanical2 the eye acts precisely like a camera obscura in forming the image2 the nerve-vibrations1 though not identical with those of the wires of an electric telegraph1 are of the same nature1 their velocity can be measured1 and their presence detected by the galvanometer2 the energy of the muscle is stored there by the slow combustion of the food we have eaten1 in the oxygen of the air we have breathed4 ,take any of these conditions away1 and no effort of the will can produce the result4 ,if the nerve is paralysed1 or the muscle1 from prolonged starvation1 has no energy left1 the stone will not be thrown1 however much we may desire to kill the bird4 ,again1 precisely the same circle of events takes place in numerous instances without any intervention of this additional factor of conscious will4 ,we breathe mechanically1 the muscles of the chest causing it to rise and fall like the waves of the ocean1 without any deliberate intention of taking air into the lungs and exhaling it4 ,nay more1 there are instances of what was at first accompanied by the sensation of conscious will1 ceasing to be so when the molecular movements had made channels for themselves1 as when a piano-player1 who had learned his notes with difficulty1 ends by playing a complicated piece automatically4 ,the case of animals also raises another difficulty4 ,suppose a retriever dog sees his master shoot at and miss a hare3 shall he obey the promptings of his animal instinct and give chase1 or those of his higher moral nature which tell him that it is wrong to do so without the word of command8 ,it is hard to see how this differs from the case of a man resisting or yielding to temptation2 and how1 if we assign conscious will to the man1 we can deny it to the dog4 ,reasoning from these premises1 some philosophers have come to the conclusion that man and all animals are but mechanical automata1 cleverly constructed to work in a certain way fitting in with the equally preordained course of outward phenomena2 and that the sensation of will is merely an illusion arising as a last refinement in the adjustment of the machinery4 ,but here comes in that principle of duality or polarity1 by which a proposition may be at once true and untrue1 and two contradictory opposites exist together4 ,no amount of philosophical reasoning can make us believe that we are altogether machines and not free agents2 it runs off us like water from a duck's back1 and leaves us in presence of the intuitive conviction that to a great extent ,man is man and master of his fate4 ,if this be an illusion1 why not everything--evidence of the senses1 experiment1 natural law1 science1 as well as morality and religion8 ,to pursue this farther would lead us far astray into the misty realm of metaphysics1 and ,i refer to it only as showing that the principle of the conservation of energy1 standing as it does in apparent contradiction to our natural impressions1 requires a fuller demonstration than the kindred principle of the indestructibility of matter4 ,illustration ,in the case of ordinary mechanical power it had been long known that the intervention of machinery did not create force1 but only transformed it4 ,if a weight of #a lb41 ,a1 just balances a weight of #b lb41 ,b1 by aid of a pulley1 and by the addition of a minute fraction1 such as a grain1 raises it #a foot1 it will be invariably found that ,a has descended #b feet4 ,in other words1 #a lb4 working through #b feet does exactly the same work as #b lbs4 working through #a foot4 ,and whatever may be the intervening machinery the same thing holds good1 and the work put in at one end comes out1 neither more nor less1 at the other1 except for a minute loss due to friction and resistance of air4 ,if a force equal to #a lb4 is made1 by multiplying the intermediate machinery1 to raise a ton a foot from the ground1 exactly as much force must have been exerted as if the ton had been divided into #b1bdj parts of #a lb4 each1 and each part separately lifted4 ,but although energy cannot be created1 at first sight it seems as if it might be destroyed1 as when the ton falls to the ground and seems to have lost all its energy1 whether of motion or of position4 ,but here science steps in and shows us that it is not destroyed1 but simply transformed into another sort of motion1 which we call heat4 ,some connection between mechanical work and heat had long been known1 as in the familiar experiment of rubbing our hands together to warm them2 and the practice known to most primitive races of obtaining fire by twirling a stick rapidly in a hole drilled in a block of wood2 a practice described by the old ,sanskrit word #8pramantha1' which means an instrument for obtaining fire by pressure or friction1 and which1 translated into ,greek1 has been immortalised by the legend of ,prometheus4 ,but it was reserved for recent years1 and for an ,english philosopher1 ,dr4 ,joule1 to give scientific precision and generality to this idea1 by actually measuring the amount of heat produced by a given amount of work1 and showing that they were in all cases convertible terms1 so much heat for so much work1 and so much work for so much heat4 ,he did this by measuring accurately by a thermometer the heat added to a given amount of water by the work done by a set of paddles revolving in it1 set in rapid motion by a known weight descending through a known space4 ,the unit of work being taken as that sufficient to raise #a kilogramme through #a metre1 and that of heat as that required to raise the temperature of one kilogramme of water by #a ,centigrade1 the relation between them1 as found by a vast number of careful experiments1 is that of #dbd to #a4 ,that is1 one unit of heat is equal to #dbd units of work4 ,in this1 and all cases requiring scientific precision1 it is better to use the units of the metrical system than our clumsy ,english standards2 but it may be sufficient for the ordinary reader to take the metre1 which is about #cicg inches1 as practically a yard1 and the kilogramme1 which is #ae1dcb ,english grains1 as practically equal to #b lbs4 ,this is sufficient to show the much greater energy of the invisible forces which act at minute distances1 than that of gravity and other forces which do appreciable mechanical work1 the energy of a weight falling from a height of more than #a1cjj feet being only sufficient to heat its own weight by #a4 ,this proof of the convertibility of work into heat gives much greater precision to our ideas respecting the real nature of heat and its kindred molecular and atomic energies4 ,heat is clearly not a material substance1 for a body does not gain weight by becoming hotter4 ,in the case of all ponderable matter down to the atoms1 which are only of the size of cricket-balls compared to that of the earth1 any combination which adds matter adds weight1 and the weight of the product exactly equals the sum of the weights of the separate factors which have united to form it4 ,thus1 if iron is burnt in oxygen gas1 the product1 oxide of iron or rust1 weighs more than the original iron by just as much as the weight of the oxygen which has been consumed4 ,but heat1 light1 and electricity add nothing to the weight of a body when they are added to it1 and take nothing away when they are subtracted4 ,the inference is unavoidable that heat1 like light1 is not ponderable matter1 but an energy transmitted by waves of the imponderable medium known as ether4 ,this is confirmed by finding that when a ray from the sun is analysed by passing through a refracting prism1 one part of the spectrum shows light of various colours1 while another gives heat4 ,the hottest part of the spectrum lies in the red and beyond it1 showing that the heat-waves are longer1 and their oscillations slower1 than those of light4 ,heat-waves also may be made to interfere1 and to become polarised1 in a manner analogous to the phenomena exhibited by those of light4 ,there can be no doubt1 therefore1 that heat1 like light1 is an energy or mode of motion1 transmitted by waves of an imponderable ether1 and that it acts on the molecules and atoms of matter by the accumulated successive impulses of those waves on the molecules and atoms which are floating in it1 or rather which are revolving in it1 in definite groups and fixed orbits1 like miniature solar systems or starry universes4 ,we can now see how heat performs work1 and why work can be transformed into it4 ,heat performs work in two ways4 ,first1 it expands bodies--that is1 it draws their molecules farther apart against the force of cohesion which binds them together or keeps them moving in definite orbits at definite distances4 ,it is as if it increased the velocity1 and therefore the centrifugal force of a system of planets1 and so caused them to revolve in wider orbits4 ,the expansion of mercury in a thermometer affords a familiar instance of this effect of heat and the readiest measure of its amount4 ,secondly1 it increases the energy of the molecular motions1 so that they dart about1 collide1 and vibrate with greater force4 ,thus1 as heat increases1 evaporation increases1 for molecules on the surface are projected with so much force as to get beyond the sphere of the cohesive attraction which binds them to the system1 and they dart off like comets into space4 ,finally1 as heat increases1 and more and more work is done1 against the centripetal force of cohesion1 most substances1 and doubtless all if we could get heat enough1 are converted from solids into fluids1 and ultimately into gases1 in which latter state the molecules have got altogether beyond the sphere of their mutual attraction1 and tend to dart off indefinitely in the direction of their own proper centrifugal motions1 unless confined1 in which case they dart about1 collide1 rebound1 and exercise pressure on the containing surface4 ,conversely1 if heat expands bodies1 it is given out when they contract4 ,thus the enormous quantity of heat poured out for millions of years by the sun1 is probably owing mainly to the mechanical force of contraction of the original cosmic matter condensing about the solar nucleus4 ,again1 when gases suddenly expand1 their temperature falls1 which is the principle by which artificial ice is procured1 and frozen beef and mutton are brought from ,america and ,australia1 producing1 such are the complicated relations of modern society1 agricultural depression1 fall of rents1 and a serious aggravation of the ,irish question4 ,as an example of the converse proposition of the transformation of heat into mechanical work1 the steam-engine affords the aptest illustration4 ,the original power came from the sun millions of years ago1 and did work by enabling the leaves of plants to overcome the strong mutual affinity of carbon and oxygen in the carbonic dioxide in the air1 and store up the carbon in the plant1 where it remained since the coal era in the form of energy of position4 ,by lighting the coal1 or in other words separating its molecules more widely by heat1 we enable them to exert once more their natural affinity for oxygen1 and burn1 that is recombine into carbonic dioxide4 ,the heat thus produced turns water into steam1 which passes through a cylinder1 either into a condenser if the steam is at low pressure1 or into the outer air if it has been superheated and brought to a higher pressure than that of the atmosphere4 ,the difference of the pressure or elasticity of the steam in the boiler1 and of the same steam when it is condensed or liberated1 is available for doing work1 and1 being admitted and released alternately at the two ends of the cylinder1 drives a piston up and down1 which1 by means of cranks and shafts1 turns a wheel or does whatever work is required of it4 ,in doing this1 heat disappears1 being converted into work1 and the amount of heat would exactly equal that into which the work would be converted according to ,joule's law1 if it could all be utilised without the loss necessarily incurred by friction1 radiation1 and the still more important absorption of latent heat required to convert water at boiling-point into vapour of the same temperature4 ,this latter is not really an annihilation of the heat1 but its conversion into work done in separating the molecules against the force of cohesion4 ,the whole heat1 therefore1 is transformed into work1 mainly molecular work in tearing molecules asunder1 and the residue into mechanical work turning spindles and driving locomotives and steamboats4 ,the intermediate machinery here1 including the water in the boiler1 is merely the means of applying the original energy in the particular way we desire4 ,the essential thing is the transformation of a certain amount of heat into work by passing1 in accordance with the laws of heat1 from a hotter to a colder body4 ,the last condition is indispensable1 for the nature of heat is to seek an equilibrium by passing from hot to cold1 and no work can be got out of it in the reverse way4 ,on the contrary1 work must be expended and turned into heat to restore the temperature which has run down4 ,the case is analogous to that of water1 which1 if raised by evaporation or stored up in reservoirs at a level above the sea1 can be made to turn a wheel while it is running down2 but when it has all run down to the sea level1 can do no more work1 and can only be pumped up again to a higher level by the expenditure of fresh work4 ,owing to this tendency of heat we can see that1 although matter and energy are to all appearance indestructible1 the present constitution of the universe is not eternal4 ,the animating energy of heat is always tending to obliterate differences of temperature1 and bring all energy down to one uniform dead level of a common average1 in which no further life1 work1 or motion are possible4 ,fortunately this consummation is far off1 and for many tens or hundreds of millions of years the inhabitants of this tiny planet may feel fairly secure1 and need not1 like the late ,dr4 ,cumming1 of millenarian celebrity1 introduce breaks in the leases of their houses to provide against the contingency of the world coming to an end at an early date4 ,dismissing1 then1 to the remote future any speculations as to the failure of this essential element of active energy1 let us rather consider the various protean forms in which it shows itself4 #a4 ,the energy of visible motion1 which1 as we have seen1 may be transformed into an equivalent amount of energy of position4 #b4 ,molecular energy1 which causes the cohesive attraction1 repulsion1 and other proper motions of these minute and invisible particles of matter4 #c4 ,energy of heat and light1 which are transmitted by waves of the assumed imponderable medium called ether4 #d4 ,energy of chemical action1 by which the small ultimate particles of ponderable matter1 called atoms1 separate and combine into the various combinations of molecules constituting visible matter1 in obedience to certain affinities1 or inherent attractions and repulsions4 #e4 ,electrical energy1 which includes magnetism as a special instance4 ,all these forms of energy may exist1 as in the case of visible energy1 either as energies of motion or of position1 and the actual constitution of the universe is due in a great measure to the alternation of these two energies4 ,thus all wave-motion1 whether it be of the waves of the sea grinding down a rocky coast1 of the air transmitting sound1 or of ether transmitting light and heat1 are instances of energies of motion and of position1 conflicting with one another and alternately gaining the victory4 ,so also a pound of gunpowder or dynamite has an immense energy of position1 which1 when its atoms are let loose from their mutual unstable connection by heat or percussion1 manifests itself in an enormous energy of motion1 which is more or less destructive according to the rapidity with which the atoms rush into new combinations4 ,let us consider these different energies a little more in detail4 ,the energy of visible motion is manifested principally by the law of gravity1 under which all matter attracts other matter directly as the mass and inversely as the square of the distance4 ,it is a universal and uniform law of matter1 and can be traced without change or variation from the minutest atom up to the remotest double star4 ,the energy of living force might1 at first sight1 be considered as another of the commonest causes of visible motion2 but1 when closely analysed1 it will be found that what appears as such is only the result of molecular energy of position stored up in the living body by chemical changes during the slow combustion of food1 and that nothing has been added by any hypothetical vital force4 ,the conscious will seems to act in those cases simply as the signalman who shows a white flag may act on a train which has been standing on the line waiting for it4 ,the energy which moves the train is due entirely to the difference of heat1 which has been developed by the combustion of coal1 between the steam in the boiler and the steam when allowed to escape into the air2 and this energy came originally from the sun1 whose rays enabled the leaves of growing plants to decompose carbonic dioxide and store up the carbon in the coal4 ,of this force of gravity causing visible motion we may say that it is comparatively a very weak force1 which acts uniformly over all distances great or small4 ,molecular energies1 on the other hand1 act with vastly greater force1 but at very small distances1 and appear sometimes as attractive and sometimes as repulsive forces4 ,thus solid bodies are held together by a force of cohesion which is very powerful1 but acts only at very small distances1 as we may see if we break a piece of glass and try to mend it by pressing the broken edges together4 ,we cannot bring them near enough to bring the molecular attraction again into play and make the broken glass solid4 ,but the same glass acts with repellent energy if another solid tries to penetrate it1 so that we can walk on a glass floor without sinking into it4 ,heat also1 by increasing the distance between the molecules1 first weakens the cohesive force so that the solid becomes fluid1 and finally overcomes it altogether1 so that it passes into the state of gas in which the centripetal attraction of the molecules is extinguished1 and they tend to recede further and further from each other under the centrifugal force of their own proper velocities4 ,the great energy of molecular forces will be apparent from the fact that a bar of iron1 in cooling #aj ,centigrade1 contracts with a force equal to a ton for each square inch of section1 as exemplified in the tubular bridge across the ,menai ,straits1 where space has to be allowed for the free contraction and expansion of the iron under changes of temperature4 ,chemical energy1 or the mutual attractions and repulsions of atoms1 is even more powerful than that of molecules4 ,it displays itself in their elective affinities1 or what may be called the likes and dislikes1 or loves and hatreds1 of these ultimate particles4 ,perhaps the best illustration will be afforded by that #8latest resource of civilisation1' dynamite4 ,this substance1 or to give it its scientific name1 nitro-glycerine1 is composed of molecules each of which is a complex combination of nine atoms of oxygen1 five of hydrogen1 three of nitrogen1 and three of carbon4 ,of these1 oxygen and hydrogen have a strong affinity for one another1 as is seen by their rushing together whenever they get the chance1 and by their union forming the very stable compound1 water4 ,oxygen and carbon have also a very strong affinity1 and readily form the stable product carbonic dioxide gas4 ,nitrogen1 on the other hand1 is a very inert substance2 its molecule consists of two atoms of itself which are bound together by a strong affinity1 and can only be coaxed with difficulty into combinations with other elements1 forming compounds which are1 as it were1 artificial structures1 and very unstable4 ,we see this in the air1 which consists mainly of oxygen and nitrogen1 but not in chemical combination1 the oxygen being simply diluted by the nitrogen1 as whisky is with water1 with the same object of diluting the too powerful oxygen or too potent alcohol1 and enabling the air-breather or whisky-drinker to take them into the system without burning up the tissues too rapidly4 ,if nitrogen had more affinity for oxygen it would combine chemically with it1 and we should live in an atmosphere of nitrous oxide1 or laughing gas4 ,the molecule1 therefore1 of nitro-glycerine resembles a house of cards1 so nicely balanced that it will just stand1 but will fall to pieces at the slightest touch4 ,when this is supplied by a slight percussion the molecule falls to pieces and is resolved into its constituent atoms1 which rush together in accordance with their natural affinities1 forming an immense volume of gas1 partly of water in the form of steam where oxygen has combined with hydrogen1 and partly of carbonic dioxide where it has combined with carbon1 leaving the nitrogen atoms to pair off1 and revert to their original form of two-atom molecules of nitrogen gas4 ,it is as if ill-assorted couples1 who had been united by matrimonial bonds tied by the manuvres of ,belgravian mothers1 found themselves suddenly freed by a decree of divorce a vinculo matrimonii1 and rushed impetuously into each other's arms1 according to the laws of their respective affinities4 ,so striking is the similitude that one of ,goethe's best-known novels1 the #8,wahlverwandschaften1' takes its title from the human play of these chemical reactions4 ,the enormous energy developed when these atomic forces are let loose and a vast volume of gas almost instantaneously created1 is attested by the destructive force by which the hardest rocks are shattered to pieces and the strongest buildings overthrown4 ,these loves and hatreds1 or1 as they are termed1 chemical affinities and repulsions of the atoms1 are the principal means by which the material structure of the universe is built up from the original elements4 ,the earth1 or solid crust of the planet we inhabit1 consists mainly of oxidised bases1 and is due to the affinity of oxygen for silicon1 calcium1 aluminium1 iron1 and other primary elements of what are called metals4 ,this affinity enables them to make stable compounds1 which1 under the existing conditions of temperature and otherwise1 hold together and are not readily decomposed4 ,water in like manner1 in all its forms of waves1 seas1 lakes1 rivers1 clouds1 and invisible vapour1 is due to the affinity between oxygen and hydrogen forming a stable compound4 ,salt again is owing to the affinity of chlorine for sodium1 and so for nearly all the various products with which we are familiar1 oxygen and nitrogen in the air we breathe being almost the only elements which exist in their primary and uncombined state in any considerable quantities1 and form an essential part of the conditions which render our planet a habitable abode for man and other forms of life4 ,we shall see presently something more of the nature of these affinities1 and the laws by which they act2 but before entering on this branch of the subject we must consider the remaining form in which the one indestructible energy of the universe manifests itself1 viz4 that of electricity4 ,electricity is the most subtle and the least understood of these forms4 ,in its simplest form it appears as the result of friction between dissimilar substances4 ,thus if we rub a glass rod with a piece of silk1 taking care that both are warm and dry1 we find that the glass has acquired the property of attracting light bodies1 such as little bits of paper1 or balls of elder-pith4 ,other substances1 such as sealing-wax and amber1 have the same property4 ,pursuing our research further we find that this influence is not1 like that of gravity1 uniform and always acting in the same direction1 but of two kinds1 equal and opposite4 ,if we touch the pith-ball by the excited glass rod1 it will after contact be repelled2 but if we bring the ball which has been excited by contact with the glass within the influence of a stick of sealing-wax which has been excited by rubbing it with warm dry flannel1 the ball instead of being repelled is attracted4 ,conversely1 if the pith-ball has been first touched by excited sealing-wax1 it will afterwards be repelled by excited sealing-wax and attracted by excited glass4 ,it is clear1 therefore1 that there are two opposite electricities1 and that bodies charged with similar electricities repel1 and with unlike electricities attract1 one another4 ,for convenience1 one of these electricities1 that developed in glass1 is called positive1 and the other negative2 and it has been clearly proved that one cannot exist without the other1 and that whenever one electricity is produced1 just as much is produced of an opposite description4 ,if positive electricity is produced in glass by rubbing it with silk1 just as much negative electricity is produced upon the silk4 ,another primary fact is that some substances are able to carry away and diffuse or neutralise this peculiar influence called electricity1 while others are unable to do so and retain it4 ,the former are called conductors1 the latter non-conductors4 ,thus1 glass is an insulator or non-conductor1 while metal is a conductor of electricity2 and the reason why the substances rubbed together1 as glass and silk1 must be dry is that water1 in all its forms1 is a conductor which carries away the electricity as fast as it is produced4 ,these facts have given rise to a theory--which is after all not so much an explanation as a convenient mode of expressing the facts--of the existence of two opposite electric fluids1 which1 in the ordinary or unexcited body1 are combined and neutralise one another1 but are separated by friction1 and flow in opposite directions1 accumulating at opposite poles1 or1 it may be1 one being accumulated at one pole1 while the other is diffused through some conducting medium and lost sight of4 ,the active electricity1 be it positive or negative1 thus accumulated at one pole1 and retained there by the substance in contact with it being a non-conductor1 disturbs by its influence the electrical equilibrium of any body brought near to it1 separates its two fluids1 and attracts the one opposite to itself4 ,this attraction draws the light body towards it until contact ensues1 when the electric fluid of the excited body flows into the smaller one1 so that its opposite electricity is expelled1 and it is in the same condition as its exciter1 and therefore liable to be repelled by a similar exciter1 or attracted by an opposite one which formerly repelled it4 ,it is evident1 without going further1 that there is a great analogy between electrical energy and those of heat and of chemical affinity4 ,the same mechanical work--viz4 friction--which generates heat1 generates electricity4 ,the chief difference seems to be that friction may be transformed into heat when the same substances are rubbed together1 as in the case of obtaining fire by the friction of wood2 but electricity can only be obtained by friction between dissimilar substances4 ,thus no electricity is obtained by rubbing glass upon glass1 or silk upon silk1 or upon glass covered with silk1 though a slight difference of texture is sometimes sufficient to separate the electric fluids4 ,thus if two pieces of the same silk ribbon are rubbed together1 lengthways1 no electricity is produced1 but if crossways1 one is positively1 and the other negatively1 electrified4 ,in this respect the analogy is evident to chemical affinity1 which1 in like manner1 only acts between dissimilar bodies4 ,in order1 however1 to carry the proof of the identity of these forms of energy beyond the sphere of vague analogy1 we must follow up electricity far beyond the simple manifestations of the glass rod and sealing-wax1 and pursue it to its origin1 in the transformations of chemical action and mechanical work1 in the voltaic battery1 the electric telegraph1 the telephone1 and the dynamo4 ,the voltaic battery1 in its simplest form1 is a trough containing an acid liquid in which pairs of plates of different metals are immersed4 ,it is evident that if the action of the acid on each metal were precisely the same1 equal quantities of each would be dissolved in the acid1 and the equilibrium of chemical energies would not be affected4 ,but1 the action being different1 this equilibrium is disturbed1 and if the sum of these disturbances for a number of separate pairs of plates can be accumulated1 it will become considerable4 ,this is done by connecting the plates of the same metal in each cell by a metallic wire covered by some non-conducting substance4 ,there are1 therefore1 two wires1 one to the right hand1 the other to the left1 the loose extremities of which are called the poles of the battery4 ,if we test these poles as we did the glass rod and stick of sealing-wax1 we find that one pole is charged with positive and the other with negative electricity4 ,in other words1 the chemical energy1 whose equilibrium was disturbed by the unequal action of the acid on the plates of different metals1 has been transformed into electrical energy manifesting itself1 as it always does1 under the condition of two equal and opposite polarities4 ,if we connect these two poles with one another the two electricities rush together and unite1 and there is established what is called an electrical current circulating round the battery4 ,as the chemical action of the acid on the metals is not momentary but continuous1 the acid taking up molecule after molecule of the metal1 so also the current is continuous4 ,when we call it a current1 the term is used for the sake of convenience1 for as the current1 as we shall presently see1 will flow along the wire or other conducting substance for immense distances1 as across the ,atlantic1 with a velocity of many thousands of miles per second1 we can1 no more than in the case of light1 figure it to ourselves as an actual transfer of material particles swept along as by a river running with this enormous velocity1 but necessarily as a transmission of some form of motion travelling by waves or tremors through the all-pervading ether in which the atoms of the conducting wire are floating4 ,be this as it may1 the effect of these electric currents is very varied and very energetic4 ,it can produce intense heat1 for if1 instead of uniting the two poles1 we connect them by a thin platinum wire1 it will1 in a few seconds1 become heated to redness4 ,if the connecting wire is thicker1 heat will equally be generated but less intense1 thus maintaining the analogy to the current which rushes with more impetuosity through a narrow than through a wide channel4 ,if the poles are tipped with a solid substance like carbon1 whose particles remain solid under great heat1 when they are brought nearly together intense light is produced and the carbon slowly burns away4 ,this produces what is called the arc light1 which gives such a strong illuminating power and is coming into general use for lighting up large spaces4 ,another transformation is back again into chemical energy1 which is shown by the power of the electric current to decompose compound substances4 ,if1 for instance1 the poles of a battery are plunged into a vessel containing water1 the molecules of the water will be decomposed and bubbles of oxygen gas will rise from the positive1 and of hydrogen from the negative1 pole4 ,another effect of electrical currents is that of attraction and repulsion on one another4 ,if two parallel wires1 free to move1 carry currents flowing in the same direction as from positive to negative1 or vice vers1 they will attract one another2 if in opposite directions1 they will repel4 ,electrical currents also work by way of induction1 that is1 they disturb the electrical equilibrium of bodies brought within their influence and induce currents in them4 ,thus1 if we have two circular coils of insulated wire placed near each other1 one on the right hand1 the other on the left1 and connect the extremities of the right-hand coil with the poles of a battery1 when the connection is first made and the current begins to flow1 a momentary current in the opposite direction will pass through the left-hand coil4 ,this will cease1 and as long as the current continues to flow through the right-hand coil there will be no current through the other2 but if we break the contact between the right-hand coil and the battery1 there will be again a momentary current through the left-hand coil1 but this time in the same direction as the other4 ,the same effect will be produced if1 instead of making and breaking contact in the right-hand coil1 we keep the current constantly flowing through it1 and make the right-hand coil alternately approach and recede from the other coil4 ,in this case1 when the right-hand coil approaches1 it induces an opposite current in the left-hand one2 and when it recedes1 one in the same direction as that of the primary4 ,these phenomena of induction prepare us to understand the nature of magnets1 and the magnetic effects produced by electrical currents4 ,if an insulated wire is wrapped round a cylinder of soft or unmagnetic iron1 and a current passed through the wire1 the cylinder is converted into a magnet and becomes able to sustain weights4 ,if the current ceases1 the cylinder is no longer a magnet1 and drops the weight4 ,a magnet is therefore evidently a substance in which electric currents are circulating at right angles to its axis1 and a permanent magnet is one in which such currents permanently circulate from the constitution of the body without being supplied from without4 ,the earth is such a magnet1 and also iron and other substances1 under certain conditions4 ,this being established1 it is easy to see why an electrical current deflects the magnetic needle4 ,if such a needle is suspended freely near a wire parallel with it1 on a current being passed through the wire it must attract if similar1 or repel if dissimilar1 the currents which are circulating at right angles to the axis of the needle1 and thus tend to make the needle swing into a position at right angles with the wire so that its currents may be parallel to that of the needle4 ,this is the reason why the needle in its ordinary condition points to the north and south1 or rather to the magnetic poles of the earth1 because its currents are influenced by the earth currents which circulate parallel to the magnetic equator4 ,the deviation of the needle from this direction1 caused by any other current1 like that passed along the wire1 will depend on the strength of the current1 which may be measured by the amount of deflection of the needle4 ,the direction in which the needle deflects1 viz4 whether the north pole swings to the right or to the left1 will depend on the direction of the current through the wire4 ,the direction of the circular currents which form a magnet is such that if you look towards the north pole of a freely suspended cylindrical magnet--i4e4 if you stand on the north of it and look southwards--the positive current will ascend on your right hand1 or on the west side1 and descend on the east4 ,it follows that unlike poles must necessarily attract1 and like poles repel one another1 for in the former case the circular currents which face each other are going in the same1 and in the latter in opposite directions4 ,the reader is now in a position to understand the principle of the electric telegraph1 that wonderful invention which has revolutionised human intercourse and1 to a great extent1 annihilated space and time4 ,it originated in the discovery made by ,oersted1 a ,danish savant1 that the effect of an electric current was to make a magnet swing round1 in the endeavour to place itself at right angles to it4 ,the conducting power of insulated copper wire is such that it practically makes no difference whether one of the wires connected with the pole of a battery is two feet or #b1jjj miles in length1 and the earth1 being a conducting medium1 supplies an equal extension from the other pole1 so that a closed electric circuit may be established across the ,atlantic as easily as within the walls of a laboratory4 ,if1 therefore1 a magnetic needle is suspended at the ,american end1 it will respond to every electrical current1 and to any interruption1 renewal1 or reversal of that current established in ,england4 ,the needle may thus be made to swing to the right or left1 by forming or reversing a current through the wire2 and it will return to its position whenever the current is interrupted1 and repeat its movement whenever the current is renewed4 ,in fact it may be made to move like the arm of the old-fashioned telegraph1 or of a railway signal4 ,it only remains to have a machine by which the operator can form and interrupt currents rapidly1 and a code by which certain movements of the needle stand for certain letters of the alphabet1 and you have the electric telegraph4 ,there are many ingenious applications of the machinery1 but in principle they all resolve themselves into transformations of energy4 ,chemical energy is transformed into electric energy1 and that again into mechanical work in moving the needle4 ,the telephone is another instance of similar transformations4 ,here spoken words create vibrations of the air1 which cause corresponding vibrations in a thin plate or disc of metal at one end1 which are conveyed by intermediate machinery to a similar disc at the other end1 whose vibrations cause similar vibrations in the air1 reproducing the spoken words at a distance which may be a great many miles from the speaker4 ,the great inventions of modern science which have so revolutionised society are all instances of the laws of the conservation of energy4 ,man makes the powers of nature available for his purposes by transforming them backwards and forwards1 now into one1 now into another form of energy1 as required for the result he wishes to attain4 ,he wants mechanical power to pump water or drive a locomotive or steamboat3 he gets it from the steam-engine1 by transforming the energy of heat in coal1 which came ages ago from the energy of chemical action produced by the sun's rays in the green leaves of growing plants4 ,he wants to send messages in a few seconds across the ,atlantic3 he does it by transforming chemical energy into electricity in a voltaic battery1 sending its vibrations along a conducting wire1 and converting it at the far end into mechanical power1 making a magnetic needle turn on its axis and give signals4 ,if1 instead of sending a message1 he wants to hold a conversation at a distance1 he invents the telephone1 by which sound-vibrations of air are transformed into vibrations of a disc1 then into electric currents1 then into vibrations of a distant disc1 and finally back again to spoken words4 ,or1 if he wants light1 he turns electricity into it by tipping the poles of his battery with carbon and bringing them close together4 ,the latest inventions of electrical science--the dynamo and the accumulator--afford remarkable instances of this convertibility of one primitive energy into different forms4 ,in the instance just quoted of obtaining light from electricity by the voltaic battery1 the cost has hitherto proved an obstacle to its adoption4 ,the electrical energy is all obtained from the transformation of the heat produced in the cells by the chemical action on the metal used1 which is commonly zinc4 ,now1 the heat of combination of zinc with oxygen is only about one-sixth of that of coal1 while the cost of zinc is about twenty times as great4 ,theoretically1 therefore1 energy got by burning zinc costs #abj times as much as that got by burning coal4 ,practically the difference is not nearly so great1 for there is very little loss of energy in the battery by the process of conversion1 while the best steam-engine cannot convert into work as much as twenty per cent1 of the heat energy in the coal consumed4 ,still1 after making every allowance1 the cost of energy from zinc remains some twenty times as great as from coal1 so that unless some process is found for obtaining back the zinc as a residual product1 there is no prospect of this form of electricity being generally available for light or for mechanical power4 ,the dynamo is an instrument invented for the mechanical generation of electricity by taking advantage of the principle that electrical energy is produced by moving magnets near coils of wire1 or coils of wire near magnets4 ,a current is thus started by induction1 and1 once started1 the mechanical power exerted in making the magnet or coils revolve is continually converted into electricity until the accumulated electrical energy becomes very powerful4 ,the original energy comes of course from the coal burned in the steam-engine which makes the magnet or coils revolve4 ,the principle of the conservation of energy is well illustrated by the fact that as the dynamo generates an electric current if made to revolve1 conversely it may be made to revolve itself if an electric current is sent through it from an exterior source4 ,it is1 therefore1 available not only as a source of light in the former case1 but as a direct source of mechanical power in the latter4 ,it is on this principle that electric engines are constructed and electric railways are worked4 ,here also it is a question of cost and convenience1 for you can only get electricity enough either to light a street or to drive an engine1 by an original steam-engine or other motive power to work the dynamo1 and a system of conducting wires to convey the electricity to the place where the light or power is wanted4 ,where the motive power is supplied by nature1 as in the case of tidal or river currents or waterfalls1 it is quite possible that power may be obtained in this way to compete with that obtained directly from the steam-engine2 but there are as yet considerable practical difficulties to be overcome in the transmission of any large amount of energy for long distances4 ,to overcome some of these difficulties the accumulator has been invented1 which affords yet another remarkable instance of the transformation of energy4 ,it consists of two lead plates immersed in acidulated water4 ,when a strong electrical current is sent through the water1 it decomposes it1 the oxygen going to one lead plate and the hydrogen to the other4 ,the oxygen attacks the lead plate to which it goes1 forming peroxide of lead2 while the hydrogen reduces any oxide in the other plate1 producing pure lead1 and leaving a film of surplus hydrogen on the surface4 ,the charging current is then reversed1 so that the latter plate is now attacked and the former one reduced1 when the current is again reversed4 ,by continuing this process the surfaces of both lead plates become porous1 so that they present a large surface1 and can therefore hold a great deal of peroxide of lead4 ,the charging current being now broken1 the oxygen which has been forcibly separated from the liquid seeks to recombine with hydrogen2 and if the two lead plates are joined by a wire1 this effort of the oxygen generates an electrical current in the opposite direction to the original one1 which is the current utilised4 ,electricity is thus stored up in a portable box1 where it can be kept till wanted1 when it is drawn out by connecting the plates1 and as a large amount of energy has been accumulated the current which is produced lasts for a considerable time4 ,unfortunately accumulators are bulky1 heavy1 and expensive1 and nearly half the energy of the original charging current is lost in obtaining the reversed or working current4 ,they are therefore not as yet adapted for general use1 though perfectly capable of supplying either light or motive power1 for both which purposes they have been successfully applied in special cases4 ,the future both of electric power and electric lighting is now reduced entirely to a question of cost2 and though it is hard to beat gas and the steam-engine1 with cheap coal1 and air and water for nothing1 it is possible that by using natural sources of power to move dynamos1 and by obtaining zinc back as a residual product in batteries1 electricity may in certain cases carry the day4 ,,chapter ,v4 ,,polarity ,,in ,,matter4 ,ultimate elements of universe--,built up by polarity--,experiment with magnet--,chemical affinity--,atomic poles--,alkalies and acids--,quantivalence--,atomicity--,isom erism--,chemical stability--,thermochemistry--,definition of atoms--,all matter built up by polar forces4 ,i almost fear that by this time some of my readers may think that ,i have seduced them under false pretences to read long chapters of dry science1 when they had been led from the introduction to anticipate discussions on the more immediately interesting topics of morals1 religions1 and philosophies4 ,my excuse must be that these scientific subjects are really of extreme interest in themselves and indispensable as a solid basis for the superstructure to be raised on them4 ,how can ,i attempt to show that the law of polarity extends to the more complex problems of human thought and life1 if ,i fail in establishing its application to the simpler case of inorganic force and matter8 ,it must be recollected also that among the primitive polarities is that of author and reader4 ,it is my part to endeavour to present the leading facts and laws of the material universe in such plain and popular language that the ordinary reader who has neither time nor faculty for special studies may apprehend them clearly without excessive effort1 or extraordinary intelligence4 ,but it is the reader's part to supply a fair average amount of attention1 and above all to feel an interest in interesting matters4 ,cleverness and curiosity are very much convertible terms1 and the clearest exposition is thrown away on the torpid mind which views the marvellous universe in which he has the privilege to live1 with the stupid apathy of the savage1 taking things as they come without caring to know anything about them4 ,for the reader's part of the work ,i am not responsible2 but for my own ,i am1 and ,i proceed therefore to give in my own way1 and with the best faculty that is in me1 a clear summary of such of the fundamental facts and laws of nature as seem necessary for the work ,i have undertaken4 ,from the preceding chapters we are now able to realise what are the ultimate elements of the material universe1 and it remains to show how they are put together4 ,the elements are ether1 energy1 and matter4 ,first1 ether3 a universal1 all-pervading medium1 imponderable or infinitely light1 and almost infinitely elastic1 in which all matter1 from suns and planets down to molecules and atoms1 float as in a boundless ocean1 and whose tremors or vibrations1 propagated as waves1 transport the different forms of energy1 light1 heat1 and electricity1 across space4 ,secondly1 energy3 a primitive1 indestructible something1 which causes motion and manifests itself under its many diversified forms1 such as gravity1 mechanical work1 molecular and atomic forces1 light1 heat1 electricity1 and magnetism1 all of which are merely ,protean transformations of the one fundamental energy1 and convertible into each other4 ,thirdly1 matter3 the ultimate elements of this are atoms1 which combined form molecules1 or little pieces of ordinary matter with all its qualities1 which are the bricks used in building all the varied structures of the organic and inorganic worlds4 ,of these atoms some seventy have never yet been divided1 and therefore1 although we may suspect that they are merely combinations or transformations of one original matter1 we must be content for the present to consider them as elementary4 ,in like manner we may suspect that matter is in reality only another form of energy1 and that the impression of solidity is given by the action of a repellent force which is very energetic at short distances4 ,if this were established we might look forward to the generalisation that energy was the one reality of nature2 but for the present it is a mere speculation1 and we must be content with over seventy elementary atoms as ultimate facts4 ,in any case this much is certain1 that matter1 like energy1 is indestructible4 ,we have absolutely no experience of either of them being created or annihilated4 ,nay1 more1 we have no faculties to enable us even to conceive how something can be made out of nothing1 and all we know1 or can ever know1 about these primitive constituents of the universe is of their laws of existence1 their evolutions and their transformations4 ,minute as the atoms and molecules are1 we must conceive of them not as stationary and indissolubly connected1 but rather as little solar systems in which revolving atoms form the molecule1 and revolving molecules form the matter1 held together as separate systems by their proper energies and motions1 until some superior force intruding breaks up the system and sets its components free to form new combinations4 ,what is the principle which thus forms1 un-forms1 and re-forms the various combinations of atomic and molecular systems by which the world is built up from its constituent elements8 ,it is polarity4 ,as ,i began with the illustration of the magnet introducing order and harmony into the confused mass of iron filings1 let me take this other illustration from the same source4 ,if we place an iron bar in contact with the pole of a magnet1 the bar becomes itself a magnet with opposite poles to the original one1 so that as opposite poles attract1 the iron bar adheres to it4 ,bring a lump of nickel in contact with the further end or free pole of the iron bar1 and the nickel also will be magnetised and adhere4 ,let the lump of nickel be as large as the pole of the iron bar is able to support1 and now bring a lump of soft iron near this pole4 ,it will drop the nickel and take the iron4 ,this is exactly similar to those cases of chemical affinity in which a molecule drops one of its factors and takes on another to which its attraction is stronger4 ,if iron rusts in water it is because the oxygen atom drops hydrogen to take iron just as the magnet dropped nickel4 ,the polarity of chemical elements is attested by the fact that when compounds are decomposed by the electric current1 the different elementary substances appear at different poles of the battery4 ,thus1 oxygen1 chlorine1 and non-metallic substances appear at the positive pole2 while hydrogen1 potassium1 and metals generally1 appear at the negative one4 ,the inference is irresistible that the atoms had in each case an opposite polarity to that of the poles to which they were attracted4 ,this is confirmed by the fact that the radicals1 i4e4 the elementary atoms or groups of atoms which have opposite polarities1 combine readily2 while those which have the same polarity1 as two metals1 have but slight affinity for each other4 ,like therefore attracts unlike1 as in all cases of polarity1 and the greater the degree of unlikeness the stronger is the attraction4 ,thus1 the radicals of all alkalies are electro-positive1 and appear at the negative pole of a battery2 while those of acids are all electro-negative1 and the higher each stands in its respective scale of polarity the more strongly does it show the peculiar qualities of acid or alkali and the more eagerly does it combine with its opposite4 ,acids and alkalies are1 in fact1 all members of the same class of compounds called hydrates1 because a single atom of hydrogen is a common feature in their composition4 ,this atom is coupled with a single atom of oxygen1 which may be conceived of as the central magnet holding the hydrogen atom at one pole1 while at the other it holds either a single atom of some metallic element1 such as potassium or sodium1 or a group consisting of such an element together with atoms of oxygen1 so constituted as to present a single pole to the attraction of the central oxygen atom4 ,thus1 if ,k stands for kali or potassium1 ,n for nitrogen1 ,o for oxygen1 and ,h for hydrogen1 we may have the compounds ,h--,o--,k and ,o _/ ,h--,o--,n 4 ,o ,the former is the molecule of potassic hydrate1 which is the most caustic or strongest of alkalies2 the latter1 that of nitric acid1 the most corrosive or powerful of acids4 ,these are the extremes of the series1 of which there are many intermediate members1 all being more or less alkaline1 that is caustic and turning litmus-paper blue1 when the third element is a simple metallic atom2 and acid1 corrosive1 and turning litmus-paper red1 when it is a compound radical of a group of metallic and oxygen atoms4 ,this shows to what an extent whole classes of substances may have a general resemblance in their constitution1 and yet differ most widely in their qualities by the substitution of one element for another4 ,these special qualities may be made to diminish and finally disappear by mixing the two opposite substances1 or1 as it is called1 neutralising an acid by an alkali or an alkali by an acid4 ,thus1 if hydrochloric acid1 ,h,cl1 be poured into a solution of sodic-hydrate1 ,na--,o--,h1 the alkaline qualities of the latter diminish and finally disappear1 the result of the neutral solution being water1 ,h--,o--,h1 and sodic-chloride1 or common salt1 ,na--,cl4 ,it is evident that this result has been produced by the hydrogen atom in ,h--,cl and the sodium atom in ,na--,o--,h changing places1 the former preferring to unite with oxygen to form water1 while the displaced sodium atom finds a refuge with chlorine4 ,the oxygen atom has dropped sodium and taken hydrogen1 just as the magnet dropped nickel and took iron4 ,this polarity of chemical elements manifests itself in different ways4 ,in some cases it appears like that of a magnet1 in which there are two opposite poles1 and two only1 one at each end4 ,thus oxygen 7,o7 is bipolar1 and its atom holds together two atoms of hydrogen 7,h7 in forming the molecule of water1 which may be represented as ,h-,o-,h1 which is equivalent to ,illustration4 ,others again1 like hydrogen and chlorine1 seem to have only a single pole1 as in the case of electricity in an excited glass rod1 and have to create for themselves the opposite pole1 which is the indispensable condition of all polarity1 by induction in another body4 ,thus1 muriatic or hydrochloric acid is formed by the union of a single atom of chlorine1 which is strongly negative1 with a single atom of hydrogen1 in which it appears to have induced a positive pole3 though the combination is not a very stable one1 for if an element with a stronger positive pole of its own is presented to the chlorine1 it drops the hydrogen1 just as the magnet drops the nickel4 ,other atoms are multipolar1 and seem as if made up of more than one magnet1 or rather as if the atom had regular shape like a triangle1 square1 or pentagon1 and each angle was a pole1 thus enabling it to unite with three1 four1 five1 or more atoms of other substances4 ,thus1 one atom of nitrogen unites with three of hydrogen1 one of carbon with four of hydrogen1 and so on4 ,every substance has1 therefore1 what is called its #8quantivalence1' or power of uniting with it a greater or less quantity of other atoms1 and conversely that of replacing in combinations other atoms1 or groups of atoms1 the sum of whose quantivalence equals its own4 ,thus1 one atom of carbon1 which has four poles1 combines with four atoms of hydrogen or chlorine1 which is unipolar1 but with only two of oxygen1 which are bipolar2 while the oxygen atom combines with two of hydrogen1 and that of chlorine with one atom only of hydrogen4 ,the analogy between the single atomic and electrical poles on the one hand1 and the dual and magnetic poles on the other1 will be evident if we consider what occurs if a pith-ball1 electrified positively1 is brought near a similar ball electrified negatively4 ,they attract each other1 and the one becomes the pole of the other2 but if separated1 each carries with it its own electrical charge4 ,but the separate balls or poles1 though no longer influencing each other1 are not isolated1 for each draws by induction an electrical charge opposite to its own to the extremity of the nearest conductor1 and thus creates for itself a new or second pole4 ,polarity1 in fact1 involves opposition of relations1 or two poles1 and electrical only differs from magnetic polarity in the fact that in the latter the two poles are in the same body1 while in the former they are in separate bodies4 ,for pith-balls read atoms1 and we have an explanation of the univalent atoms like those of chlorine and sodium which act as single poles2 and this is confirmed by the fact that such atoms are never found isolated1 but are always associated in a molecule with at least one other atom which forms the opposite pole of the molecular system4 ,bivalent or magnetic atoms1 on the other hand1 which have two poles1 like those of mercury and zinc1 may constitute a complete polar system and be found isolated1 and form the class of molecules which consist of single atoms4 ,this conception of the polarity of atoms enables us to understand the way in which the almost infinite variety of substances existing in the world is built up from a comparatively few simple elements4 ,atoms and radicals1 which are multipolar1 can attract and form molecules with as many other atoms or radicals as they have poles4 ,this is called their degree of atomicity1 which is the same as their quantivalence2 and each of these atoms or radicals may be replaced by some other atom or radical1 which presents to any pole a more powerful polarity4 ,thus1 compounds may be built up of great and varied complexity1 for the quality of any compound may be greatly altered by any one of the substitutions at any one of the poles4 ,and the molecules1 or small specimens of matter1 may be thus built up into very complex aggregations of atoms1 some single molecules containing more than a hundred atoms4 ,thus1 carbon has four poles1 or is quadrivalent1 and its atoms possess the power of combining among themselves to an almost indefinite extent and forming groups of great stability4 ,thus1 carbon radicals may be formed in very great number1 each affording a nucleus upon which compound radicals may be built up1 so that carbon has been aptly called the skeleton of almost all the varied compounds of the more complex forms of inorganic matter as well as the principal foundation of organic life4 ,nor is this all1 for the qualities of substances depend not only on the qualities of their constituent elements1 but also on the manner in which these elements are grouped4 ,two substances may have exactly the same chemical composition and yet be very different4 ,we may suppose that the same elements affect us differently according as they are grouped4 ,thus1 the same bricks may be built up either into a cube or pyramid1 which forms are extremely stable and can only be taken in pieces brick by brick2 or into a ,gothic arch1 which all tumbles to pieces if a single brick forming the keystone is displaced4 ,as an instance of this1 butyric acid1 which gives the offensive odour to rancid butter1 has exactly the same composition as acetic ether1 which gives the flavour to a ripe apple4 ,they consist of the same number of atoms of the same elements--carbon1 hydrogen1 and oxygen--united in the same proportions4 ,this applies to a number of substances1 and is called ,isomerism1 or formation of different wholes from the same parts4 ,the principle of polarity1 therefore1 aided by the subsidiary conditions of quantivalence1 atomicity1 and isomerism1 gives the clue to the construction of the inorganic world out of some seventy elementary substances4 ,of the substances thus formed1 whether of molecules or of combinations of molecules1 some are stable and some unstable4 ,as a rule the simpler combinations are the most stable1 and instability increases with complexity4 ,thus the diamond1 which is merely a crystal of pure carbon1 is very hard and indestructible2 while dynamite1 or nitro-glycerine1 which is a very complex compound1 explodes at a touch4 ,the stability of a substance depends partly on the stable structure of its component elements1 and partly on their mutual affinity being strong enough to keep them together in presence of the attractions of other outside elements1 which1 in the case of most natural substances at the surface of the earth1 consist principally of air and water4 ,thus1 the rocks1 earths1 metallic oxides1 water1 carbonic dioxide1 and nitrogen are extremely stable1 and resist decomposition1 or chemical union with other substances1 with great energy4 ,with regard to all substances this law holds good1 that the tendency is to fall back from a less stable to a more stable condition1 and that such a falling back is always attended with an evolution of heat2 while1 on the other hand1 heat is always absorbed and disappears whenever the elements of a more stable substance are made to enter into a less stable condition4 ,thus1 when wood burns1 there is a falling back from a substance unstable1 on account of its affinity for the oxygen in the air1 into the stable products1 carbonic dioxide and water1 and the heat evolved is the effect of this fall4 ,as the tendency of all changes is towards stability we arrive at the following law1 which is one of the most recent generalisations of modern chemistry3 ,in all cases of chemical change the tendency is to those products whose formation will determine the greatest evolution of heat4 ,this1 however1 does not imply that the tendency may not be overcome and unstable products formed1 for just as a weight may be lifted against the force of gravity1 so may the chemical tendency be overcome by a sufficient energy acting against it4 ,heat is the principal means of supplying this energy1 and by increasing it sufficiently not only are molecules drawn apart and most solids converted into fluids and finally into gases1 but there is reason to believe that at extremely high temperatures1 such as may prevail in the sun1 all matter would be resolved into isolated or dissociated atoms4 ,thus1 water at a temperature of #a1bjj is resolved into a mixture of oxygen and hydrogen atoms no longer chemically united into water-molecules2 and iodine-vapour1 which below #gjj degrees consists of molecules of two atoms1 above that temperature consists of single atoms only4 ,the subject might be pursued further1 but enough has been said for the present purpose to show that the universe consists of atoms which are endowed with polarity1 and that as diminished temperature allows these atoms to come closer together and form compounds1 matter in all its forms is built up by the action of polar forces4 ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,,polarity ,,in ,,life4 ,contrast of living and dead--,eating and being eaten--,trace matter upwards and life downwards--,colloids--,cells--,protoplas m--,monera--,composition of protoplasm--,essential qualities of life--,nutrition and sensation--,motion--,reproduction--,spon taneous generation--,organic compounds--,polar conditions of life4 ,polarity having been established as the universal law of the inorganic world1 we have now to pass to the organic1 or world of life4 ,at first sight there seems to be a great gulf fixed between the living and the dead which no bridge can span4 ,but first impressions are very apt to deceive us1 and when things are traced up to their origins we often find them getting nearer and nearer until it is difficult to say where one begins and the other ends4 ,take for instance such an antithesis as #8eating or being eaten4' ,if a hunter meets a grizzly bear in the ,rocky ,mountains1 one would say that no distinction can be sharper than whether the bear eats the man1 or the man the bear4 ,in the one case there is a man1 and in the other a bear1 less in the world4 ,but look through a microscope at a glass of water1 and you may see two specks of jelly-like substance swimming in it4 ,they are living creatures1 for they eat and grow1 and thrust out and retract processes of their formless mass1 which serve as temporary legs and arms for seizing food and for voluntary motion4 ,in short1 they are each what may be called strictly individual amb1 forming separate units of the animated creation as much as the man and the bear4 ,but if the two happen to come in contact1 what happens8 ,the two slimy masses involve one another and coalesce1 and the resulting amba swims away merrily as two gentlemen rolled into one4 ,now in his case what became of their individualities3 did amba ,a eat amba ,b1 or vice vers1 and is the resulting amba a survival of ,a or of ,b1 or of both or neither of them8 ,and what becomes of the antithesis of #8eating or being eaten' which was so clear and distinct in the highly specialised forms of life1 and is so evanescent in the simpler forms8 ,this illustration may serve to teach us how necessary it is to trace things up to their origins1 before expressing too trenchant and confident opinions as to their nature and relations4 ,in the case of the organic and inorganic worlds the proper course obviously is1 not to draw conclusions from extreme and highly specialised instances1 but to follow life downwards to its simplest and most primitive form1 and matter upwards to the form which approaches most nearly to this form of life4 ,following matter upwards1 we find a regular progression from the simple to the complex4 ,take the diamond1 which is one of the simplest of substances1 being merely the crystallised form of a single ultimate element1 carbon4 ,it is extremely hard and extremely stable4 ,ascending to compounds of two1 three1 or more elements1 we get substances which are more complex and less stable2 and at last we arrive at combinations which involve many elements and are extremely complex4 ,among these latter substances are some1 called colloids1 which are neither solid1 like crystals1 nor fluid1 like liquids1 but in an intermediate state1 like jelly or the white of an egg1 in which the molecules have great mobility and are at a considerable distance apart1 so that water can penetrate their mass4 ,these colloids are for the most part very complicated compounds of various elements based on a nucleus of carbon1 which1 from its atom having four poles with strong mutual attractions1 is eminently qualified for forming what may be called the inner skeleton of these complex combinations4 ,colloids of this description form the last stage of the ascending line from inorganic matter to organic life4 ,next let us trace life downwards towards matter4 ,there is a constant succession from the more to the less complex and differentiated3 from man1 through mammals1 reptiles1 fishes1 and a long chain of more simple forms1 until at its end we come to the two last links1 which are the same for all animals1 all plants1 and all forms of animated existence4 ,the last link but one is the cell1 the last of all is protoplasm4 ,protoplasm1 or1 as ,huxley calls it1 #8the physical basis of life1' is a colourless jelly-like substance1 absolutely homogeneous1 without parts or structure1 in fact a mere microscopic speck of jelly4 ,the cell is the first step in the specialisation of protoplasm1 the outer layer of which1 in contact with the surrounding environment1 becoming hardened so as to form an enclosing cell-wall1 while a portion of the enclosed protoplasm condenses into a nucleus1 in which a further condensation makes what is called the nucleolus or second smaller nucleus4 ,this constitutes the nucleated cell1 whose repeated subdivision into other similar cells in geometrical progression furnishes the raw material out of which all the varied structures of the world of life are built up4 ,plants and animals1 bones1 muscles1 and organs of sense1 are all composed of modified cells1 hardened1 flattened1 or otherwise altered1 as the case may require4 ,if we trace life up to its origin in the individual instead of in the species1 we arrive at the same result4 ,all plants and animals1 whether of the lowest or highest forms1 fish1 reptile1 bird1 mammal1 man1 begin their individual existence as a speck of protoplasm1 passing into a nucleated cell1 which contains in it the whole principle of its subsequent evolution into the mature and completed form4 ,protoplasm is1 therefore1 evidently the nearest approach of life to matter2 and if life ever originated from atomic and molecular combinations1 it was in this form4 ,to suppose that any more complex form of life1 however humble1 could originate from chemical combinations1 would be a violation of the law of evolution1 which shows a uniform development from the simple to the complex1 and never a sudden jump passing at a bound over intermediate grades4 ,to understand life1 therefore1 we must understand protoplasm2 for protoplasm1 closely as it approximates to colloid matter1 is thoroughly alive4 ,a whole family1 the ,monera1 consist simply of a living globule of jelly1 which has not even begun to be differentiated4 ,every molecule1 as in a crystal1 is of homogeneous chemical composition and an epitome of the whole mass4 ,there are no special parts1 no organs told off for particular functions1 and yet all life-functions--nutrition1 reproduction1 sensation1 and movement--are performed1 but each by the whole body4 ,the jelly-speck becomes a mouth to swallow1 and turning inside out1 a stomach to digest4 ,it shoots out tongues of jelly to move and feel with1 and presently withdraws them4 ,with these attributes it is impossible to deny to protoplasm the full attributes of life1 or to doubt that1 like the atom in the material world1 it is the primary element of organic or living existence4 ,given the atom1 we can trace up1 step by step1 the whole evolution of matter2 so given the protoplasm1 we can trace up the evolution of life by progressive stages to its highest development--man4 ,to understand life1 therefore1 we must begin by trying to understand protoplasm4 ,what is protoplasm8 ,in its substance it is a nitrogenous carbon compound1 differing only from other similar compounds of the albuminous family of colloid by the extremely complex composition of its atoms4 ,it consists of five elements1 and its average composition is said by chemists to be #ebee per cent4 carbon1 #babc oxygen1 #aeag nitrogen1 #fg hydrogen1 #ab sulphur4 ,its peculiar qualities1 therefore1 including life1 are not the result of any new and peculiar atom added to the known chemical compounds of the same family1 but of the manner of grouping and motions of these well-known material elements4 ,it has in a remarkable degree the faculty of absorbing water1 so that its molecules seem to float in it in a condition of semi-fluid aggregation1 which seems to be necessary for the complex molecular movements which are the cause or accompaniment of life4 ,thus1 many seeds and animalcul1 if perfectly dry1 may remain apparently as dead and as unchanging as crystals1 for years1 or even1 as in the case of the mummy wheat1 for centuries1 to revive into life when moistened4 ,but in addition to those material qualities in which protoplasm seems to differ only from a whole group of similar compounds of the type of glycerine1 by the greater complexity and mobility of its molecules1 it has developed the new and peculiar element which is called life4 ,life in its essence is manifested by the faculties of nutrition1 sensation1 movement1 and reproduction4 ,as regards nutrition there is this essential difference between living and non-living matter4 ,the latter1 if it feeds and grows at all1 does so only by taking on fresh molecules of its own substance on its outer surface1 as in the case of a small nucleus-crystal of ice in freezing water4 ,if it feeds on foreign matter and throughout its mass1 it does so only in the way of chemical combination1 forming a new product4 ,living matter1 on the other hand1 feeds internally1 and works up foreign substances1 by the process we call digestion1 into molecules like its own1 which it assimilates1 rejecting as waste any surplus or foreign matter which it cannot incorporate4 ,it thus grows and decays as assimilation or waste preponderates1 remaining always itself4 ,the distinction will be clear if we consider what happens when water rusts iron4 ,in a certain sense the iron may be said to eat the oxygen1 reject the hydrogen1 and grow1 or increase in weight by what it feeds on2 but the result is not a bigger piece of iron1 but a new substance1 rust1 or oxide of iron4 ,that living matter should feed internally is not so wonderful1 for its semi-fluid condition may well enable foreign molecules to penetrate its mass and come in contact with its own interior molecules2 but it is an experience different from anything known in the inorganic world that it should be able to manufacture molecules of protoplasm like its own out of these foreign molecules1 and thus grow by assimilation4 ,for instance1 when amb1 bacteria1 and other low organisms live and multiply in chemical solutions which contain no protoplasm1 but only inorganic compounds containing the requisite atoms for making protoplasm1 or when a plant not only chemically decomposes carbonic dioxide1 exhaling the oxygen and depositing the carbon in its stem and leaves1 but also from this and other elements drawn from the soil or air manufactures the living protoplasm which courses through its channels1 the result is that life has manufactured life out of non-living materials4 ,if we take sensation1 this1 in its last analysis1 is change1 or molecular motion1 induced in a body by the action of its environment4 ,here there is a certain analogy between living and non-living matter1 for the latter does respond to changes in the surrounding environment1 as in the case of heat1 electricity1 and otherwise2 but living matter is far more sensitive1 the changes are far more frequent and complex1 and in certain cases they are accompanied by a sensation of what is called consciousness1 which in the higher organisms rises into a perception of voluntary effort or free-will as a factor in the transformation of energies4 ,thus it happens that in the case of dead matter the changes produced by a change of conditions follow fixed laws and can be predicted and calculated1 while those of living matter are apparently uncertain and capricious4 ,we can tell how much an iron bar will expand with heat2 but we cannot say whether1 if a particle of food is brought within reach of an amba1 it will or will not shoot out a finger to seize it4 ,if the amba is hungry it probably will2 if it is enjoying a siesta after a full meal1 it probably will not4 ,the case of sensation includes that of motion1 which is after all only sensation applied in the liberation of energy of position which has by some chemical process become stored up1 either in the living mass1 or in some special organ of it1 such as muscle4 ,iron1 for instance1 moves when it expands by heat or is attracted by a magnet2 but it moves1 like the planets1 by fixed and calculable laws3 while living matter moves1 as might be expected from the variable character of its sensation1 in a manner which often cannot be calculated4 ,there are cases1 however1 of reflex or involuntary motion1 where1 even in the highest living organisms1 sensation and motion seem to follow change of environment1 in a fixed and invariable sequence1 as in shrinking from pain1 touching or galvanising a nerve2 and it may be that the apparent spontaneousness and variability of living motion is only the result of the almost infinitely greater complexity and mobility of the elements of living matter4 ,reproduction remains1 which is the faculty most characteristic of life1 and which distinguishes most sharply the organic from the inorganic world4 ,in the inorganic there is no known process by which dead matter reproduces itself1 as the cell does when it contracts in the middle and splits up into two cells1 which in their turn propagate an endless number of similar cells1 increasing in geometrical progression until they supply the raw material from which all the countless varieties of living organisms are built up1 which1 in their turn1 repeat the process and reproduce themselves in offspring4 ,this is the real mystery of life2 we can partly see or suspect how its other faculties might arise from an extension of the known qualities and laws of matter and of energy2 but we can discern no analogy between the non-reproductive nitrogenous carbon compound1 which makes so near an approach to protoplasm in its chemical composition1 and the reproductive protoplasm1 which is fertile1 increases and multiplies1 and replenishes the earth4 ,can the gap be bridged over3 can protoplasm be manufactured out of chemical elements8 ,it is done every day by plants which make protoplasm out of inorganic elements1 and by the lowest forms of life which live and multiply in chemical solutions4 ,it is done also in the life-history of all individuals whose primitive cell or ovum makes thousands or millions of other cells1 each containing within its enclosing membrane as much protoplasm as there was in the unit from which they started4 ,but in all these instances there was the living principle to start with1 existing in the primitive speck of protoplasm1 from which the rest were developed4 ,can this primitive speck be created2 or1 in other words1 can protoplasm be artificially manufactured by chemical processes8 ,the answer must be1 ,no2 not by any process now known4 ,the similarity of chemical composition1 and the increasing conviction of the universality of natural law and of evolution1 have led to a very general belief that such a spontaneous generation of life must be possible1 and numerous experiments have been made to produce it4 ,for a time the balance seemed to be very evenly held between the supporters and opponents of spontaneous generation4 ,in fact1 starting from the assumption1 which at first was common to both sides1 that heat equal to the boiling point of water destroyed all life organisms1 spontaneous generation had the best of it3 for it was clearly proved that living organisms did appear in infusions contained in vessels which had been hermetically sealed1 after being subjected to this1 or even a higher degree of heat4 ,but subsequent and more careful experiments have shown that the germs or spores of bacteria and other animalcul1 which are generally floating in the air1 can1 when dry1 withstand a greater degree of heat1 and that when the experiments are made in optically pure air no life ever appears and the infusions never putrefy4 ,on questions of this sort all who are not themselves expert experimentalists must be guided by authority1 and we may be content to accept the dictum of ,huxley that biogenesis1 or all life from previous life1 was #8victorious along the whole line4' ,but in doing so we must accept ,huxley's caution1 #8that with organic chemistry1 molecular physics1 and physiology yet in their infancy1 and every day making prodigious strides1 it would be the height of presumption for any man to say that the conditions under which matter assumes the qualities called vital1 may not some day be artificially brought together4' ,and further1 #8that as a matter not of proof but of probability1 if it were given me to look beyond the abyss of geologically recorded time1 to the still more remote period when the earth was passing through chemical and physical conditions which it can never see again1 ,i should expect to be a witness of the evolution of living protoplasms from non-living matter4' ,such is the cautious candour with which scientific men approach problems upon which theologians dogmatise with the unerring intrepidity of ignorance4 ,in the meantime what may be said as to ,huxley's reservations is this3 ,a considerable step has been made in the direction indicated1 by the success of recent chemistry in forming artificially what are called organic compounds1 that is1 substances which were previously known only as products of animal or vegetable secretions4 ,urea1 for instance1 the base of uric acid1 with which so many are unfortunately familiar in the form of gout2 indigotine1 the principle of the blue colouring matter of the indigo plant2 and alizarine1 that of madder2 are all now produced artificially1 and have even become important articles of commerce4 ,if chemists can make the indigotine1 which the growing plant elaborates at the same time as it elaborates protoplasm1 may we not hope some day to make the latter as well as the former product8 ,now organic compounds of this class are being formed artificially every day1 and it is said that chemists have already succeeded in producing several hundreds4 ,but even if this expectation is never fulfilled1 we may fall back on ,huxley's second reservation of the enormous difference of chemical and physical conditions in the early stages of the earth's life from anything now known4 ,it has been calculated that the earth's temperature when it first started on its career as an independent planet was something like #c1jjj1jjj ,fahrenheit4 ,at this heat probably all atoms would be dissociated2 but as the temperature diminished they would come closer together1 but still with a great deal of motion1 and making wide excursions1 which might bring many different atoms together in complex though unstable combinations4 ,moreover1 carbon1 which is the basis of all such combinations of the class of protoplasm1 was far more abundant in those early days in the form of carbonic dioxide gas1 before the enormous amount of vegetable matter in the form of coal and otherwise1 had been subtracted from it4 ,in any case the first protoplasm must be extremely ancient1 for the remains of sea-weeds are found in the oldest strata1 and vegetation of any sort implies the manufacture of protoplasm from inorganic matter4 ,the passage from the organic into the inorganic world is best traced by following the line of ,pasteur's researches on ferments4 ,how does the world escape being choked up by the accumulation of dead organic matter throughout innumerable ages8 ,by what are called ferments1 inducing processes of fermentation and putrefaction1 by which the course of life is reversed1 and the organic elements are taken to pieces and restored to the inorganic world4 ,pasteur proved1 in opposition to the theories of ,liebig and other older chemists1 that this was not done directly by the oxygen of the air1 but through the intermediate agency of living microbes1 whose spores1 floating in the air1 took up their abode and multiplied wherever they found an appropriate habitation4 ,given an air purified from germs1 or a temperature low enough to prevent them from germinating1 and putrescible substances would keep sweet for ever4 ,the practical realisation of this is seen in the enormous commerce in canned meats and fruits1 and in the imports of frozen beef and mutton1 causing a fall of rents and much lamentation among ,british landlords and farmers4 ,but then the question was asked1 ,how are your microscopic organisms disposed of8 ,what are the ferments of your ferments8 ,for even microscopic bacteria and vibrios would1 in time1 choke up the world by their residue if not got rid of4 ,pasteur answered that the ferments are destroyed by a new series of organisms--aerobes--living in the air1 and these by other aerobes in succession until the ultimate products are oxidised4 #8,thus1 in the destruction of what has lived1 all is reduced to the simultaneous action of the three great natural phenomena--fermentation1 putrefaction1 and slow combustion4 ,a living being1 animal or vegetable1 or the dbris of either1 having just died1 is exposed to the air4 ,the life that has abandoned it is succeeded by life under other forms4 ,in the superficial parts1 accessible to the air1 the germs of the infinitely little aerobes flourish and multiply4 ,the carbon1 hydrogen1 and nitrogen of the organic matter are transformed by the oxygen of the air1 and under the vital activity of the aerobes1 into carbonic acid1 the vapour of water1 and ammonia4 ,the combustion continues as long as organic matter and air are present together4 ,at the same time the superficial combustion is going on1 fermentation and putrefaction are performing their work in the midst of the mass by means of the developed germs of the original microbes1 which1 note1 do not need oxygen to live1 but which oxygen causes to perish4 ,gradually the phenomena of destruction are at last accomplished through the work of latent fermentation and slow combustion4' ,this seems a complete demonstration of the passage of the organic into the inorganic world in the way of analysis1 or taking the puzzle to pieces4 ,in the opposite way of synthesis1 or putting it together1 the nearest approach yet made has been in the manufacture of those organic compounds already referred to1 such as urea1 alizarine1 indigotine and other products which had hitherto only been known as products of animal or vegetable life4 ,of these a vast number have been already formed from inorganic elements by chemical processes1 and almost every day announces some fresh discovery4 ,under these circumstances it is unsafe to affirm either1 on the one hand1 that the problem has been solved and that life has ever been made in a laboratory2 or1 on the other hand1 that there is any such great gulf fixed between the organic and the inorganic1 that we can assume a break requiring secondary supernatural interference to surmount it1 and ignore the good old maxim that #8,natura nihil facit per saltum4' ,positive proof is wanting1 but the probabilities point here1 as they do everywhere else throughout the universe1 to the truth of the theory of #8original impress' as opposed to that of #8secondary interference4' ,it remains to show how the fundamental law of polarity affects the more complex relations of life and of its various combinations4 ,and here it is important to bear in mind that as the factors of the problem become more intricate and complex1 so also do the laws which regulate their existence and action4 ,polarity is no longer a simple question of attraction and repulsion at the two ends of a magnet or at the opposite poles of an atom4 ,it appears rather as a general law under which as the simple and absolute becomes differentiated by evolution into the complex and manifold1 it does so under the condition of developing contrasts4 ,for every plus there is a minus1 for every like an unlike2 one cannot exist without the other2 and1 although apparently antagonistic1 harmonious order is only possible by their co-existence and mutual balance4 ,this is so important that it may be well to make the idea clearer by an illustration4 ,the earth revolves round the sun in its annual orbit under the influence of two forces3 the centripetal1 or force of gravity tending to draw it towards the sun2 and the centrifugal1 tending to make it dart away into infinite space4 ,during half the orbit the centripetal seems to be gaining ground on the centrifugal1 and the earth is approaching nearer to the sun4 ,if this continued it would revolve ever nearer and soon fall into it2 but the centrifugal force is gradually recruiting its strength from the increased velocity of the earth1 until it first equals the centripetal1 and finally outstrips it1 and for the remaining half of the orbit it is constantly gaining ground4 ,if this went on1 the earth would fly off into the chilly regions of outer space2 but the centripetal force in its turn regains the ascendency2 and thus by the balance of the two forces our planet describes the beautiful ellipse1 its harmonious orbit as a habitable globe2 while comets in which one or the other force unduly preponderates for long periods are alternately drawn into fiery proximity to the sun1 and sent careering through regions void of heat4 ,compare this passage from ,herbert ,spencer3 #8,as from antagonist physical forces1 as from antagonist emotions in each man1 so from the antagonist social tendencies man's emotions create1 there always results not a medium state1 but a rhythm between opposite states4 ,the one force or tendency is not continuously counterbalanced by the other force or tendency2 but now the one greatly preponderates1 and presently by reaction there comes a preponderance of the other4' ,and again3 #8,there is nowhere a balanced judgment and a balanced action1 but always a cancelling of one another by opposite errors4 ,men pair off in insane parties1 as ,emerson puts it4' ,the reader will now begin to understand the sense in which polarity applies to these complex conditions of an advanced evolution4 ,to return1 however1 from this digression to the point at which it began1 viz4 the origin of life1 we have to show how the law of polarity prevails in the organic as well as in the inorganic world4 ,in the first place the material to which all life is attached1 from the speck of protoplasm to the brain of man1 is strictly a chemical product of atoms and molecules bound together by the same polar laws as those of inorganic matter4 ,in like manner all the essential processes by which life lives1 moves1 and has its being1 are equally mechanical and chemical4 ,if the brain1 receiving a telegram from without through the optic nerve1 sends a reply along another nerve which liberates energy stored up in a muscle and produces motion1 the messages are received and transmitted like those sent by a voltaic battery along the wires of a telegraph1 and the energy is stored up by the slow combustion of food in oxygen1 just as that of the steam-engine is produced by the combustion of coal4 ,all this is mechanical1 inorganic1 and therefore polar4 ,but when we come to the conditions of life proper1 we find the influence of polarity mainly in this3 that as it develops from simpler into more complex forms1 it does so under the law of developing contrasts or opposite polarities1 which are necessary complements of each other's existence4 ,thus1 as we ascend in the scale of life1 we find two primitive polarities developed3 that of plant and animal1 and that of male and female4 ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,,primitive ,,polarities--,,plant ,,and ,,animal4 ,contrast in developed life--,plants producers1 animals consumers--,differences disappear in simple forms--,zoophytes--,protista--,nummulite s--,corals--,fungi--,lichens--,insectivo rous plants--,geological succession--,primary period1 ,alg and ,ferns--,secondary period1 ,gymnosperms--,tertiary and recent1 ,angiosperms--,monocotyledons and ,dicotyledons--,parallel evolution of animal life--,primary1 protista1 mollusca1 and fish--,secondary1 reptiles--,tertiary and recent1 mammals4 ,animals or plants8 ,judging by first impressions1 nothing can be more distinct4 ,no one1 whether scientific or unscientific1 could mistake an oak tree for an ox4 ,to the unscientific observer the tree differs in having no power of free movement1 and apparently no sensation or consciousness2 in fact1 hardly any of the attributes of life4 ,the scientific observer sees still more fundamental differences1 in the fact that the plant feeds on inorganic ingredients1 out of which it manufactures living matter1 or protoplasm2 while the animal can only provide itself with protoplasm from that already manufactured by the plant4 ,the ox1 who lives on grass1 could not live on what the grass thrives on1 viz4 carbon1 oxygen1 hydrogen1 and nitrogen4 ,the contrast is so striking that the vegetable world has been called the producer1 and the animal world the consumer1 of nature4 ,again1 the plant derives the material framework of its structure from the air1 by breathing in through its leaves the carbonic dioxide present in the atmosphere1 decomposing it1 fixing the carbon in its roots1 stem1 and branches1 and exhaling the oxygen4 ,the animal exactly reverses the process1 inhaling the oxygen of the air1 combining it with the carbon of its food1 and exhaling carbonic dioxide4 ,thus1 a complete polarity is established1 as we see in the aquarium1 where plant and animal life balance each other1 and the opposites live and thrive1 where the existence of either would be impossible without the other4 ,sharp1 however1 as the contrast appears to be in the more specialised and developed specimens of the two worlds1 we have here another instance of the difficulty of trusting to first impressions1 and have to modify our conceptions greatly1 if we trace animal and vegetable life up to their simplest forms and earliest origins4 ,in the first place1 each individual vegetable or animal begins its existence from a simple piece of pure protoplasm4 ,this develops in the same way into a nucleated cell1 by whose repeated subdivision the raw material is provided for both structures alike4 ,the chief difference at this early stage is that the animal cells remain soft and naked1 while those of vegetables secrete a comparatively solid cell-wall1 which makes them less mobile and plastic4 ,this gives greater rigidity to the frame and tissues of the plant1 and prevents the development of the finer organs of sensation and other vital processes1 which characterise the animal4 ,but this is a difference of development only1 and the origination of the future life from the speck of protoplasm is the same in both worlds4 ,if1 instead of looking at the origin of individuals1 we trace back the various forms of animal and vegetable life from the more complex to the simpler forms1 we find the distinctions between the two disappearing1 until at last we arrive at a vanishing point where it is impossible to say whether the organism is an animal or a plant4 ,a whole family1 comprising sponges1 corals1 and jelly-fish1 are called ,zoophytes1 or plant-animals1 from the difficulty of assigning them to one kingdom or the other4 ,on the whole they rather more resemble animals1 and are generally classed with them1 though they lack many of their most essential qualities1 and in form often bear a close resemblance to plants4 ,but when we descend a step lower in the scale of existence we come to a large family--the ,protista--of which it is impossible to say that they are either plants or animals4 ,in fact1 scientific observers have classed them sometimes as belonging to one and sometimes to the other kingdom2 and it was an organism of this class1 looking at which through a microscope ,huxley pronounced it to be probably a plant1 while ,tyndall exclaimed that he would as soon call a sheep a vegetable4 ,they are mostly microscopic1 and are the first step in organised development from the ,monera1 which are mere specks of homogeneous protoplasm4 ,small as they are they have played an important part in the formation of the earth's crust1 for the little slimy mass of aggregated cells has in many instances the power of secreting a solid skeleton1 or a minute and delicate envelope or shell1 the petrified remains of which form entire mountains4 ,thus the nummulitic limestone1 which forms high ranges on the ,alps and ,himalayas1 and of which the ,pyramids are built1 consists of the petrified skeletons of a species of ,radiolaria1 or many-chambered shells1 forming the complicated and elegant mansion with many rooms and passages1 of the formless1 slimy mass which constitutes the living organism4 ,chalk also1 and the chalk-like formation which is accumulating at the bottom of deep oceans1 are the results of the long-continued fall of the microscopic snowdrift of shells of the ,globigenera and other protistic forms swimming in the sea2 and in a higher stage of development the skeletons of corals1 one of the family of ,zoophytes or plant-animals1 form the coral reefs and islands so numerous in the ,pacific and ,indian ,oceans1 and are the basis of the vast masses of coralline limestone deposited in the coal era and other past geological periods4 ,as development proceeds the distinction between plants and animals becomes more apparent1 though even here the simplest and earliest forms often show signs of a common origin by interchanging some of the fundamental attributes of the two kingdoms4 ,thus1 the essential condition of plant existence is to live on inorganic food1 which they manufacture into protoplasm1 by working up simple combinations into others more complicated4 ,their diet consists of water1 carbonic dioxide1 and ammonia2 they take in carbonic dioxide and give out oxygen1 while animals do exactly the reverse4 ,but the fungi live1 like animals1 upon organic food consisting of complicated combinations of carbon1 which they assimilate2 and1 like animals1 they inhale oxygen and give out carbonic dioxide4 ,lichens afford a very curious instance of the association of vegetable and animal functions in the same plant4 ,they are really formed of two distinct organisms3 a body which is a low form of ,alga or sea-weed1 and a parasitic form of fungus1 which lives upon it4 ,the former has a plant life1 living on inorganic matter and forming the green cells1 or chlorophyll1 which are the essential property of plants1 enabling them under the action of the sun's rays to decompose carbonic dioxide2 while the parasite lives like an animal on the formed protoplasm of the parent stem1 forming threads of colourless cells which envelop and interlace with the original lichen of which they constitute the principal mass1 as in a tree overgrown with ivy4 ,even in existing and highly developed plants we find some curious instances of reversion towards animal life4 ,certain plants1 for instance1 like the ,diona or ,venus' fly-trap1 finding it difficult to obtain the requisite supply of nitrogenous food in a fluid state from the arid or marshy soil in which they grow1 have acquired a habit of supplying the deficiency by taking to an animal diet and eating flies4 ,conjoined with this is a more highly developed sensitiveness1 and power of what appears to be voluntary motion1 and a faculty of secreting a sort of gastric juice in which the flies are digested4 ,the fundamental property also of decomposing carbonic dioxide and exhaling oxygen depends on light stimulating a peculiar chemical action of the chlorophyll1 and at night leaves breathe like lungs1 exhaling not oxygen1 but the carbonic dioxide4 ,the records of geology1 imperfect as they are1 show a continued progression from these simple and neutral organisms to higher and more differentiated forms1 both in the animal and vegetable worlds4 ,these records are imperfect because the soft bodies of the simpler and for the most part microscopic forms of protoplasm and cell life are not capable of being preserved in petrifactions1 and it is only when they happen to have secreted shells or skeletons that we have a chance of identifying them4 ,still we have a sufficient number of remains in the different geological strata to enable us to trace development4 ,thus1 in the vegetable world1 in the earliest strata1 the ,laurentian1 ,cambrian1 and ,silurian1 forming the primordial period1 which forms a thickness of some #gj1jjj feet of the earth's crust--or more than that of the whole of the subsequent strata1 ,primary1 ,secondary1 ,tertiary1 and ,quaternary1 taken together--we find only vegetable remains of the lowest group of plants1 that of the ,tangles or ,alg1 which live in water4 ,forests of these sea-weeds1 like those of the ,aleutian ,islands1 in some of which single tangles stream to the length of sixty feet1 and floating masses1 like those of the ,sargasso ,sea1 appear to have constituted the sole vegetation of these primval periods4 ,the ,primary epoch1 which comes next1 comprises the ,devonian or ,old ,red ,sandstone1 the ,carboniferous or ,coal system1 and the ,permian1 the average thickness of the three together amounting to about #db1jjj feet4 ,in these the family of ,ferns predominates1 the remains of which constitute the bulk of the large strata of coal1 forming in modern times our great resource for obtaining the energy which1 in a transformed shape1 does so much of our work4 ,pines begin to appear1 though sparingly1 in this epoch4 ,the ,secondary epoch comprises the ,triassic1 the ,jurassic1 and the ,cretaceous or ,chalk formation1 the average thickness of the three amounting to about #ae1jjj feet4 ,in this era a higher species of vegetation predominates1 that of the ,gymnosperms1 or plants having naked seeds1 of which the pines1 or ,conifer1 and the palm-ferns1 or ,cycade1 are the two principal classes4 ,as in the case of the former epoch1 traces of the approaching higher organisation in the form of leaf-bearing trees began to appear towards its close4 ,the ,tertiary period extends from the end of the ,chalk to the commencement of the ,quaternary or modern period4 ,it is divided into the ,eocene or older1 the ,miocene or middle1 and the ,pliocene or newest ,tertiary system2 though the division is somewhat arbitrary1 depending on the number of existing species1 mostly of shellfish1 which have been found in each4 ,the average thickness of the three together is about #c1jjj feet4 ,in this formation a still higher class of vegetation of the same order as that now existing1 which made its first appearance in the ,chalk period1 has become predominant4 ,it is that of ,angiosperms1 or plants with covered seeds1 forming leafy forests of true trees4 ,this group is divided into the two classes of monocotyledons or single-seed-lobed plants1 and dicotyledons or plants with double seed-lobes4 ,the monocotyledons spring from a single germ leaf1 and are of simpler organisation than the other class4 ,they comprise the grasses1 rushes1 lilies1 irids1 orchids1 sea-grasses1 and a number of aquatic plants1 and in their highest form develop into the tree-like families of the palms and bananas4 ,the dicotyledons include all forms of leaf-bearing forest trees1 almost all fruits and flowers1 in fact by far the greater part of the vegetable world familiar to man1 as coming into immediate relation with it1 except in the case of the cultivated plants1 which are developments of the monocotyledon grasses4 ,we see1 therefore1 in the geological record a confirmation of the evolution over immense periods of time of the more complex and perfect from the simple and primitive4 ,if we turn to the same geological record to trace the development of animal life1 we find it running a parallel course with that of plants4 ,the earliest known fossil1 the ,eozoon ,canadiense1 from the ,lower ,laurentian1 is that of the chambered shell of a protista of the class of ,rhizopods1 whose soft body consists of mere protoplasm which has not yet differentiated into cells4 ,as we ascend the scale of the primordial era1 traces of marine life of the lower organisms begin to appear1 until in the ,silurian they become very abundant1 consisting however mainly of mollusca and crustacea1 and in the ,upper ,silurian we find the first traces of fishes4 ,in the ,primary era the ,devonian and ,permian formations are characterised by a great abundance of fishes1 of the antique type1 which has no true bony skeleton1 but is clothed in an armour of enamelled scales1 and whose tail1 instead of being bi-lobed or forked1 has one lobe only--a type of which the sturgeon and garpike are the nearest surviving representatives4 ,in the ,coal formation are found the first remains of land animals in the form of insects and a scorpion1 and a few traces of vertebrate amphibious animals and reptiles2 while higher up in the ,permian are found a few more highly developed reptiles1 some of which approximate to the existing crocodile4 ,still fishes greatly predominate1 so that the whole ,primary period may be called the age of fishes1 as truly as1 looking at its flora1 it may be called the age of ferns4 ,in the ,secondary period reptiles predominate1 and are developed into a great variety of strange and colossal forms4 ,the first birds appear1 being obviously developed from some of the forms of flying lizards1 and having many reptilian characters4 ,mammals also put in a first feeble appearance1 in the form of small1 marsupial1 insectivorous creatures4 ,in the ,tertiary period the class of mammals greatly predominates over all other vertebrate animals1 and we can see the principal types slowly developing and differentiating into those at present existing4 ,the human type appears plainly in the middle ,miocene1 in the form of a large anthropoid ape1 the ,dryopithecus1 and undoubted human remains are found in the beginning of the ,quaternary1 if not1 as many distinguished geologists believe1 in the ,pliocene and even in the ,miocene ages4 ,so far1 therefore1 there seems to be a complete parallelism between the evolution of animal and vegetable life from the earliest to the latest1 and from the simplest to the most complex forms4 ,these facts point strongly to a process of evolution by which the animal and vegetable worlds1 starting from a common origin in protoplasm1 the lowest and simplest form of living matter1 have gradually advanced step by step1 along diverging lines1 until we have at last arrived at the sharp antithesis of the ox and the oak tree4 ,it is clear1 however1 that this evolution has gone on under what ,i have called the generalised law of polarity1 by which contrasts are produced of apparently opposite and antagonistic qualities1 which however are indispensable for each other's existence4 ,thus animals could not exist without plants to work up the crude inorganic materials into the complex and mobile molecules of protoplasm1 which are alone suited for assimilation by the more delicate and complex organisation of animal life4 ,plants1 on the other hand1 could not exist without a supply of the carbonic dioxide1 which is their principal food1 and which animals are continually pouring into the air from the combustion of their carbonised food in oxygen1 which supplies them with heat and energy4 ,thus nature is one huge aquarium1 in which animal and vegetable life balance each other by their contrasted and supplemental action1 and1 as in the inorganic world1 harmonious existence becomes possible by this due balance of opposing factors4 ,,chapter ,,viii4 ,,primitive ,,polarities--,,polarity ,,of ,,sex4 ,sexual generation--,base of ancient cosmogonies--,propagation non-sexual in simpler forms--,amba and cells--,germs and buds--,anemones--,worms--,spores--,origi n of sex--,ovary and male organ--,hermaphrodites--,parthenogenesis --,bees and insects--,man and woman--,characters of each sex--,woman's position--,improved by civilisation--,christianity the feminine pole--,monogamy the law of nature--,tone respecting women test of character--,women in literature--,in society--,attraction and repulsion of sexes--,like attracts unlike--,ideal marriage--,woman's rights and modern legislation4 #8,male and female created ,he them4' ,at first sight this distinction of sex appears as fundamental as that of plant and animal4 ,mankind1 and all the higher forms of life with which mankind has relations1 can only propagate their species in one way3 by the co-operation of two individuals of the species1 who are essentially like and yet unlike1 possessing attributes which are complementary of one another1 and whose union is requisite to originate a new living unit--in other words1 by sexual propagation4 ,so certain does this appear that all ancient religions and philosophies begin by assuming a male and female principle for their gods1 or first guesses at the unknown first causes of the phenomena of nature4 ,thus ,ouranos and ,gaia1 ,heaven and ,earth2 ,phbus and ,artemis1 the ,sun and ,moon3 are all figured by the primitive imagination as male and female2 and the ,spirit of ,god brooding over ,chaos and producing the world1 is only a later edition1 revised according to monotheistic ideas1 of the far older ,chaldean legend which describes the creation of ,cosmos out of ,chaos by the co-operation of great gods1 male and female4 ,even in later and more advanced religions1 traces of this ineradicable tendency to assume difference of sex as the indispensable condition of the creation of new existence are found to linger and crop up in cases where they are altogether inapplicable4 ,thus1 in the orthodox ,christian creed we are taught to repeat #8begotten1 not made1' a phrase which is absolute nonsense1 or non-sense--that is1 an instance of using words like counterfeit notes1 which have no solid value of an idea behind them4 ,for #8begotten' is a very definite term1 which implies the conjunction of two opposite sexes to produce a new individual4 ,unless two deities are assumed of different sexes the statement has no possible meaning4 ,it is a curious instance of atavism1 or the way in which the qualities and ideas of remote ancestors sometimes crop up in their posterity4 ,science1 however1 makes sad havoc with this impression of sexual generation being the original and only mode of reproduction1 and the microscope and dissecting knife of the naturalist introduce us to new and altogether unsuspected worlds of life4 ,by far the larger proportion of living forms1 in number at any rate1 if not in size1 have come into existence without the aid of sexual propagation4 ,when we begin at the beginning1 or with those ,monera which are simple specks of homogeneous protoplasm1 we find them multiplying by self-division4 ,amba ,a1 when it outgrows its natural size1 contracts in the middle and splits into two ,amb1 ,b and ,c1 which are exactly like one another and like the original ,a4 ,in fact ,b contains one half of its parent ,a1 and ,c the other half4 ,they each grow to the size of the original ,a1 and then repeat the process of splitting and duplicating themselves4 ,the next earliest stage in the evolution of living matter1 the nucleated cell1 does exactly the same thing4 ,the nucleus splits into two1 each of which becomes a new nucleus for the protoplasmic matter of the original cell1 and either multiply within it1 or burst the old cell-wall and become two new cells resembling the first4 ,the next stage in advance is that of propagation by germs or buds1 in which the organism does not divide into two equal parts1 but a small portion of it swells out at its surface1 and finally parts company and starts on a separate existence which grows to the size of the parent by its inherent faculty of manufacturing fresh protoplasm from surrounding inorganic materials4 ,this process may be witnessed any day in an aquarium containing specimens of the sea-anemone1 where the minute new anemones may be seen in every form1 both before and after they have parted from the parent body4 ,it remains one of the principal modes of propagation of the vegetable world1 where plants are multiplied from buds even after they have developed the higher mode of sexual propagation by seeds4 ,in some of the lowest animals1 such as worms1 the buds are reduced to a small aggregation of cells1 which form themselves into distinct individuals inside the body of the parent1 and separate from it when they have attained a certain stage of development4 ,advancing still further on the road towards sexual reproduction1 we find these germ-buds reduced to spores1 or single cells1 which are emitted from the parent1 and afterwards multiply by division until they form a many-celled organism1 which has the hereditary qualities of the original one4 ,this is the general form of propagation of the lower plants1 such as alg1 mosses1 and ferns1 and also of a number of the lower forms of animal-like microscopic organisms1 such as bacteria1 whose spores1 floating in the air in enormous quantities1 and multiplying when they find a fit soil with astonishing rapidity1 in a few days devastate the potato crop of a whole district or bring about an epidemic of scarlet-fever or cholera4 ,they have their use however in creation1 and their action is beneficent as well as the reverse1 for they are the principal cause of putrefaction1 the process by which the dead organic matter1 which1 if not removed1 would choke up the world1 is resolved into the inorganic elements from which it sprang1 and rendered available for fresh combinations4 ,we are now at the threshold of that system of sexual propagation which has become the rule in all the higher families of animals and in many plants4 ,it may be conceived as originating in the amalgamation of some germ-cell or spore with the original cell which was about to develop into a germ-bud within the body of some individual1 and by the union of the two producing a new and more vigorous originating cell which modified the course of development of the germ-bud and of its resulting organism4 ,this organism1 having advantages in the struggle for life1 established itself permanently with ever new developments in the same direction1 which would be fixed and extended in its descendants by heredity1 and special organs developed to meet the altered conditions4 ,thus at length the distinction would be firmly established of a female organ or ovary containing the egg or primitive cell from which the new being was to be developed1 and a male organ supplying the fertilising spore or cell1 which was necessary to start the egg in the evolutionary process by which it developed into the germ of an offspring combining qualities of the two parents4 ,this is confirmed by a study of embryology1 which shows that in the human and higher animal species the distinction of sex is not developed until a considerable progress has been made in the growth of the embryo4 ,it is only however in the higher and more specialised families that we find this mode of propagation by two distinct individuals of different sexes firmly established4 ,in the great majority of plants1 and in some of the lower families of animals--for instance1 snails and earth-worms--the male and female organs are developed within the same being1 and they are what is called hermaphrodites4 ,thus1 in most of the flowering plants the same blossom contains both the stamens and anther1 which are the male organ1 and the style and germ1 which are the female4 ,another transition form is ,parthenogenesis1 or virginal reproduction1 in which germ-cells1 apparently similar in all respects to egg-cells1 develop themselves into new individuals without any fructifying element4 ,this is found to be the case with many species of insects1 and with this curious result1 that those same germ-cells are often capable of being fructified1 and in that case produce very different individuals4 ,thus1 among the common bees1 male bees or drones arise from the non-fructified eggs of the queen bee1 while females are produced if the egg has been fructified4 ,in the higher families however of animal life the distinction of sex in different individuals has become the universal rule1 and it produces a polarity or contrast which becomes ever more conspicuous as we rise in the scale of creation1 until it attains its highest development in the highest stage hitherto reached1 that of civilised man and woman4 ,both physical and mental characteristics depend mainly on the fact that the ovary or egg-producing organ is developed in the female1 and thus the whole work of reproduction is thrown on her4 ,to perform this a large portion of the vital energy is required1 which in the male is available for larger and more prolonged growth of organs1 such as the brain1 stature1 and limbs1 by which a more powerful grasp is attained of the outward environment4 ,in other words1 the female comes sooner to maturity and is weaker than the male4 ,she is also animated by a much stronger love for the offspring1 which is part of her own body1 during the period of infancy2 and thus1 in addition to the physical attributes1 such as lacteal glands and larger breasts1 she inherits qualities of softness1 amiability1 and devotion1 which fit her for the office of nurse4 ,her physical weakness1 again1 has made her1 for untold ages1 and even now in all the less advanced communities1 and too often even in the most advanced1 the slave of the stronger male4 ,she has thus inherited many of the mental qualities which are essential to such a state3 the desire to propitiate by pleasing and making herself attractive2 the gentleness and submissiveness which shrink from a contest of brute force in which she is sure to be defeated2 the clinging to a stronger nature for support1 which in extreme cases leads to blind admiration of power and the spaniel-like attachment to a master whether deserving of it or not4 ,as civilisation however advances1 and as intellectual and moral qualities gain ascendency over brute strength and animal instincts1 the condition of woman improves1 and it comes more and more to be recognised that she is not made to be man's slave or plaything1 but has her own personality and character1 which1 if in some respects inferior1 are in others better than those of the male half of creation4 ,tennyson1 the great poet of modern thought1 who sums up so many of the ideas and tendencies of the age in concise and vigorous verse1 writes3-- ,for woman is not undeveloped man1 ,nor yet man's opposite4 ,not opposite1 yet different1 so that the one supplements what is wanting to the other1 and the harmonious union of the two makes ideal perfection4 ,it is the glory of ,european civilisation to have done so much to develop this idea of the equality of the sexes1 and to have gone so far towards emancipating the weaker half of the human species from the tyranny of the stronger half4 ,it would be unfair to omit mention of the great part which ,christianity has had in this good work2 not only by direct precept and recognition of religious equality1 but even more by the embodiment1 as its ideal1 of the feminine virtues of gentleness1 humility1 resignation1 self-devotion1 and charity4 ,ideal ,christianity is1 in fact1 what may be called the feminine pole of conduct and morality1 as opposed to the masculine one of courage1 hardihood1 energy1 and self-reliance4 ,many of the precepts of ,christianity are unworkable1 and have to be silently dropped in practice4 ,it would not answer either for individuals or nations #8when smitten on one cheek to turn the other4' ,when an appeal is made to fact to decide whether it is a right rule to live as the sparrows do1 taking no thought for the morrow1 the verdict of fact is in favour of foresight and frugality4 ,herbert ,spencer has stated this polarity very strongly as that of the religion of amity and the religion of enmity2 but ,i think he states the case too adversely for the latter1 for the qualities which make men and nations good fighters and victorious in the struggle for existence1 are in their way just as essential as the gentler virtues1 and both alike become defects when pushed to the #8falsehood of extremes4' ,christianity1 therefore1 whatever may become of its dogmas1 ought always to be regarded with affection and respect for the humanising effect it has produced1 especially in improving the condition of the female half of creation4 ,this improvement in the condition of women has brought about a corresponding improvement in the male sex1 for the polarity between the two has come to be the most intimate and far-reaching influence of modern life4 ,take the literature of the novel and play1 which aim at holding up the mirror to human nature and contemporary manners1 and you will find that they nearly all turn upon love4 ,the word #8immorality' has come to signify the one particular breach of the laws of morality which arises from the relations of the sexes4 ,in providing for the birth of nearly equal numbers of each sex1 nature clearly establishes monogamy1 or union of single pairs1 as the condition of things most in accordance with natural laws4 ,the family also1 the first germ of civilisation1 is impossible1 or can only exist in a very imperfect and half-developed state1 without this permanent union of a single husband and wife4 ,violations of this law lead to such disastrous consequences to individuals1 and are so deteriorating to nations1 that they are properly considered as the #8immorality' par excellence1 and condemned by all right-minded opinion4 ,and yet to observe this law is a constant lesson in self-control for a great part of the life3 a lesson of the utmost value1 for it is a virtue which is at the root of all other virtues4 ,and it is formed and becomes habitual and easy by practice1 for just as the muscles of the ballet-dancer's leg or blacksmith's arm acquire strength and elasticity by use1 so do the finer fibres of the brain improve by exercise and become soft and flabby by disuse1 so that effort in the former case is a pleasure and in the latter a pain4 ,for this reason chaste nations are generally strong and conquering nations2 dissolute ,imperial ,rome went down before the ,goths and ,germans1 and polygamous ,turkey perishes of dry rot in the midst of the progress of the nineteenth century4 ,indeed1 there is no better test of the position which either an individual1 a class1 or a nation hold in the scale of civilisation1 than the tone which prevails among the men with regard to women4 ,wherever ,turkish ideas prevail1 we may be sure that whatever may be the outward varnish of manner there is essential snobbishness4 ,up and down ,along the scale of life1 through all1 ,to him who wears the golden ball1 ,by birth a king1 at heart a clown ,on the other hand1 wherever women are regarded with a chivalrous respect and reverence1 the heart of a true gentleman beats1 though it be under the rough exterior of one of ,bret ,harte's cow-boys or ,californian miners4 ,nothing in fact gives one more hope in the progress of human society than to find that in the freest countries1 and those farthest advanced towards modern ideas and democratic institutions1 the tone with regard to women shows the greatest improvement4 ,there is a regular crescendo scale of progress from ,turkey to ,america4 ,i do not refer so much to the fact that in the newer colonies and countries women can travel unprotected without fear of insult or injury1 as to the almost instinctive recognition of their equal rights as intelligent and moral beings who have a personality and character of their own1 which places them on the same platform as men though on opposite sides of it4 ,to understand rightly the real spirit of an age or country1 it is not enough to study dry statistics or history in the form of records of wars and political changes4 ,we must study the works of the best poets1 novelists1 and dramatists1 who seek to embody types and to hold up the mirror to contemporary ideas and manners4 ,a careful perusal of such works as those of ,dickens1 ,thackeray1 ,trollope1 and ,george ,eliot at home1 and of ,bret ,harte1 ,howells1 ,james1 and ,mrs4 ,burnett in the ,united ,states1 will give a truer insight into the inner life of the country and period than any number of blue-books or consular returns4 ,they show what the writers of the greatest genius1 that is1 of the greatest insight1 see as types of the actual ideas and characters surrounding them2 and the fact of their works being popular shows that the types are recognised as true4 ,now it is certain that the ,english literature of fiction and its latest development1 that of the ,american novelists1 show an ever-increasing recognition of the female individual as an equal unit with the male in the constitution of modern society4 ,those dear #8school marms' of ,bret ,harte's and ,wendell ,holmes'1 who career so joyously through mining camps1 receiving courtesy and radiating civilising influences among the rough inhabitants2 or touch the hearts and throw a mellow light over the autumn days of middle-aged professors and philosophers1 are far removed from the slaves of prehistoric savages or the inmates of a ,turkish harem4 ,so also in the more complex relations of a more crowded civilisation1 in the circles of ,washington1 ,new ,york1 and ,boston1 the ideal ,american woman is always depicted as bright1 intelligent1 and independent1 with a character and personality of her own1 and the suspicion never seems to enter the author's head that she is in any respect inferior to the male characters with whom she is associated4 ,the same may be said to a great extent of ,english literature from the time of ,shakespeare downwards4 ,no better portrait than ,portia was ever drawn of the ,perfect woman1 nobly planned ,to soothe1 to comfort1 and command2 ,and yet a spirit still1 and bright ,with something of an angel light4 ,and in the long gallery of good and loveable women1 from ,rosalind and ,imogene down to ,lucy ,roberts and ,laura ,pendennis1 we have not one who is a mere non-entity or child of passionate impulse4 ,nor is the recognition of woman's equality less marked in the bad characters4 ,lady ,macbeth is of a stronger nature than ,macbeth2 ,becky ,sharp more clever and full of resources than the men with whom she plays like puppets2 ,maggie ,tulliver1 with all her wild struggles with herself and her surroundings1 has far more in her than her brother ,tom4 ,compare these characters with those of the school of modern ,french novels1 which turn mainly on adultery and seduction1 committed for the most part not in any whirlwind of irresistible passion1 but to gratify some passing caprice or vanity1 and it is easy to see how wide is the gulf which separates the ideals and moral atmosphere of the two countries4 ,it is not therefore from any wish to indulge in what ,herbert ,spencer calls the #8unpatriotic bias1' and depreciate my own country1 that ,i am disposed to think that the younger ,english-speaking communities are somewhat in advance of ourselves in this matter of the relations of the sexes1 but simply because ,i think that the feeling is there more widespread and universal4 ,we have in ,english society two strata in which women are still considered as inferior beings to men3 a lower one1 where better ideas have not yet permeated the dense mass of ignorance and brutality2 and a higher one1 where among a certain portion1 let us hope a small one1 of the gilded youth and upper ten1 luxury and idleness have blunted the finer susceptibilities1 and created what may be most aptly called a ,turkish tone about women4 ,there are many of this class1 and unfortunately often in high places1 where their example does widespread mischief1 whose ideal might be summed up in the words of the ,irish ballad3-- ,i am one of the ould sort of ,bradies1 ,my turn does not lie to hard work2 ,but ,i'm fond of my pipe and the ladies1 ,and ,i'd make a most illigant ,turk4 ,and most #8illigant ,turks' they make1 though far worse than real ,turks who are born and brought up in the ideas and surroundings of a lower civilisation2 while the tone of our ,english ,turks is far more nauseous and disgusting1 as denoting innate selfishness1 sensuality1 and vulgarity4 ,of these two classes there seem to be fewer in the newer ,english communities2 and if they exist1 they are in such a small minority that they conceal their existence1 and pay the homage of vice to virtue which is called hypocrisy4 ,to return1 however1 to the more scientific aspects of the question1 the polarity of sex displays itself as conspicuously as that of the magnet in the fundamental law of repulsion of like for like1 and attraction of like for unlike4 ,in each case there must be an identity of essence developing itself in opposite directions4 ,thus1 atoms attract or repel atoms1 but not molecules2 for if they seem to do so1 it is only in cases in which the molecule contains some atom whose atomicity or polar power has not been fully satisfied4 ,so currents of air or water do not affect electric currents4 ,but given the identity of substance1 its differentiation takes place under an ever-increasing progression of polarity of affinities and repulsions4 ,a ,german naturalist1 ,brahm1 discussing the question why birds sing1 says1 #8the male finds in the female those desirable and attractive qualities which are wanting in himself4 ,he seeks the opposite to himself with the force of a chemical element4' ,this is equally true of the male and female of the human species4 ,a masculine woman and effeminate man are equally unattractive1 and if the qualities are pushed to an extreme extent1 the individuals become monstrosities1 and1 instead of attracting1 excite vehement disgust and repulsion4 ,this1 which is true physically1 is equally true of moral and intellectual characteristics4 ,each seeks1 in the happy marriage or perfect ideal union1 the qualities which are most deficient in themselves3 the woman1 strength1 active courage1 and the harder qualities2 the man1 gentleness1 amiability1 and the softer virtues4 ,in each individual1 as in each union of individuals1 harmony and perfection depend on the due balance of the opposite qualities1 and the #8falsehood of extremes' leads up to chaos and insanity4 ,the man in whom strength and hardihood are not tempered by gentleness and affection becomes brutal and tyrannical2 while the woman who has no strength of character becomes silly and frivolous4 ,marriage1 however1 involves the highest ideal1 for the well-assorted union of the two in one gives a more complete harmony and reconciliation of opposites than can be attained by the single individual1 who must always remain more or less within the sphere of the polarity of his or her respective sex4 ,but here also the same law of polarity operates1 for as happy marriage affords the highest ideal1 so do unhappy and ill-assorted unions involve the greatest misery and most complete shipwreck of life4 ,especially to the woman1 for the man has other pursuits and occupations1 and can to a great extent withdraw himself from domestic troubles2 while the woman has no defence against the coarseness1 selfishness1 and vulgarity of the partner to whom she is tied1 and who may make her life a perpetual purgatory1 and drag all her finer intellectual and moral nature down to a lower level4 ,fortunately extreme cases are rare1 and1 though the ideal of a perfect union may seldom be attained to1 the great majority of married couples manage to jog on together1 and bring up families in comparative comfort and respectability4 ,evidently1 however1 in many cases the weaker party does not get fair play1 and the laws which are the result of centuries of male legislation are often too oblivious of the maxim that what is #8sauce for goose is sauce for gander4' ,improvement1 however1 is coming from the growth of the more healthy public opinion which stigmatises any invasion of woman's real rights1 and any attempt on the part of her natural protector to bully and tyrannise1 as utterly disgraceful2 and the waves of this public opinion are slowly but surely sapping the cliffs of legal conservatism1 and forcing the intrenchments of stolid injustice behind ermine robes1 horsehair wigs1 and obsolete ,acts of ,parliament4 ,,chapter ,,ix4 ,,primitive ,,polarities--,,heredity ,,and ,,variation4 ,heredity in simple forms of life--,in more complex organisms--,pangenesis--,varieties how produced--,fixed by law of survival of the fittest--,dr4 ,temple's view--,examples3 triton1 axolotl--,variations in individuals and species--,lizards into birds--,ringed snakes--,echidna4 ,as the earth is kept in an orbit1 which makes life possible by the balance of the antagonist centripetal and centrifugal forces1 so is that life evolved and maintained by the balance of the two conflicting forces of heredity and variation4 ,heredity1 or the principle which makes offsprings resemble their parental organisms1 may be considered as the centripetal force which gives stability to species2 while variation is like the centrifugal force which tends to make them develop into new forms1 and prevents organic matter from remaining ever consolidated into one uniform mass4 ,as regards heredity1 the considerations which have been advanced in the last chapter1 on the origin of sex1 will enable the reader to understand the principles on which it is based4 ,when a moneron1 or living piece of pure protoplasm1 or its successor the nucleated cell1 propagates itself by simple division into two equal parts1 it is obvious that each half must1 in its atomic constitution and motions1 exactly resemble the original4 ,if amba ,a divides into amb ,b and ,c1 both ,b and ,c are exact facsimiles of ,a and of one another1 and so are the progeny of ,b and ,c through any number of generations4 ,they must remain identical repetitions of the parent form1 unless some of them should happen to be modified by different actions of their surrounding environment1 powerful enough to affect the original organisation4 ,in propagation by germs or buds1 the same thing must hold true1 only1 as the offspring carries with it not the half1 but only a small portion of the parental organism1 its impress will be less powerful1 and the new organism will more readily be affected by external influences4 ,when we come to propagation by spores or single cells1 and still more to sexual propagation by the union of single cells of two progenitors1 it becomes more difficult to see how the type of the two parents1 and of a long line of preceding ancestors1 can be maintained so perfectly4 ,of the fact that it is maintained there can be no doubt4 ,not only do species breed true and remain substantially the same for immense periods1 but the characters of individual parents and their ancestors repeat themselves1 to a great extent1 in their offspring4 ,thus the cross between the white and black varieties of the human species perpetuates itself to such an extent1 that a single cross of black blood leaves traces for a number of generations4 ,in the ,spanish ,american ,states and the ,west ,indies1 where the distinction is closely observed1 the term #8octoroon' is well known1 as applied to ,creoles who have seven-eighths of white to one-eighth of black blood in their composition4 ,in the case of what is called #8atavism1' this recurrence to the characters of ancestors is carried to a much further extent4 ,in breeding animals1 it is not uncommon to find the peculiar features of generations of ancestors long since extinct cropping up occasionally in individuals4 ,thus1 stripes like those of the ass along the back and down the shoulders1 occasionally appear on horses whose immediate ancestors for many generations back showed nothing of the sort2 and even stripes across the legs like those of the zebra occur quite unexpectedly1 and testify to the common descent of the various species of the horse tribe from a striped ancestor4 ,how these ancestral peculiarities can be transmitted through many generations1 each individual of which originated from a single microscopic cell which had been fructified by another cell1 is one of the greatest mysteries of nature4 ,it may assist us in forming some idea of the possibility of a solution to remember what has been proved as to the dimensions of atoms4 ,their order of magnitude is that of a cricket-ball to the earth4 ,in a single microscopic cell1 therefore1 there may be myriads of such atoms circling round one another and forming infinitesimal solar systems1 of infinite complexity and variety4 ,darwin's theory of #8,pangenesis' supposes that some of the actual identical atoms which formed part of ancestral bodies are thus transmitted through their descendants for generation after generation1 so that we are literally #8flesh of the flesh' of the primval creature who was developed into man in the later tertiary or early glacial period4 ,haeckel1 more plausibly1 suggests that not the identical atoms1 but their peculiar motions and mode of aggregation have been thus transmitted3 a mode of transmission which1 with his prevailing tendency to invent long and learned names for everything1 he calls the #8,perigenesis of plastids4' ,in any case1 however1 these must be taken not as solutions of the problem1 but as guesses at the truth which show that its solution is not impossible4 ,the opposite principle to heredity1 that of variation1 is equally important and universal4 ,it is apparent in the fact1 that although every individual of every species reproduces qualities of parents and ancestors1 no two individuals do so in precisely the same manner2 no two are exactly alike4 ,this difference1 or individuality1 becomes more marked as the organism is higher4 ,thus1 sheep and hounds differ from one another by slight differences which require the practised eye of the shepherd or huntsman to detect2 while human beings are so unlike1 that of the many millions existing in each generation no two exactly resemble one another4 ,the reason of this is apparent if we consider that the higher the organism the more complex does it become1 and the less the chance of the whole complicated relations of parent and ancestral organisms being transmitted by single cells so solidly and completely as to overpower and remain uninfluenced by external influences4 ,variation evidently depends mainly on the varying influences of environment4 ,if the exterior layer of molecules of a lump of protoplasm become differentiated from the interior ones and form a cell-wall1 it is because they are in more immediate contact with the air or other surrounding medium4 ,internal changes depend on conditions such as temperature and nutrition4 ,in the case of cultivated plants and domestic animals we can see most clearly how varieties are produced by adaptation to changes of environment4 ,these variations1 however1 would not proceed very far1 were it not for the interaction of the opposing forces of variation and heredity1 by which latter the variations appearing in individuals are fixed and accumulated in descendants1 until they become wide and permanent divergencies4 ,this is done in the case of cultivated plants and domestic animals by man's artificial selection in pairing individuals who show the same variations2 and in nature by the struggle for existence1 giving victory and survival to those forms1 and in the long run to those forms only1 whose variations1 slight as they may be in each generation1 tend to bring individuals into better adaptation to their environment4 ,it is the great glory of ,darwin to have established this firmly by an immense number of interesting and exhaustive instances1 and thus placed evolution1 or a scientific explanation of the development and laws of life1 on a solid basis4 ,every day fresh discoveries and experiments confirm this great principle1 and it has almost passed into the same phase as ,newton's law of gravity1 as a fundamental law accepted as axiomatic by all men of science1 and as the basis of modern thought1 to which all religions and philosophies have to conform1 accepted by nearly all modern thinkers4 ,i may here quote a passage from an eminent ,anglican divine1 ,dr4 ,temple1 for the double purpose of showing how universal has become the acceptance of this ,darwinian view of evolution among intelligent men2 and how little terrible are its consequences1 even to those who look at the facts of the universe through a theological medium and retain their belief in accepted creeds4 #8,it seems in itself something more majestic1 more befitting of ,him to whom a thousand years are as one day1 and one day as a thousand years1 thus to impress ,his will once for all on this creation1 and provide for all its countless varieties by this one original impress1 than by special acts of creation to be perpetually modifying what ,he had previously made4'#a #a ,dr4 ,temple1 ,religion and ,science4 ,scientific men would be content to accept this statement of ,dr4 ,temple's almost in his own words1 except that they might consider his definition of the ,great ,first ,cause as somewhat too absolute and confident4 ,having had to deal so much with actual facts and accurate knowledge1 they are apt to be more modest in assertion than even the most enlightened theologian1 whose studies have lain rather in the direction of phrases and ideas1 which1 from their very nature1 are more vague and indefinite1 and perhaps rather guesses and aspirations after truth1 than proofs of it4 ,in any case there is the authority of a learned and liberal-minded bishop for the position that the scientific way of looking at the universe is not necessarily profane or irreligious4 ,to return to variation3 the instances of the operation of this principle1 alone or in conjunction with that of heredity1 in working out the evolution of species1 are exceedingly numerous and interesting4 ,those who wish to understand the subject thoroughly must study the works of ,darwin1 ,haeckel1 ,huxley1 and other modern writers2 but for my present purpose it will be sufficient to refer to a few of the most marked instances which may assist the reader in comprehending how the gradual evolution of life and creation of new species may have been brought about4 ,there is an amphibious animal1 called the triton or water-salamander1 akin to the frog1 whose normal course is to begin life living in the water and breathing by gills1 and end it on land with gills metamorphosed into lungs4 ,if they are shut up in water and kept in a tank they never lose their gills1 but continue through life in the lower stage of development1 and reproduce themselves in other tritons with gills4 ,conversely the axolotl1 a peculiar gilled salamander from the ,lake of ,mexico1 has its normal course to live1 die1 and propagate its species in water1 breathing by gills2 but if an axolotl happens to stray from the water and take to living on dry land1 the gills are modified into lungs and the animal gains a place in the class in the school of development4 ,this fits in remarkably with the fact that the embryo of all vertebrate mammals1 including man1 passes through the gilled stage before arriving at the development of lungs1 which assists us in understanding two facts of primary importance in the history of evolution4 ,first1 how terrestrial life may have arisen from aquatic life by adaptation to altered conditions4 ,secondly1 how the evolution of the embryo sums up in the individual1 in the period of a few days or months1 the various stages of evolutions which it has taken millions of years to accomplish in the species4 ,as a parallel to the transformation of gills into lungs1 and of an aquatic into a land animal1 if we turn to the geological records of the ,secondary period we may trace the transformation of a water into an air population1 of sea-lizards into flying-lizards1 and of flying-lizards into birds4 ,the #8,hesperornis' is an actual specimen of the transition1 being a feathered lizard1 or rather winged and feathered creature which is half lizard and half bird4 ,a remarkable instance of the great change of functions which may be produced by a change of outward conditions is afforded by the common ringed snake1 which in its natural state lays eggs which take three weeks to hatch2 but if confined in a cage in which no sand is strewed it hatches the eggs within its own body1 and from oviparous becomes viviparous4 ,this may help us to understand how the lowest order of mammals1 which1 like the ,australian echidna or duck-billed mole1 lay eggs1 may have developed1 first into marsupial1 and finally into placental mammals4 ,these examples may assist the reader in understanding how the infinite diversities of living species may have been developed in the course of evolution from simple origins1 just as the inorganic world was from atoms1 by the action and reaction of primitive polar forces between the organism and its environment1 and between heredity and variation4 ,,chapter ,x4 ,,the ,,knowable ,,and ,,unknowable--,,brain ,,and ,,thought4 ,basis of knowledge--,perception--,constitution of brain--,white and grey matter--,average size and weight of brains--,european1 negro1 and ape--,mechanism of perception--,sensory and motor nerves--,separate areas of brain--,sensory and motor centres--,abnormal states of brain--,hypnotism--,somnambulism--,tranc e--,thought-reading--,spiritualism--,ref lex action--,ideas how formed--,number and space--,creation unknowable--,conceptions based on perceptions--,metaphysics--,descartes1 ,kant1 ,berkeley--,anthropomorphism--,laws of nature4 ,before entering on the higher subjects of religions and philosophies1 it is well to arrive at some precise idea of the limits of human knowledge1 and of the boundary line which separates the knowable from the unknowable4 ,the ultimate basis of all knowledge is perception4 ,without an environment to create impressions1 and an organ to receive them1 we should know absolutely nothing4 ,what is the environment and what the organ of human knowledge8 ,the environment is the whole surrounding universe1 or1 in the last analysis1 the motions1 or changes of motion1 by which the objects in that universe make impressions on the recipient organ4 ,the organ is the grey matter of that large nervous agglomeration1 the brain4 ,but here ,i must at the outset make two reservations4 ,in the first place ,i do not define how these impressions are made4 ,in all ordinary cases they are made through the channels of the senses2 but it is possible that in certain exceptional cases vibrations in the brain1 causing perceptions1 may be conveyed to it through the nerves in other ways4 ,in somnambulism1 for instance1 it seems to be an ascertained fact that a somnambulist with closed eyes securely bandaged can walk in the dark and avoid obstacles as well as if guided by the sight in full daylight4 ,there is a great deal of evidence also that in artificial somnambulism1 otherwise called mesmerism or hypnotism1 and also in what is called thought-reading1 perceptions may be conveyed from one brain to another otherwise than by the usual methods of speech or writing4 ,but these phenomena1 however far they may be extended1 do not affect the position that impressions on the brain are the essential condition of thought4 ,if the grey matter of the brain is deficient or diseased the mind is affected1 and beyond a certain point becomes extinct4 ,the second and more important reservation is1 that although mind and all its qualities are thus indissolubly connected with matter1 it by no means follows that they are matter or mere qualities of it4 ,in the case of the atoms and energies1 we know absolutely nothing of their real essence1 and cannot form even a conception of what they are1 how they came there1 or what will become of them4 ,it is the same with mind1 soul1 or self3 we feel an instinctive certainty of their existence1 as we do of that of matter2 and we can trace their laws and manifestations under the conditions in which they are known to us1 viz4 those of association with matter and motion in the brain4 ,but of their real essence or existence we know nothing1 and it is as unscientific to affirm as to deny4 ,directly we pass beyond the boundary of such knowledge as really can be known by human faculty1 and stand face to face with the mystery of the ,great ,unknown1 we can only bow our heads with reverence and say with the poet1 ,behold1 ,i know not anything4 ,i hope thus to steer safely between ,scylla and ,charybdis--between the arid rocks of materialism and the whirling eddies of spiritualism4 ,materialist and spiritualist seem to me very like two men disputing as to the existence of life in the sun4 #8,no1' argues the former2 #8for the known conditions there are totally inconsistent with any life we can conceive4' #8,yes1' says the other2 #8for the belief fits in with many things which ,i earnestly wish to believe respecting a ,supreme ,being and a future existence4' ,to the first ,i say1 ignorance is not evidence2 to the second1 wishes are not proofs4 ,for myself1 while not quarrelling with those more favoured mortals who have1 or fancy they have1 superior knowledge1 ,i can only say that ,i really know nothing2 and this being the case1 ,i see no use in saying that ,i know1 and think it both more truthful and more modest to confess the limitation of my faculties4 ,with this caution ,i return to the field of positive knowledge4 ,the brain1 spinal marrow1 and nerves consist of two substances3 one white1 which constitutes the great mass consisting of tubes or fibres2 the other grey1 which is an aggregation of minute cells1 so minute that it has been computed that there are several millions of them in a space no larger than a sixpence4 ,the bulk of this grey nerve-tissue is found in the higher animals1 and especially in man1 in the outside rind which covers the brain1 and its amount is greatly increased by the convolutions of that organ giving a greater extent of covering surface4 ,in fact the convolutions of the average human brain give as much grey matter in a head of average size1 as would be given by a head of four times the size if the brain were a plane surface4 ,the extent of the convolutions is1 therefore1 a sure sign of the extent of intellect4 ,they are more numerous and deeper in the ,european than in the negro2 in the negro than in the chimpanzee2 in the anthropoid ape than in the monkey or lemur4 ,this grey nerve-tissue is the organ by which impressions from without are turned into perceptions1 volitions1 and evolutions of nerve force4 ,the white matter is simply the medium of transmission1 or we may say the telegraph wires by which the impressions are conveyed to the head office and the answers sent4 ,the cell-tissue of the grey matter is thus emphatically the organ of the mind4 ,in fact1 if it did not sound too materialistic1 we might call thought a secretion of the grey matter1 only in saying so we must bear in mind that it is only a mode of expressing the fact that the two invariably go together2 and that if we say with the ,german philosopher #8,ohne ,phosphor kein ,gedank1' it does not mean that thought and phosphorus are identical1 but simply that the condition on which thought depends is that of the existence of a material organ of which phosphorus is an ingredient4 ,that this grey nerve-tissue is really the organ of thought has been firmly established by numerous experiments both in man and the lower animals4 ,injuries to it1 or diseases in it1 invariably affect what is called the mind2 while considerable portions of the white matter may be removed without affecting the thinking and perceptive powers4 ,a certain amount of it is indispensable for the existence of intellect2 the more there is of it as the brain increases in size and the convolutions become deeper1 the greater is the intellect2 when these fall below certain dimensions intellect is extinguished and we have idiocy4 ,the average brain of the male white ,european weighs #di ounces1 of the negro a little under #dg4 ,the maximum brains which have been accurately weighed and measured1 are those of ,cuvier and ,daniel ,webster1 the weight of the former being #fd ounces1 and the capacity of the latter being #abb cubic inches2 while the average capacity of the ,teutonic race1 including ,english1 ,germans1 and ,americans1 is #ib inches1 of the negro #hc1 and of the ,australian and ,hottentot #ge4 ,the brain of the idiot seldom weighs over #bc ounces1 and the minimum weight consistent with a fair degree of intelligence is about #cd ounces4 ,the mechanism by which correspondence is kept up between the living individual and the surrounding universe is very simple--in reality1 as simple as that of any ordinary electric circuit4 ,in the most complex case1 that of man1 there are a number of nerve-endings1 or small lumps of protoplasm1 embedded in the tissues all over the body1 or highly specialised and grouped together in separate organs such as the eye and ear1 from which a nerve-fibre leads direct to the brain1 or to the spinal cord and so up to the brain4 ,these nerve-endings receive the different vibrations by which outward energy presents itself1 which propagate a current or succession of vibrations of nerve-energy along the nerve-fibre4 ,this nerve-fibre is a round thread of protoplasm covered by a white sheath of fatty matter which insulates it like the wire of a submarine telegraph coated with gutta-percha4 ,this nerve-wire leads up to a nerve-centre1 consisting of two corpuscles of protoplasm3 the first or sensory1 a smaller one1 which is connected by branches with the second1 a much larger one1 called the motor1 from which a much larger nerve-fibre or wire proceeds1 which terminates in a mass of protoplasm firmly attached to a muscle4 ,thus1 a sensation is propagated along the sensory nerve to the sensory nerve-centre1 whence it is transmitted to the motor-centre1 which acts as an accumulator of stored-up energy1 a large flow of which is sent through the large conductor of the motor-nerve to the muscle1 which it causes to contract and thus produces motion4 ,it is thus that the simpler involuntary actions are produced by a process which is purely mechanical4 ,in the more complex cases1 in which consciousness and will are involved1 the process is essentially the same1 though more complicated4 ,the message is transmitted to the brain1 where it is received by a cluster of small sensory cells or nerve-centres1 which are connected with another cluster of fewer and larger motor-centres1 often at some distance from them1 by a network of interlacing fibres4 ,but it is always a case of a single circuit of wires1 batteries1 and accumulators1 adapted for receiving1 recording1 and transmitting one sort of vibrations caused by and producing one sort of energy1 and one only4 ,the brain does not act as a whole1 receiving indiscriminately impressions of light1 sound1 and heat2 but by separate organs for each1 located in separate parts of it4 ,it is like a great central office1 in one room of which you have a printing instrument reading off and recording messages sent through an electric telegraph2 in another a telephone2 in a third a self-registering thermometer1 and so on4 ,and the same for the motor-centres and nerves4 ,one set is told off to move the muscles of the face1 another those of the arms1 others for the legs and body1 and so forth4 ,this is further complicated by the fact that the brain like the rest of the body has two sides1 a right and left1 and that in some cases the motor-apparatus is doubled1 each working only on one side1 while in others the same battery and wires serve for both4 ,as a rule the right hemisphere of the brain works the muscles of the left side of the body1 and vice vers1 so that an injury to one side of the brain may paralyse the voluntary motion of the limbs on the opposite side1 leaving in a perfect condition those on its own side4 ,in the case of the higher functions involving thought1 the upper part of the brain1 which performs these functions1 seems to be a sort of duplex machine1 so that we have two brains capable of thinking1 just as we have two eyes capable of seeing4 ,it is a remarkable fact that the areas of the brain which are appropriated to the lowest and most instinctive functions1 which appear first1 lie lowest1 and as the functions rise the position of their nerve-centres rises with them4 ,thus1 at the very base of the frontal convolutions at the lowest end of the fissure of ,rolando1 we find the motor areas for the lower part of the face1 by which the lowest animals and the new-born infant perform their solitary function of sucking and swallowing4 ,higher up are the centres in the right and left brains for moving the upper limbs1 that is1 for seizing food and conveying it to the mouth1 which is the next function in the ascending scale4 ,next above these are the centres for moving the lower limbs and for co-ordinating the motions of the arms and legs1 marking the progression of an organism which can pursue and catch as well as eat its food4 ,and still higher are the centres which regulate the motions of the trunk and body in correspondence with those of the limbs2 while highest of all1 at the front and hind ends of the enveloping cortex of the brain1 come the organs of the intellectual faculties4 ,it is easy to see that this corresponds with the progression of the individual1 for the infant sucks and cries for food from the first day1 soon learns to extend its hand and grasp objects1 but takes some time to learn to walk1 and still longer to perform exercises like dancing or riding1 in which the motions of the whole body have to be co-ordinated with those of the limbs4 ,and as the development of the individual is an epitome of the evolution of life from protoplasm1 we may well suppose that the brain was developed in this order from its first origin in a swelling at the end of the spinal cord as we find it in the lowest vertebrates4 ,it is a singular fact that the particular motor area which gives the faculty of articulate speech lies in a small patch of about one and a half square inches on the left side of the lower portion of the first brain4 ,if this is injured1 the disease called aphasia is produced1 in which the patient loses the power of expressing ideas by connected words4 ,the corresponding area on the right side cannot talk2 but in left-handed persons this state of things is reversed1 and the right side1 which is generally aphasial1 can be taught to speak in young people1 though not in the aged4 ,higher up in the cortex1 or convoluted envelope of the brain1 come the areas for hearing and seeing1 the latter being the more extensive4 ,these areas are filled mainly by a great number of sensory nerve-centres or cells1 connected with one another in a very complicated network4 ,these seem to be connected with the multitude of ideas which are excited in the brain by perceptions derived from the higher senses1 especially that of sight4 ,the simple movements are produced by a few large motor-centres1 which have only one idea and do only one thing1 whether it be to move the leg or the arm4 ,but a sensation from sight often calls up a multitude of ideas4 ,suppose you see the face of one with whom some fifty years ago you may have had some youthful love passages1 but your lives drifted apart1 and you now meet for the first time after these long years1 how many ideas will crowd on the mind1 how many nerve-cells will be set vibrating1 and how many nerve-currents set coursing along intricate paths6 ,no wonder that the nerve-corpuscles are numerous and minute1 and the nerve-channels many and complicated4 ,when we come to the seats of the intellectual faculties the question becomes still more obscure4 ,they are probably situated in the hinder and front parts of the surface of the brain1 and depend on the grey matter consisting of an immense number of minute sensory cells4 ,it has been computed that there are millions in the area of a square inch1 and they are all in a state of the most delicate equilibrium1 vibrating with the slightest breath of nervous impression4 ,they depend for their activity entirely on the sensory perceptive centres1 for there is no consciousness in the absence of sensory stimulation1 as in dreamless sleep4 ,perception1 however caused1 whether by outward stimulation of real objects1 or by former perceptions revived by memory1 sends a stream of energy through the sense-area1 which expands1 like a river divided into numerous channels1 fertilising the intellectual area1 where it is stored up by memory1 giving us the idea of continual individual existence1 and by some mysterious and unknown process becoming transformed into consciousness and deliberate thought4 ,and conversely the process is reversed when what we call will is excited1 and the small currents of the intellectual area are concentrated by an effort of attention and sent along the proper nerve-channels to the motor-centres1 whose function it is to produce the desired movement4 ,this mechanical explanation1 it will be observed1 leaves entirely untouched the question of the real essence and origin of these intellectual faculties1 as to which we know nothing more than we do of the real essence and origin of life1 of matter1 and of energy4 ,a very curious light however is thrown on them by phenomena which occur in abnormal states of the brain1 as in trance1 somnambulism1 and hypnotism4 ,in the latter1 by straining the attention on a given object or idea1 such as a coin held in the hand or a black wafer on a white wall1 the normal action of the brain is1 in the case of many persons--perhaps one out of every three or four--thrown out of gear1 and a state induced in which the will seems to be annihilated1 and the thoughts and actions brought into subjection to the will of another person4 ,in this state also a cataleptic condition of the muscles is often induced1 in which they acquire enormous strength and rigidity4 ,in somnambulism outward consciousness is in a great measure suspended1 and the somnambulist lives for the time in a walking dream which he acts and mistakes for reality4 ,in this state old perceptions1 scarcely felt at the time1 seem to revive1 as in dreams1 with such wonderful vividness and accuracy that the somnambulist in acting the dream does things altogether impossible in the waking state4 ,thus an ignorant ,scotch servant-maid is said to have recited half a chapter of the ,hebrew version of the ,old ,testament3 the explanation being that she had been in the service of a ,scotch minister1 who was studying ,hebrew1 and who used to walk about his room reciting this identical passage4 ,it would seem as if the brain were like a very delicate photograph plate1 which takes accurate impressions of all perceptions1 whether we notice them or not1 and stores them up ready to be reproduced whenever stronger impressions are dormant and memory by some strange caprice breathes on the plate4 ,most wonderful1 however1 are some of the phenomena of trance4 ,in this case it really seems as if two distinct individuals might inhabit the same body4 ,jones falls into a trance and dreams that he is ,smith4 ,while the trance lasts he acts and talks as ,smith1 he really is ,smith1 and even addresses his former self ,jones as a stranger4 ,when he wakes from the trance he has no recollection of it1 and takes up the thread of his own life1 just as if he had dozed for a minute instead of being in a trance for hours4 ,but if he falls into a second trance1 days or weeks afterwards1 he takes up his trance life exactly where he dropped it1 absolutely forgetting his intermediate real life4 ,and so he may go on alternating between two lives1 with two separate personalities and consciousnesses1 being to all intents and purposes now ,jones and now ,smith4 ,if he died during a trance1 which would he be1 ,jones or ,smith8 ,the question is more easily asked than answered2 but it certainly appears as if with one mode of motion in the same brain you might have one mind and personal identity associated with it1 and with another mode of motion different ones4 ,it would take me too far1 and the facts are too doubtful1 to investigate the large class of cases included under the terms thought-reading1 telepathy1 psychism1 and spiritualism4 ,it may suffice to say that there is a good deal of evidence for the reality of very curious phenomena1 but none of any real weight for their being caused by any spiritualistic or supernatural agency4 ,they all seem to resolve themselves into the assertion that under special conditions the perceptions of one brain can be reproduced in another otherwise than by the ordinary medium of the senses1 and that in such conditions a special sort of cataleptic energy or psychic force may be developed4 ,the amount of negative evidence is of course enormous1 for it is certain that in millions upon millions of cases thought cannot be read1 things are not seen beyond the range of vision1 and coincidences do not occur between deaths and dreams or visions4 ,neither can tables be turned1 nor heavy bodies lifted1 without some known form of energy and a fulcrum at which to apply it4 ,this borderland of knowledge is1 therefore1 best left to time1 which is the best test of truth4 ,that which is real will survive1 and be gradually brought within the domain of science and made to fit in with other facts and laws of nature4 ,that which is unreal will pass away1 as ghosts and goblins have done1 and be forgotten as the fickle fashion changes of superstitious fancy4 ,in the meantime we shall do better to confine ourselves to ascertained facts and normal conditions4 ,it is pretty certain that although the brain greatly preponderates as an organ of mind in man and the higher animals1 the grey tissue in the spinal marrow and nervous ganglia exercises a limited amount of the same functions proportionate to its smaller quantity4 ,the reflex or automatic actions1 such as breathing1 are carried on without reference to the brain1 and the messages are received and transmitted through the local offices without going to the head office4 ,this is the case with many complicated motions which originated in the brain1 but have become habitual and automatic1 as in walking1 where thought and conscious effort only intervene when something unusual occurs which requires a reference to the head office2 and in the still more complex case of the piano-player1 who fingers difficult passages correctly while thinking of something else or even talking to a bystander4 ,indeed1 in extreme cases1 where experiments on the brain have been tried on lower animals1 it is found that it can be entirely removed without destroying life1 or affecting many of the actions which require perception and volition4 ,thus1 when the brain has been entirely removed from a pigeon1 it smoothes its feathers with its bill when they have been ruffled1 and places its head under its wing when it sleeps2 and a frog under the same conditions1 if held by one foot endeavours to draw it away1 and if unsuccessful1 places the other foot against an obstacle in order to get more purchase in the effort to liberate itself4 ,so much for the organ of mind2 the other factor1 that of outward stimulus1 is still more obvious4 ,if thought cannot exist without grey nerve-tissue1 neither can it without impressions to stimulate that tissue4 ,a perfect brain1 if cut off from all communication with the external universe1 could no more think and have perceptions1 than impressions from without could generate them without the appropriate nerve-tissue4 ,once generated1 the mind can store them up by memory1 control them by reason1 and gradually evolve from them ever higher and higher ideas and trains of reasoning1 both in the individual and the species3--in the individual passing from infancy to manhood1 partly by heredity from ancestors1 and partly by education--using the word in the large sense of influences of all sorts from the surrounding environment2 in the species1 by a similar but much slower development from savagery to civilisation4 ,thus the whole fabric of arithmetic1 algebra1 and the higher calculi are built up from the primitive perception of number4 ,the earliest palolithic savage must have been conscious of a difference between encountering one or two cave-bears or mammoths2 and some existing races of savages have hardly got beyond this primitive perception4 ,some ,australian tribes1 it is said1 have not got beyond three numerals1 one1 two1 and a great number4 ,but by degrees the perceptions of number have become more extensive and accurate1 and the number of fingers on each hand has been used as a standard of comparison4 ,thus ten1 or two-hand1 the number of fingers on the two hands has gradually become the basis of arithmetical numeration1 and from this up to ,sir ,w4 ,hamilton's #8,quaternions' the progression is regular and intelligible4 ,but ,newton could never have invented the differential calculus and solved the problem of the heavens1 if thousands of centuries before some primitive human mind had not received the perception that two apples or two bears were different from one4 ,in like manner geometry1 as its name indicates1 arises from primitive perceptions of space1 applied to the practical necessity of land-measuring in alluvial valleys like those of the ,nile and ,euphrates1 where annual inundations obliterated to a great extent the dividing lines between adjoining properties4 ,the first perceptions of space would take the form of the rectangle1 or so many feet or paces1 or cubits or arm-lengths1 forwards1 and so many sideways1 to give the proper area2 but as areas were irregular1 it would be discovered that the triangle was necessary for more accurate measurement4 ,hence the science of the triangle1 circle1 and other regular forms1 as we see it developed in ,euclid and later treatises on geometry1 until we see it in its latest development in speculations as to space of four dimensions4 ,but in all these cases we see the same fundamental principle as prevails throughout the universe under the name of the #8conservation of energy'2 always something out of something1 never something out of nothing4 ,this1 therefore1 defines the limit of human knowledge1 or boundary line between the knowable and the unknowable4 ,whatever is transformation according to existing laws is1 whether known or unknown1 at any rate1 knowable--whatever is creation is unknowable4 ,we have absolutely no faculties to enable us to form the remotest conception of what the essence of these primary atoms and energies really is1 how they came there1 and how the laws1 or invariable sequences1 under which they act1 came to be impressed on them4 ,we have no faculties1 because we have never had any perceptions upon which the mind can work4 ,reason and imagination can no more work without antecedent perceptions than a bird can fly in a vacuum4 ,thus1 for instance1 the imagination can invent dragons1 centaurs1 and any number of fabulous monsters1 by piecing together fragments of perceptions in new combinations2 but ask it to invent a monster whose head shall be that of an inhabitant of ,saturn and its body that of a denizen of ,jupiter1 and where is it8 ,of necessity all attempts to define or describe things of which we have never had perceptions1 must be made in terms of things of which we have had perceptions1 or1 in other words1 must be anthropomorphic4 ,so far as science gives any positive knowledge as to the relations of mind to matter1 it amounts to this3 ,that all we call mind is indissolubly connected with matter through the grey cells of the brain and other nervous ganglia4 ,this is positive4 ,if the skull could be removed without injury to the living organism1 a skilful physiologist could play with his finger on the human brain1 as on that of a dog1 pigeon1 or other animal1 and by pressure on different notes1 as on the keys of a piano1 annihilate successively voluntary motion1 speech1 hearing1 sight1 and finally will1 consciousness1 reasoning power1 and memory4 ,but beyond this physical science cannot go4 ,it cannot explain how molecular motions of cells of nerve-centres can be transformed into1 or can create1 the phenomena of mind1 any more than it can explain how the atoms and energies to which it has traced up the material universe were themselves created or what they really are4 ,all attempts to further fathom the depths of the unknown follow a different line1 that of metaphysics1 or1 in other words1 introspection of mind by mind1 and endeavour to explain thought by thinking4 ,on entering into this region we at once find that the solid earth is giving way under our feet1 and that we are attempting to fly in an extremely rare atmosphere1 if1 indeed1 we are not idly flapping our wings in an absolute vacuum4 ,instead of ascertained facts which all recognise1 and experiments which conducted under the same conditions always give the same results1 we have a dissolving view of theories and intuitions1 accepted by some1 denied by others1 and changing with the changing conditions of the age1 and with individual varieties of characters1 emotions1 and wishes4 ,thus1 mind and soul are with some philosophers identical1 with others mind is a product of soul2 with some soul is a subtle essence1 with others absolutely immaterial2 with some it has an individual1 with others a universal1 existence2 by some it is limited to man1 by others conceded to the lower animals2 by some located in the brain1 by others in the heart1 blood1 pineal gland1 or dura mater2 with some it is pre-existent and immortal1 with others created specially for its own individual organism2 and so on ad infinitum4 ,the greatest philosophers come mostly to the conclusion that we really know nothing about it4 ,thus ,descartes1 after having built up an elaborate metaphysical theory as to a spiritual1 indivisible substance independent of the brain and cognisable by self-consciousness alone1 ends by honestly confessing #8that by natural reason we can make many conjectures about the soul1 and have flattering hopes1 but no assurance4' ,kant also1 greatest of metaphysicians in demolishing the fallacies of former theories1 when he comes to define his #8noumenon1' has to use the vaguest of phrases1 such as #8an indescribable something1 safely located out of space and time1 as such not subject to the mutabilities of those phenomenal spheres1 444 and of whose ontological existence we are made aware by its phenomenal projections1 or effects in consciousness4' ,the sentence takes our breath away1 and makes us sympathise with ,bishop ,berkeley when he says1 #8,we metaphysicians have first raised a dust1 and then complain we cannot see4' ,it prepares us also for ,kant's final admission that nothing can really be proved by metaphysics concerning the attributes1 or even the existence1 of the soul2 though1 on the other hand1 as it cannot be disproved1 its reality may for moral purposes be assumed4 ,it appears1 therefore1 that the efforts of the sublimest transcendentalists do not carry us one step farther than the conclusions of the commonest common-sense1 viz4 that there are certain fundamental conditions of thought1 such as space1 time1 consciousness1 personal identity1 and freedom of will1 which we cannot explain1 but cannot get rid of4 ,the sublimest speculations of a ,plato and a ,kant bring us back to the homely conclusions of the old woman in the nursery ballad1 in whose mind grave questions as to her personal identity were raised by the felonious abstraction of the lower portion of her petticoat4 ,if ,i be ,i1 as ,i think ,i be1 ,i've a little dog at home1 and he'll know me4 ,it is a safe #8working hypothesis' that when ,i go home in the afternoon1 my wife1 children1 and little dog will recognise me as being #8,i myself ,i2' but why or how ,i am ,i1 whether ,i was ,i before ,i was born1 or shall be so after ,i am dead1 ,i really know no more than the little dog who wags his tail and yelps for joy when he recognises my personal identity as something distinct from his own1 when he sees me coming up the walk4 ,our conceptions1 therefore1 are necessarily based on our perceptions1 and are what is called anthropomorphic4 ,the term has almost come to be one of reproach1 because it has so often been applied to religious conceptions of a ,deity with human1 though often not very humane1 attributes2 but1 if considered rightly1 it is an inevitable necessity of any attempt to define such a being or beings4 ,we can only conceive of such as of a magnified man1 indefinitely magnified no doubt1 but still with a will1 intelligence1 and faculties corresponding to our own4 ,the whole supernatural or miraculous theory of the universe rests on the supposition that its phenomena are1 in a great many cases1 brought about1 not by uniform law1 but by the intervention of some ,power1 which1 by the exercise of will guided by intelligent design1 alters the course of events and brings about special effects4 ,as long as the theory is confined to knowable transformations of existing things1 like those which are seen to be affected by human will1 it is not necessarily inconceivable or irrational4 ,inferring like effects from like causes1 the hypothesis was by no means unreasonable that thunder and lightning1 for instance1 were caused by some angry invisible power in the clouds4 ,on the contrary1 the first savage who drew the deduction was a natural philosopher who reasoned quite justly from his assumed premises4 ,whether the premises were true or not was a question which could only be determined centuries later by the advance of accurate knowledge4 ,when do we say we know a thing8 ,not when we know its essence and primary origin1 for of these the wisest philosopher is as ignorant as the rudest savage2 but when we know its place in the universe1 its relation to other things1 and can fit it in to that harmonious sequence of events which is summed up in what are called ,laws of ,nature4 ,the highest knowledge is when we can trace it up to its earliest origin from existing matter and energy1 and follow it downwards so as to be able to predict its results4 ,the force of gravity affords a good illustration of this knowledge1 both where it comes up to1 and where it falls short of1 perfection4 ,newton's law leaves nothing to be desired as regards its universal application and power of prediction2 but we do not yet fully understand its mode of action or its relation to other forms of energy4 ,it is probable that some day we may be able to understand how the force of gravity appears to act instantaneously at a distance1 and how all the transformable forces1 gravity1 light1 heat1 electricity1 and molecular or atomic forces1 are but different manifestations of one common energy4 ,but in the meantime we know this for certain1 that the law of gravity is not a local or special phenomenon1 but prevails universally from the fixed stars to the atoms1 from the infinitely great to the infinitely small4 ,this is a fact to which all other phenomena1 which are true facts and not illusions1 must conform4 ,in like manner1 if we find in caves or river-gravels1 under circumstances implying enormous antiquity1 and associated with remains of extinct animals1 rude implements so exactly resembling those in use among existing savages1 that if the collection in the ,colonial ,exhibition of stone celts and arrow-heads used by the ,bushmen of ,south ,africa were placed side by side with one from the ,british ,museum of similar objects from ,kent's ,cavern or the caves of the ,dordogne1 no one but an expert could distinguish between them1 the conclusion is inevitable that ,devonshire and ,southern ,france were inhabited at some remote period by a race of men not more advanced than the ,bushmen4 ,any theory of man's origin and evolution which is to hold water must take account of this fact and square with it4 ,and so of a vast variety of facts which have been reduced to law and become certainly known during the last half-century4 ,a great deal of ground remains unexplored or only partially explored2 but sufficient has been discovered to enable us to say that what we know we know thoroughly1 and that certain leading facts and principles undoubtedly prevail throughout the knowable universe1 including not only that which is known1 but that which is as yet partially or wholly unknown4 ,for instance1 the law of gravity1 the conservation of energy1 the indestructibility of matter1 and the law of evolution1 or development from the simple to the complex4 ,,chapter ,,xi4 ,,religions ,,and ,,philosophies ,religions1 #8working hypotheses'--,newman's illative sense--,origins of religions--,ghosts and spirits--,fetishes--,nature-worship--,so lar myths--,planets--,evolution of nature-worship--,polytheism1 pantheism1 and theism--,evolution of monotheism in the ,old ,testament--,evolution of morality--,natural law and miracle--,evidence for miracles--,insufficiency of evidence--,absence of intelligent design--,agnosticism--,origin of evil--,can only be explained by polarity--,optimism and pessimism--,jesus1 the ,christian ,ormuzd--,christianity without miracles4 ,having thus1 ,i may hope1 given the reader some precise ideas of what are the boundaries and conditions of human knowledge1 we may proceed to consider their application to the highest subjects1 religions and philosophies4 ,in the introductory chapter of this work ,i have said that all religions are in effect #8working hypotheses1' by which men seek to reconcile the highest aspirations of their nature with the facts of the universe1 and bring the whole into some harmonious concordance4 ,i said so for the following reasons4 ,in a discussion at the ,metaphysical ,society on the uniformity of laws of nature1 recorded in the #8,nineteenth ,century1' ,huxley is represented as saying that he considered this uniformity1 not as an axiomatic truth like the first postulates of geometry1 but as a #8working hypothesis'2 adding1 however1 that it was an hypothesis which had never been known to fail4 ,to this some distinguished advocates of ,catholic theology replied1 that their conviction was of a higher nature1 for their belief in ,god was a final truth which was the basis of their whole intellectual and moral nature1 and which it was irrational to question4 ,this is in effect ,cardinal ,newman's celebrated argument of an #8illative sense1' based on a complete assent of all the faculties1 and which was therefore a higher authority than any conclusions of science4 ,the answer is obvious1 that complete assent1 so far from being a test of truth1 is1 on the contrary1 almost always a proof that truth has not been attained1 owing either to erroneous assumptions as to the premises1 or to the omission of important factors in the solution of the problem4 ,to give an instance1 ,i suppose there could not be a stronger case of complete assent than that of the ,inquisitors who condemned the theories of ,galileo4 ,they had in support of the proposition that the sun revolved round the earth the testimony of the senses1 the universal belief of mankind in all ages1 the direct statement of inspired ,scripture1 the authority of the infallible ,church4 ,was all this to be set aside because some #8sophist vainly mad with dubious lore' told them1 on grounds of some new-fangled so-called science1 that the earth revolved round its axis and round the sun8 #8,no2 let us stamp out a heresy so contrary to our 8illative sense10 and so fatal to all the most certain and cherished beliefs of the ,christian world1 to the inspiration of the ,word of ,god1 and to the authority of ,his ,church4' #8,e pur si muove1' and yet the earth really did move2 and the verdict of fact was that ,galileo and science were right1 and the ,church and the illative sense wrong4 ,in truth the distinction between the conclusions of science and those of religious creeds might be more properly expressed by saying that the former are #8working hypotheses' which never fail1 while the latter are #8working hypotheses' which frequently fail4 ,thus1 the fundamental hypothesis of ,cardinal ,newman and his school of a one infinite and eternal personal ,deity1 who regulates the course of events by frequent miraculous interpositions1 so far from being a necessary and axiomatic truth1 has never appeared so to the immense majority of the human race3 and even at the present day1 in civilised and so-called ,christian countries1 its principal advocates complain that ninety-nine out of every hundred practically ignore it4 ,it is not so with the uniformity of the laws of nature4 ,no palolithic savage ever hesitated about putting one foot after another in chase of a mammoth from a fear that his working hypothesis of uniform law might fail1 the support of the solid earth give way1 and with his next step he might find himself toppling over into the abyss of an infinite vacuum4 ,in like manner ,greeks and ,romans1 ,indians and ,chinese1 monotheists1 polytheists1 pantheists1 ,jews and ,buddhists1 ,christians and ,mahometans1 all use standard weights in their daily transactions without any misgivings that the law of gravity may turn out not to be uniform4 ,but religions theories vary from time to time and from place to place1 and we can in a great many cases trace their origins and developments like those of other political and social organisms4 ,to trace their origins we must1 as in the case of social institutions1 look first at the ideas prevailing among those savage and barbarous races who are the best representatives of our early progenitors2 and secondly at historical records4 ,in the first case we find the earliest rudiments of religious ideas in the universal belief in ghosts and spirits4 ,every man is conceived of as being a double of himself1 and as having a sort of shadowy self1 which comes and goes in sleep or trance1 and finally takes leave of the body1 at death1 to continue its existence as a ghost4 ,the air is thus peopled with an immense number of ghosts who continue very much their ordinary existence1 haunt their accustomed abodes1 and retain their living powers and attributes1 which are exerted generally with a malevolent desire to injure and annoy4 ,hence among savage races1 and by survival even among primitive nations of the present day1 we find the most curious devices to cheat or frighten away the ghost1 so that he may not return to the house in which he died4 ,thus1 the corpse is carried out1 not by the door1 but by a hole made for the purpose in the wall1 which is afterwards built up1 a custom which prevails with a number of widely separated races--,greenlanders1 ,hottentots1 ,algonquins1 and ,fijians2 and the practice even survives among more civilised nations1 such as the ,chinese1 ,siamese1 and ,thibetans2 nor is it wholly extinct in some of the primitive parts of ,europe4 ,this idea obviously led to the practice of constructing tents or houses for the ghosts to live in1 and of depositing with them articles of food and weapons to be used in their ghostly existence4 ,in the case of great chiefs1 not only their arms and ornaments are deposited1 but their horses1 slaves1 and wives were sacrificed and buried with them1 so that they might enter spirit-land with an appropriate retinue4 ,the early ,egyptian tombs were as nearly as possible facsimiles of the house in which the deceased had lived1 with pictures of his geese1 oxen1 and other possessions painted on the walls1 evidently under the idea that the ghosts of these objects would minister to the wants and please the fancy of the human ghost whose eternal dwelling was in the tomb where his mummy was deposited4 ,another development of the belief in spirits is that of fetish-worship1 in which superstitious reverence is paid to some stock or stone1 tree or animal1 in which a mysterious influence is supposed to reside1 probably owing to its being the chosen abode of some powerful spirit4 ,this is common among the negro races1 and it takes a curious development among many races of ,american ,indians1 where the tribe is distinguished by the totem1 or badge of some particular animal1 such as the bear1 the tortoise1 or the hare1 which is in some way supposed to be the patron spirit of the clan1 and often the progenitor from whom they are descended4 ,this idea is so rooted that intermarriage between men and women who have the same totem is prohibited as a sort of incest1 and the daughter of a bear-mother must seek for a husband among the sons of the deer or fox4 ,possibly a vestige of the survival of this idea may be traced in the coat-of-arms of the ,sutherland family1 and the wild cat may have been the totem of the ,clan ,chattan1 while the oak tree was that of the ,clan ,quoich1 with whom they fought on the ,inch of ,perth4 ,be this as it may1 it is clearly a most ancient and widespread idea1 and prevails from ,greenland to ,australia2 while it evidently formed the oldest element of the prehistoric religion of ,egypt1 where each separate province had its peculiar sacred animal1 worshipped by the populace in one nome1 and detested in the neighbouring one4 ,by far the earliest traces of anything resembling religious ideas are those found in burying-places of the neolithic period4 ,it is evident that at this remote period ideas prevailed respecting ghost or spirit life and a future existence very similar to those of modern savages4 ,they placed weapons and implements in the graves of the dead1 and not infrequently sacrificed human victims1 and held cannibal feasts4 ,whether this was done in the far more remote palolithic era is uncertain1 for very few undoubted burials of this period have been discovered1 and those few have frequently been used again for later interments4 ,we can only draw a negative inference from the absence of idols which are so abundant in the prehistoric abodes explored by ,professor ,schliemann1 among the very numerous carvings and drawings found in the caves of the reindeer period in ,france and ,germany1 that the religion of the palolithic men1 if they had any1 had not reached the stage when spirits or deities were represented by images4 ,for the first traces therefore of anything like what is now understood by the term religion1 we must look beyond the vague superstitions of savages1 at the historical records of civilised nations4 ,as civilisation advanced population multiplied1 and rude tribes of hunters were amalgamated into agricultural communities and powerful empires1 in which a leisured and cultured class arose1 to whom the old superstitions were no longer sufficient4 ,they had to enlarge their #8working hypothesis' from the worship of stocks and stones and fear of ghosts1 to take in a multitude of new facts and ideas1 and specially those relating to natural phenomena which had roused their curiosity1 or become important to them as matters of practical utility4 ,the establishment of an hereditary caste of priests accelerated this evolution of religious ideas1 and from time to time recorded its progress4 ,the oldest of such records are those of ,egypt and ,chalda1 where the fertility of alluvial valleys watered by great rivers had led to the earliest development of a high civilisation4 ,the records also of the ,chinese1 ,hindoos1 ,persians1 and other nations take us a long way back towards the origins of religions4 ,in all cases we find them identical with the first origins of science1 and taking the form of attempted explanations of natural phenomena1 by the theory of deified objects and powers of nature4 ,in the ,vedas we see this in the simplest form1 where the gods are simply personifications of the heavens1 earth1 sun1 moon1 dawn1 and so forth2 and where we should say the red glow of morning announces the rising of the sun1 they express it that ,aurora blushes at the approach of her lover the mighty ,sun-god4 ,it is very interesting to observe how the old ,chaldan legend of the creation of the world has been modified in the far later ,jewish edition of it in ,genesis1 to adapt it to monotheistic ideas4 ,the ,chaldan legend begins1 like that of ,genesis1 with an #8earth without form and void1' and darkness on the chaotic deep4 ,in each legend the ,spirit of ,god1 called ,absu in the ,chaldan1 moves on the face of the waters1 and they are gathered together and separated from the land4 ,but here a difference begins3 in the original ,chaldan legend #8the great gods were then made2 the gods ,lakman and ,lakmana caused themselves to come forth2 the gods ,assur and ,kesar were made2 the gods ,anu1 ,bel1 and ,hea were born4' ,the appearance of the gods ,lakman and ,lakmana was the primitive mode of expressing the same idea as that which is expressed in ,genesis by saying that ,god created the firmament separating the heaven above from the earth beneath2 ,assur and ,kesar mean the same thing as the hosts of heaven and the earth2 the god ,bel is the sun1 and so forth4 ,it is evident that the first attempts to explain the phenomena of nature originated in the idea that motion and power implied life1 personality1 and conscious will2 and therefore that the earth1 sky1 sun1 moon1 and other grand and striking phenomena1 must be regarded as separate gods4 ,as culture advanced astronomy became more and more prominent in these early religions1 and solar myths became a principal part of their mythologies1 while astrology1 or the influence of planets and stars on human affairs1 became an important part of practical life4 ,the ,chaldan legend referred to contains a mass of astronomical knowledge1 which in the ,genesis edition is reduced to #8,he made the stars also4' ,it describes how the constellations were assigned their forms and names1 the twelve signs of the zodiac established1 the year divided into twelve months1 the equinoxes determined1 and the seasons set their bounds4 ,also how the moon was made to regulate the months by its disc1 #8horns shining forth to lighten the heavens1 which on the seventh day approaches a circle4' ,in the still older ,egyptian pyramids we find proof of the long previous existence of great astronomical knowledge and refined methods of observation1 for these buildings1 which are at once the largest and the oldest in the world1 are laid down so exactly in a meridian line1 and with such a close approximation to the true latitude1 as would have otherwise been impossible4 ,in fact there is every reason to believe that while they were constructed as tombs for kings1 they were at the same time intended for national observatories1 for the arrangement of the internal passages as such is to make the ,great ,pyramid serve the purpose of a telescope1 equatorially mounted1 and showing the transits of stars and planets over the meridian1 by reference to a reflected image of what was then the polar star1 a knowledge of which was essential for accurate calculation of the calendar and seasons1 for fixing the proper date of religious ceremonies1 and very probably for astrological purposes4 ,the prevalence of these solar and astronomical myths among a number of different nations separated by wide intervals of space and time is very remarkable4 ,egyptians1 ,indians1 ,babylonians1 ,chinese1 ,mexicans1 and ,peruvians had myths which were strangely similar1 indeed almost identical1 based on the sun's annual passage through the constellations of the zodiac4 ,his apparent decline and death as he approached the winter solstice1 and his return to life when he had passed it1 gave rise to myths of the murder of the ,sun-god by some fierce wild boar1 or treacherous enemy1 and of his triumphant resurrection in renewed glory4 ,hence1 also1 the passage of the winter solstice was a season of general rejoicing and festivity1 traces of which survive when the sirloin and turkey smoke upon the hospitable tables of modern ,christmas4 ,one remarkable myth had a very universal acceptance1 that of the birth of the infant ,sun-god from a virgin mother4 ,it appears to have originated from the period1 some #f1dej years ago1 when the sun1 which now rises at the winter solstice in the constellation of ,sagittarius1 rose in that of ,pisces1 with the constellation of the ,virgin1 with upraised arms marked by five stars1 setting in the north-west4 ,anyhow1 this myth of an infant god born of a virgin mother holds a prominent place in the religions of ,egypt1 ,india1 ,china1 ,chalda1 ,greece1 ,rome1 ,siam1 ,mexico1 ,peru1 and other nations4 ,the resemblances are often so close that the first ,jesuit missionaries to ,china found that their account of the miraculous conception of ,christ had been anticipated by that of ,fuh-ke1 born #cdfh ,b4,c42 and if an ancient priest of ,thebes or ,heliopolis could be restored to life and taken to the ,gallery of ,dresden1 he would see in ,raffaelle's ,madonna di ,san ,sisto what he would consider to be an admirable representation of ,horus in the arms of ,isis4 ,the planets also1 still more mysterious in their movements than the sun1 and therefore still more endowed with human-like faculties of life1 power1 and purpose1 were from an early period believed to exercise an influence on human affairs4 ,of the universality of this belief we find traces in the names of the days of the week1 which are so generally taken from the sun1 moon1 and five visible planets--,mercury1 ,mars1 ,jupiter1 ,venus1 and ,saturn--to whom special days were dedicated4 ,if every seventh day is a day of rest1 it was originally so because it was thought unlucky to undertake any work on the ,sabbath1 ,saturday1 or day of the gloomy and malignant ,saturn4 ,as time rolled on and civilisation advanced1 this simple nature-worship and deification of astronomical phenomena developed into larger and more complex conceptions4 ,following different lines of evolution1 polytheism1 pantheism and monotheism began to emerge as religious systems with definite creeds1 rituals1 and sacred books4 ,these lines seem to have been determined a good deal by the genius of the race in which the religious development took place4 ,the impressions made on the human mind by the surrounding universe are very various4 ,suppose ourselves looking up at the heavens on a clear starry night1 what will be the impression8 ,to one1 that of awe and reverence1 and he will feel crushed1 as it were1 into nothingness1 in the presence of such a sublime manifestation of majesty and glory4 ,another1 of more sthetic nature1 will be charmed by the beauty of the spectacle1 and tempted to assign life to it1 and to personify and dramatise its incidents4 ,a third1 of a scientific turn1 will above all things wish to understand it4 ,thus we find the impression of awe preponderating among the ,semitic races generally2 and as in their political relations1 so in their religious conceptions1 we find them prone to prostrate themselves before despotic power4 ,with the ,greeks again the sthetic idea almost swallowed up the others1 and the old astronomical myths blossomed into a perfect flower-bed of poetical and fanciful legends4 ,the ,chinese never got beyond a simple pantheism1 which looked upon the universe as being alive1 and saw nothing behind it2 while the more metaphysical and physically feebler races of ,hindoos and ,buddhists refined their pantheism into a system of illusion1 in which their own existence and the surrounding universe were literally such stuff ,as dreams are made on1 and to be #8rounded with a sleep' was the final consummation devoutly to be desired4 ,monotheism developed itself later1 partly from the feeling of the unity of nature forcing itself on the more philosophical minds2 partly from that feeling of reverence and awe in presence of the ,unknown which swallowed up other conceptions2 and partly1 in the earlier stages1 from the feeling which exalted the local god of the tribe or nation1 first into a supremacy over other gods1 and finally into sole supremacy1 degrading all other gods into the category of dumb idols made by human hands4 ,in the ,old ,testament we can trace the development of this latter idea in its successive stages4 ,until the later days of the ,jewish monarchy it is evident that the ,jews never doubted the existence of other gods2 and their allegiance oscillated between ,jehovah and the heathen deities symbolised by the golden calf1 worshipped in high places1 and contending for the mastership in the rival sacrifices of ,elijah and the priests of ,baal4 ,but the prophetic element gradually introduced higher ideas1 and in the reigns of ,hezekiah and ,josiah the worship of ,jehovah as the sole ,god became the religion of the ,state2 and old legends and documents were re-edited in this sense in the sacred book1 which was discovered and published for the first time in the reign of the latter king4 ,the subsequent misfortunes of the nation1 their captivity and contact with other religions in ,babylonia1 strengthened this monotheism into an ardent1 passionate national faith1 as it has continued to be with this remarkable people up to the present day4 ,christianity and ,mahometanism1 children of ,judaism1 have spread this form of faith over a great part of the civilised world2 and of the three theories of polytheism1 pantheism1 and monotheism1 it may be said that only the two latter survive4 ,polytheism was bound to perish first1 for slow as the advance of science was1 the uniformity of most of the phenomena1 which had been attributed to so many separate gods1 could not fail to make an impression2 and as ideas of morality came slowly and tardily to be evolved as an element of religion1 the cruel rites and scandalous fables which so generally accompanied polytheistic religions became shocking to an awakening conscience4 ,it is worthy of remark that this element of morality1 which has now gone so far towards swallowing up the others1 was the latest to appear4 ,even in the ,jewish conception ,jehovah was for a long time just as often cruel1 jealous1 and capricious1 as just and merciful2 and ,st4 ,paul's doctrine that because ,god had the power to do as ,he liked1 ,he was warranted in creating a large portion of the human race as #8vessels of wrath1' predestined to eternal punishment1 is as revolting to the modern conscience as any sacrifice to ,beelzebub or ,moloch4 ,if we wish to see how little necessary connection there is between morality and monotheism1 we have only to look at ,mahometanism1 which1 in its extremer forms1 may be called monotheism run mad4 ,the ,wahabite reformer1 we are told by ,palgrave1 preached that there were only two deadly sins3 paying divine honours to any creature of ,allah's1 and smoking tobacco2 and that murder1 adultery1 and such like trivial matters1 were minor offences which a merciful ,allah would condone4 ,he held also that of the whole inhabitants of the world all would surely be damned1 except one out of the seventy-two sects of ,mahometans1 who held the true faith and dwelt in the district of ,riad4 ,this illustrates the insane extremes into which all human speculations run1 if a single idea--in this case that of awe1 reverence1 and abject submission in presence of an almighty power--is allowed to run its course without check and obtain undue preponderance4 ,apart from these extreme instances we may say that the two religious theories which have survived to the present day in the struggle for existence1 are monotheism and pantheism4 ,pantheism is1 in the main1 the creed of half the human race--of the teeming millions of ,india1 ,china1 ,japan1 ,ceylon1 ,thibet1 ,siam1 and ,burmah4 ,how deeply it is rooted in their conceptions was very forcibly impressed on me in a conversation ,i had on board one of the ,p4 and ,o4 steamers with an ,english missionary returning from ,china4 ,he told me how he had dined one evening with an intelligent ,chinese merchant1 and after dinner they walked in the garden discussing religious subjects1 and he tried to impress on his host the first principles of the ,christian religion4 ,it was a starlight night1 and for sole reply the ,chinese gentleman stretched his hand to the heavens and said1 #8,do you mean to tell me all that is dead--do you take me for a fool8' ,the ,chinese #8illative sense' was as absolute in its conclusions for pantheism1 as that of ,cardinal ,newman for theism4 ,in fact pantheism1 though not the whole truth1 and almost as inconsistent as polytheism with the real facts of the universe as disclosed by science1 has a certain poetical truth in it1 to which chords of human emotion vibrate responsively1 and is perhaps not so widely in error as some of the extreme theories which treat matter as something base and brutal4 ,wordsworth's noble lines-- ,a sense sublime ,of something far more deeply interfused1 ,whose dwelling is the light of setting suns1 ,and the round ocean and the living air1 ,and the blue sky1 and in the mind of man2 ,a motion1 and a spirit that impels ,all thinking things1 all objects of all thoughts1 ,and rolls through all things-- are pure pantheism1 and yet we cannot but feel ourselves to a great extent in sympathy with them4 ,so also the well-known lines of a greater than ,wordsworth1 ,shakespeare1 are pure ,buddhism3 ,the cloud-capp'd towers1 the gorgeous palaces1 ,the solemn temples1 the great globe itself1 ,yea1 all which it inherit1 shall dissolve ,and1 like this insubstantial pageant faded1 ,leave not a rack behind4 ,we are such stuff ,as dreams are made on1 and our little life ,is rounded with a sleep4 ,no one can read these lines without feeling that the ,buddhist conception is as far as possible from being a trivial or vulgar one1 and that the triviality and vulgarity are rather with those who cannot1 up to a certain point1 understand and sympathise with it4 ,the religions of the ,east are very philosophical1 and have kept very clearly in view this fundamental distinction between the knowable and the unknowable4 ,in the #8,century ,magazine' of ,july #ahhf1 there is an interesting account of a conversation between an ,american missionary and the ,bozu or chief priest of the great temple of the ,shin ,sect of ,buddhists at ,kioto in ,japan4 ,the priest was an intelligent and highly educated gentleman who spoke ,english1 and was well versed in the speculations of modern philosophy4 ,the conversation turned on theological questions1 and when pressed by the argument for a ,divine ,creator1 from design shown in the universe implying intelligence1 he replied3-- #8,no2 ,god cannot make matter4 ,only artificial things show design1 only things which can be made4 ,what do you mean by saying a thing shows design8 ,you only mean that by trying a man could make it4' ,and he proceeded to illustrate it thus3-- #8,you show me a gold ring2 the ring shows design1 but not the gold2 gold is an ultimate element1 which can neither be made nor destroyed4 ,when men can make a world1 then they can prove that this one shows design1 for the only way they know of design is by what they make4' ,he went on to argue for the immortality of the soul1 and as a consequence for its pre-existence and the transmigration of souls1 from the conservation of energy2 and concluded his argument against the creation and government of the world by a comprehensible1 anthropomorphic ,creator1 by adducing the existence of evil4 #8,there is a sickness1' he said1 #8called fever and ague2 what do you call the medicine to cure that8' #8,quinine4' #8,yes2 now we have not found that long2 a good ,god would not have let so many people suffer if ,he could have given them that4 ,a man found it by chance4 ,the sickness and suffering in this life are for wrong done in another life4' ,we may not accept this unproved theory of the cause of sickness and suffering1 but it is very interesting to find that candid and intelligent minds1 brought up in a society and religious beliefs so widely different from our own1 have arrived practically at the same conclusions as ,john ,stuart ,mill1 ,herbert ,spencer1 and other leaders of advanced thought in modern ,europe1 and drawn almost identically the same line between that which is knowable and that which is unknowable by the human mind4 ,but1 however large-minded we may become in seeing the good in other forms of creed1 we ,english of the nineteenth century are not going to turn either pantheists or ,buddhists1 and practically the contest of the present day is between the supernatural or miraculous1 and the natural or scientific1 hypotheses4 ,according to the former the operations of the universe are carried on to a considerable extent by what may be called secondary interferences of a supernatural being1 who with will1 intelligence1 and design1 like human though vastly superior1 frequently interposes to alter the course of events and bring about something which natural law would not have brought about4 ,the other hypothesis cannot be stated better than in ,bishop ,temple's words1 that the ,great ,first ,cause created things so perfect from the first1 that no such secondary interferences have ever been necessary1 and everything has been and is evolved from the primary atoms and energies in a necessary and invariable succession4 ,the supernatural and the natural theories of the universe are thus brought into direct antagonism4 ,for the supernatural theory it must be conceded that it is quite conceivable1 as is proved by the fact that it has been the almost universal conception of mankind for ages1 and remains so still for the greater number4 ,it is1 as ,i have said1 the inevitable first conception when men began to reflect on the phenomena of the universe1 and to reason from effects to causes4 ,i have always thought that ,hume went too far in condemning miracles as absolutely incredible a priori4 ,it is a question of evidence4 ,a priori1 ,i can conceive that the true explanation of the universe might have been natural law1 as the general rule1 supplemented by miracles2 just as readily as that it is law always1 and miracle never4 ,the verdict must be decided by the weight of evidence4 ,the two theories must be called1 face to face1 before the tribunal of fact1 and its decision must be respected4 ,this is exactly what has been going on for the last two centuries1 and specially for the last half century1 and the record of decisions is now a very ample one4 ,in every single instance law has carried the day against miracle4 ,instance after instance has occurred in which phenomena which in former ages were attributed without hesitation to supernatural agencies have been conclusively proved to be due to natural laws4 ,take the obvious instance of thunder4 ,when ,horace wrote3-- ,jam satis terris nivis1 atque dir ,grandinis misit ,pater1 et rubente ,dextera sacras jaculatus arces ,terruit urbem1 he wrote to a public to whom it was an undoubted article of faith that thunder and lightning1 hail and snowstorms1 came direct from the ,father of the gods in the sky4 ,even to a late period this was the general faith1 and the prayers in our rubric for rain or fine weather remain as a survival of the belief that these things1 when unusual or in excess1 are supernatural manifestations4 ,but ,benjamin ,franklin said1 #8,no1 there is nothing supernatural about lightning4 ,i will bring it down from the clouds and manufacture it by turning a wheel4' ,appeal being made to fact1 the verdict is that ,franklin was right1 and that lightning-conductors protect ships and houses better than prayers or incantations4 ,again1 when ,galileo and the ,church joined issue as to whether the earth was round or flat1 inspiration and authority were cited in vain for the received theory2 fact said it was round1 and it was proved to be so by men sailing round it4 ,the law of gravity was considered a very dangerous heresy1 and for a long time pious divines held out against its conclusions1 and contended that it was no better than atheism to doubt that comets were signs of ,god's anger sent to warn a sinful world4 ,but ,halley calculated the time of his comet's return according to the laws of gravity1 and appeal being made to fact1 the comet returned true to time4 ,this has occurred so often that few are left who doubt the universal prevalence of law in the material universe1 where former generations saw miracles at every turn4 ,nor is the defeat of miracle less conspicuous in the spiritual world4 ,where former ages and rude races saw1 and still see1 possession by evil spirits1 modern doctors see fevers1 epilepsies1 or insanity4 ,once more appeal being made to fact1 the old medicine-men administered incantations1 the new ones quinine--which cure the most patients8 ,in like manner demonology and witchcraft1 with all their train of cruelties and horrors1 once universally believed even by men like ,justice ,hale1 have passed into oblivion as completely as the ,lami1 ,phorkyads1 and other fantastic figures of the classical ,walpurgisnight4 ,is the world the better or the worse for this triumph of natural law over supernaturalism8 ,the triumph has been so complete in innumerable instances1 without a single one to the contrary1 that belief in the permanence and universality of natural law has become almost an instinct in all educated minds1 and even those who cling to old beliefs must admit that the most cogent and irresistible evidence is requisite to establish the fact of a real supernatural interference4 ,it may be taken as an axiom that wherever a natural explanation is possible1 a miraculous one is impossible4 ,now this is just the point on which1 as knowledge has increased1 the evidence for miracles has become weaker1 almost in the exact ratio in which the necessity for evidence has become stronger4 ,take1 for instance1 the following case recorded by ,dr4 ,braid of ,glasgow4 ,miss ,r4 had suffered from ophthalmia and was totally blind4 ,she could not discern a single letter of the title-page of a book placed close to her1 though some of the letters were a quarter of an inch long4 ,dr4 ,braid placed the patient in a condition of hypnotism or artificial somnambulism1 and directed the nervous force1 or sustained attention of the mind1 to the eyes by wafting over them4 ,after a first sitting of about ten minutes she was able to read a great part of the title-page1 and after four more sittings she was able to read the smallest-sized print in a newspaper1 and was quite cured for the rest of her life4 ,in another case1 that of ,mrs4 ,s41 blindness of the left eye had occurred owing to an attack of rheumatic fever1 the structure of the eye1 both external and internal1 being considerably injured1 and more than half the cornea covered by an opaque film4 ,after a few sittings the cornea became transparent1 and the patient was cured4 ,in both these cases the blind were made to see by processes which were purely mechanical1 for hypnotism was induced by the simple means of making the patient strain her attention on some fixed idea or object1 commonly on a black wafer stuck on a white wall1 and the stimulation of the optic nerve to greater activity did the rest4 ,and if the blind could be made to see1 a fortiori the deaf were made to hear1 and the lame and halt to walk1 by the same mechanical process4 ,here there is an explanation of nine-tenths of all recorded miracles by purely natural causes4 ,again1 take the well-known case of the ,berlin bookseller1 ,nicolai1 who1 having fallen into ill-health1 for a whole year saw1 when awake1 visions so real and palpable that he may be said to have lived in the company of disembodied spirits1 undistinguishable from actual men and women4 ,this is a common phenomenon in vivid dreams1 but the ,berlin case takes us a step farther1 and shows us how subjective impressions may assume the form of objective realities1 even in the case of a man wide awake1 of a sceptical turn of mind1 and in full possession of his reasoning faculties4 ,why then should we be driven to the alternative of miracle or imposture1 to account for similar dreams or visions being taken for objective realities by enthusiastic minds1 living in an atmosphere of religious excitement1 in an uncritical age1 when supernatural occurrences were considered to be matters of course8 ,and history is full of instances which show how any supernatural germ1 planted in such a medium1 propagates itself and extends to millions1 almost as rapidly as the bacillus germ does in an epidemic of small-pox4 ,st4 ,vitus's dance1 or the dancing mania1 ran the round of ,europe like the potato disease1 and even yet survives in the hysterical affections of the sect of ,shakers4 ,the gift of tongues spread like wildfire through ,irving's congregation1 and only died out because it had fallen on the uncongenial soil of the nineteenth century2 even the story of the tail of the lion over the gateway of the old ,northumberland ,house being seen by many passers-by to wag because one had asserted it1 illustrates the contagiousness of nervous sympathy1 and the tricks which #8strong imagination' can play with the senses4 ,another great blow has been dealt against the miraculous theory by what can only be called the singular want of intelligence displayed in the exercise of miraculous power as commonly recorded4 ,the raison d'tre1 or effect desired to be produced by miracles1 is to convert mankind from sin1 or to attest a divine mission by convincing proofs4 ,even ordinary human intelligence--and how much more so that of a superior ,being--must see that to attain this end the means must be to make the proof convincing4 ,there is no reason in itself why it should not be so4 ,the fact that a man who was alive and signed a will is now dead1 is attested as regards the latter proposition by a proper medical certificate1 and as regards the former by two credible witnesses1 who are prepared to come into court1 give their names and addresses1 depose on oath to the signature1 and stand cross-examination4 ,if this testimony is required to establish a fact so antecedently probable as that one particular man has undergone the common fate of millions of millions of other men1 that is to say1 that he has died after being alive1 how much more must it be requisite to establish the fact so antecedently improbable1 as that one man among those many millions after having died came back to life4 ,and yet where is the recorded miracle for which even this minimum amount of testimony is forthcoming8 ,why are miracles so constantly performed in holes and corners1 in obscure localities1 among little knots of ignorant and enthusiastic adherents1 attested by the vaguest hearsay evidence of unknown or incompetent witnesses1 and apparently under circumstances inevitably calculated to defeat their object and engender doubts in the minds of reasonable and conscientious men4 ,take1 for instance1 the miracles now said to be wrought at ,lourdes4 ,the object must be taken to be to convert infidel ,france to the ,catholic faith4 ,but obviously this object would be far better attained by a single undoubted miracle wrought at ,paris before a commission headed by a man like ,pasteur1 than by any number of miracles scarcely1 if at all1 distinguishable from those of ,dr4 ,braid1 alleged to occur at an obscure village in the presence of peasants and pilgrims4 ,or1 take a higher instance1 that of the demand made by the ,pharisees to ,jesus for a sign to attest his ,messiahship4 ,consider the circumstances of the case1 and see if it is at all possible that if he had possessed the power of working miracles he should have replied1 #8,why doth this generation seek after a sign8 verily ,i say unto you1 there shall no sign be given unto this generation' 7,st4 ,mark ix4 #ab74 ,in the first place the statement throws discredit upon all the miracles said to have been wrought1 by the positive and explicit declaration that none should be wrought4 ,but beyond this1 the very essence of the mission of ,jesus was contained in the words1 #8,repent ye1 for the kingdom of heaven is at hand4' ,he had a firm conviction that the kingdom of heaven1 or a millennium of peace and goodwill1 was close at hand1 and its advent only retarded by the sinfulness and want of faith of his chosen people4 ,he thought it his bounden duty to do all he could to remove the obstacle and expedite the coming of the kingdom4 ,with this conviction1 though fully seeing the risk and counting the cost1 when he found that he was making no decided headway by preaching in a remote province1 he determined to go to ,jerusalem and make there one great effort to accomplish his object4 ,can it be doubted that he would use every means in his power to carry his mission to a successful conclusion8 ,if1 having the power to do so by working a miracle1 he had refused1 he would from his point of view have been guilty of a great sin--that of preventing the coming of the kingdom of heaven4 ,again1 who were the ,pharisees8 ,no doubt there were formalists and hypocrites among them1 but the position of the sect in the ,jewish nation was almost exactly similar to that of the ,english ,puritans in the reign of ,charles4 ,they were the embodiment of the patriotic and religious spirit of the race1 the sons of the heroic fathers who fought under ,judas ,maccabeus against ,antiochus1 the fathers of the equally heroic sons who made the last desperate stand against the legions of ,titus4 ,it was their duty1 when a claim to ,messiahship was advanced1 before departing from the traditions of their ancestors1 to require evidence4 ,the universally expected evidence of a temporal deliverer being wanting1 there remained only the evidence of miracles1 which1 moreover1 were assigned as the test of a ,messiah by all their prophets4 ,to refuse them a sign1 if a sign were possible1 was to do injustice to many sincere and conscientious men4 ,nay1 more1 it was an act of cruelty if leaving them in their old faith entailed eternal punishment4 ,the same thing applies to all records of miracles4 ,they are never wrought under circumstances where they would be the most effective means for attaining proposed ends4 ,they are never wrought under circumstances which leave them clear of the suspicion of being subjective illusions or misinterpretations of effects due to natural causes4 ,they never convince any but those who are more than half convinced already4 ,it would be easy to multiply instances showing the inadequacy of the evidence adduced to establish such an exceptional and extraordinary fact as the occurrence of a real miracle4 ,but it is unnecessary to do so1 as all thinking minds have come1 or are fast coming1 to the conclusion of ,dr4 ,temple1 that #8all the countless varieties of the universe were provided for by one original impress1 and not by special acts of creation modifying what had previously been made4' ,it is only when we look behind the phenomena of the universe at this ,great ,first ,cause1 that ,i see anything to object to in the definition of ,dr4 ,temple1 and of ,christian philosophers generally4 ,they assume it to be a personal ,deity1 who is to a great extent known or knowable1 and therefore must have attributes conformable to human perceptions which are the basis of all human knowledge4 ,in other words1 however much we may purify and enlarge these attributes1 ,he must be essentially an anthropomorphic ,god or magnified man4 ,to this theory there seems to me to be this fatal objection1 that it gives no account of the origin of evil1 or rather that it makes the ,divine ,creator directly responsible for it4 ,the existence of evil in the world is as palpable a fact as the existence of good4 ,there are many things which to our human perceptions appear to be base1 cruel1 foul1 and ugly1 just as clearly as other things appear to be noble1 merciful1 pure1 and beautiful4 ,whence come they8 ,if the existence of good proves a good ,creator1 how can we escape the inference that the existence of evil proves an evil one8 ,this is never so forcibly impressed on me as when ,i read the arguments of those who insist most strongly on the conception of a one1 anthropomorphic ,god4 ,when ,carlyle says1 #8,all that is good1 generous1 wise1 right--whatever ,i deliberately and for ever love in others and myself--who or what could by any possibility have given it to me but ,one who first had it to give8 ,this is not logic1 but axiom4' ,i cannot but picture to myself the sledgehammer force with which1 if he had approached the question without prepossessions1 he would have come down on the cant1 the insincerity1 the treason to the eternal veracities1 which refused to look facts in the face1 and apply the same reasoning to the evil4 ,or if ,arnold defines the ,deity as the #8,something not ourselves which makes for righteousness1' how of the ,something not ourselves which makes for unrighteousness8 ,the only escape ,i can find from this dilemma is to accept existing facts and not evade them4 ,it is a fact that polarity is the law of existence4 ,why we know not1 any more than we know the real essence and origin of the atoms and energies which are our other ultimate facts4 ,but we accept atoms and energies1 and accept the law of gravity and other laws2 why not accept also the law of polarity1 and admit that it is part of the #8original impress'3 one of the fundamental conditions under which the evolution of ,creation from its ultimate elements is necessitated to proceed4 ,this the human mind can understand2 beyond it is the great unknown or unknowable1 in presence of which we can only feel emotions of reverence and of awe1 and #8faintly trust the larger hope' that duality may somehow ultimately be merged in unity1 evil in good1 and #8every winter turn to spring4' ,as nations advanced in civilisation there has always been a tendency among the higher and purer minds to relegate the ,great ,first ,cause further and further back into the unknown1 and to divest it of anthropomorphic attributes4 ,when ,socrates said1 #8that divinely revealed wisdom of which you speak1 ,i deny not1 inasmuch as ,i do not know it2 ,i can only understand human reason1' he spoke the identical language of ,darwin1 ,spencer1 ,huxley1 and those leaders of modern thought whom theologians call agnostics4 ,even in religions based on the idea of a single anthropomorphic ,deity the same tendency often appears among the highest thinkers4 ,thus ,emmanuel ,deutsch1 in his learned work on the ,talmud1 tells us1 #8,its first chapter treats of the ,deity as conceived by ,jewish philosophy4 ,the existence of ,god is1 of course1 presupposed4 ,but what of ,his attributes8 ,has ,he any8 ,scripture literally taken seems to affirm this4 ,yet taken in a higher sense1 as understood by the ,alexandrines1 the ,talmud1 and the ,targum1 it denies it4' ,the great ,jewish doctors1 ,ibn ,ezra1 ,jehuda ,hilmi1 and ,maimonides1 take this view of a divine origin shrouded in ineffable mystery4 ,maimonides says1 #8,if you give attributes to a thing1 you define this thing1 and defining a thing means to bring it under some head1 to compare it with something like it4 ,god is sole of ,his kind4 ,determine ,him1 circumscribe ,him1 and you bring ,him down to the modes and categories of created things4' ,even ,st4 ,paul says1 #8,o the depths of ,god4 ,how unsearchable are ,his judgments1 and how inscrutable ,his ways'2 and the ,creed of our own ,church1 in the midst of a string of definitions all implying that ,god is comprehensible1 has the words #8the ,father incomprehensible4' ,it is evident that the reasons why these anticipations of the prevailing tendency of modern thought only appeared by glimpses1 and among a very limited number of philosophic minds1 arose from the fact that the miraculous theory of the universe everywhere prevailed4 ,every unusual occurrence was supposed to be owing to the direct supernatural interference of a ,being acting in the main with human attributes1 and therefore to be a direct refutation of the theory which denied the possibility of defining ,his attributes1 and relegated ,him to the dim distance of an incomprehensible ,creator4 ,with the utter breakdown of the miraculous theory1 and the certainty that all the countless varieties of the universe arise1 not from special interferences1 but from one original impress1 this theory of a reverent and devout agnosticism becomes impregnable and holds the field against all rivals4 ,it1 and it alone1 is consistent with the facts of science1 the deductions of reason1 the axioms of morality1 while at the same time it denies nothing1 and leaves an ample background on which to paint the visions of faith1 and to reflect back to us spectral images of our hopes and fears1 our longings and aspirations4 ,some seek for a solution of the mystery1 and try to reconcile the existence of evil with that of an almighty and beneficent ,creator1 by assuming that in the long run everything will come right4 ,evolution1 they say1 has led constantly to higher and better things1 and when carried far enough will lead to a state of society in which wars will cease1 evil passions die out1 and universal love and charity prevail--in other words1 to a millennium4 ,even if this were true1 what of the untold millions of the human race who have perished in their sins while evolution was slowly working out this tardy millennium8 ,are they the chair canons1 whom a ,napoleon-like ,deity sacrifices with cynical indifference1 in the calculated moves of the game of ,creation8 ,is this their idea of an all-wise and all-merciful ,father who is in heaven8 ,and again1 is it true that evolution works constantly for good and promises to bring about such a millennium8 ,it is doubtless true that evolution means progress1 and the ever-increasing development of the more and more complex and differentiated from the simple and uniform4 ,but is this all for good1 or all for happiness2 and is not evolution1 like everything else1 subject to the primary and all-pervading law of polarity8 ,we have only to ask the question to answer it4 ,in the case of the individual1 which is the epitome of the history of the species1 is development from the engaging innocence of childhood always in the direction of goodness and happiness8 ,so far is this from being the case that1 as individuals and societies advance1 and become higher and more complex in the scale of organisation1 the law of polarity asserts itself with ever-increasing force1 and contrasts become sharper4 ,the good become better1 the bad worse2 and as we become less ,like the beasts with lower pleasures1 ,like the beasts with lower pains1 if our happiness becomes more intense1 so does our misery become more intolerable4 ,i refer not merely to physical conditions1 though here the contrast is most apparent4 ,an intelligent traveller who recently circled the world1 surveying mankind with a keen and impartial eye #8from ,china to ,peru1' says1 as the result of his experience1 #8,the traveller will not see in all his wanderings so much abject repulsive misery among human beings in the most heathen lands1 as that which startles him in his civilised ,christian home1 for nowhere are the extremes of wealth and poverty so painfully presented4' ,this is perfectly true2 but it would be a rash conclusion to infer that civilised and ,christian countries are worse than heathen lands1 or that those who march in the van of progress and succeed in the struggle for life1 have a larger dose of original sin than the laggards and those who fail4 ,accumulations of population and accumulations of capital are alike causes and effects of progress in an industrial age4 ,but you can no more have a north without a south pole1 than you can have this progress without its counterpart of suffering4 ,when an educated gentleman was1 like the good vicar1 ,passing rich with forty pounds a year1 how many struggles and how many heart-aches were avoided4 ,when #8merry ,england' dwelt in rural hamlets and villages1 the #8bitter cry' of ,east ,london could scarcely have been written4 ,turn it as you like1 increase of population means increase of poverty4 ,say that only five per cent4 fail in the battle of life1 from their own or inherited faults2 from bad luck1 ill-health1 weakness of mind1 adverse surroundings2 five per cent4 on thirty millions is a larger figure than five per cent4 on ten millions4 ,and the lot of those who fail is aggravated by the success of those who succeed4 ,the scale of living rises1 and the cost of living increases1 while competition becomes keener4 ,increase of population in a limited area means increased difficulty of finding employment2 and the complex relations of international commerce send panics and crises vibrating throughout the world1 which throw millions out of work1 or reduce them to starvation wages4 ,in simple forms of society every one accepts the condition in which he finds himself as a matter of course1 while in a more complex civilisation the fiend ,envy steps in1 and teaches the baser natures who are failures1 to regard every success as an insult and every successful man as an enemy4 ,hence ,labour rises in mad revolt against ,capital2 ,socialists attack society with dynamite2 and ,utopian theorists preach a millennium to be attained by abolishing private property and individual liberty4 ,if we turn to the moral aspects of the question1 it is still more clear that evolution does not tend solely to the side of virtue4 ,there is doubtless less ferocious savagery1 less rude and unconscious or half-conscious crime1 in civilised societies1 but there is far more deliberate and diabolical wickedness4 ,the very temptations and opportunities which1 if resisted1 lead to higher virtues1 if succumbed to1 lead to greater vice4 ,even the intellectual advance1 if perverted1 becomes the instrument of greater crimes4 ,a chemist discovers nitro-glycerine1 and dynamite becomes a resource of civilisation4 ,there is a saying that there is #8no blackguard so bad as a ,scotch blackguard1' which1 as a patriotic ,scotchman1 ,i take to be a tribute to the generally high intellectual and moral character of my countrymen4 ,a powerful polarity is powerful1 as the case may be1 either for good or evil4 ,why then should we believe that evolution1 which1 carried thus far1 has developed more strongly the contrast between good and evil1 will1 if carried a little farther1 extinguish it by annihilating the evil8 ,in fact1 the good and evil resulting from the higher evolution of society are so equally balanced that it depends very much on place1 time1 and temperament whether we are optimists or pessimists4 ,if my liver acts properly ,i am an optimist2 if it is out of order1 a pessimist4 ,personally ,i incline to optimism--that is1 ,i think that this world1 if not exactly #8the best of all possible worlds1' is yet on the whole a very tolerable world1 and that life to the majority1 and on the average1 is worth living4 ,i think also that progress is certainly towards higher1 and very probably towards happier1 conditions4 ,it seems to me that in the most advanced ,english-speaking communities1 the condition of at least one half--viz4 the female half--of the population is distinctly better1 and that the working class1 who form the majority of the male half1 though many are worse off than formerly1 are1 on the whole1 better fed1 better clothed1 better educated1 and better behaved4 ,this1 however1 is perhaps very much a matter of temperament4 ,greater minds than mine have seen things differently and inclined to pessimism4 ,buddhism1 and almost all ,oriental religions and philosophies1 are based upon it1 and look to ,nirvana or annihilation of personal identity as the supreme bliss4 ,pauline ,christianity assumes that all mankind1 except a few chosen vessels1 are so hopelessly bad as to be predestined to eternal damnation4 ,and even more remarkable1 ,shakespeare1 the universal genius1 who one would say had as happy a temperament and led as successful a life as any man1 had his moods of despondency in which he could say3-- ,when in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes1 ,i all alone bemoan my outcast state2 ,wearying deaf heaven with my fruitless cries1 ,and look upon myself1 and curse my fate4 ,or declare with ,hamlet that no one would bear the ills of life if ,he himself could his quietus make ,with a bare bodkin4 ,with instances like these1 and the disgust of life manifested in so many modern societies by the increase of suicides1 and the spread of pessimistic theories like those of ,schopenhauer and ,hartmann1 who can deny that the great magnet of modern civilisation has a south as well as a north pole1 and that progress is not all towards perfection8 ,the attempts of theologians to reconcile the existence of evil with the goodness of an almighty ,creator1 by relegating the adjustment to a future life1 only make the fact of this fundamental polarity more apparent1 for their conceptions of a heaven and a hell obviously do not reconcile1 but only intensify1 the opposite polarities4 ,the good are better1 the bad worse1 the happy happier1 and the wretched more miserable1 in all these attempts to define the undefinable and to reconcile divine justice with divine mercy4 ,all that remains really clear to each individual is that by his efforts in this life he can do something to keep the balance of polarities somewhat more on the side of good1 both in his own individual existence1 and in that of the aggregate of units1 of which he is one1 which is called society or humanity4 ,the great advantage of this form of religious hypothesis1 which for want of a better name ,i call ,zoroastrianism1 is that1 in the first place1 it gets rid of the antagonism between religion and science1 for there is no possible discovery of science which is irreconcilable with the fact that there is a necessary and inevitable polarity of good and evil1 and in the background a great unknown1 which may be regarded with those feelings and aspirations which are inseparable from human nature4 ,and secondly1 there is the still greater advantage that we can devote ourselves with a whole heart and sincere mind to the worship of the good principle1 without paltering with our moral nature by professing to love and adore a ,being who is the author of all the evil and misery in the world as well as of the good4 ,if it were really true that there were such a ,being as theologians describe1 who created the immense majority of the human race vessels of wrath doomed to eternal punishment1 either from pure caprice or to avenge the slight offered to ,him by the disobedience of a remote ancestor1 what would be the attitude of every healthy human soul towards such a ,being8 ,rather that of ,prometheus or ,satan1 than of ,gabriel or ,michael2 of heroic defiance than of abject submission4 ,we may gloss this over in words1 but the fact remains1 and it is difficult to overestimate the amount of evil which has resulted in the world from this confusion of moral sentiments which has made good men do devil's work in the belief that it had divine sanction4 ,the horrors of demonology and witchcraft had their origin in texts of the ,old ,testament2 religious wars and persecutions arose out of the fundamental error that intellectual acceptance of doubtful dogmas was the one thing necessary for salvation2 and ruthless cruelty was justified by an appeal to ,god's anger with ,saul for refusing to hew in pieces the captive ,amalekites4 ,a follower of ,zoroaster would see at once that these were works of ,ahriman and not of ,ormuzd1 and that in taking part in them he was deserting the standard under which he had enlisted1 and doing deeds of darkness while pretending to serve the ,prince of ,light4 ,this idea of being a soldier enlisted in the army of light seems to me to afford one of the strongest practical inducements to hate what is evil and cleave to what is good4 ,a bad deed or foul thought is felt to be not only wrong but dishonourable3 a disloyal going over to the enemy and abandonment of the chief under whom we had enlisted1 and of the comrades with whom we had served4 ,this is a very strong motive1 and even in the humble ranks of the ,salvation ,army we can see how powerfully it operates to make men true to their banner4 ,indeed a great deal of what is best in genuine ,christianity seems to me to resolve itself very much into the worship of ,jesus as the ,ormuzd or personification of the good principle1 and determination to try to follow his example and do his work4 ,it happens to me to receive a good many circulars from the devoted men and women who are doing so much charitable work to assist the poor and fallen1 and ,i observe that the appeals are almost constantly made in the name of ,jesus4 ,when the ,salvation ,army made an appeal the other day to its members for funds to prosecute their campaign1 it was touching to read the replies and see men parting with an overcoat or giving up their beer1 and women going without a new bonnet or cup of tea1 to contribute their mite4 ,but always for the #8love of ,jesus1' for the #8,saviour's sake1' as an offering to the #8dear ,redeemer4' ,theological ,christianity says that the one thing needful is to believe in the ,catholic ,faith as defined by the ,athanasian ,creed1 without which we shall #8without doubt perish everlastingly4' ,practical ,christianity has completely dropped the ,holy ,ghost as a sort of fifth wheel to the coach1 and relegated the ,father into ever vaguer and greater distance2 while it has fastened more and more on the figure of ,jesus of ,nazareth as the practical living embodiment of the good principle of the universe4 ,in a word1 ,christianity1 as it has become more reasonable1 more charitable1 more pure1 and more elevated1 has approximated more and more to ,zoroastrianism1 and for practical purposes modern ,christians are1 to a great extent1 without knowing it1 worshippers of ,ormuzd1 with ,christ for their ,ormuzd4 ,to this ,i see no sort of objection4 ,the tendency to personify abstract principles in something which is warmer1 dearer1 nearer to ourselves1 is ineradicable in human nature2 and especially among the great masses of mankind who cannot rise to the height of philosophical speculations4 ,it is impossible in the present age to invent new personifications1 or to revive old ones4 ,jesus has the immense advantage of being in possession of the field1 with all the accumulated love and reverence of nineteen centuries of followers4 ,it would be difficult to invent a better ideal or a more perfect example4 ,no doubt the ideal1 like all human conceptions1 is not absolutely perfect2 it is subject to the law of polarity1 and its excellences1 if pushed to the #8falsehood of extremes1' in many cases become faults4 ,it would not do in practice if smitten on one cheek to turn the other1 or to take no thought for the morrow and live like the sparrows4 ,the opposition between the flesh and the spirit is also stated so absolutely1 that it is apt to lead to a barren and ignoble asceticism4 ,but those are elements which1 practically1 are not likely to be pushed to excess1 and which serve rather to mitigate the tendencies of modern civilisation to an undue preponderance of the opposite polarities of selfishness1 worldliness1 and sensuality4 ,courage1 hardihood1 self-reliance1 foresight1 a love of progress1 and a desire to attain independence1 will always remain prominent virtues1 especially of the stronger races1 and the gentler teachings of ,christianity will long be wanted as an influence to soften1 to elevate1 and to purify4 ,by all means1 therefore1 let ,christians remain ,christians1 and see in ,christ their ,ormuzd1 or personification of the good principle4 ,only let them remember that there are two sides to every question1 and cease to entertain hard and bitter thoughts towards those who follow the truth after a different fashion4 ,let them delight rather to discover unity in the spirit than differences in the letter1 and instead of anathematising with ,athanasius those who dissent by one hair's breadth from the ,catholic faith1 strive with ,st4 ,paul after that charity which #8suffereth long and is kind3 beareth all things1 believeth all things1 hopeth all things1 endureth all things4' ,this will be easier if they recollect that love and reverence for ,jesus1 as the personification of the good principle1 is in no way connected with the supernatural dogmas and legends which have come down from superstitious ages1 and which are seen every day1 more and more clearly1 to stand in direct contradiction to the real facts and real laws of the universe4 ,he is the bright example of the highest ideal of human virtue1 not on account of miracles1 but in spite of them2 not because he was a transcendental abstraction with attributes altogether outside of human experience or conception2 but because he was a man whom other men can love and other men can strive to imitate4 ,the dogmas and miracles may quietly fade out of sight1 as so many articles of the ,athanasian ,creed have already done1 like mists before the rising rays of larger knowledge and purer morality1 and yet the essence of ,christianity will remain1 as a worship of the good and beautiful1 personified in the brightest example which has been afforded--that of ,jesus1 the son of the carpenter of ,nazareth4 ,,chapter ,,xii4 ,,christianity ,,and ,,morals4 ,christianity based on morals--,origin of morality--,traced in ,judaism--,originates in evolution--,instance of murder--,freedom of will--,will suspended in certain states of brain--,hypnotism--,mechanical theory--,pre-established harmony--,human and animal conscience--,analysis of will--,explained by polarity--,practical conclusion4 ,the great advantage which ,christianity possesses over most other religions is that it is based to a much greater extent on the solid foundation of an elevated morality4 ,the creeds of ancient ,egypt1 of ,buddhism1 and of ,confucianism contain many excellent moral precepts2 and the injunctions to #8do unto others as you would be done by1' and to #8love your neighbour as yourself1' are to be found long before the ,sermon on the ,mount4 ,but these religions in the main followed other lines of development1 and branched off either into metaphysical conceptions or into formal rites and ceremonies4 ,with the exception of ,judaism1 of which ,christianity is the lineal descendant1 no religion has ever to the same extent become to the great mass of its adherents a rule of conduct and an incentive1 strengthened by divine sanction1 to lead pure and upright lives4 ,this is the sense in which ,christianity has always been understood by the vast majority of ,christians1 and its corruptions have come much more from above than from below2 from theologians1 priests1 and politicians1 than from the instincts of the millions2 and this it is which enables it to retain such a wonderful vitality even in modern times1 when faith in dogmas and miracles has been so greatly weakened4 ,in order to appreciate the solidity of this basis it is necessary to understand the origin of morals1 and to see that the fundamental precepts of moral law are not mere chance inventions of a few exceptional minds1 or the teachings of doubtful revelations1 but are the necessary growth and products of human nature1 in the course of the evolution of society from rude beginnings to a high civilisation4 ,this gives them a certainty and sanction which could be derived from no other source1 and makes them what in fact they have become--almost primary instincts of the natural and normal mind in civilised communities4 ,i proceed1 therefore1 to endeavour to trace shortly the process by which moral laws have originated and grown up to their present certainty and cogency in the course of evolution4 ,as ,i have already said1 the element of morality is one of the latest to be developed in religious conceptions4 ,the first impressions of savage races reflect the feelings of vague superstitious terror with which they regard unknown phenomena and powers4 ,they are afraid of ghosts and afraid of thunder1 long before they rise to a belief in a future state of rewards and punishments1 or to the notion of an almighty ,being acting by natural laws4 ,in a higher state of development they personify natural powers in gods1 who have no more idea of morality than if they were so many parallels of latitude or degrees of longitude2 and they invent tribal gods1 who are simply great chiefs1 bound by no laws1 but granting favours when appeased and inflicting injuries when angry4 ,by slow degrees1 as civilisation advances1 moral ideas are evolved1 and the more enlightened minds begin to attribute moral attributes to their deities4 ,earnest men1 prophets1 and reformers take up these ideas and preach them to the world1 and1 if circumstances are favourable and the soil prepared1 they take root and become popular convictions1 surviving in the struggle for life1 and becoming stronger from generation to generation4 ,this evolution of moral ideas is most clearly traced in the religious history of the ,jews4 ,in their earlier conceptions ,jehovah is represented with all the traits of a jealous and capricious ,oriental sultan4 ,the one virtue in his eyes is implicit obedience2 the one unpardonable crime1 anything that looks like disrespect4 ,david is the man after ,god's own heart1 though he commits crimes of the foulest description1 and treats as nullities the moral commandments against adultery and murder4 ,but when he takes a census of his people ,jehovah is offended1 and1 with a total disregard of justice1 visits his anger1 not on the offender1 but on the innocent people whom he decimates by a pestilence4 ,in like manner1 ,abraham is favoured because he is ready to obey the inhuman command to sacrifice his son2 while ,saul loses ,jehovah's favour because he hesitates to massacre his captives in cold blood4 ,the first ideas of a higher moral sense appear with the prophets in the troubled times of the later kings--when poor little ,palestine was being ground between the upper millstone of ,assyria and the nether one of ,egypt4 ,sufferings and persecutions1 anxieties and tribulations1 wrought a ferment in the ,jewish mind from which new ideas were generated4 ,sacrifices had been duly offered1 and yet the enemies of ,jehovah waxed and his chosen people waned4 ,it must be that ,he was offended with them because ,he required something better than the blood of bulls--justice and mercy4 ,so taught the popular preachers of the day--men like ,isaiah and ,amos--and by degrees their words found acceptance4 ,it was not1 however1 until the ,captivity that these ideas of morality were wrought into the ,jewish nation so as to become1 so to speak1 flesh of their flesh and blood of their blood1 as they have remained ever since4 ,whether it was contact with the more advanced moral ideas of religions like those of ,buddha and ,zoroaster1 or1 more probably1 their sufferings from the cruelty and injustice of their conquerors1 the ,captivity certainly made them a new nation1 attached ardently to morality and monotheism--thus effecting in a few years1 and by purely human agencies1 what1 according to received beliefs1 centuries of miraculous dispensation had failed to accomplish4 ,how speedily and how effectually the work was done appears from that most interesting narrative of the domestic life of a middle-class ,jew of ,nineveh1 the ,book of ,tobit4 ,the simple piety and homely household virtues are almost identically the same as those of many a ,jewish family living to-day in ,london or ,frankfort4 ,from that time forward ,jewish morality maintains a high level1 and in the age immediately preceding ,christianity it had attained great purity and spirituality in the school of the early doctors of the ,talmud1 and of the ,jewish colony of ,alexandria4 ,the ,sermon on the ,mount1 beautiful as it is1 is but an admirable rsum of maxims which are to be found in the works of ,philo and other ,jewish teachers1 and which were current in the synagogues of the day4 ,hillel1 who was president of the ,sanhedrin when ,christ was born1 when asked what was the law1 replied1 #8,do not unto another what thou wouldst not have another do unto thee4 ,this is the whole ,law1 the rest is mere commentary4' ,and again1 #8,do not judge thy neighbour until thou hast stood in his place4' ,the ,talmud anticipates in a wonderful degree not only the moral precepts of the ,gospel1 but to a great extent its phraseology and technical terms4 #8,redemption1' #8grace1' #8faith1' #8salvation1' #8,son of man1' #8,son of ,god1' #8kingdom of heaven1' were all1 as ,deutsch shows1 not invented by ,christianity1 but were household words of contemporary ,judaism4 ,in one respect only ,christianity shows a higher evolution of morality than ,judaism--viz4 its universality4 ,pure ,judaism hardly rises above the idea of #8neighbour1' or those who were of the same race or common faith2 while ,christianity1 as enlarged by ,st4 ,paul1 embraces all mankind1 and may truly say3 #8,humani nihil a me alienum puto4' ,the idea that morality and religion are products of a slowly developing evolution is denounced by many as degrading and materialistic4 ,in many the instinct of the #8good' is so strong that it seems to them sacrilege to attempt to explain it4 ,they insist that it is either a universal instinct implanted from the first in all mankind1 or else that it has been so implanted by a divine revelation4 ,they forget that1 to use the vigorous phraseology of ,carlyle1 #8,it matters not whether you call a thing pan-theism or pot-theism2 what really concerns us is to know whether it is true4' ,now it admits of no question that1 whether we like it or not1 the evolutionist theory of morality is the true one4 ,take an extreme instance1 that of murder4 ,we feel an instinctive horror at the idea1 and even a brutal ruffian like ,bill ,sikes becomes an accursed thing to himself and his companions when he has transgressed the commandment #8,thou shalt do no murder4' ,but is it so everywhere1 and was it so always8 ,by no means2 the ,fiji islander kills and eats a stranger or enemy without scruple2 the ,red ,indian and the ,dyak are not accounted men until they have murdered some one and brought home his scalp or his head as a trophy4 ,even at a late period among ourselves murder was considered to be rather as a civil injury1 to be met by compensation1 than as a crime2 and a regular tariff was established of the amount to be paid according as the victim was a slave or a freeman4 ,the origin and progress of the idea that murder is a crime can almost be traced step by step4 ,the wife of a rude savage does something which offends him2 a violent perception of anger flashes from the visual organ to the perceptive area of the brain1 and a reflex action flashes from it along the motor nerve to the muscles of the arm4 ,he strikes and kills her1 almost as unconsciously and instinctively as he walks or breathes4 ,but other perceptions follow on the act4 ,he finds next day that he has no one to cook his food2 the image of her dying face photographed on his brain is an unpleasant one2 and thus by degrees a series of secondary perceptions get attached to the primary one of striking when he feels angry4 ,if he gets another wife who again provokes him1 the primary perception calls up the secondary ones1 and the nerve-centres of his brain1 instead of being solicited only in one direction1 are acted on in opposite ways by conflicting impressions4 ,he hesitates1 and1 as the primary impulse of passion is probably the more evanescent1 the restraining impulses prevail1 and every time they prevail they acquire more strength4 ,gradually they extend to a conviction that it is both inconvenient and disagreeable to kill any one with whom he is closely related either by family or tribal ties1 and that1 in a word1 murder does not pay1 and is wrong1 unless practised on an enemy4 ,this idea accumulates by heredity1 and evidently those tribes or races in whom it is strongest will have an advantage in the struggle for life and be most likely to survive4 ,from this point the idea may be traced historically1 deepening and widening from generation to generation as civilisation advances1 until in the higher races it assumes the form of an instinctive abhorrence of murder in the abstract1 as we find it at the present day4 ,it is a mistake to suppose that the foundations of morality are in any way weakened by thus tracing them up to their first origins4 ,on the contrary1 if we consider the matter rightly1 they are placed on a much more solid and unassailable basis4 ,if we say that moral laws depend on a universal instinct implanted in all mankind1 faith in them is shaken whenever we read in history1 or hear from the report of travellers1 of whole nations1 constituting from first to last the immense majority of the human race1 who had none of those ideas which we now consider fundamental4 ,if1 again1 we base them on divine precepts miraculously conveyed1 every discovery of science and development of thought which weakens faith in miracles impairs the basis of morals4 ,and on this theory1 hopeless contradictions arise within the sphere of those very moral laws which we seek to establish2 as in reconciling the justice and mercy of the ,creator in revealing this inspired code only to limited portions of the human race1 and under conditions which leave large scope for legitimate doubt1 and which1 in point of fact1 failed to ensure recognition for its moral precepts among ,his own chosen people for a long period after its promulgation4 ,but on the scientific theory of the evolution of morality by natural laws it stands on an impregnable footing4 ,no one can deny that1 as a matter of fact1 such instincts do prevail1 and have become part of the nature of all the best men and best races1 and that each successive generation tends to fix them more firmly4 ,mathematical laws are not the less certain because they can be traced back to counting on the fingers1 and moral laws will continue to have a certainty and cogency1 scarcely inferior to the axioms of mathematics1 although we can trace them back to origins as rude as the attempts of the ,australian savage to extend his perceptions of number beyond #8one1 two1 and a great many4' ,the real difficulty is not in tracing the origin of these instincts of morality1 but in that fundamental difficulty which underlies all theories of reconciling the consciousness of free-will with the material attributes with which it is indissolubly associated4 ,without freedom of will there can be no conscience1 no right or wrong in acting in accordance or otherwise with the instincts of moral law1 however those instincts may have been derived4 ,now it is certain that the will1 like life1 memory1 consciousness1 and other mental functions1 is1 so far as human knowledge extends1 indissolubly connected with matter and natural laws1 in the form of certain motions of the cells which form the grey substance of the nerves and of the nervous ganglia of which the cortex of the brain is the most considerable4 ,this is conclusively proved by experiment4 ,we know that1 by removing certain portions of the brain of a dog or of a pigeon1 we can destroy the power of motion while preserving the will1 and by removing certain other portions we can destroy the will while preserving the powers of motion4 ,take away a certain portion of the brain of a pigeon1 and although it retains the power of taking food1 it has so totally lost the will to exercise this power that it will starve in the midst of abundance1 though it can be kept alive by placing the food in its mouth4 ,in like manner1 in the human brain there are certain portions which1 if destroyed by injury or disease1 will paralyse the power of giving effect to the will by muscular movements1 while the destruction of other portions will paralyse the will which originates such movements4 ,numerous cases are recorded in medical treatises in which the will is completely paralysed for the performance of certain functions1 and in such cases the anatomist can lay his finger on the spot where the brain is affected1 and when the brain is dissected after the death of the patient1 it will be found that his prediction is verified1 and that this region of the brain really was diseased4 ,in sleep also1 and in abnormal states of the brain such as somnambulism1 and mesmerism or hypnotism1 the action of the will is suspended4 ,hypnotism affords the most remarkable instances1 for here the will seems to be transferred from the ,ego or individuality of the patient to that of the operator1 and the currents of nervous energy which induce motion in ,a are set going by impulses in the mind of ,a1 not caused by his own will1 but by that of ,b1 conveyed by words1 gestures1 or other subtle indications4 ,a ludicrous instance of this is recorded by ,dr4 ,braid1 in which an old lady1 who had a true puritanical abhorrence of dancing as sinful1 being hypnotised1 began capering about the room when a waltz tune was struck up1 on being told to do so by the operators4 ,there are some other curious effects produced by hypnotism1 in the way of inducing a sort of double consciousness and memory1 which makes people in this condition totally forget things which they remember when awake1 and remember things which were totally forgotten in the waking state4 ,these and a variety of other instances point to the conclusion that man is only a conscious machine4 ,in other words1 that the original impress1 to use ,dr4 ,temple's words1 was so perfect that it provided a pre-established harmony not only for the innumerable phenomena of the material universe as unfolded by evolution1 but for the still more innumerable phenomena of life in all its manifestations and all its complex relations to outward environment4 ,i say of life1 for we clearly cannot confine the theory to human life4 ,a dog1 who with the two courses before him of doing wrong and chasing a rabbit1 or doing right and remaining at his master's heel1 chooses one of them1 is in exactly the same position as ,hercules between the rival attractions of virtue and pleasure4 ,if ,hercules acted as a machine1 yielding to the pre-established preponderance of the stronger attraction1 so did the dog2 but if ,hercules exerted free-will and felt the approval or blame of conscience1 so did the retriever4 ,there is no fundamental distinction1 but merely a question of degree1 between human conscience and the shame which a dog feels when it knows that it has done wrong1 and the pleasure which it manifests when conscious that it has behaved properly4 ,shall we thus conclude1 as ,leibnitz and other great philosophers have done1 in favour of the mechanical theory8 ,but if we do1 how are we to account for the instinctive ineradicable feeling1 which comes home to every one with a conviction even stronger than the evidence of the senses1 that we really have a choice between opposite courses1 and can decide on our own actions--a conviction which is obviously the foundation of all conscience and of all morality8 ,let us try to analyse more closely what ,will really means1 and under what conditions it is manifested4 ,the circuit which connects any one single perception with action1 through sensory nerve1 sensory centre1 motor centre1 motor nerve and muscle1 is as purely mechanical as that of an electric circuit4 ,reflex motions such as breathing1 and even more complex motions which by repetition have become reflex or instinctive1 are also mechanical and involve no exercise of will4 ,but when perceptions become complex1 and one primary evokes a number of secondary perceptions--in other words1 when the cells of the corresponding portions of grey matter in the cortex of the brain are set vibrating by a variety of complex and conflicting molecular motions1 the feeling of free-will inevitably arises4 ,we feel the conviction that there is a something which we call soul1 mind1 or in the last analysis1 #8,i myself ,i1' which sits1 as ,von ,moltke might do1 in a cabinet receiving conflicting telegraphic messages from different generals1 and deciding then and there what order to flash out in reply4 ,what can we say to this8 ,that it is like space and time1 one of the categories of thought1 or primary moulds in which thought is cast4 ,we do not know what space and time really are in their essence1 or why they are the necessary conditions of thought1 any more than we do in the case of will4 ,they may be illusions1 but we accept them1 and of necessity accept them1 as facts4 ,for all practical purposes it is the same to us1 as if we understood their essence and knew them to be realities4 ,a man can no more doubt that he is an individual being1 with a will which1 in a great many cases1 enables him to decide which of a variety of impulses shall prevail1 than he can hesitate1 if he is furnishing a room1 to regulate his purchase of carpeting and paper by space of three dimensions1 without regard to possible speculations as to quaternions4 ,perhaps the principle of polarity may assist us in understanding that both theories may be true2 or rather that matter and spirit1 necessity and free-will1 may be opposite poles of one fundamental truth which is beyond our comprehension4 ,we cannot shake off this principle of polarity1 and arrive at any knowledge1 or even conception1 of the absolute truth in regard to the atoms1 energies1 and natural laws1 which make up the universe of matter and of all the ordinary and material functions of life2 why should we expect to do so in the higher manifestations of the same life1 which have been arrived at in the later stages of one unbroken course of evolution from monad to man8 ,this1 at any rate1 is the theory which best satisfies my own mind and enables me to reduce my own individual chaos into some sort of a cosmos4 ,i draw from it the following conclusions3-- ,for all practical purposes assume that #8right is right1' and that the moral instincts1 however they have been formed1 are imperative laws4 ,assume also that ,man is man and master of his fate1 and that we have1 to a great extent1 the power of deciding what to do and what not to do4 ,but in doing so1 keep the mind open to all conclusions of science1 and admit freely that these assumptions are indissolubly connected with natural laws and with material organs1 and that man is to a very great extent dependent on his environment and his place in evolution1 both for his moral code and for the force of will and conscience which enable him to conform to it4 ,learn therefore the lesson of a large toleration and of charity in thought and deed1 towards those who1 from inherited constitution or unfortunate conditions of education and outward circumstances1 fall under the sway of the principle of evil1 and lead bad1 useless1 and unlovely lives4 ,had you and ,i1 reader1 been in their place1 should we have done better8 ,,chapter ,,xiii4 ,,zoroastrianism4 ,zoroaster an historical person--,the ,parsees--,iranian branch of ,aryan family--,zoroaster a religious reformer--,scene at ,balkh--,conversion of ,gushtasp--,doctrines of the #8excellent religion'--,monotheism--,polarity--,dr4 ,haug's description--,ormuzd and ,ahriman--,anquetil du ,perron--,approximation to modern thought--,absence of miracles--,code of morals--,its comprehensiveness--,and liberality--,special rites--,fire-worship--,disposal of dead--,practical results--,the ,parsees of ,bombay--,their probity1 enterprise1 respect for women--,zeal for education--,philanthropy and public spirit--,statistics--,death and birth rates4 ,zoroastrianism is commonly supposed to derive its name from its founder ,zoroaster1 a ,bactrian sage or prophet1 who lived in the reign of ,king ,gushtasp the ,first4 ,zoroaster's name has come down to us from antiquity in much the same relation to this form of religion as that of ,moses to ,judaism1 or of ,sakya-,mouni to ,buddhism4 ,as in those cases1 certain learned commentators have endeavoured to show that the alleged founder was purely mythical and had no real historical existence1 basing their argument mainly on the fact that a number of supernatural attributes1 and embodiments of metaphysical and theological ideas1 became attached to the name1 just as a whole cycle of solar myths became associated with the name of ,hercules4 ,but this seems to be carrying scepticism too far4 ,experience shows that religions have generally originated in the crystallisation of ideas floating in solution at certain periods of the evolution of societies1 about the nucleus of some powerful personality4 ,nearly all the great religions of the world1 such as ,buddhism1 ,confucianism1 ,christianity1 and ,mahometanism1 clearly had historical founders1 and it would be hypercritical to deny that such a man as ,jesus of ,nazareth really lived because many of his sayings and doings may be traced to applications1 more or less erroneous1 of ancient prophecies1 or because his human nature became transfigured into the ,logos and other metaphysical conceptions of the ,alexandrian philosophy4 ,in the case of ,zoroaster1 the argument for his historical existence seems even stronger1 for his name is connected with historical reigns and places1 and his genuine early history contains nothing supernatural or improbable4 ,he is represented as simply a deep thinker and powerful preacher1 like ,luther1 who gave new form and expression to the vague religious and philosophical ideas of his age and nation1 reformed its superstitions and abuses1 and converted the leading minds of his day1 including the monarch1 by the earnestness and eloquence of his discourses4 ,at any rate1 for my purpose ,i shall assume his personality1 for my object is not to write a critical essay on the origin and development of the ,zoroastrian religion1 but to show that in its fundamental ideas and essential spirit it approximates wonderfully to those of the most advanced modern thought1 and gives the outline of a creed which goes further than any other to meet the practical wants of the present day1 and to reconcile the conflict between faith and science4 ,this will be most clearly and vividly shown by assuming the commonly accepted historical existence of ,zoroaster to be true1 and by confining myself to the broad1 leading principles of his religion1 without dwelling on its varying phases1 or on the mythical legends and ritualistic observances which1 as in the case of all other old religions1 have crystallised about the primitive idea and the primitive founder4 ,zara-thustra1 or1 as he is commonly called1 ,zoroaster1 and the religion which goes by his name1 are known to us mainly from the sacred books which have been preserved by the modern ,parsees4 ,the ,parsees1 a small remnant of the ,persians who under ,cyrus founded one of the mightiest empires of the ancient world1 flying from their native country to escape from persecution after the ,mahometan conquest1 formed a colony in ,india1 and are now settled at ,bombay4 ,they form a small but highly intelligent community1 who have preserved their ancient religion1 and1 fortunately1 some considerable fragments of their sacred scriptures4 ,the oldest of these are written in the ,gata dialect of the ,avesta or ,zend language1 which is contemporary with ,sanskrit1 and bears much the same relation to it as ,latin does to ,greek4 ,the primitive ,aryan family at some very remote period became divided into two branches1 and radiated from their ,central ,asian home in two directions4 ,the ,hindoo branch migrated to the south into the ,punjaub and ,hindostan2 the ,iranian westwards1 into ,bactria and ,persia2 while other successive waves of ,aryan migration in prehistoric times rolled still further westwards over ,europe1 obliterating all but a few traces of the aboriginal population4 ,the period of this separation of the ,iranian and ,hindoo races must be very remote1 for the ,rig-,veda is probably at least #d1jjj years old1 and the divergence between its form of ,sanskrit and the ,gata dialect of the ,zend is already as great as that between two kindred ,european languages such as ,greek and ,latin4 ,the divergence of religious ideas is also evidently of very early date4 ,in the ,hindoo1 and all other races of the primitive ,aryan stock1 the word used for gods and good spirits is taken from the root #8div1' to shine4 ,thus1 ,daeva in ,sanskrit1 ,zeus and ,theos in ,greek1 ,deus in ,latin1 ,tius in ,german1 ,diews in ,lutheranism1 ,dia in ,irish1 ,dew in ,kymric1 all mean the bright or shining one represented by the vault of heaven4 ,but in ,iranian the word has an opposite sense1 and the #8deevs' correspond to our #8devils4' ,the primitive ,aryan religions were evidently all derived from a contemplation of the powers and phenomena of nature4 ,the sky1 with its flood of light and vault of ethereal blue1 was considered to be the highest manifestation of a ,supreme ,power2 while the sun and moon1 the stars and planets1 the winds and clouds1 the earth and waters1 were personified1 either as symbols of the ,deity or as subordinate gods4 ,the original simple faith was thus apt to degenerate into a system of polytheism1 and1 as the gods came to be represented by visible forms1 into idolatry4 ,zoroaster appears to us1 like ,mahomet at a later age and among a ruder people1 as a prophet or reformer who abolished these abuses and restored the ancient faith in a loftier and more intellectual form1 adapted to the use of an advanced and civilised society4 ,the records of his life and teaching have fortunately been preserved in so authentic a form1 that distant as he is from us we can form a singularly accurate idea of who he was and what he taught4 ,some #c1bjj years ago a sight might have been seen in the ancient city of ,balkh--the famous capital of ,bactria1 the #8,mother of ,cities'--very like that witnessed some fourteen centuries later at our own ,canterbury4 ,the king and his chief nobles and courtiers were assembled to hear the discourse of a preacher who proposed to teach them a better religion4 ,gushtasp listened to ,zoroaster1 as ,ethelbert listened to ,augustine1 and in each case reason and eloquence carried conviction1 and the nation became converts to the new doctrine4 ,this conversion was effected without miracles1 for it is expressly stated in the celebrated speech of the prophet1 preserved in the #cjth chapter of the ,yasna1 that he relied solely on persuasion and argument4 ,ferdousi1 the ,persian ,homer1 thus describes the first interview between ,zoroaster and ,gushtasp3 #8,learn1' he said1 #8the rites and doctrines of the religion of excellence4 ,for without religion there cannot be any worth in a king4 ,when the mighty monarch heard him speak of the excellent religion1 he accepted from him the excellent rites and doctrines4' ,the doctrines of this #8excellent religion' are extremely simple4 ,the leading idea is that of monotheism1 but the one ,god has far fewer anthropomorphic attributes1 and is relegated much farther back into the vague and infinite1 than the god of any other monotheistic religion4 ,ahura-,mazda1 of which the more familiar appellation ,ormuzd is an abbreviation1 means the #8,all-knowing ,lord2' he is said sometimes to dwell in the infinite luminous space1 and sometimes to be identical with it4 ,he is1 in fact1 not unlike the inscrutable ,first ,cause1 whom we may regard with awe and reverence1 with love and hope1 but whom we cannot pretend to define or to understand4 ,but the radical difference between ,zoroastrianism and other religions is that it does not conceive of this one ,god as an omnipotent ,creator1 who might make the universe as he chose1 and therefore was directly responsible for all the evil in it2 but as a ,being acting by certain fixed laws1 one of which was1 for reasons totally inscrutable to us1 that existence implied polarity1 and therefore that there could be no good without corresponding evil4 ,dr4 ,haug1 who is the greatest authority on all questions connected with the ,zend scriptures1 says3 #8,having arrived at the grand idea of the unity and indivisibility of the ,supreme ,being1 ,zoroaster undertook to solve the great problem which has engaged the attention of so many wise men of antiquity and even in modern times1 viz4 how are the imperfections discernible in the world1 the various kind of evils1 wickedness1 and baseness1 compatible with the goodness1 holiness1 and justness of ,god8 ,this great thinker of remote antiquity solved this difficult question philosophically1 by the supposition of two primval causes1 which1 though different1 were united1 and produced the world of material things as well as that of spirit4 ,these two primval principles are the two moving causes in the universe1 united from the beginning1 and therefore called twins4 ,they are present everywhere--in the ,ahura ,mazda1 or ,supreme ,deity1 as well as in man4' ,they are called in the ,vendidad ,spento ,mainyush1 or the #8beneficent spirit1' and ,angro ,mainyush1 or the #8hurtful spirit4' ,the latter is generally known as ,ahriman1 the ,prince of ,darkness2 and the former as ,ormuzd1 is identified with ,ahura ,mazda1 the good ,god1 though1 strictly speaking1 ,ahura ,mazda is the great unknown ,first ,cause1 who comprehends within himself both principles as a necessary law of existence1 and in whom believers may hope that evil and good will ultimately be reconciled4 ,anquetil du ,perron1 the first translator of the ,zendavesta1 in his #8,critical ,view of the ,theological and ,ceremonial ,system of ,zar-thurst1' thus sums up the ,parsee creed3 #8,the first point in the theological system of ,zoroaster is to recognise and adore the ,master of all that is good1 the ,principle of all righteousness1 ,ormuzd1 according to the form of worship prescribed by him1 and with purity of thought1 of word1 and of action1 a purity which is marked and preserved by purity of body4 ,next1 to have a respect1 accompanied by gratitude1 for the intelligence to which ,ormuzd has committed the care of nature 7i4e4 to the laws of nature71 to take in our actions their attributes for models1 to copy in our conduct the harmony which reigns in the different parts of the universe1 and generally to honour ,ormuzd in all that he has produced4 ,the second part of their religion consists in detesting the author of all evil1 moral and physical1 ,ahriman--his productions1 and his works2 and to contribute1 as far as in us lies1 to exalt the glory of ,ormuzd by enfeebling the tyranny which the ,evil ,principle exercises over the world4' ,it is evident that this simple and sublime religion is one to which1 by whatever name we may call it1 the best modern thought is fast approximating4 ,men of science like ,huxley1 philosophers like ,herbert ,spencer1 poets like ,tennyson1 might all subscribe to it2 and even enlightened ,christian divines1 like ,dr4 ,temple1 are not very far from it when they admit the idea of a ,creator behind the atoms and energies1 whose original impress1 given in the form of laws of nature1 was so perfect as to require no secondary interference4 ,admit that ,christ is the best personification of the ,spenta ,mainyush1 or good principle in the inscrutable ,divine polarity of existence1 and a man may be at the same time a ,christian and a ,zoroastrian4 ,the religion of ,zoroaster has1 however1 this great advantage in the existing conditions of modern thought1 that it is not dragged down by such a dead weight of traditional dogmas and miracles as still hangs upon the skirts of ,christianity4 ,its dogmas are comprised in the statement that there is one supreme1 unknown1 ,first ,cause1 who manifests himself in the universe under fixed laws which involve the principle of polarity4 ,this is hardly so much a dogma as a statement of fact1 or of the ultimate and absolute truth at which it is possible for human faculty to arrive4 ,no progress of science or philosophy conflicts with it1 but rather they confirm it1 by showing more and more clearly with every discovery that this is in very fact and deed the literal truth4 ,religion1 or the feeling of reverence and love for the ,great ,unknown which lies beyond the sphere of human sense and reason1 shines more brightly through this pure medium than through the fogs of misty metaphysics2 and we can worship ,god in spirit and in truth without puzzling our brains as to the precise nature of the ,logos1 or exercising them on the insoluble problem how one can be equal to three1 and at the same time three equal to one4 ,as regards miracles1 which are another millstone about the neck of ,catholic ,christianity1 the religion of ,zoroaster is entirely free from them4 ,there are1 it is true1 a few miraculous myths about him in some of the later writings in the ,pehlvi language1 as of his conception by his mother drinking a cup of the sacred ,homa1 but these are of no authority and form no part of the religion4 ,on the contrary1 the original scriptures which profess to record his exact words and precepts disclaim all pretension to divine nature or miraculous power1 and base the claims of the #8excellent religion' purely on reason4 ,this is an immense advantage in the #8struggle for life1' when every day is making it more impossible for educated men to believe that real miracles ever actually occurred1 and when the evidence on which they were accepted is crumbling to pieces under the light of critical enquiry4 ,the ,parsee has no reason to tremble for his faith if a ,galileo invents the telescope or a ,newton discovers the law of gravity4 ,he has no occasion to argue for ,noah's deluge1 or for the order of ,creation described in ,genesis4 ,nay even1 he may remain undisturbed by that latest and most fatal discovery that man has existed on the earth for untold ages1 and1 instead of falling from a high estate1 has risen continuously by slow and painful progress from the rudest origins4 ,how many orthodox ,christians can say the same1 or deny that their faith in their sacred books and venerable traditions has been rudely shaken8 ,the code of morality enjoined by the ,zoroastrian religion is as pure as its theory is perfect4 ,dr4 ,haug enumerates the following sins denounced by its code1 and considered as such by the present ,parsees3 ,murder1 infanticide1 poisoning1 adultery on the part of men as well as women1 sorcery1 sodomy1 cheating in weight and measure1 breach of promise whether made to a ,zoroastrian or non-,zoroastrian1 telling lies and deceiving1 false covenants1 slander and calumny1 perjury1 dishonest appropriation of wealth1 taking bribes1 keeping back the wages of labourers1 misappropriation of religious property1 removal of a boundary stone1 turning people out of their property1 maladministration and defrauding1 apostasy1 heresy1 rebellion4 ,these are positive injunctions4 ,the following are condemnable from a religious point of view3 ,abandoning the husband2 not acknowledging one's children on the part of the father2 cruelty towards subjects on the part of a ruler2 avarice1 laziness1 illiberality and egotism1 envy4 ,in addition there are a number of special precepts adapted to the peculiar rites of the ,zoroastrian religion which aim principally at the enforcement of sanitary rules1 kindness to animals1 hospitality to strangers and travellers1 respect to superiors1 and help to the poor and needy4 ,it is evident that this is the most complete and comprehensive code of morals to be found in any system of religion4 ,it comprises all that is best in the codes of ,buddhism1 ,judaism1 and ,christianity1 with a much more ample definition of many vices and virtues which1 even in the ,christian religion1 are left to be drawn as inferences rather than inculcated as precepts4 ,thus1 laziness1 cheating1 selfishness1 and envy are distinctly defined as crimes1 and their opposites as virtues1 and not merely left to be inferred from the general maxims of #8loving your neighbour as yourself1' and #8doing unto others as you would be done by4' ,the comprehensiveness and liberal spirit of the code is also remarkable1 for we are repeatedly told that these rules of morality apply to non-,zoroastrians as well as to ,zoroastrians4 ,the application of religious precepts to practical life is another distinguishing feature4 ,thus kindness to animals is specially enjoined1 and it is considered a sin to ill-treat animals of the good creation1 such as cattle1 sheep1 horses1 or dogs1 by starving1 beating1 or unnecessarily killing them4 ,with true practical wisdom1 however1 the #8falsehood of extremes' is avoided1 and this precept is not1 as in the case of ,brahminism and ,buddhism1 carried so far as to prohibit altogether the taking of animal life1 which is expressly sanctioned when necessary4 ,this sober practical wisdom1 or what ,matthew ,arnold calls #8sweet reasonableness1' is a very characteristic feature of ,zoroaster's religion1 and very remarkable as having been taught at so early a period in the history of civilisation4 ,another precept1 which might well have been made by an ,english board of health in the nineteenth century1 is not to pollute water by throwing impure matter into it4 ,the only special ,parsee rites which would be unsuited for modern ,european society1 are the worship of the sacred fire and the disposal of the dead4 ,it is true that the former is distinctly understood to be merely a symbol of the ,deity1 and used exactly as water is in baptism1 or as the ascending flame of candles and smoke from swinging incense are in the ,catholic ritual1 to bring more vividly before the minds of the worshippers the idea of the spirit soaring upwards towards heaven4 ,still1 in modern society fire is too well understood as merely a particular form of chemical combination1 and is too familiar as the strong slave and household drudge of man1 to acquire a leading place in a religious ritual where it has not been hallowed by the usage of a long line of ancestors and the traditions of a venerable antiquity4 ,all that can be said is1 that if religious rites and ceremonies are to be maintained in an age when science has become the prevailing mode of thought1 appropriate symbolism1 especially that of music1 must more and more take the place of appeals to the intellect on metaphysical questions1 and of repetitions of traditional formul which have lost all living significance4 ,another ,parsee rite1 which is even less adapted for general usage1 is that of disposing of the dead on towers of silence1 where the body moulders away or is devoured by birds of prey4 ,it originates in a poetical motive of not defiling the pure elements1 fire1 earth1 or water1 by corruption2 but it is obviously unsuited for the conditions of civilisation and climate which prevail in crowded cities under a humid sky4 ,there is little prospect therefore of any general conversion to the sect of ,zoroastrians2 but what seems probable is the gradual transformation of existing modes both of religious and secular thought into something which is1 in principle1 very closely akin to the #8excellent religion' taught by the ,bactrian prophet4 ,the miraculous theory of the universe being virtually dead1 the only theory that can reconcile facts with feelings1 and the ineradicable emotions and aspirations of the human mind with the incontrovertible conclusions of science1 is that of a remote and more or less unknown and incomprehensible ,first ,cause1 which has given the original atoms and energies so perfect an impress from the first1 that all phenomena are evolved from them by fixed laws1 one of the principal of such laws being that of polarity1 which develops the ever-increasing complexities and contrasts of the inorganic and organic worlds1 of moralities1 philosophies1 religions1 and human societies4 ,true religion consists in a recognition of this truth1 a feeling of reverence in presence of the unknown1 and1 above all1 a feeling of love and admiration for the good principle in whatever form it is manifested1 in the beauties of nature and of art1 in moral and physical purity and perfection1 and all else that falls within the domain of the ,prince of ,light1 in whose service1 whether we conceive of him as an abstract principle1 or accept some personification of him as a living figure1 we enlist as loyal soldiers1 doing our best to fight in his ranks against the powers of evil4 ,the application of the all-pervading principle of polarity is exemplified in the realm of art4 ,the glorious ,greek drama turned mainly on the conflict between resistless fate and heroic free-will1 and is typified in its highest form by schylus1 when he depicts ,prometheus chained to the rock hurling defiance at the tyrant of heaven4 ,our own ,milton1 in like manner1 gives us the spectacle of the fallen archangel opposing his indomitable will and fertile resources to the extremity of adverse circumstance and to ,almighty power4 ,the greatest of modern dramas1 ,goethe's #8,faust1' turns so entirely on the opposition between the human soul striving after the infinite1 and the spirit der verneint1 who combats ideal aspirations with a cynical sneer1 that it might well be called a ,zoroastrian drama4 ,it is a picture of the conflict between the two opposite principles of good and evil1 of affirmation and negation1 of the beautiful and the ugly1 personified in ,faust and ,mephistopheles1 and it is painted on a background of the great mysterious unknown4 #8,wer darf ihn nennen8' ,who dares to name ,him1 ,who to say of ,him1 #8,i believe'8 ,who is there ever with a heart to dare ,to utter1 #8,i believe ,him not'8 ,so in poetry1 ,tennyson1 the poet of modern thought1 touches the deepest chords when he asks-- ,are ,god and ,nature1 then1 at strife8 and paints in the sharpest contrast on the background of the unknown1 the conflict between the faith that ,god is love indeed1 ,and love creation's final law1 and the harsh realities of nature1 which ,red in tooth and claw ,with ravine shrieks against the creed2 or again in his later work1 #8,the ,ancient ,sage1' he says-- ,thou canst not prove the ,nameless1 ,o my son6 ,for nothing worthy proving can be proven1 ,nor yet disproven4 ,in like manner in the works of art which embrace a wider range1 and hold up the mirror to human nature1 as in ,shakespeare's plays1 and the novels of ,walter ,scott and other great authors1 the interest arises mainly from the polarity of the various characters4 ,we care little for the goody-good heroes or vulgar villains1 but we recognise a touch of that nature which makes all the world akin in a ,macbeth drawn by metaphysical suggestion to wade through a sea of blood2 in ,othello's noble nature caught like a lion in the toils by the net of circumstances woven by a wily hunter2 in ,falstaff1 a rogue1 a liar1 and a glutton1 yet made almost likeable by his ready wit1 imperturbable good-humour1 and fertile resources4 ,shakespeare is1 in fact1 the greatest of artists1 because he is the most multipolar4 ,he has poles of sympathy in him which1 as the poles of carbon attract so many elements and form so many combinations1 enable him to take into his own nature1 assimilate1 and reproduce every varied shade of character from a ,miranda to a ,caliban1 from an ,imogen to a ,lady ,macbeth1 from a ,falstaff to an ,othello4 ,sir ,walter ,scott and all our great novelists have the same faculty1 though in a less degree1 and are great in exact proportion as they have many poles in their nature1 and as those are poles of powerful polarity4 ,the characters and incidents which affect us strongly and dwell in the memory are those in which the clash and conflict of opposites are most vividly represented4 ,we feel infinite pity for a ,maggie ,tulliver dashing her young life1 like a prisoned wild bird1 against the bars of trivial and prosaic environment which hem her in2 or for a ,colonel ,newcome opposing the patience of a gentle nature to the buffets of such a fate as meets us in the everyday world of modern life1 the failure of his bank and the naggings of the ,old ,campaigner4 ,on a higher level of art we sympathise with a ,lancelot and a ,guinevere because they are types of what we may meet in many a ,london drawing-room1 noble natures drawn by some fatal fairy fascination into ignoble acts1 but still retaining something of their original nobility1 and while ,their honour rooted in dishonour stands1 appearing to ordinary mortals little less than #8archangels ruined4' ,or even if we descend to the lowest level of the penny dreadful or suburban drama1 we find that the polarity between vice and virtue1 however coarsely delineated1 is that which mostly fascinates the uncultured mind4 ,the affinity between ,zoroastrianism and art is easily explained when we consider that in one respect it has a manifest advantage over most ,christian forms of religion4 ,christianity in its early origins received a taint of ,oriental asceticism which it never shook off1 and which in the declining centuries of the ,roman empire1 and in the barbarism and superstition of the ,middle ,ages1 developed into what may be almost called a devil-worship of the ugly and repulsive4 ,the antithesis between the flesh and the spirit was carried to such an extreme and false extent1 that everything that was pleasant and beautiful came to be regarded as sinful1 and the odour of sanctity was an odour which the passer-by would do well to keep on the windward side of4 ,this leaven of asceticism is the rock upon which ,puritanism1 monasticism1 and many of the highest forms of ,christian life have invariably split4 ,it is contrary to human nature1 and directly opposed to the spirit of the life and doctrines of the ,founder of the religion4 ,jesus1 who was #8a ,jew living among ,jews and speaking to ,jews1' adopted the true ,jewish point of view of making religion amiable and attractive1 and denouncing1 as all the best ,jewish doctors of the ,talmud did1 the pharisaical strictness which insisted on ritualistic observances and arbitrary restrictions4 ,in no passages of his life does the #8sweet reasonableness' of his character appear more conspicuous than where we find him strolling through the fields with his disciples and plucking ears of corn on the ,sabbath1 and replying to the formalists who were scandalised1 #8,the ,sabbath was made for man1 not man for the ,sabbath4' ,the ascetic bias subsequently introduced may have been a necessary element in counteracting the corruption of ,rome2 but the pendulum in its reaction swung much too far1 and when organised in the celibacy of the clergy and monastic institutions asceticism became the source of great evils4 ,even at a late period we can see in the reaction of the reign of ,charles ,,ii4 how antagonistic the puritanical creed1 even of men like ,cromwell and ,milton1 proved to the healthy natural instinct of the great mass of the ,english nation4 ,and at the present day it remains one of the main causes of the indifference or hostility to religion which is so widely spreading among the mass of the population4 ,children are brought up to consider ,sunday as a day of penance1 and church-going as a disagreeable necessity2 while grown-up men1 especially those of the working classes1 resent being told that a walk in the country1 a cricket-match1 or a visit to a library or museum on their only holiday1 is sinful4 ,in view of the approximation between the ,zoroastrian religion and the forms of modern thought it is interesting to note how the former works among its adherents in actual practice4 ,for1 after all1 the practical side of a religion is more important than its speculative or philosophical theories4 ,thus1 for instance1 the ,quakers have a faith which is about the most reasonable of any of the numerous sects of ,christianity and nearest to the spirit of its ,founder1 and yet ,quakerism remains a narrow sect which is far from being victorious in the #8struggle for life1' ,mahometanism1 again1 while dying out among civilised nations1 shows itself superior to ,christianity in the work of raising the barbarous1 fetish-worshipping negroes of ,africa to a higher level4 ,and ,mormonism1 based on the most obvious imposture and absurdity1 is the only new religion which1 in recent times1 has taken root and to a certain extent flourished4 ,tried by this test1 ,zoroastrianism has made good its claim to be called the #8excellent religion4' ,its followers1 the limited community of ,parsees in ,india1 are honourably distinguished for probity1 intelligence1 enterprise1 public spirit1 benevolence1 tolerance1 and other good qualities4 ,by virtue of these qualities they have raised themselves to a prominent position in our ,indian empire1 and take a leading part in its commerce and industrial enterprise4 ,the chief shipbuilder at ,bombay1 the first great native railway contractor1 the founder of cotton factories1 are all ,parsees1 and they are found as merchants1 traders1 and shopkeepers in all the chief towns of ,british ,india1 and distant places such as ,aden and ,zanzibar4 ,their commercial probity is proverbial1 and1 as in ,england1 they have few written agreements1 the word of a ,parsee1 like that of an ,englishman1 being considered as good as his bond4 ,their high character and practical aptitude for business are attested by the fact that the first mayor1 or chairman of the ,corporation of ,bombay1 was a ,parsee who was elected by the unanimous vote both of ,europeans and natives4 ,the position of women affords perhaps the best test of the real civilisation and intrinsic worth of any community4 ,where men consider women as inferior creatures it is a sure proof that they themselves are so4 ,they are totally wanting in that delicacy and refinement of nature which distinguishes the true gentleman from the snob or the savage1 and are coarse1 vulgar brutes1 however disguised under a veneer of outward polish4 ,on the other hand1 respect for women implies self-respect1 nobility of nature1 capability of rising to high ideals above the sordid level of animal appetite and the selfish supremacy of brute force4 ,the ,parsees in this respect stand high1 far higher than any other ,oriental people1 and on a level with the best ,european civilisation4 ,the equality of the sexes is distinctly laid down in the ,zoroastrian scriptures4 ,women are always mentioned as a necessary part of the religious community4 ,they have the same religious rites as the men4 ,the spirits of deceased women are invoked as well as those of men4 ,long contact with the other races of ,india1 and the necessity for some outward conformity to the practices of ,hindoo and ,mahometan rulers1 did something to impair the position of females as regards public appearances1 though the ,parsee wife and mother always remained a principal figure in the ,parsee household2 and latterly1 under the security of ,english rule1 ,parsee ladies may be seen everywhere in public1 enjoying just as much liberty as the ladies of ,europe or ,america4 ,nor are they at all behind their ,western sisters in education1 accomplishments1 and1 it may be added1 in daintiness of fashionable attire4 ,in fact1 an eager desire for education has become a prominent feature among all classes of the ,parsee community1 and they are quite on a par with the ,scotch1 ,german1 and other ,european races in their efforts to establish schools1 and in the numbers who attend1 and especially of those who obtain distinguished places in the higher schools and colleges1 such as the ,elphinstone ,institute and the ,bombay ,university4 ,female education is also actively promoted1 and no prejudices stand in the way of attendance at the numerous girls' schools which have been established1 or even of studying in medical colleges1 where ,parsee women attend lectures on all branches of medical science along with male students4 ,those who know the position of inferiority and seclusion in which women are kept among all other ,oriental nations can best appreciate the largeness and liberality of spirit of a religion which1 in spite of all surrounding influences1 has rendered such a thing possible in such a country as ,india4 ,another prominent trait of the ,parsee character is that of philanthropy and public spirit4 ,in proportion to their numbers and means they raise more money for charitable objects than any other religious sect4 ,and they raise it in a way which does the greatest credit to their tolerance and liberality4 ,for instance1 the ,parsees were the principal subscribers to a fund raised in ,bombay in aid of the #8,scottish ,corporation1' and quite recently a ,parsee gentleman gave #af1jjjl4 towards the establishment of a female hospital under the care of lady doctors1 although the benefit of such an institution would be confined principally to ,mahometan and ,hindoo women1 ,parsee women having no prejudice against employing male doctors4 ,the public spirit shown by acts like this is the trait by which the ,parsee community is most honourably distinguished1 and in respect of which it must be candidly confessed it far surpasses not only other ,oriental races1 but most ,european nations1 including our own4 ,whatever the reason may be1 the fact is certain that in ,england1 while a great deal of money is spent in charity1 lamentably little is spent from the enormous surplus wealth of the country on what may be called public objects4 ,there is neither religious influence nor social opinion brought to bear on the numerous class who have incomes far beyond any possible want1 to teach them that it should be both a pleasure and a pride to associate their names with some act of noble liberality4 ,a better spirit we may hope is springing up1 and there have been occasional instances of large sums applied to public purposes1 such as parks and colleges1 by private individuals1 principally of the trading and manufacturing classes1 such as the ,salts1 ,crossleys1 ,baxters1 and ,holloways2 but on the whole the amount contributed is miserably small4 ,it is probably part of the price we pay for aristocratic institutions that those who inherit or accumulate great fortunes consider it their primary object to perpetuate or to found great families4 ,be this as it may1 a totally different spirit prevails among the ,parsees of ,bombay1 where it has been truly stated that hardly a year passes without some wealthy ,parsee coming forward to perform a work of public generosity4 ,the instance of ,sir ,jamsedjee ,jijibhoy1 who attained a ,european reputation for his noble benevolence1 is only one conspicuous instance out of a thousand of this #8public spirit' which has become almost an instinctive element in ,parsee society4 ,how far the large and liberal religion may be the cause of the large and liberal practice1 it is impossible to say4 ,other influences have doubtless been at work4 ,the ,parsees are a commercial people1 and commerce is always more liberal with its money than land4 ,they are the descendants of a persecuted race1 and as a rule it is better to be persecuted than to persecute4 ,still1 after making all allowances1 it remains that the tree cannot be bad which bears such fruits2 the religion must be a good one which produces good men and women and good deeds4 ,statistical facts testify quite as strongly to the high standard of the ,parsee race1 and the practical results which follow from the observance of the ,zoroastrian ritual4 ,a small death-rate and a large proportion of children prove the vigorous vitality of a race4 ,the ,parsees have the lowest death-rate of any of the many races who inhabit ,bombay4 ,the average for the two years #ahha and #ahhb per thousand was for ,hindoos #bfaa2 for ,mussulmans #cjdf2 for ,europeans #bjah2 for ,parsees #aibf4 ,the percentage of children under two years old to women between fifteen and forty-five was #cjbg for ,parsees1 as against ,hindoos #bbbd1 and ,mussulmans #bdi1 showing incontestably greater vitality and greater care for human life4 ,of #f1fah male and #b1iff female mendicants in the city of ,bombay1 only five male and one female were ,parsees4 ,these figures speak for themselves4 ,it is evident that a religion in which such results are possible cannot be unfavourable to the development of the #8mens sana in corpore sano2' and that1 although we may not turn ,zoroastrians1 we may envy some of the results of a creed which inculcates worship of the good1 the pure1 and the beautiful in the concerns of daily life1 as well as in the abstract regions of theological and philosophical speculation4 ,,chapter ,,xiv4 ,,forms ,,of ,,worship4 ,byron's lines--,carnegie's description--,parsee nature-worship--,english ,sunday--,the sermon--,appeals to reason misplaced--,music better than words--,the ,mass--,zoroastrianism brings religion into daily life--,sanitation--,zoroastrian prayer--,religion of the future--,sermons in stones and good in everything4 ,not vainly did the early ,persian make ,his altar the high places and the peak ,of earth-o'ergazing mountains1 and thus take ,a fit and unwall'd temple1 where to seek ,the spirit1 in whose honour shrines are weak1 ,uprear'd of human hands4 ,come1 and compare ,columns and idol-dwellings1 ,goth or ,greek1 ,with nature's realms of worship1 earth and air1 ,nor fix on fond abodes to circumscribe thy prayer6 ,childe ,harold1 iii4 #ia4 ,a shrewd ,scotch-,american ironmaster--,andrew ,carnegie--in an interesting and instructive record of experiences during a voyage round the world1 gives the following description of the worship of the modern ,parsees1 as actually witnessed by him at ,bombay3-- #8,this evening we were surprised to see1 as we strolled along the beach1 more ,parsees than ever before1 and more ,parsee ladies richly dressed1 all wending their way towards the sea4 ,it was the first of the new moon1 a period sacred to these worshippers of the elements2 and here on the shore of the ocean1 as the sun was sinking in the sea1 and the slender silver thread of the crescent moon was faintly shining on the horizon1 they congregated to perform their religious rites4 #8,fire was there in its grandest form1 the setting sun1 and water in the vast expanse of the ,indian ,ocean outstretched before them4 ,the earth was under their feet1 and wafted across the sea the air came laden with the perfumes of 8,araby the blest40 ,surely no time or place could be more fitly chosen than this for lifting up the soul to the realms beyond sense4 ,i could not but participate with these worshippers in what was so grandly beautiful4 ,there was no music save the solemn moan of the waves as they broke into foam on the beach4 ,but where shall we find so mighty an organ1 or so grand an anthem8 #8,how inexpressibly sublime the scene appeared to me1 and how insignificant and unworthy of the unknown seemed even our cathedrals 8made with human hands10 when compared with this looking up through nature unto nature's ,god6 ,i stood and drank in the serene happiness which seemed to fill the air4 ,i have seen many modes and forms of worship--some disgusting1 others saddening1 a few elevating when the organ pealed forth its tones1 but all poor in comparison with this4 ,nor do ,i ever expect in all my life to witness a religious ceremony which will so powerfully affect me as that of the ,parsees on the beach at ,bombay4' ,i say ,amen with all my heart to ,mr4 ,carnegie4 ,here is an ideal religious ceremony combining all that is most true1 most touching1 and most sublime1 in the attitude of man towards the ,great ,unknown4 ,compare it with the routine of an ordinary ,english ,sunday1 and how poor and prosaic does the latter appear6 ,there is nothing which seems to me to have fallen more completely out of harmony with its existing environment than our traditional form of church service4 ,the sermon has been killed by the press and has become an anachronism4 ,there was a time when sermons like those of ,latimer and ,john ,knox were living realities2 they dealt with all the burning political and personal questions of the day1 and to a great extent did the work now done by platform speeches and leading articles4 ,if there are national dangers to be denounced1 national shortcomings to be pointed out1 iniquity in high places to be rebuked1 we look to our daily newspaper1 and not to our weekly sermon4 ,the sermon has in a great majority of cases become a sort of schoolboy theme1 in which traditional assumptions and conventional phrases are ground out1 with as little soul or idea behind them as in the ,thibetan praying-mill4 ,in the course of a long life ,i have gained innumerable ideas and experienced innumerable influences1 from contact with the world1 with fellow-men1 and with books2 but although ,i have heard a good many sermons1 ,i cannot honestly say that ,i ever got an idea or an influence from one of them which made me wiser or better1 or different in any respect from what ,i should have been if ,i had slept through them4 ,and this from no fault of the preachers4 ,i have heard many who gave me the impression that they were good men1 and a few who impressed me as being able and liberal-minded men--nor do ,i know that1 under the conditions in which they are placed1 ,i could have done any better myself4 ,but they were dancing in fetters1 and so tied down by conventionalities that it was simply impossible for them to depart from the paths of a decorous routine4 ,the fact is that the whole point of view of our religious services1 especially in ,protestant countries1 has become a mistaken one4 ,it is far too much an appeal to the intellect and to abstract dogmas1 and too little1 one to the realities of actual life and to the vague emotions and aspirations which constitute the proper field of religion4 ,in the great reaction of the ,reformation it was perhaps inevitable that an appeal should be made to reason against the abuses of an infallible ,church2 and as long as the literal inspiration of the ,bible and other theological premises were held to be undoubted axioms by the whole ,christian world1 there might be a certain interest in hearing them repeated over and over again in becoming language1 and in listening to sermons which explained shortly conclusions which might be drawn from these admitted axioms4 ,but this is no longer the case4 ,it is impossible to touch the merest fringe of the questions now raised by the intellectual side of religion in discourses of half an hour's length2 even if the preacher were perfectly free1 and not hampered by the fear of scandalising simple1 pious souls by plain language4 ,spoken words have to a great extent ceased to be the appropriate vehicle for appealing either to religious reason or to religious emotion--books for the former1 music for the latter1 are infinitely more effective4 ,music especially seems made to be the language of religion4 ,not only its beauty and harmony1 but its vagueness1 and its power of exciting the imagination and stirring the feelings1 without anything definite which has to be proved and can be contradicted1 fit it to be the interpreter of those emotions and aspirations which fill the human soul in presence of the universe and of the ,great ,unknown4 ,demonstrate1 with ,st4 ,thomas ,aquinas or ,duns ,scotus1 how many angels can stand on the point of a needle1 and ,i remain unaffected2 but let me hear ,rossini's #8,cujus ,animam1' or ,mozart's #8,agnus ,dei1' and ,i say1 #8,thus the angels sing4' ,in this respect the ,roman ,catholic ,church has retained a great advantage over reformed churches4 ,whatever we may think of its tenets and principles1 its forms of worship are more impressive and more attractive4 ,the ,mass1 apart from all dogma and miracle1 is a mysterious and beautiful religious drama1 in which appropriate symbolism1 vocal and instrumental music1 all the highest efforts of human art1 are united to produce feelings of joy and of devoutness4 ,the vestment of the priest1 his gestures and genuflexions1 the ,latin words chanted in stately recitative1 the flame of the candles pointing heavenwards1 the burning incense slowly soaring upwards1 the music of great masters1 not like our dreary and monotonous psalmody1 but in fullest harmony and richest melody--all combine to attune the mind to that state of feeling which is the soul of religion4 ,in this respect1 however1 what ,i have called the ,zoroastrian theory of religion affords great advantages4 ,it connects religion directly with all that is good and beautiful1 not only in the higher realms of speculation and of emotion1 but in the ordinary affairs of daily life4 ,to feel the truth of what is true1 the beauty of what is beautiful1 is of itself a silent prayer or act of worship to the ,spirit of ,light2 to make an honest1 earnest1 effort to attain this feeling1 is an offering or act of homage4 ,cleanliness of mind and body1 order and propriety in conduct1 civility in intercourse1 and all the homely virtues of everyday life1 thus acquire a higher significance1 and any wilful and persistent disregard of them becomes an act of mutiny against the ,power whom we have elected to serve4 ,such moral perversion becomes impossible as that which in the ,middle ,ages associated filth with holiness1 and adduced as a title to canonisation that the saint had worn the same woollen shirt until it fell to pieces under the attacks of vermin4 ,we laugh at this in more enlightened days1 but we often imitate it by setting up false religious standards1 and thinking we can make men better by penning them up on ,sundays in the foul air and corrupting influences of densely peopled cities4 ,the identification of moral and physical evil1 which is one of the most essential and peculiar tenets of the ,zoroastrian creed1 is fast becoming a leading idea in modern civilisation4 ,our most earnest philanthropists and zealous workers in the fields of sin and misery in crowded cities are coming1 more and more every day1 to the conviction that an improvement in the physical conditions of life is the first indispensable condition of moral and religious progress4 ,more air1 more light1 better lodging1 better food1 more innocent and healthy recreation1 are what are wanted to make any real impression on the masses who have either been born and bred in an evil environment1 or have fallen out of the ranks and are the waifs and stragglers left behind in the rapid progress and intense competition of modern society4 ,hence we see that the devoted individuals and charitable institutions who take the lead in works of practical benevolence direct their attention more and more to the rescue of children from bad surroundings2 to sending them to new and happier homes in the colonies1 to country retreats for the sickly1 and excursions for the healthy2 and to providing clubs and reading-rooms as substitutes for the gin-palace and public-house4 ,the latest development of this idea1 that of the #8,people's ,palace' in the ,east ,end of ,london1 is a noble offering to the #8,spirit of ,light1' by whatever name we choose to call him1 in opposition to the #8,spirit of ,darkness4' ,to the ,zoroastrian1 prayer assumes the form of a recognition of all that is pure1 sublime1 and beautiful in the surrounding universe4 ,he can never want opportunities of paying homage to the ,good ,spirit and of looking into the abysses of the unknown with reverence and wonder4 ,the light of setting suns1 the dome of loving blue1 the clouds in the might of the tempest or resting still as brooding doves1 the mountains1 the ,waste ,and solitary places where we taste ,the pleasure of believing what we see1 ,is boundless1 as we wish our souls to be2 the ocean lashed by storm1 or where it ,all down the sand ,lies breathing in its sleep1 ,heard by the land-- these are a ,zoroastrian's prayers4 ,and even if1 #8in populous cities pent1' he is cut off from close communion with nature1 opportunities are not wanting to him of letting his soul soar aloft with purifying aspirations4 ,a glimpse of the starry sky1 even if seen from a ,london street1 may bear in on him the awful yet lovely mystery of the ,infinite4 ,good books1 good music1 true works of art1 may all strengthen his love of the good and beautiful4 ,a dense fog1 or drizzling rain may obscure the outward view1 but with the inner eye he may stand listening to the lark or under the vernal sky1 and while his ,heart looks down and up1 ,serene1 secure2 ,warm as the crocus-cup1 ,as snowdrops pure1 thank the ,good ,spirit that it has been given to man to write1 and to him to read1 verses of such exquisite perfection as ,shelley's #8,ode to a ,skylark' and ,tennyson's #8,early ,spring4' ,above all1 where men congregate in masses1 in the great centres of politics1 of commerce1 of literature1 science1 and art1 he can hear best ,the still sad music of humanity1 ,not harsh nor grating1 but of ample power ,to chasten and subdue1 and associate himself with movements in which his little individual effort is exerted towards making the world a little better rather than a little worse than he found it4 ,this1 rather than wrangling with his fellow-mortals about creeds and attempts to name the unnameable1 believe the unbelievable1 and define the undefineable1 seems to me to be the religion of the future4 ,call it by what name you like1 ,i quarrel with no one as long as he can find ,sermons in stones and good in everything4 ,,chapter ,,xv4 ,,practical ,,polarities4 ,fable of the shield--,progress and conservatism--,english and ,french colonisation--,law-abidingness--,irish land question--,true conservative legislation--,ultra-conservatism--,law and education--,patriotism--,jingoism and parochialism--,true statesmanship--,free trade and protection--,capital and labour--,egoism and altruism--,socialism and laissez faire--,contracts--,rights and duties of landlords--,george's theory--,state interference--,railways--,post ,office--,telegraphs--,national defence--,concluding remarks4 ,a well-known fable tells how in the olden time two knights were riding in opposite directions along a green road overarched by the trees of an ancient forest4 ,it was a bright morning in early summer1 with the green leaves freshly bursting in contrasted foliage2 the sun had just risen over the tops of the trees in clouds of golden and crimson glory2 dewdrops were glittering like diamonds on every twig and blade of grass2 and the joyous birds carolling their loudest song to greet the opening day4 ,everything was fresh and cheerful as of a new-born earth1 and so were the spirits of the two youthful knights1 who were pricking forth in search of adventures4 ,he whose face was turned towards the ,west1 where the rising sun had last set1 wore a primrose scarf over his cuirass1 and had on his shield a quaint device1 which1 on closer inspection1 might be seen to be a tombstone with the inscription1 #8,i was well1 would be better1 and here ,i am4' ,he rode along musing on the heroic legends of the past1 and wishing that he had been a knight of ,arthur's round table to ride out with the blameless king against invading heathen4 ,the second knight1 whose face was turned towards the rising sun1 bore an azure shield with a different device4 ,on it was depicted the good ,sir ,james ,douglass charging the serried ,paynim army1 and1 as he charged1 flinging before him into the hostile ranks the casket containing the heart of ,robert ,bruce1 and shouting for battle-cry-- ,go thou aye forward1 as was thy wont4 ,as he rode his fancy wrought the fairy web of a day-dream1 in which he saw himself delivering the fair princess ,liberty from the fiery dragon ,prejudice and the stolid giant ,obstruction4 ,the knights met just where an ancient oak of mighty bulk stretched overhead a huge branch across the path1 as some aged athlete might stretch out an arm rigid with gnarled and knotted muscles1 to show younger generations how ,olympian laurels were won when ,pollux or ,hercules plied the cestus4 ,from this branch a shield hung suspended4 #8,good morrow1 fair knight1' said he of the primrose scarf2 #8prithee tell me if thou knowest what means this golden shield suspended here4' #8,i marvel at it myself1 good ,sir ,knight1' responded the other2 #8but you mistake in calling the shield golden2 it is of silver4' #8,your eyes must be of the dullest1' said the first knight1 #8if you mistake gold for silver4' #8,not so dull as yours1' retorted the other1 #8if you mistake silver for gold4' ,the argument waxed hot1 and1 as usual in such cases1 as tempers grew weak adjectives grew strong4 ,soon1 like the old ,homeric heroes when ,greek met ,trojan ,far on the ringing plains of windy ,troy1 winged words of fire and fury darted from each mouth1 and epithets were exchanged1 of which #8stupid old ,tory' and #8low1 vulgar ,radical' were among the least unparliamentary4 ,at length the fatal words #8,you lie' escaped simultaneously from both1 and on the instant spears were couched1 steeds spurred1 and1 red with rage1 they encountered each other in full career4 ,such was the momentum that both men and horses rolled over1 even as the ,templar went down before the spear of ,ivanhoe within the lists of ,ashby-de-la-,zouch4 ,but1 like the redoubted knight ,brian de ,bois-,guilbert1 each sprang to his feet and drew his sword1 eager to redeem the fortune of war in deadly combat4 ,like two surly boars with bristling backs and foaming tusks quarrelling for the right of way in ,indian jungle1 or tawny lions in ,numidian desert tearing one another to pieces for the smiles of a leonine ,helen1 the heroes clashed together1 cutting1 slashing1 parrying1 foyning1 and traversing1 until at length1 bleeding and breathless1 they paused for a moment1 leaning on their swords to recover second wind4 ,just then an aged hermit appeared on the scene1 drawn thither by the sound of the combat4 #8,pause1 my sons1' he said1 #8and tell me what is the cause of this furious encounter4' #8,yonder false villain protests1' said the one1 #8that the shield which hangs there is of gold4' #8,and that lying varlet persists that it is of silver1' said the other4 ,the hermit smiled1 and said1 #8,hold your hands1 good sirs1 for a single moment1 and use your remaining strength to exchange places and look at the opposite side of the shield4' ,they obeyed his words1 and found to their confusion that they had been fighting in a quarrel in which each was right and each wrong4 #8,father1' they said1 #8we are fools4 ,grant us thy pardon for our folly and absolution for our sin4' #8,absolution1' said the hermit1 #8is soon granted for faults which arise from the innate tendency of poor human nature4 ,wiser and older men than you are prone to see only their own side of a question4 ,come1 then1 with me to my humble hermitage2 there will ,i dress your wounds and offer you my frugal fare2 happy if from this lesson you may learn for the rest of your lives1 before indulging in vehement assertions and proceeding to violent extremities1 to 8look at the other side of the shield40' ,the application of this fable to the polarity of politics will be obvious to every intelligent reader4 ,as the earth is kept in its orbit by the due balance of centripetal and centrifugal forces1 so is every civilised society held together by the opposite influences of conservative and progressive tendencies4 ,the conservative tendency may be likened to the centripetal force which binds the mass together1 while the progressive one resembles that centrifugal force which prevents it from being concentrated in a rigid and inert central body without life or motion4 ,as ,herbert ,spencer truly says1 #8from antagonistic social tendencies there always results not a medium state1 but a rhythm between opposite states4 ,now the one greatly preponderates1 and presently1 by reaction1 there comes a preponderance of the other4' ,so it is with the antagonism of conservative and liberal tendencies4 ,in the societies of the ancient world1 and to the present day in the ,east1 the conservative tendency unduly preponderates1 and they crystallise into inert masses in the form of despotisms1 and of sacerdotal or administrative hierarchies4 ,at times the pent-up forces which make for change accumulate1 and1 as in the ,french ,revolution1 explode with destructive violence1 shattering the old and bringing in new eras4 ,but unless the balance between liberty and order is tolerably preserved in the individual citizens whose aggregate forms the society1 after a period more or less prolonged of violent oscillations they crystallise anew into fresh forms1 in which another military dynasty1 or it may be administrative centralisation under the name of a republic1 again asserts the preponderance of the centripetal force4 ,the happiest nations are those in which the individual character of individual citizens supplies the requisite balance4 ,an ideal society is one in which every citizen is at the same time liberal and conservative2 law-abiding1 and yet with a strong instinct for liberty of thought and action1 for progress and for individual independence4 ,it is among the ,teutonic races1 especially when they are placed in favourable conditions as in new countries1 or in old countries where for ages ,freedom has widened slowly down1 ,from precedent to precedent1 that this happy ideal is most nearly realised4 ,hence it is that these races are more and more coming to the front and surviving in the struggle for existence4 ,the contrast of ,english and ,french colonisation affords a striking instance of this difference of races4 ,a century and a half ago ,france stood as well as ,england in the race for colonial supremacy4 ,she had the start of us in ,canada1 and her pioneers had explored the ,great ,lakes1 the ,mississippi1 and a large part of the continent of ,north ,america west of the ,rocky ,mountains4 ,to-day there are sixty millions of an ,english-speaking population in that continent1 while ,french is scarcely spoken beyond the single province of ,quebec4 ,political events had doubtless something to do with this result2 but it has been mainly owing to the innate qualities of the two races1 for even the genius of ,chatham might have failed to establish our supremacy if it had not been backed by the superior intelligence1 energy1 and staying power of the ,english colonists4 ,the ultimate cause of the triumph of the ,english over the ,french element in ,america and ,india is doubtless to be found in the stronger individualism of the former4 ,the character of the ,french is eminently social1 they like to live in societies1 and shrink from encountering the hardships and still more the isolation of the life of early settlers4 ,they like to be administered1 and shrink from the responsibility of hewing out1 each for themselves1 their own path in the relations of civil life or in the depths of primval forests4 ,it is so to the present day1 and they fail conspicuously in creating a large ,french population even at their own doors in ,algeria2 while in their more distant colonies they conquer and annex1 but to see their commerce fall into the hands of ,english1 ,germans1 and ,chinese1 as in ,cochin ,china1 or to stagnate as in ,new ,caledonia4 ,as a witty ,french writer puts it1 the trade of a remote ,french colony may be summed up as--imports1 absinthe and cigars2 exports1 stamped paper and red-tape4 ,individualism in this case has been fairly pitted against ,socialism1 and has beaten it out of the field by the verdict of ,fact1 which is more conclusive than any amount of abstract argument4 ,to return1 however1 to the field of politics4 ,where the essential quality of being law-abiding is wanting in individuals1 it is hopeless to look for real liberty4 ,the centripetal force in societies1 as in planets1 must be supplied somehow1 or they would fly into dissolution2 and if not by the integration of the tendencies of the individual units1 then by external restrictions4 ,socialists may be allowed to make inflammatory harangues in a non-explosive atmosphere1 but hardly to let off their fireworks in a powder-magazine4 ,in order1 however1 that a nation shall be law-abiding1 it is essential that the great majority should feel that1 on the whole1 the law is their friend4 ,it is not in human nature to love that which injures1 or to respect that which is felt to be unjust4 ,the volcanic explosion of the ,french ,revolution was due to the feeling of the ,french nation1 with the exception of a few courtiers1 nobles1 and priests1 that the existing order of things was their enemy1 and law a tool in the hands of their oppressors4 ,even among ,english-speaking races we find1 in the unfortunate instance of ,ireland1 that under specially unfavourable circumstances the same effects may be produced by the same causes4 ,what has ,english law practically meant for centuries to an average peasant of ,kerry or ,connemara8 ,it has meant an irresistible malevolent power1 which comes down on him with writs of eviction to compel him to pay a high rent on his own improvements4 ,more than half the population of ,ireland consists of tenants and their families occupying small holdings1 paying less than #ajl4 a year of rent4 ,of an immense majority of these small holdings two things may be safely asserted3 first1 that the total gross value of the produce is insufficient1 after paying the rent1 to leave a decent subsistence for the cultivator4 ,secondly1 that this rent is levied to a great extent on the improvements of the tenant or his predecessors4 ,throughout the poorer parts of ,ireland the greater part of the soil1 in its natural state of bog or mountain1 is not worth a rent of a shilling an acre2 but some poor peasant1 urged by the earth-hunger which results from the absence of other sources of employment1 squats upon it1 builds a wretched cottage1 delves1 drains1 fences1 and reclaims a few acres of land so as to bear a scanty crop of oats and potatoes4 ,when he has done so the landlord or landlord's agent comes to him and says1 #8,this land is worth ten or fifteen shillings an acre1 according to the standard of rents in the district1 and you must pay it or turn out2' and the law backs him in saying so by writs of eviction and police4 ,put yourself in poor ,pat's place1 and say if you would love the law and be law-abiding4 ,it would take me too far from the scope of this volume into the field of contemporary politics if ,i attempted to point out who is to blame for this state of things1 or what are the remedies4 ,it is enough to say that this is the real ,irish problem1 and to point to it as an instance of the calamitous effects which inevitably follow when the instincts of a whole population are brought by an unfavourable combination of circumstances into necessary and natural antagonism with the laws which they are bound to obey4 ,conservative legislation1 by whatever party it is introduced1 really means making the law correspond with the common sense and common morality of all except the criminal and crotchety classes1 so that the majority may feel it to be their friend4 ,for instance1 the most truly conservative measure of recent times was probably that which legalised trades' unions and gave working-men full liberty to combine for an increase of wages4 ,the old legal maxim1 that such combinations were illegal as being in restraint of trade1 was so obviously an invention of the members of the upper caste who wore horsehair wigs1 to give their fellows of the same caste who employed labour an unfair advantage1 that it could not fail to cause feelings of discontent and exasperation among the masses of working-men4 ,by its repeal the sting has been taken out of ,socialism1 and the ,british working-man has come to be1 in the main1 a reasonable citizen1 on whom incitements to violence in order to inaugurate ,utopias1 fall as lightly as the howlings of the barren east wind on the chimney-tops4 ,it has led also to reasonable and peaceful adjustment of disputes between employers and labourers by arbitration and sliding-scales instead of by strikes and lock-outs4 ,in the ,united ,states of ,america the law-abiding instinct is even stronger4 ,we find that strikes attended with violence are almost always confined mainly to the foreign element of recently imported immigrants1 and that the native-born ,american citizen considers the laws as his own laws1 and is determined to have them respected4 ,the balance between the conservative and progressive tendencies is1 however1 at the best1 always imperfect1 and inclines too much sometimes in one and sometimes in the other direction4 ,in ,england the conservative tendency has had on the whole too much preponderance4 ,i do not speak of political institutions1 for in these of late years the balance has been pretty equally preserved2 but in practical matters there is still a good deal of old-fashioned stolid obstruction4 ,this is most apparent in law and in education4 ,the common or judge-made law1 though on the whole well-intentioned and upright1 is fettered by so many technicalities and musty precedents1 that it fails in a great many instances to be1 what civil law ought to be1 a cheap1 speedy1 and intelligible instrument for enforcing honest dealings between man and man4 ,one of our greatest railway contractors once said to me1 #8,if ,i want to make an agreement which shall be absolutely binding1 ,i make it myself on a sheet of note-paper2 if ,i want to have a loophole1 ,i send it to my lawyer to have it drawn up in legal language and engrossed on sheets of parchment4' ,another man of large experience in commercial and financial matters laid down this axiom3 #8,if you want to know what is the law in a doubtful case1 reason out what is the common-sense view of it1 and assume that the direct opposite is probably the law4' ,these may be extreme instances1 as all such epigrammatic sentences generally are1 but it is undeniable that they have a considerable basis of substantial truth2 and that law1 with its dilatory processes1 its enormous expense1 and its uncertain conclusions1 may be1 and often is1 not an instrument of justice1 but a weapon in the hands of an unscrupulous adventurer or of a dishonest rich man1 to extort blackmail or to defeat just claims4 ,again1 what nation but ,england would tolerate so long a system of land law1 so bristling with antiquated technicalities1 so tedious1 and so expensive1 as almost to amount to a prohibition of the transfer of land in small quantities2 or could let the private interests of a mere handful of professional lawyers stand in the way of a codification of laws and a registration of titles8 ,education is another subject which shows how difficult it is to move the sluggish ultra-conservative instincts of the ,english mind in the direction of progress1 when not stimulated by political conflict4 ,what is education8 ,the word tells its own story2 it is to draw out1 not to cram in2 to unfold the capacities of the growing mind1 strengthen the reasoning faculty1 create an interest in the surrounding universe2 in a word1 to excite a love of knowledge and impart the means of acquiring it4 ,for the mass of the population1 education is necessarily confined in a great measure to the latter object4 ,the three ,r's--reading1 writing1 and arithmetic--are indispensable requisites1 and the acquirement of these1 with perhaps a few elements of history and geography1 absorbs nearly all the time and opportunity that can be afforded for attendance at school4 ,for any culture beyond this the great majority must depend on themselves in after life4 ,but there are a large number of parents of the upper and middle classes who can and do keep their children at school for eight or ten years1 and spend a large sum of money in giving them what is called a higher education4 ,what is there to show for this time and money1 even in the case of the highest schools1 which ought to give the highest education8 ,on the credit side1 a little ,latin and less ,greek1 plenty of cricket and athletics1 good physical training1 and1 best of all1 on the whole a manly1 honourable1 and gentlemanlike spirit4 ,but on the debit side1 absolute ignorance1 except in the case of a few unusually clever and ambitious boys1 of all that a cultivated man of the nineteenth century ought to know4 ,no ,french1 no ,german1 and1 what is worse1 no ,english4 ,the average boy can neither write his own language legibly nor grammatically1 and1 if he goes straight from a public school into a competitive examination1 stands an excellent chance of being plucked for spelling4 ,and1 what is worst of all1 he not only knows nothing1 but cares to know nothing2 his reasoning faculty has never been cultivated1 and his interest in interesting things has never been awakened4 ,what is the first lesson he has had to learn8 #8,propria qu maribus dicantur mascula dicas1' that is1 words appropriated to males are called masculine--a lesson which elicits as much reasoning faculty1 and creates as much interest1 as if he had been made to commit to memory that things made of gold are called golden4 ,suppose instead of this that the lesson had been that two volumes of hydrogen combine with one volume of oxygen to form water4 ,the exercise to the memory is the same1 but how different is the amount of thought and interest evoked1 especially if the experiment is made before the class and each boy has to repeat it for himself6 ,how many new subjects of interest would this open up in the mind of any lad of average intelligence6 ,how strange that there should be airs other than the air we breathe1 which can be weighed and measured1 and that two of them by combining shall produce their exact weight of a substance so unlike them as water6 ,or if the exercise of a class were to look through a microscope at the leaf of a plant or wing of an insect1 and try who could best draw what they had seen and write a description of it in a legible hand and in good ,english1 how many faculties would this call into play compared with the dull routine of parsing a ,latin sentence or writing a halting copy of ,greek iambics6 ,even grammar1 the one thing which is supposed to be taught thoroughly1 is taught so unintelligently that it awakens no interest beyond that of a parrot learning by rote4 ,from #8propria qu maribus' the scholar passes to #8as in prsenti perfectum format in avi1' without an attempt to explain what language really means1 how it originates from root-words1 and how these inflections of #8as' and #8avi' are part of the devices which certain families of mankind1 including our own1 have invented as a mechanism for attaching shades of meaning1 such as present and past1 to the primitive root4 ,even the alphabet intelligently taught opens up wide fields of interesting matter as to the history of ancient nations1 and their successive attempts to analyse the component sounds of their spoken words1 and to pass from primitive picture-writing to phonetic symbols4 ,but the instructors of the budding manhood of the lite of the nation1 like ,gallio1 #8care for none of these things1' and the organisation of our higher schools seems to be stereotyped on the principle that they are made for teachers rather than for scholars1 and that their chief raison d'tre is to enable a limited number of highly respectable gentlemen from the ,universities to realise comfortable incomes with a maximum of holidays and a minimum of trouble4 ,and the parents support the system because so many of them really reverence rank more than knowledge1 and are willing to compound for their sons growing up ignorant1 idle1 and extravagant1 if by any chance they can count a lord or two among their acquaintance4 ,mr4 ,francis ,galton1 in the course of his interesting inquiries as to the effect of heredity and education on character and attainments1 took the very practical course of addressing a set of questions to some hundred and eighty of our most distinguished men as to the hereditary qualities of their ancestors1 and the various influences which they considered had done most to promote or to retard their success in life4 ,of course he received a variety of answers1 #8quot homines tot sententi1' but upon one point there was a striking unanimity4 #8,they almost all expressed a hatred of grammar and the classics1 and an utter distaste for the old-fashioned system of education4 ,there were none who had passed through this old high and dry education who were satisfied with it4 ,those who came from the greater schools usually did nothing there1 and have abused the system heartily4' ,and yet the system goes on1 and the ,eton ,latin grammar will probably be taught1 and hexameters written1 for another generation4 ,surely the needle swings here too strongly towards the negative or obstructive pole4 ,the instances are so numerous in social and practical life in which it is necessary to look at both sides of the shield that the difficulty is in selection4 ,take the case of patriotism4 ,patriotism is beyond all doubt a great virtue--in fact1 the fertile mother of many of the higher and heroic virtues4 ,who does not sympathise with the legends of ,wallace and ,william ,tell1 and scorn with ,walter ,scott the man with soul so dead ,who never to himself has said1 ,this is my own1 my native land8 ,and yet how thin a line of partition separates it from narrow-minded arrogance and insolent ignorance6 ,reflected in the latter form from ,paris1 in hysterical shouts now of #8 ,berlin1 ,berlin6' and now #8 bas perfide ,albion6' we call it #8,chauvinism1' and recognise it as an unlovely exhibition4 ,but call it #8,jingoism1' and let it take the form of the bellowings of some stupid bull1 as the red flag1 now of a ,french and now of a ,russian scare1 crosses his line of vision1 and we are blind to its deformity4 ,still there is another side to the shield1 for even #8,jingoism1' which is only another word for patriotism run mad1 is more respectable than the opposite extreme of a sordid and narrow minded parochialism1 which shrinks behind the #8silver streak1' measures everything by the standard of pounds1 shillings1 and pence1 and1 with what ,tennyson calls ,the craven fear of being great1 groans over the responsibilities of extended empire4 ,the growth of such a spirit among prominent politicians of the advanced ,liberal school seems to me one of the most alarming symptoms of the day2 but ,i take comfort when ,i reflect that the most democratic community in the world1 that of the ,united ,states1 is precisely the one which has shown most determination to maintain its national greatness1 if necessary by the sword1 and has made the greatest sacrifices for that object4 ,if the #8copperheads' were a miserable minority in ,america1 why should we be afraid of our #8,english copperheads' ever becoming a majority in ,old ,england8 ,in this1 as in all similar cases1 it is evident that true statesmanship consists in hitting the happy mean1 and doing the right thing at the right time2 and that true strength stands firm in the middle between the two opposite poles1 while weakness is drawn by one or other of the conflicting attractions into ,the falsehood of extremes4 ,when ,sir ,robert ,peel some forty years ago announced his conversion by the unadorned eloquence of ,richard ,cobden1 and free trade was inaugurated1 with results which were attended with the most brilliant success1 every one expected that the conversion of the rest of the civilised world was only a question of time1 and that a short time4 ,few would have been found bold enough to predict that forty years later ,england would stand almost alone in the world in adherence to free-trade principles1 and that the protectionist heresy would not only be strengthened and confirmed among ,continental nations such as ,france and ,germany1 but actually adopted by large and increasing majorities in the ,united ,states1 ,canada1 ,australia1 and other ,english-speaking communities4 ,yet such is the actual fact at the present day4 ,in spite of the ,cobden ,club and of arguments which to the average ,english mind appear irresistible1 free trade has been steadily losing ground for the last twenty years1 and nation after nation1 colony after colony1 sees its protectionist majority increasing and its free-trade minority dwindling4 ,it is evident there must be some real cause for such a universal phenomenon4 ,in countries like ,france and ,russia we may attribute it to economical ignorance and the influence of cliques of manufacturers and selfish interests2 but the people of ,germany1 and still more of the ,united ,states1 ,canada1 and ,australia1 are as intelligent as ourselves1 and quite as shrewd in seeing where those interests really lie4 ,they are fettered by no traditional prejudices1 and their political instincts rather lie towards freedom and against the creation of anything like an aristocracy of wealthy manufacturers4 ,and yet1 after years of free discussion1 they have become more and more hardened in their protectionist heresies4 ,what does this prove8 ,that there are two sides to the shield1 and not1 as we fancied in our ,english insularity1 only one4 ,free trade is undoubtedly the best1 or rather the only possible1 policy for a country like ,england1 with thirty millions of inhabitants1 producing food for less than half the number1 and depending on foreign trade for the supplies necessary to keep the other half alive4 ,it is the best policy also for a country which1 owing to its mineral resources1 its accessibility by sea to markets1 its accumulated capital1 and the inherited qualities1 physical and moral1 of its working population1 has unrivalled advantages for cheap production4 ,nor can any dispassionate observer dispute that in ,england1 which is such a country1 free trade has worked well4 ,it has not worked miracles1 it has not introduced an industrial millennium1 the poor are still with us1 and it has not saved us from our share of commercial depressions4 ,but1 on the whole1 national wealth has greatly increased1 and1 what is more important1 national well-being has increased with it1 the mass of the population1 and especially the working classes1 get better wages1 work shorter hours1 and are better fed1 better clothed1 and better educated than they were forty years ago4 ,this is one side of the shield1 and it is really a golden and not an illusory one4 ,but look at the other side4 ,take the case of a country where totally opposite conditions prevail3 where there is no surplus population1 unlimited land1 limited capital1 labour scarce and dear1 and no possibility of competing in the foreign or even in the home market with the manufactures which1 with free trade1 would be poured in by countries like ,england1 in prior possession of all the elements of cheap production4 ,it is by no means so clear that protection1 to enable native industries to take root and grow1 may not in such cases be the wisest policy4 ,take as a simple illustration the case of an ,australian colony imposing an import duty on foreign boots and shoes4 ,there is not a doubt that this is practically taxing the immense majority of colonists who wear and do not make these articles4 ,but1 on the other hand1 it makes the colony a possible field for emigration for all the shoemakers of ,europe1 and shoemaking a trade to which any ,australian with a large family can bring up one of his sons4 ,looking at it from the strict point of view of the most rigid political economist1 the maximum production of wealth1 which is the better policy8 ,the production of wealth1 we must recollect1 depends on labour1 and productive labour depends on the labourer finding his tools--that is1 employment at which he can work4 ,a labourer who cannot find work at living wages is worse than a zero3 he is a negative quantity as far as the accumulation of wealth is concerned4 ,on the other hand1 every workman who finds work1 even if it may not be of the ideally best description1 is a wealth-producing machine4 ,what he spends on himself and his family gives employment to other workmen1 and the work must be poor indeed if the produce of a year's labour is not more than the cost of a year's subsistence4 ,the surplus adds to the national capital1 and thus capital and population go on increasing in geometrical progression4 ,the first problem1 therefore1 for a new or a backward country is to find #8a fair day's wages for a fair day's work1' for as many hands as possible4 ,the problem of making that employment the most productive possible is a secondary one1 which will solve itself in each case rather by actual practice than by abstract theory4 ,this much1 however1 is pretty clear1 that in order to secure the maximum of employment it must be varied4 ,all are not fit for agricultural work1 and1 even if they were1 if the conditions of soil and climate favour large estates and sheep or cattle runs rather than small farms1 a large amount of capital may provide work for only a small number of labourers4 ,on social and moral grounds1 also1 apart from dry considerations of political economy1 progress intelligence and a higher standard of life are more likely to be found with large cities1 manufactures1 and a variety of industrial occupations than with a dead level of a few millionaires and a few shepherds1 or of a few landlords and a dense population of poor peasants4 ,if protection is the price which must be paid to render such a larger life possible1 it may be sound policy to pay it1 and the result seems to show that neither it nor free trade is inconsistent with rapid progress1 while1 on the other hand1 neither of them affords an absolute immunity from the evils that dog the footsteps of progress1 and from the periods of reaction and depression which accompany vicissitudes of trade4 ,here1 as in other cases1 there are two sides of the shield1 and true statesmanship consists in seeing both1 and doing the right thing1 at the right place1 and at the right time4 ,if free trade is1 as we believe1 ultimately to prevail1 it will be an affair of time4 ,the real trial of protection comes when it has stimulated production to a point which gluts the home market and leaves a surplus which must be exported4 ,exports of articles the cost of which has been artificially raised by protection1 cannot compete in the world's market with the cheaper products of free-trade countries4 ,vicissitudes therefore of prosperity and depression must tend to become more frequent and more severe1 and1 if production goes on1 a point must be reached where1 at whatever cost1 it must either be arrested or made capable of competing in the wider market4 ,the ,united ,states are probably not far from such a point1 and it would have been already reached but for the immense and unexhausted resources of that vast continent4 ,in ,france the point has apparently been reached1 and we find that1 with a lower scale of wages than in ,england1 it is becoming more and more difficult every day to maintain that lower scale1 and the export trade of its manufactured goods to foreign markets4 ,protection1 leading to higher wages and profits than can be permanently maintained1 and artificially enhancing the cost of living to the working classes1 threatens1 more and more every day1 to introduce strained relations between capital and labour in most countries of ,europe4 ,the relation between capital and labour affords a good instance of the inevitable error of applying hard and fast logical conclusions to the complex and ever-varying problems of actual life4 ,ricardo and other distinguished writers on political economy have assumed that the two constitute a fundamental antagonistic polarity4 ,wealth1 they say1 is the joint product of capital and labour1 and1 as in the case of a cake which has to be divided between ,c and ,l1 the more ,c gets the less is left for ,l1 and vice vers4 ,the theory sounds plausible3 but what says fact8 ,in the most unmistakable manner it pronounces1 as the outcome of practical experience1 that the profits of capital and the wages of labour rise and fall together4 ,high profits mean high wages1 rising profits rising wages1 falling profits falling wages4 ,it has been proved so in a thousand instances1 and not one can be quoted where the one factor has varied in an inverse1 and not in a direct1 ratio with the other4 ,it is obvious that there must be some fallacy in ,ricardo's argument4 ,the fallacy is this3 he assumes the cake to be of fixed dimensions1 whereas in point of fact it varies1 sometimes diminishing to zero1 or even to a negative quantity1 at others expanding to many times its original size4 ,a new gold-field is discovered in a remote country1 and forthwith profits rise to cent4 per cent41 and wages to a pound a day2 a bad season and depression of trade overtake an old country1 and the gross value of the produce of many a farm is insufficient to cover expenses and depreciation1 even if the labourers worked for nothing4 ,the polarity is therefore confined to the limited and temporary case of the division of the profit1 where there is a profit1 in particular trades and in individual instances4 ,and this is regulated mainly by the accustomed scale of wages and standard of living of the workmen1 and their opportunities of finding employment elsewhere if dissatisfied with the terms offered to them4 ,on the whole1 it may be said that capital has the best of it on a rising1 and wages on a falling1 market4 ,a manufacturer or mine-owner's profit may rise from five to twenty per cent4 without quadrupling the rate of wages2 but1 on the other hand1 it may fall from twenty per cent4 to five1 or even for a time below zero1 without a proportionate diminution in the price paid for labour4 ,capital is1 in fact1 the great insurer of labour1 the flywheel which regulates the motion of the industrial machine4 ,this will be best illustrated by a practical instance4 ,the ,brighton ,railway ,company for several consecutive years paid no dividend1 or only a trifling amount1 on the shareholders' capital1 but during the whole of this time it gave steady employment at good wages to upwards of ten thousand workmen4 ,the ,blaenavon ,coal and ,iron ,company in ,south ,wales was for many years a losing concern1 and successive capitalists lost the best part of a million pounds in it1 until at length it was reorganised with a small capital and became a fairly prosperous concern4 ,during the whole of this time it gave employment at fair wages to several thousand workmen4 ,which had the best of it in these two cases1 capital or labour1 and where would the workmen have been on any communistic or co-operative system8 ,in fact it will be apparent to any one who will study dispassionately the statistics of any line of inquiry1 such as the scale of wages1 the price of provisions1 the accumulations of savings banks and provident societies1 c41 for the last twenty years1 that the working classes have had the lion's share of the vast increase which has taken place in the wealth and income of the nation4 ,i am glad that it is so1 for it is better1 both morally and politically1 that the condition of the masses should be improved1 and their standard of living raised1 than that capital should accumulate too exclusively in large masses4 ,still there is a good deal to be said for such large accumulations4 ,let us go to the ,united ,states of ,america for an illustration1 where everything is on a large scale1 and colossal fortunes have been made in a few years4 ,the modus operandi by which most of these fortunes have been made may be described according to the way we look at it1 either as railway jobbing or as pioneering the way in useful enterprise4 ,the construction of the first railway across the continent to ,california is a typical instance4 ,a clique or syndicate of wealthy speculators make surveys and estimates of a line across deserts and over mountain ranges1 and ascertain pretty accurately what it will cost4 ,they form a company with a capital of double that cost1 and by subventions from the ,government1 grants of land1 and sale of mortgage bonds1 raise the half really required1 and hold the other half in shares as profit in paper4 ,the line is made1 and if the traffic turns out well1 and there is a period of speculation in the money market1 the paper is turned into dollars1 and1 if the line really costs1 say1 #aj1jjj1jjjl4 or #bj1jjj1jjjl41 the promoters realise an equal amount as profit4 ,this has two sides to it3 it is doubtless bad for the public to have to pay rates which give a return on twice the actual cost1 and the possession of a close monopoly in the hands of a few millionaires may be abused to the detriment of individual traders4 ,but1 on the other hand1 the railway could not have been made in any other way4 ,if it had been necessary to wait until the slow growth of population insured such a traffic as would induce the ordinary public to subscribe for shares at par1 you might have waited for twenty years before a single mile of railway was made west of the ,mississippi4 ,nor is this all3 the enormous profit realised in the first of these enterprises led to a rush of rich speculators into the lottery of pushing railways ahead of traffic1 in which there were such magnificent prizes4 ,the continent was covered by new railways built to create new traffic rather than to provide for that which already existed4 ,and the traffic was created1 though1 as the lottery contained blanks as well as prizes1 many of the original promoters were ruined4 ,the second great line spanning the continent--the ,northern ,pacific--ruined two successive sets of promoters1 and is only now beginning to be moderately successful4 ,but the final result has been that while ,british ,india1 which went on what may be called the respectable system of getting a pound's worth of work for every pound raised1 has only #ab1jjj miles of railway1 the ,united ,states1 under the speculative system1 has got #abj1jjj miles4 ,i cannot doubt that the national wealth of ,america is greater at the present day than if there had been no ,jay ,goulds or ,vanderbilts1 and the construction of her railways had been delayed on the average for twenty years4 ,the contrast between labour and capital or free trade and protection is only a particular case of the larger polarity between what is called in scientific language egoism and altruism1 or1 in more popular phraseology1 individualism and socialism4 ,according to one theory1 the best result is obtained by leaving individuals as free as possible to act on their own suggestions of their duties and interests1 and confining the intervention of the ,state to enforcing laws for the protection of life and property1 and such measures as are obviously necessary for the safety of society4 ,according to the other theory1 the ,state ought to interfere wherever the results of individual liberty lead to abuses1 and should endeavour to create a society as near to ideal perfection as possible1 by administering and regulating the public and private affairs of its citizens4 ,it is obvious that the question has two sides1 that extreme conclusions in either direction are1 as is always the case1 invariably false4 ,individualism carried too far would disintegrate society4 ,it would be impossible to leave it to the short-sighted selfishness of every citizen to say whether an army and navy should be maintained for national defence1 and taxes should be levied for their support4 ,individualism also easily passes over into a hard and cruel selfishness1 which recognises no obligation beyond the letter of the law1 and acts practically on the principle of #8,every one for himself1 and the devil take the hindmost4' ,it is this phase of individualism which makes enthusiasts and men of strong moral and religious sympathies declaim so vehemently against laissez faire1 and cry aloud1 like ,carlyle1 for a hero or benevolent despot who is to scourge humanity into the practice of all the virtues4 ,on the other hand1 ,socialism1 if not confined within rigid limits of experience and common sense1 is even more destructive in its consequences4 ,civilised society is based on the security of private property and the observance of contracts4 ,if these are liable1 not merely to be regulated in extreme and exceptional cases1 but to be absolutely condemned in principle1 as by ,socialists of the ,proudhon school1 who declare1 #8,la proprit c'est le vol2' or overruled and set aside whenever they are thought to conflict with humanitarian scruples or sentimental aspirations1 society would be dissolved into its elements1 to crystallise anew about some military dictator or other strong form of repressive government1 who could restore it to a state of stable equilibrium in accordance with these fundamental laws4 ,no society based on the community of goods has ever existed1 except on a very limited scale and for a very short time1 under some strong temporary influence such as religious excitement4 ,in the early ,christian ,church it only existed as long as its members were a handful of humble individuals who were impressed with the idea that the end of the world was close at hand1 and that sacrifices made on earth would be repaid at an early day with compound interest in heaven4 ,they acted on what was almost as much a principle of enlightened selfishness as if they had placed their money on the best possible security at the highest possible interest4 ,the only existing society1 as far as ,i am aware1 which has everything in common1 is a small sect of ,shakers in the ,united ,states1 which owes its limited success to two conditions--first1 that there is no marrying or giving in marriage2 secondly1 that a member invented a patent rat-trap--conditions which are hardly likely to survive in the struggle for life and become a type for general adoption4 ,the nearest approach to ,communism in practical operation on a large scale is that of the village communities of ,russia and parts of ,india1 which certainly show no signs of being progressive types destined to gain ground4 ,on the contrary1 they fail to fulfil what is the first condition of an agricultural community1 that of obtaining a fair average produce from the soil1 and the more enterprising and intelligent moujiks or ryots invariably seek to obtain something which they can call their own and are not obliged to share with the idle and improvident4 ,a conclusive objection to all schemes of ,socialism or ,communism is1 that they not only crush out all individual initiative and enterprise in material life1 but that they also destroy all incentives to individual charity and benevolence4 ,why make sacrifices to help others1 if they are already helped at your expense by the ,state8 ,this is no theoretical objection1 but has been proved practically by the history of the poor laws4 ,what scope for individual charity was there in a parish like that in ,buckinghamshire1 where under the old poor law the rate had risen to twenty shillings in the pound1 and the cultivation of the soil was abandoned8 ,or even in less extreme cases1 any one who is acquainted with remote rural parishes inhabited by cotters and small farmers must be aware that the poor law operates strongly to destroy the feeling of manly independence and family affection which induced the poor to support their own aged and infirm relatives4 ,in many parts of ,scotland with which ,i am personally acquainted men who a generation ago would have thought it a disgrace to ask for help to support an aged father or mother1 now think it only fair play1 after having contributed for years to the poor rate1 to try and get something out of it in return4 ,altruism1 as ,herbert ,spencer well puts it1 if carried to excess1 defeats itself1 for in annihilating egoistic vices it annihilates egoistic virtues1 and the result is zero--a result which1 as #8nature abhors a vacuum1' can happily never be attained1 and the precepts of the ,sermon on the ,mount must always remain maxims of private morality1 rather than of ,state regulation4 ,it is of little use1 however1 to deal with such generalities2 as long as we confine ourselves to extreme instances on either side1 it is as easy as it is idle to refute them4 ,profitable discussion only begins when we enter on the wide intermediate space which lies between the extreme frontier provinces1 and1 instead of arguing for absolute conclusions1 endeavour to discover the happy mean in doubtful cases1 where there really are limitations of time and circumstance1 and a good deal which may be reasonably said on each side of the question4 ,take for instance the case of contract1 which has been so much discussed with reference to the ,irish question4 ,nothing can be clearer than that the enforcement of contracts is one of the principal duties of a government4 ,the principle of caveat emptor may occasionally lead to results not altogether consistent with strict morality2 but there will always be fools in the world1 and it is better they should pay for their folly than that the ,state should be perpetually interfering in the vain attempt to protect them4 ,the bargain may be a bad one1 but it is far better that men should be held to their bargains than that every loser should have a loophole provided to escape by appealing to some legal quibble or ,state-provided tribunal of arbitration4 ,but there are limits to this salutary principle4 ,the contract must be a free one1 freely entered into by parties who meet on equal terms4 ,if it is a compulsory one1 which the weaker party has practically no option of refusing1 the case is altered4 ,thus1 in the case of children1 it is absurd to say that they are free agents in contracting for the disposal of their labour1 and the ,state properly interferes by ,factory ,acts to limit the number of hours for which they are to work4 ,so in the relations between landlord and tenant1 whenever they meet on equal terms1 and the tenant has an option of either taking or refusing to take a farm at the rent asked1 both sides must be held to their bargain1 however disadvantageous it may turn out for either of them4 ,but if the landlord is practically omnipotent1 and the tenant has no alternative but to promise to pay an impossible rent or to be turned out on the roadside and die of starvation1 it is by no means so clear that the ,state should enforce the bargain unless the landlord submits to equitable terms4 ,or again1 if the rent is not due to the intrinsic value of the land1 but is a confiscation of the tenant's improvements1 it is far from being self-evident that the law should look only at landlords' rights and forget all about landlords' duties4 ,it is a question rather of fact than of argument or assertion1 whether such a state of things does or does not prevail at any particular time in any particular country4 ,if the contracts were fair bargains entered into by free agents1 they ought to be enforced whether prices have risen or fallen1 leaving it to the humanity and self-interest of landlords to make reasonable reductions4 ,but if they were no more equal bargains than those of slaves or factory-children1 the ,state might fairly interfere to attach equitable conditions to the enforcement of inequitable contracts4 ,the antithesis between the rights and duties of property1 especially in the case of land1 is one which raises many nice and difficult questions4 ,some theorists1 like ,henry ,george1 are for solving it by ignoring the rights altogether4 ,according to them1 private property in land is the source of all the evils that afflict modern society2 poverty1 depressions of trade1 low profits1 and low wages are caused by the constant drift towards high rents1 due to the possession by a small section of the community of a monopoly in that which is as much a necessity of existence as air or water4 ,abolish private property in land1 and straightway you will have the millennium4 ,in this extreme form the fallacy of the argument is obvious4 ,you cannot stop at land1 but must have the courage of your opinion1 and go the full length1 with ,proudhon1 of denouncing all property as robbery4 ,for if the right of individual property is the first condition of civilised society1 you can hardly exclude that form of it which1 in all ages and all countries1 has been practically the most powerful incentive to progress and civilisation4 ,compare the ,united ,states of ,america under their homestead laws1 with ,russia under a system of village communes2 or the ,california of to-day with that of fifty years ago under the ,jesuit padres2 and you will see that the desire to acquire property in land has been what may be called the high-pressure steam supplying the motive power to reclaim continents and multiply population4 ,nor in principle is there any argument for the confiscation of land which would not equally apply to the confiscation of any other sort of property1 when theorists1 philanthropic at other people's expense1 thought that the owner had more than was good for him1 or had acquired it as an unearned increment1 without working for it4 ,suppose two men1 ,a and ,b1 employed as engine-drivers on an ,american railway1 have each saved a hundred dollars4 ,the railway has been a failure3 intended to reach a distant terminus1 it has stopped halfway in a desert1 for want of funds1 and for years has paid no dividend4 ,the hundred-dollar shares are only worth ten1 and the land at the distant terminus is only worth ten dollars an acre4 ,but ,a and ,b are sharp fellows1 and see that if speculation ever revives the line will probably be completed1 and both shares and land will become valuable4 ,a buys ten shares with his hundred dollars1 and ,b ten acres of land4 ,the boom comes1 the capital is found1 the line completed1 and the shares rise to par1 and the land to a hundred dollars an acre4 ,a and ,b have each realised nine hundred dollars by what may be described1 as you like to put it1 either as an unearned increment or as providence and foresight4 ,on what principle can you confiscate ,b's nine hundred dollars because it is in land1 and leave ,a's untouched because it is in shares8 ,on the other hand1 there is no doubt that when we come to more complex cases1 in which land is held in large masses1 fenced in1 not by the natural right of a man to the produce of his own exertions1 but by artificial legal systems of inheritance and settlement1 we are on neutral ground1 where fair discussion is possible as to the limitations and conditions under which the ,state may afford its protection4 ,landed property is more the creature of law1 and runs greater risks in case of revolution or communistic legislation1 than personal property1 which is more easily concealed or transferred4 ,it is not unreasonable1 therefore1 that it should pay a higher insurance in the form of taxation1 and especially when it passes by inheritance or settlement1 when the new owner's title is to a great extent artificial and the creation of the law4 ,no one can dispute the abstract justice of a succession duty on all property1 landed or personal1 in proportion to its amount1 passing by operation of law3 the only question can be as to the amount1 and the expediency of confining it within limits that shall not trench on confiscation or impair the desire to accumulate capital4 ,and in the case of land1 there is no doubt that there are a good many instances in which the question of the #8unearned increment' is raised more forcibly than in the case of ordinary property4 ,take a practical instance within my own knowledge1 for an illustration is often better than an argument4 ,there was a mountain property in ,wales which1 as a sheep or cattle farm1 might be worth at the outside #hjjl4 a year4 ,coal and iron were discovered under it1 capitalists sank pits and erected works1 two or three sets lost their money2 but the works were carried on1 a large amount of labour was employed1 and in course of time a town of some eight or nine thousand inhabitants1 sprang up4 ,the proprietor's #hjjl4 a year grew into #h1jjjl4 from fixed rents and royalties1 which he has enjoyed for the last thirty years1 through good times and bad1 without being called on to contribute a penny towards schools1 churches1 roads1 sewers1 water1 or any of the local objects necessary for the civilised existence of the population of eight thousand whose labour has added to his wealth4 ,i do not blame him3 the law told him to do what he liked with his own1 and it probably never occurred to him that he was under any moral obligation to go beyond the law4 ,but ,i do think that the law would have been more just1 and better for the interests of the community1 if it had made some portion of this unearned increment of #g1jjjl4 a year liable for a contribution towards the sanitary and other objects essential for the decent existence of the town which had grown up on this property and given it this increased value4 ,i cannot help thinking that centuries of landlord legislation1 and of a public opinion based mainly on that of the wealthy and specially of the landed classes1 have made our laws in many respects too favourable to the predominant interests1 and that the swing of the pendulum now is1 and properly is1 in the direction of recognising the duties as well as the rights of property4 ,we must take care1 however1 not to let it swing too far in this direction1 for of the two evils it is better to put up with occasional cases of hardship and oppression on the part of bad landlords than to endanger the security of property by reforms pushed to extremes at the dictation of impulsive masses1 designing demagogues1 or sentimental philanthropists4 ,herbert ,spencer1 in his works on ,sociology1 often dwells with great force on the evils which arise from ,state interference4 ,there can be no doubt that it is very undesirable that the ,state should become a sort of ,jack-of-all-trades1 and undertake branches of business which can be conducted by private enterprise4 ,it is undesirable for two reasons3 first1 because the work is certain to cost more and be worse done2 secondly1 for the still more important reason that it tends to extinguish individual enterprise1 strangle progress with red-tape1 and teach a nation to look1 like children to outside guidance1 rather than1 like men to their own4 ,still the question has two sides4 ,whatever individual enterprise can do should be left to it2 but there are1 in the complex conditions of modern society1 a number of things which cannot be done by individuals1 and which must either be left undone or done by the ,state1 or by some local authority1 joint-stock company1 or other quasi-monopoly sanctioned by the ,state4 ,thus1 if it were a question of bringing coals from ,newcastle by sea1 no one would suggest that the ,state should interfere with the private enterprise of individual shipowners4 ,but to bring them by land requires railways1 and railways can only be built by capitals beyond the reach of private individuals4 ,if the ,state had not delegated a portion of its powers to joint-stock companies1 not a ton of coal would ever have been brought by land to ,london4 ,and if the ,state may thus occasionally delegate its powers with advantage to the community1 there are cases in which it may1 with equal advantage1 undertake itself branches of the nation's business4 ,for instance1 the ,postal ,service4 ,the advantages of a cheap and uniform system for the collection and delivery of letters throughout the whole kingdom are so great that they far outweigh any theoretical objections to ,state interference4 ,possibly some of the larger towns might have been as well or better served by private enterprise1 but no non-paying district would have had a post-office1 and the enormous commercial and educational benefits of the penny post would have been in a great measure lost to the community4 ,the case of telegraphs is not so clear4 ,probably1 on the whole1 the advantages of a uniform ,state management preponderate1 but there are drawbacks which make it doubtful4 ,even at a sixpenny rate a great deal of the telegraphic communication of the large towns and active centres of business is taxed to make up for the deficiency of the rest of the kingdom4 ,and invention and improvement in telegraphy are no doubt checked to a considerable extent by creating a ,state monopoly whose first duty it is to try to satisfy its masters at the ,treasury by making the system pay4 ,when we come to railways we are on debateable ground1 and it is fairly arguable that they should be worked by the ,state for the public good4 ,but the objections here outweigh the advantages4 ,every one who has any practical experience of the working of railways must be aware that the simplicity and uniformity of the penny postal system are totally inapplicable1 and that the traffic of the country requires1 above all things1 great freedom and elasticity in meeting1 day by day1 the varying contingencies which arise4 ,here is an illustration3 ,in a certain town in ,france1 on a railway worked by the ,state1 it was determined to have a fte in order to raise funds for a hospital1 and1 as an attraction1 to bring down from ,paris a small troop of actors and have a play in the evening4 ,the question turned on the railway consenting to give them a reduced fare for the return journey4 ,the manager of the railway was quite willing1 but said that he had no power to alter the tariff without permission from the ,minister of ,public ,works4 ,the permission was applied for1 and the result was that it arrived exactly on the day twelve months after the fte had been held4 ,contrast this with the case of the general manager of the ,london and ,north ,western ,railway sitting in his office at ,euston and receiving half a dozen telegrams asking him to quote special rates1 one perhaps for beef from ,chicago to ,london1 another for emigrants from ,hamburg to ,new ,york via ,liverpool1 and all requiring telegraphic answers then and there1 if the business is to be done at all4 ,again1 if railways had been in the hands of the ,state1 ,i do not suppose that we should have had half our present mileage2 for the ,treasury would never have sanctioned the outlay of public money on lines which could not show the prospect of a fair return on the capital1 and it would have vetoed any multiplication of trains or reduction of rates which threatened loss to the exchequer4 ,i can speak with some authority on this point1 for ,i have been both ,chairman of a railway company and ,secretary of the ,treasury1 and ,i am certain that1 in the former capacity1 ,i have introduced important innovations1 such as excursion trains and cheap periodical tickets1 by which the public have greatly benefited1 which ,i should have vetoed in the latter capacity4 ,still there may be exceptional cases1 as that of ,ireland1 where an unreasonable number of poor companies1 in a poor country1 wrangling among themselves1 and giving a bad service at an excessive cost1 intensify social and political evils1 where the arguments in favour of a ,state purchase may outweigh the objections2 and the extent and nature of ,state control over ,british railways is always a question fairly open to discussion4 ,in other departments1 the supply of articles such as water and gas1 and the enforcement of sanitary conditions1 are probably best left to local authorities3 in the latter case1 under some central supervision to see that the duty is not evaded4 ,wherever neglect involves danger to others1 as in the case of small-pox and other contagious epidemics1 it is clear that the decision cannot be left to individuals1 and the ,state is bound to interfere to enforce rational precautions4 ,so also the ,state is bound to undertake trades which are essential for the protection of the nation against foreign enemies4 ,our dockyards and arsenals may1 and doubtless do1 often make mistakes and turn out expensive work2 but we could not safely leave the building of ironclads and supply of cannon solely to private enterprise1 for there is no such large and steady demand for such articles as would induce a number of private firms to erect works and keep up establishments adequate to supply the wants which might arise in an emergency4 ,in all such matters1 therefore1 of national defence we must put up with a certain amount of drawbacks incidental to ,state management1 and confine ourselves to endeavouring to reduce them to a minimum4 ,and this is to a great extent within the power of the nation and its ,parliament1 by applying common-sense principles of business to national expenditure1 and seeing that while on the one hand we get as nearly as possible a pound's worth of work for every pound spent1 on the other hand we do not spend nineteen shillings uselessly1 because some ,chancellor of the ,exchequer wants to gain momentary popularity by the #8penny wise and pound foolish' economy of docking the extra shilling off the necessary estimates4 ,in private life a man gets on by knowing when to spend as well as when not to spend1 and true economy has no greater foe than spasmodic parsimony alternating almost certainly with spasmodic extravagance4 ,it would be easy to multiply instances1 for there are few phases of political and practical life to which the principle of polarity does not apply1 where extremes are not false1 and where there is not a good deal to be said on both sides of the question4 ,but the very obviousness of the principle makes it difficult to deal with it generally without degenerating into commonplace1 while to trace its application exhaustively in any one instance would require a volume4 ,those who wish to pursue the subject further will do well to study the works of ,herbert ,spencer1 where they will find the application of general principles to all the problems of sociology treated with a depth of philosophic insight and an abundance and aptness of illustration which ,i cannot pretend to equal4 ,my ambition is of a humbler nature4 ,i do not expect to set the ,thames on fire1 or to produce a revolution in modern thought2 but ,i do hope that the views which ,i have endeavoured to express may do somewhat to make some readers more tolerant and charitable in their judgments1 less bitter and one-sided in controversy2 and that whatever truth there may be in my ideas will contribute to form a small part1 neither more nor less than it deserves1 of the great body of truth which is handed down from the present to succeeding generations1 and which becomes1 long after ,i am there to witness it1 the inheritance of the human race in the course of its evolution4 ,and now1 before ,i take my final leave of the reader1 let me for a few moments throw the reins on the neck of fancy1 and suppose myself standing with that group of ,parsees by the shore of the ,indian ,ocean1 listening to its murmured rhythm1 inhaling the balmy air1 watching the silver crescent of the new moon1 and musing on the wise sayings of the ancient sage2 the sum of the reflections which ,i have tried to embody in the preceding pages would take form and crystallise in the following sonnet3-- ,hail6 gracious ,ormuzd1 author of all good1 ,spirit of beauty1 purity1 and light2 ,teach me like thee to hate dark deeds of night1 ,and battle ever with the hellish brood ,of ,ahriman1 dread prince of evil mood-- ,father of lies1 uncleanness1 envious spite1 ,thefts1 murders1 sensual sins that shun the light1 ,unreason1 ugliness1 and fancies lewd-- ,grant me1 bright ,ormuzd1 in thy ranks to stand1 ,a valiant soldier faithful to the end2 ,so when ,i leave this life's familiar strand1 ,bound for the great ,unknown1 shall ,i commend ,my soul1 if soul survive1 into thy hand-- ,fearless of fate if thou thine aid will lend4 ,,index4 ,abraham1 #ahf4 ,accumulator1 the electric1 #fc1 #fd4 ,acetic ether1 #gc1 #gd4 ,acids1 #fi1 #gj4 ,aerobes1 #hg1 #hh4 ,affinities1 chemical1 #ea1 #eb1 #ee1 #fh2 of ,zoroastrianism and art1 #bab4 ,agriculture1 #bde4 ,ahriman1 #d1 #ahj1 #bjb1 #bjc1 #bfe4 ,air1 a cubic centimetre of1 #bj2 pressure of1 #bd1 #be4 ,aleutian ,islands1 #ig4 ,alga1 #ie1 #aje2 forests of the1 #ig4 ,algonquins1 funeral custom1 #adi4 ,alizarine manufactured1 #hf4 ,alkalies1 #fi1 #gj4 ,america1 woman in1 #aaa1 #aab2 respect for law in1 #bce4 ,amba1 #gf1 #gg1 #hb2 propagation of the1 #ajc1 #ajd1 #aag4 ,amos1 #ahg4 ,anemone1 sea1 #ajd4 ,angiosperms1 #ih4 ,animal life1 #ib1 #ic2 ,zoroaster enjoins kindness to1 #bjg4 ,aquarium1 #ic2 nature one huge1 #aja4 ,arnold1 ,matthew1 #bjg2 definition of the ,deity by1 #aga4 ,aryan race1 divisions of the1 #aii2 religion of the1 #bjj2 language1 #bjj4 ,assur1 #aec4 ,astronomy1 #e2 in early religions1 #aec4 ,athanasian ,creed1 #aha-ahc4 ,atlantic cable1 #fj1 #fa4 ,atoms1 #e1 #aj1 #ad2 weight of1 #ae-ag2 theory of1 #af2 elementary1 #ah2 and their laws1 #ai1 #bb1 #be2 vibrations of1 #bf2 and ether1 #cb2 and the vortex theory1 #cc1 #cd1 #cf2 action of heat on1 #dc2 and chemical energy1 #ej2 affinities and repulsions of1 #ea2 the primary element of matter1 #ff1 #fg2 polarity of1 #fh2 in hydrates1 #fi2 of hydrogen in acids1 #fi1 #gj2 of oxygen1 #gj2 multipolar1 #ga2 magnetic1 #gb2 dimensions of1 #aai4 ,augustin1 #bja4 ,australia1 free trade in1 #bdb1 #bde4 ,authorities to whom the author is indebted1 x4 ,atavism1 #ajc1 #aah4 ,avogadro1 law of1 #ac4 ,axolotl1 #abc4 ,bacteria1 #he1 #aje4 ,balkh1 ,zoroaster at1 #bja4 ,bees1 reproduction of1 #ajf4 ,bel1 #aeb1 #aec4 ,berkeley1 ,bishop1 #adb4 ,berlin1 spirit-seeing in1 #aff4 ,blindness cured by hypnotism1 #afe4 ,bombay1 death rate in1 #ahha1 #ahhb1 #bah4 ,books1 the best mirrors of an age1 #aaa1 #aab2 modern ,french novels1 #aac4 ,bozu1 ,buddhist priest upon the ,divine ,creator1 #afj1 #afa4 ,brahm1 #aad4 ,brahminism1 #bjg4 ,braid1 ,dr41 cures by hypnotism1 #afe1 #afh1 #aic4 ,brain1 the1 #abe1 #abf2 tissue of the1 #abg2 average weight of the human1 #abi2 organs of the1 #acj1 #aca2 areas of speech1 hearing1 and sight in the1 #acb2 intellectual faculties in the1 #acc2 abnormal state of the1 #acd1 #ace2 action of the grey tissue of the1 #acg2 of the higher animals1 #acg1 #ach2 cells of the1 #adj2 action in a murder1 #ahi2 organ of will in the1 #aia1 #aib2 effect of injuries to the1 #aib2 effect of will on the1 #aid4 ,bret ,harte1 #aaj1 #aab4 ,bruce1 legend of the heart of1 #bbh4 ,buddha1 #ahg4 ,buddhism1 #aef2 in ,shakespeare1 #afj2 the ,divine ,creator in1 #afj1 #afa2 morality of1 #afj1 #ahd2 based upon pessimism1 #agg1 #aig1 #aih1 #bjf1 #bjg4 ,burial of the dead1 #adi2 prehistoric1 #aea2 ,parsee avoidance of1 #bjh4 ,butyric acid1 #gc1 #gd4 ,byron on the ,parsees1 #bai4 ,calculus1 the differential1 #f1 #bh-cb1 #ach4 ,california1 #bef4 ,canterbury1 ,augustin at1 #bja4 ,capital and labour1 #agf1 #bdf-bdh4 ,carbon1 #af1 #ah1 #ga2 in dynamite1 #ej2 radicals of1 #gc1 #gd1 #gg2 in the protoplasm1 #hj2 early abundance of1 #hf2 in a dead body1 #hh2 plant life and1 #ic4 ,carbonic dioxide1 #af1 #ea1 #hb1 #hc1 #ib1 #ie1 #if2 in plant life1 #aja4 ,carlyle1 #aga1 #ahh1 #bea4 ,carnegie1 ,andrew1 on modern worship1 #bai4 ,catholic theology1 #adg4 ,cause1 the ,great ,first1 #abb1 #afb2 ,dr4 ,temple's definition of1 #agj2 evolution of the idea of1 #agb1 #bja1 #bjc2 ,zoroaster and1 #bjd2 the only reasonable theory1 #bjh4 ,cell1 the first step in organisms1 #gh1 #gi2 the nucleated multiplication of the1 #ajd4 ,centrifugal force1 #hi1 #ij1 #aag4 ,centripetal force1 #hi1 #ij1 #aag2 in societies1 #bcc4 ,chaldean legends1 #aeb1 #aec2 of the ,creation1 #aic4 ,chalk1 formation of1 #ie4 ,chemical energy in electricity1 #fj4 ,chemistry1 #e1 #ad1 #be2 elementary substances in1 #ag1 #ah1 #gd2 energy in1 #dg2 a modern law of change1 #ge2 and the protoplasm1 #hd4 ,chinese funeral custom1 #adi2 religion1 origin of the1 #aeb2 religion1 #aef1 #aei2 myths1 #afd2 faith in a virgin mother1 #aee4 ,chlorine1 #af1 #gj1 #ga4 ,christianity1 #aeg1 #aih2 the position of women influenced by1 #ajh1 #aji2 ,pauline1 #agg2 the creed of1 #ahj1 #aha2 impractical1 #ahb2 morality of1 #ahd1 #ahe1 #ahh2 influenced by ,oriental asceticism1 #bab4 ,clausius1 #ai4 ,cleanliness and religion1 #bbc1 #bbd4 ,clerk ,maxwell1 #ai4 ,coal1 #de1 #di1 #ig2 heat in burning1 #fa1 #fb2 land animals found in1 #ii4 ,cobden1 ,richard1 #bdb4 ,colloids1 #gg1 #gh1 #hj4 ,comets1 #be2 supernatural dread of1 #afd4 ,communism1 #beb1 #bec4 ,conceptions1 our1 #adc4 ,confucianism1 #ahd1 #aih4 ,conservative legislation1 #bcj2 in ,england1 #bce4 ,contract1 law of1 #bed1 #bee4 ,creation1 unknown1 #ai2 early myths of the1 #aeb1 #aec4 ,cromwell1 #bac4 ,crystals1 #aj1 #bf-bh4 ,cumming1 ,dr41 #dg4 ,darwin1 #f1 #abb1 #agb2 his theory of ,pangenesis1 #aai2 his theory of evolution1 #aba4 ,david1 #ahf4 ,descartes1 #ada4 ,deus1 derivation of the word1 #bjj4 ,deutsch1 ,emmanuel1 on the ,talmud1 #agb1 #ahh4 ,diamond1 the1 #gd1 #gg4 ,diona1 #if4 ,dog1 will in a1 #ci1 #dj2 sense of right and wrong in a1 #aic4 ,drummond1 ,professor1 #c4 ,dryopithecus1 #ajj4 ,dynamite1 #dh1 #ej1 #gd1 #agf4 ,dynamo1 the1 #fa-fc4 ,earth1 structure of the1 #ea1 #eb2 first temperature of the1 #hf2 orbit of the1 #bb1 #hi1 #aag4 ,echidna1 the1 #abd4 ,education1 #bcg-bdj4 ,egypt1 ancient tombs in1 #adi1 #aej2 animal worship in1 #aej2 priests in1 #aeb2 astronomy in1 #aec1 #aed2 a virgin mother worshipped in1 #aee2 religious morality in1 #ahd4 ,electric energy1 #dg2 light currents1 effects of1 #eg-ei2 telegraph1 #ei1 #fj2 accumulator1 #fa2 light1 #ef1 #eg1 #fa2 engines1 #fb1 #fc4 ,electricity1 #b1 #ad2 ether in1 #be2 nature of1 #eb-ee2 in pith balls1 #eb1 #ec1 #ga1 #gb2 velocity of the current in1 #ef2 and magnets1 #eh1 #ei2 storage of1 #fd4 ,embryology1 #ajf4 ,emerson1 vii4 ,energy1 #b2 nature of1 #ce1 #cf1 #ch1 #ff1 #fg2 of motion and position1 #cg1 #dh2 transformation of1 #da1 #db2 in heat and light1 #dc1 #dd1 #dg2 variations of1 #dg1 #dh2 molecular1 #di2 chemical1 #ej2 in electricity1 #ed-eg2 cost of1 obtained from zinc1 #fa1 #fb2 conservation of1 #fb1 #fc1 #aci4 ,england1 conservatism in1 #bcf1 #bcg2 education in1 #bcg-bci2 free trade in1 #bdc4 ,english literature1 #aaa2 woman in1 #aab1 #aac2 colonisation1 #bcb4 ,eozoon ,canadiense1 #ii4 ,ethelbert1 #bja4 ,ether1 #bb1 #cf2 density of1 #bd1 #be2 waves1 #bf1 #dc2 vibrations of1 #bg2 attempt to identify1 with atoms1 #cb1 #ce2 nature of1 #ff4 ,evil1 origin of1 #agj1 #agc2 attempts to reconcile it with good1 #agh2 consistent with theory of ,god1 #agc1 #bjb2 modern treatment of1 #bbd4 ,evolution1 #f1 #h1 #aba2 of religion1 #d1 #aee1 #aef1 #ahe1 #ahf2 of matter1 #hj2 of life1 #ajj2 important facts in the history of1 #abc2 does not tend to virtue1 #agc1 #agf2 of moral ideas1 #ahf1 #aia2 of the horror of murder1 #ahi1 #aij4 ,fable of the shield1 #bbg-bcj2 applied to politics1 #bcj2 to commerce1 #bdc1 #bdd4 8,faust0 a ,zoroastrian drama1 #bji4 ,ferdousi1 #bja4 ,fermentation1 #hg1 #hh4 ,ferns in the primary epoch1 #ig4 ,fetish worship1 #aej4 ,fiji1 #adi1 #ahi4 ,fire1 primitive means of obtaining1 #da2 worship1 #bjg1 #bbj4 ,fish shells in the ,tertiary epoch1 #ih2 in the ,silurian epoch1 #ii4 ,fungi1 #ie4 ,france1 protection in1 #bdf2 state railways in1 #bfa4 ,franklin1 ,benjamin1 #afc4 ,french ,revolution1 #bca1 #bcc2 colonisation1 #bcb2 trade in a colony1 #bcc4 ,frog with the brain removed1 #acg4 ,galileo1 #adg1 #afd1 #bje4 ,gallio1 #bci4 ,gas in dynamite1 #ea4 ,gases1 law of1 #aa-ac2 in water1 #ad2 kinetic theory of1 #ad1 #cc2 substances reduced to1 #dd2 expansion of1 #de4 ,galton1 ,mr4 ,f41 #bdj4 ,genesis1 the ,creation in1 #aeb1 #aec4 ,geology1 #e2 records of1 #if2 earliest strata of1 #ig2 vegetable records in1 #if-ih2 animal records in1 #ii1 #ajj4 ,geometry1 #aci4 ,george1 ,henry1 #bef4 ,ghosts1 universal belief in1 #adi-aea4 ,glass1 #di1 #ec4 ,globigerena1 #ie4 ,god1 ,buddhist idea of1 #afa2 a magnified man1 #agj1 #aga2 ,carlyle on1 #aga2 ,arnold's definition of1 #aga2 ,jewish doctors on1 #agb2 prevalent idea of miraculous intervention by1 #agc2 the author of good and evil1 #agi2 primitive ,aryan word for1 #bjj4 ,grammar1 #bci1 #bdj4 ,gravity1 the law of1 #e1 #af1 #dh1 #di1 #aba1 #add2 atoms subject to the1 #cd2 universal confidence in the1 #adh2 a dangerous heresy1 #afd4 ,greeks1 religion amongst the1 #aee1 #aef4 ,gushtasp1 #bja4 ,gymnosperms1 #ig1 #ih4 ,haeckel1 #aai1 #abb4 ,hale1 ,justice1 #afd4 ,halley1 #afd4 ,haug1 ,dr41 #bjb1 #bje4 ,heat1 produced by work1 #da1 #db2 nature of1 #dc2 performs work1 #dd1 #dg2 and electricity1 #ed1 #fa2 and the stability of substances1 #gd2 in chemistry1 #ge4 ,helmholz1 #cb4 ,hercules1 #aic1 #aig4 ,heredity1 the principle of1 #aag-aba2 in education1 #bdj4 ,hesperornis1 #abc4 ,hillel1 morality of1 #ahh4 ,hindoo religion1 #aeb1 #aef2 migration1 #aii4 ,horace1 #afc4 ,horse1 #aai4 ,human remains in ,tertiary period1 #ajj2 implements1 prehistoric1 #add1 #ade4 ,hume1 #afb4 ,huxley1 ,professor1 v41 vi41 #gh1 #hf1 #abb1 #agb1 #bjc2 on spontaneous generation1 #he2 on the protista1 #id2 on the uniformity of law in ,nature1 #adf4 ,hydrates1 #fi4 ,hydrochloric acid1 #af1 #gj1 #ga4 ,hydrogen1 #aa1 #ac1 #af-ah1 #gj1 #ga1 #gd1 #ge2 composition of1 #ae2 in the sun1 #bf2 in dynamite1 #ej2 in 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