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diff --git a/9307-h/9307-h.htm b/9307-h/9307-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..fffe71c --- /dev/null +++ b/9307-h/9307-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,8588 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> + +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" > + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> + <head> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=UTF-8" /> + <title> + Life: Its True Genesis, by R. W. Wright + </title> + <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + + h1,h2,h3,h4 { text-align: center; font-weight: bold; font-variant: small-caps } + h1,h2 { margin-top: 2em } + .smallcaps { font-variant: small-caps } + img { border-style: none } + +</style> + </head> + <body> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Life: Its True Genesis, by R. W. Wright + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most +other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions +whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of +the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at +www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have +to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. + +Title: Life: Its True Genesis + +Author: R. W. Wright + +Posting Date: August 24, 2014 [EBook #9307] +Release Date: November, 2005 +First Posted: September 19, 2003 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LIFE: ITS TRUE GENESIS *** + + + + +Produced by Distributed Proofreaders + + + + + +</pre> + <h1> + Life: Its True Genesis + </h1> + <h2 style="margin-top: .5em"> + By R. W. Wright + </h2> + <p> + [Masoretic Hebrew.]--אֲׁשֶֽר זַרְעוׄ־בִל עַל־הָאָ֑רֶע׃.-- + </p> + <p> + Οὗ τὸ σπέρμα αὐτοῦ ἐν + αὐτῷ χατὰ γένος ἐπὶ + τῆς γῆς. [Septuagint.] + </p> + <p> + "Whose general principle of life, each in itself after its own kind, is + upon the earth." [Correct Translation.] + </p> + <h3> + Second Edition + </h3> + <h4> + 1884 + </h4> + <p> + RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED<br /> TO<br /> ARTHUR E. HOTCHKISS, ESQ.<br /> OF + CHESHIRE, CONN. + </p> + <h2> + Contents. + </h2> + <p> + <a href="#pref">Prefatory</a> + </p> + <p> + Chapter I. <a href="#01">Introductory.</a><br /> Chapter II. <a href="#02">Life--Its + True Genesis.</a><br /> Chapter III. <a href="#03">Alternations of Forest + Growths.</a><br /> Chapter IV. <a href="#04">The Distribution and Vitality + of Seeds.</a><br /> Chapter V. <a href="#05">Plant Migration and + Interglacial Periods.</a><br /> Chapter VI. <a href="#06">Distribution and + Permanence of Species.</a><br /> Chapter VII. <a href="#07">What Is Life? + Its Various Theories.</a><br /> Chapter VIII. <a href="#08">Materialistic + Theories of Life Refuted.</a><br /> Chapter IX. <a href="#09">Force-Correlation, + Differentiation and Other Life Theories.</a><br /> Chapter X. <a href="#10">Darwinism + Considered from a Vitalistic Stand-point.</a> + </p> + <h2> + Preface to Second Edition. + </h2> + <p> + Here is the law of life, as laid down by the eagle-eyed prophet Isaiah, in + that remarkable chapter commencing, "Ho, every one that + thirsteth"--whether it be after knowledge, or any other earthly or + spiritual good--come unto me and I will give you that which you seek. This + is the spirit of the text, and these are the words at the commencement of + the tenth verse: + </p> + <p> + "As the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not + thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it (<i>the earth</i>) bring + forth and bud (<i>not first bud, bear seed, and then bring forth</i>), + that it (<i>the earth</i>) may give seed to the sower, and bread to the + eater (<i>man being the only sower of seed and eater of bread</i>): so + shall my Word be (<i>the Word of Life</i>) that goeth forth out of my + mouth (<i>the mouth of the Lord</i>); it shall not return unto me void (<i>i.e., + lifeless</i>), but it shall accomplish that which I (<i>the Lord Jehovah</i>) + please, and it (<i>the living Word</i>) shall prosper in the thing whereto + I sent it." + </p> + <p> + This formula of life is as true now as it was over two thousand six + hundred years ago, when it was penned by the divinely inspired prophet, + and it is as true now as it was then, that "Instead of the thorn shall + come up the fir tree, and instead of the briar shall come up the myrtle + tree; and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that + shall not be cut off." That is, as the rains descend and the floods come + and change the face of the earth, a law, equivalent to the divine command, + "Let the earth bring forth," is forever operative, changing the face of + nature and causing it to give expression to new forms of life as the + conditions thereof are changed, and these forms are spoken into existence + by the divine fiat. + </p> + <p> + In all the alternations of forest growths that are taking place to-day, on + this continent or elsewhere, this one vital law is traceable everywhere. + </p> + <p> + In the course of the next year, it will be as palpable in the Island of + Java, recently desolated by the most disastrous earthquake recorded in + history, as in any other portion of the earth, however free from such + volcanic action. On the very spot where mountain ranges disappeared in a + flaming sea of fire, and other ranges were thrown up in parallel lines but + on different bases, and where it was evident that every seed, plant, tree, + and thing of life perished in one common vortex of ruin, animal as well as + vegetable life will make its appearance in obedience to this law, as soon + as the rains shall again descend, cool the basaltic and other rocks, and + the life-giving power referred to by Isaiah once more become operative. + There is no more doubt of this in the mind of the learned naturalist, than + in that of the most devout believer of the Bible, from which this most + remarkable formula is taken. + </p> + <p> + We have no disposition to arraign the American and European "Agnostics," + as they are pleased to call themselves, for using the term "Nature" + instead of God, in their philosophical writings. + </p> + <p> + As long as they are evidently earnest seekers after <i>Truth</i> as it is + to be found in nature--the work of God--they are most welcome into the + temple of science, and their theories deserve our thoughtful + consideration. It is only when they become dogmatic, and assert + propositions that have no foundation in truth, as we sincerely believe, + that we propose to break a lance at their expense, and lay bare their + fallacies. We claim nothing more for ourself, as a scientific writer, than + we are willing and ready to accord to them. Indeed, we would champion + their right to be heard sooner than we would our own, on the principle + that it is our duty to be just to others before we are generous to + ourselves, or those of our own following. But our Agnostic friends should + remember that when they charge us with being "dogmatic in science," the + charge should be made good from a scientific stand-point, and not merely + by the bandying of words. + </p> + <p> + When they tell us, for instance, that a toad has hibernated for a million + years in any one of the stratified rocks near the surface of the ground, + we interpose the objection that none of these batrachian forms can exist + for a period of more than twelve months without air and food. And yet they + have been blasted out of cavities in the surface rocks of the earth, where + they have apparently lain for the period named by our scientific friends + referred to. The fault is not ours, but theirs, that they are in error. + Had they determined to study the subject of life, as we have done, from + the Bible as well as from nature, they would have commenced at these + toad-producing rocks, and worked their way upward to the source of all + life, and not downward to the vanishing point--that where animal life + ceases in the azoic rocks. The batrachians are low down in the scale of + nature, but they have a determinate period of existence, as do all other + forms of life. Try your experiments with them; see how long they will live + without light, air, and food. This you can do as well as ourself. Conform + to all the conditions required--the absolute exclusion of light, air, and + food--and you will find that the toughest specimen experimented with is a + dead batrachian inside of one year. + </p> + <p> + This experimental test should settle the question of lengthened vitality + between us. There is no miracle about this matter at all, and science + finds no stumbling-block in the way of a complete explication of this + riddle, if, in the light of nature, there be any such riddle. We claim + there is not, when we interpret nature in the light of nature's God. Let + the earth, or rather its silicious and other decaying rocks, bring forth + these batrachian forms. The command is imperative and not dependent upon + any "seed" previously scattered or sown in the earth itself. + </p> + <p> + The father of the writer was Superintendent of the Green Mountain Turnpike + Company, extending from Bellows Falls to Rutland, Vt., from 1812 to 1832, + and worked every rod of that road many times over. From our earliest + boyhood we accompanied him on these working trips, attended by a large + force of laboring men, and our attention was early called to the + characteristics of these toad-producing rocks. The rotting slates, shales, + sandstones, shists, and rocks of various kinds, were often ploughed up by + the road-sides, and the <i>débris</i> scraped into the centre of + the road-beds; the heaviest ploughs of that day being used to cut through + these wayside rocks, and often requiring as many as six or eight yoke of + oxen to break the necessary furrow. In many of these decaying slates, + shists, sandstones etc., hundreds of young toads, many of them not more + than half an inch in length, were turned out at different seasons of the + year, showing that they were produced independently of any parent + batrachian, there being no trace of a mother toad in connection with them. + </p> + <p> + The parent toads bury themselves in the gardens and ploughed fields in the + early autumn, and if they survive the severity of the winter months, may + propagate their kind the second year, and probably for several years. But + they require remarkably favorable conditions to continue their life for + any considerable number of years in open-field propagation, while under no + circumstances whatever can they make their way into these decaying rocks + in order to propagate their species. The reason why such fresh specimens + appear under these circumstances, and in the cavities of the rocks named, + is conclusively that indicated by the prophet Isaiah, in the text quoted + by us; and when Professor Agassiz was forced to admit that trout must have + made their appearance in the fresh-water streams emptying into Lake + Superior, instead of originating elsewhere, it is to be regretted, for the + sake of science, that he did not boldly enunciate the formula of life as + taught by the eagle-eyed prophet of the Bible, and not as proclaimed by + the owl-eyed professors of the London University College. + </p> + <p> + What is true of the trout in these Lake Superior streams, is true of them + almost everywhere, even right in the town of Cheshire, Conn., where we are + inditing this preface, the 10th day of October, 1883. We recently visited + the Rev. David D. Bishop, in the northeastern portion of this township, + where that cultured gentleman was constructing an artificial trout-pond. + It was at a season of the greatest drought known for years in that portion + of the town. + </p> + <p> + The point selected for this trout-pond was at the farthest eastern source + of what is known as "Honey Pot" brook in Cheshire, a famous one for trout + in former years. Mr. Bishop proposed to stock his pond with the best spawn + he could procure. We remarked to him that there was no need of that + expense, as no stream ever produced better trout than the "Honey Pot"; and + on closely examining one of the six or eight cold springs developed in his + enclosure, to his surprise, not ours, we discovered several small trout, + not more than six weeks old, as lively as they could well be under the + blasting operations then going on there; while his children were fishing + out from the rocks any number of young frogs (of the common <i>Rana</i> + family), abounding wherever rocks and water make their appearance in + similar localities. This incident was all the more remarkable for the + reason that this small stream, or rather source of one, had been + apparently dry for months, as had been many of the best wells in the town. + </p> + <p> + Our well, in the western part of the town, had been dug some six feet into + the solid rock and an inexhaustible supply of the coldest water secured. + We invited our neighbors, those living on both sides of us, as well as at + some distance from us, to come and draw all the water they wanted, + remarking that they might now and then draw up a small frog, originating + therein, but that, by fishing him out of the pail, he would make his way + to the neighboring streams not dry, and would flourish well enough as one + of the <i>Rana</i> family. It was only to our more intelligent neighbors + (such as Mr. Bishop) who had read our work on "Life," that we stopped to + explain this phenomenal fact. And so of all life, wherever it appears, + whether vegetable or animal. Our experiments with mosquitoes are equally + conclusive. Three years ago we took two barrels of rain-water from our + cistern, tightly covered; one barrel we left open to the warm sun and air, + and the other we covered with the finest mosquito netting. The barrel left + open was soon thronged with mosquitoes, constructing their little rafts of + eggs and paving their way for the swarms of young wigglers that in the + course of a week or two made their appearance in the open barrel in + immense numbers. The process by which these wigglers hatch out into + mosquitoes is an interesting one, and will bear the closest study, as well + as scientifically pay for watching the operation. At the proper time they + come to the surface of the water, undergo a palpable modification in their + structure, and beautifully burgeon forth into the tormenting little + insects that they are during the summer and autumn months in our Northern + climate. The object of the covered barrel was to ascertain whether we + could reach the conditions favorable for the development of this little + pest of the <i>Culex</i> family, independently of the eggs of the insect + itself. This required some patience and not a little care. We knew that an + egg dropped through the interstices of the netting would sink to the + bottom of the water and fail to germinate, as every scientist + understanding the process well knows. It must be floated on the water at + first, or until it reaches the point of development into a wiggler. The + first step in the process of its life is as cunningly devised as the + second, and the second as the third, until the full-fledged mosquito is + reached. + </p> + <p> + All precautions must be taken against any mistake or error in the + experiment named. But we persevered and found nature responsive to our + demands. Wigglers after awhile made their appearance sparsely in the + covered barrel, but the mosquitoes developed from them proved innocuous of + harm, as we kept the barrel covered, and they were soon drowned in the + water, not having sufficient area of flight to answer the conditions of + their life. We might instance some remarkable discoveries in the vegetable + world, showing conclusively that plants and trees come without seed, and + we feel the more pride in this discovery because we have been assured by + Prof. Othniel C. Marsh, of Yale College, a gentleman highly distinguished + in his specialties, that if we would show that an oak tree came without an + acorn, he would abandon Evolution and accept the exposition given by us of + the Bible genesis; but we have no special ambition to make so eminent a + convert from Herbert Spencer's ranks. He is a much younger man than + ourself, but the great English Evolutionist or Involutionist, whichever he + may ultimately decide to call himself, is about the writer's own age, and, + for special reasons, he would prefer to win him to the vital side of this + question, that he may act with Professor Beale in the great controversy + now waging in England on this subject, and we will assure both Prof. + Marsh, and his friend, Herbert Spencer, that if either of them will show + that an acorn comes without an oak tree, we will abandon any position we + have taken on this subject, and accept theirs, however absurdly (to our + mind) it may have been taken in the past. We know that "tall oaks from + little acorns grow;" but that is when man becomes the sower of seed, and + knows the origin of each specific tree that is brought forth. When we talk + about the squirrel, or the birds becoming the "sowers of seeds," + especially the acorns, we are talking at random, and without any certain + knowledge. This we say with all due deference and respect to our learned + Agnostic friends, and wish they would treat their vitalistic brothers with + the same becoming courtesy. + </p> + <p> + In a work which we have now in preparation for the press, to be entitled + "Biodynamics; or, The Laws of Life," we shall give this "seed question" a + more exhaustive inquiry than we have yet done. + </p> + <p> + Our proofs in regard to one form of life are equally applicable to any + other plant, insect, or animal, and there is no greater or less mystery in + the life of a blade of grass than in the cedar of Lebanon figuring so + conspicuously in the historic page. + </p> + <p> + When the Nile overflowed its banks in ancient times, and caused the young + frogs to swarm up as a pest upon the Egyptians, the same law of life was + operative in that land, as when warm thunder-showers pelt the earth with + us in the summer season, causing hundreds and thousands of these + batrachians to come out of the gritty waysides, and swarm along our + highways and by-ways, leading ignorant and thoughtless people to suppose + that they have rained down from the sky. The simple fact is, that the + earth was commanded to bring them forth, and that great mother of all + vegetable and animal life is obeying the command to-day, just as she did + in the beginning. + </p> + <p> + One of the greatest errors that science has yet committed, or rather that + scientific men have stumbled upon, is the theory that all living forms + have appeared but once in time and place, and that they have thence + diffused themselves, in pairs, throughout the globe, as from specific + centres of origin. In the primeval oceans, whenever and wherever the + environing conditions of matter were the same or identical, the like + living forms made their appearance and flourished for hundreds and + thousands of years, and finally disappeared, in a fossilized state, as + their environing conditions were changed. They came not genetically--as in + pairs--but thronged the seas in thousands and millions as the divine edict + went forth. + </p> + <p> + As another conclusive proof, to our mind, of the existence of this law of + life, we instance the case of the mango-tree growing in the West India + Islands, especially along the sea-shore, where it becomes the natural <i>habitat</i> + of the oyster. It is the belief of some ignorant persons that the oyster + climbs these trees and deposits its spawn or "spat" upon the extreme limbs + of the same as they bend down toward the water. This is manifestly an + error, and belongs to the same class of fallacies as the common impression + that toads rain down from the sky. The smaller mango-trees growing about + the bays and inlets of these islands, furnish, as we have said, a natural + <i>habitat</i> for the oyster, and as the salt sea-spray washes their + roots and the bark of their trunks, the long thin-shelled oysters of that + region make their appearance thereon without the presence of spawn, just + as they do when old oyster-shells are dumped along our sand-banks in New + England. On these dumped shells oysters will be produced abundantly, + simply because the conditions are favorable, and not in consequence of the + presence of "spat." Oysters have little, if any, locomotive power, and can + no more climb the mango-tree than they can scale the cliffs of the Azores. + The reason why they hang in pendent clusters from the extreme boughs of + the mango in the West India Islands is, that these boughs are sprayed upon + by the rippling waters, and the environing conditions being favorable, the + indifferent oyster of that region makes its appearance. + </p> + <p> + There has been no migration of the oyster from one centre of origin to + another, any more than there has been a transference of the white whale + from the arctic seas to the fiery equator. Every thing has its place in + nature, and comes with or without seed as natural laws determine. During + the last year I have gathered cedar trees that did not make their + appearance till late in August and September, long after the seed of the + previous year had entirely disappeared, and there was no more life in them + than there is in acorns that have crossed the Atlantic a dozen times in + bulk. And the late Henry D. Thoreau, in his "Excursions," says that they + will not stand one such shipment to Europe, and that every acorn that does + not sprout by the end of November of the year it matures, is hopelessly a + dead acorn. This is in harmony with our experience, and we have no doubt + of the correctness of his observations. How absurd, then, to suppose that + acorns can retain their vitality so as to germinate after years of + out-door or other exposure. The seeds of forest-trees that mature in May + and June, or the majority of them at least, have to be planted in those + months, as all persons engaged in forest culture well know. This is + specially true of cedars and oaks, as well as of elms and maples. + </p> + <p> + Study the paleontological facts as given by Prof. Frederick McCoy, of the + University of Melbourne, in Australia, a gentleman highly distinguished + for his learning and research. He has explored portions of that continent + as far down as the azoic rocks, and made many important discoveries as to + the past life of the globe. His researches have been especially rich in + the Cambrian or Lower Silurian epochs, and have led to many modifications + in the classification of the various forms of life pervading those earlier + periods, and we may say that the facts he has brought to light tend + strongly to show the correctness of our theory as taken from the biblical + text; as, for instance, the <i>Trilobites</i>, occurring so abundantly in + what is known as the Utica slates. Wherever the slates make their + appearance, whether in Australia, America, or any portion of Europe, this + fossil, characteristic of the Silurian and Devonian systems, appeared, not + so much in time and place as in extended localities and + conditions--indicating the presence of a law of life such as we have + enunciated. We once inquired of the elder Prof. Silliman how long it took + for the formation of one of these periods or systems? His reply was curt + and pertinent: "It took long enough, young man!" That satisfied us at the + time, and we have never asked the question since. It is prying beyond + scientific depth, and the ablest scholars in the world will so regard it + in the end. + </p> + <p> + All fossils follow the same developmental law, and seem to have been + governed by corresponding conditions everywhere. The doctrine of "<i>similia + similibus gignuntur</i>"--similar conditions producing similar + forms--obtains universally. The <i>Graptolites</i>, occurring in the + bituminous shales of the Silurian sandstone period, afford only another + instance of the same law to which we have called the attention of our + readers. In fact, the annals of natural history abound in the most + conclusive proofs, as well in the fossilized as the living world, of what + the paramount text of the Bible teaches us. + </p> + <p> + When Professor Ehrenberg, one of the most distinguished classifiers of + minute forms of life in the world, declared, as he recently did before the + Royal Geographical Society of London, that there was "a great invisible + rock-and earth-forming life in nature," he came pretty near enunciating a + great truth in science; and had he connected his language with the + induction of "environing conditions" and the sequence of life therefrom, + he would have accomplished what we undertook to do in our work begun + several years ago, but not completed and published until 1880. For it will + be seen that we had been gathering the material for "Life: Its True + Genesis" for many years before we sat down to the task of writing it. + </p> + <p> + When we said to one of our most intimate college friends that we were less + than six months preparing it for the press, we stated what was literally + true; but we had no intention of giving him to understand that we had + spent only that time in gathering the vast amount of material at our + command--twenty times as much as we could possibly use in the preparation + of such a volume for the press. The long months and even years of toil and + study spent by us in the needful preparation, were a part of the labor, as + every author, writing intelligently on any subject, knows. The immense + amount of care and labor that enabled Hermann von Meyer to prepare his + paper on the <i>Archæopterix</i>, rescued from the lithographic + slate, is a case in point, as showing how small apparently the labor of + accomplishing a great work for science. The time devoted to preparing the + paper was trifling as compared with the result of his achievement. And so + with every one who enters the temple of science with a devout wish to + attain success. + </p> + <p> + It will be apparent to the religious mind of this country and England, if + not to that of Mr. Tyndall himself, that, if the exegetical rendering we + have extended to the Bible be correct, there is no necessity whatever for + the vast uncomputed periods of time intervening the different geological + strata, to which that scientific gentleman refers in his fanciful musings + upon the Matterhorn! + </p> + <p> + Nor is there any such necessity for it, if what Professor Ehrenberg says + be true in regard to the basaltic rocks thrown up by volcanic action in + the Island of St. Paul. For if these rocks possess this mysterious power + of life, He who made them manifestly imparted it. One thing is certain, at + least, the rocks did not make themselves; nor did they impart to + themselves any life-originating power after they were made. The same power + that originated them originated all their characteristic properties, and + the same may be said of Professor Tyndall's "sky-mist" or any other + mistier name suggested by scientific men. We have only to take the + "Thesaurus" of the Silurian period, and connect it with the induction of + the biblical text, and we shall see that the forms characteristic of that + period appeared not only synchronously in time and space, but also in + physical conditions, and consequently, that no immense epochs were + expended in the propagation, of species on the "two-pair" theory of our + materialistic friends. They simply flourished over vast areas for a while, + and were then locked up as fossils where they are now found. How long it + took for this transformation to take place is manifestly beyond any data + we may now have for determining. In the case of some artificial baths in + which crystalline forms appear, we know that it takes only a few weeks at + least, and why should natural processes be any more delinquent or + defective in their operation than those that are purely artificial? + Remember that we are not "musing on the Matterhorn" as was the gifted + English naturalist, but upon the text of the equally gifted Isaiah, and + pondering the works of God as seen by the devout prophet in his day. When + Mr. Tyndall can tell us how long it took God to lift the towering + Matterhorn from its base, he will be in a frame of mind to answer the + other problems involved in the controversy between us. In an instant--the + twinkling of an eye--some of these phenomena have occurred, and recent + events, such as wide volcanic disturbances, show how idle it is for man to + place a limit to the power of the Most High. Even the "red snow," + unmistakably a vegetal formation, appearing at times on the loftier Alps, + is as much a proof of God's power as the ragged mountain peaks on which it + appears--covering vast areas within a few hours' time. + </p> + <p> + When such men as the late Professor Silliman, and Professor Dana, Sen'r, + of Yale College, take up the Bible genesis, and speak in high commendation + of its value to science, it is idle for the Agnostics of that or any other + institution of learning to speak sneeringly of their efforts. They both + know (for the elder Benjamin Silliman "still lives") that the first + command of this genesis was, for the earth to bring forth its vegetation, + not from "seed" distinctively so-called, but from the germinal principles + of life therein; what Ehrenberg calls the "rock-and earth-forming life" or + power of life in matter. + </p> + <p> + That the second command was, for the waters of the earth to bring forth + their specific forms of life, including the birds; just where science now + asserts they originally came from. + </p> + <p> + And that the third command was, for the earth to bring forth the beasts + thereof, and every creeping thing thereon. Here the "rock-and + earth-forming" power of life ceased, and the language of the genesis + changes. It is no longer "Let the earth bring forth," but let the Divine + energy intervene! + </p> + <p> + "Let us (the divine Trinity in Unity) make man in our own image"--after + our own conception of what he should be--the being of two worlds, the + material and spiritual; and man was made accordingly. God breathed into + his nostrils the breath of life, and he became a "living soul." This is + the record--brief, grand, historic. No "evolution," no "involution," no + word without sense or meaning. He who was to have dominion, in his limited + sphere, over all the earth, thus came in due time for a wiser and grander + purpose than man has yet seen; but which, in the providence of God and the + light of His word, he will yet come to see, as scientific truth advances + with the march of religious knowledge. Heaven speed the day when this + millennium of truth shall dawn upon us here! + </p> + <p> + In this remarkable genesis we have a bridge that spans the chasm between + the man and the anthropoid ape as no other bridge spans it. It is a bridge + over which is flung the living garment of God, and angelic hosts may pass + it to and fro, as well as the master-minds of our own and future ages. It + takes man out of the category of a "beast of the earth," and places him + where all soul-aspiration lifts us--lifts even Robert G. Ingersoll, in his + higher inspirational moods, or will lift him when his extreme material + dogmatisms and false teachings desert him, as we trust they some day will. + Let him read the "Student," by Bulwer, and he will learn how narrowly + Voltaire escaped becoming a "Reformer" in the Church of England, instead + of the violent antagonist he was of the corrupt Church of Rome in France. + We do not make ourselves; it is the environing circumstances and + conditions in which we are placed which oftentimes determine our career + for good or for evil. + </p> + <p> + We had proposed embodying in this Preface one or two caustic reviews of + our late work, from an Agnostic source, but have been deterred from so + doing, for the reason that we deem it in bad taste as well as irrelevant + at this late day. We shall be pardoned, however, in alluding to <i>The + National Quarterly Review</i>, for the captious manner in which it treated + us after we had courteously replied to several inquiries made of us in its + two- or three-page review. After complaining that we had been "hailed, by + a class of callow religious critics, as a 'Savior' from scientific error + and enormities," it charged us with certain unscrupulous methods of + criticism,--such as putting language into Mr. Darwin's mouth that he never + thought of uttering, etc., etc. And as this pretentious Quarterly put + several questions to us, such as "When and where the great Evolutionist + had taught any such doctrine as this?" we ventured to reply as courteously + as we knew how. We endeavored to treat our reviewer fairly, as he had + handsomely accorded to us the credit of "searching the fields of natural + science, lance in hand, to deal hard thrusts at impious skeptics, + materialists, and evolutionists--of which Mr. Darwin and Mr. Bastian fare + the most severely." But we had no thought of using these offensive + adjectives toward either of the distinguished gentlemen named, and did not + so use them; however "unscrupulous" our methods may have been in other + respects. Our reply was unnoticed by the bulky Quarterly, and we were + content with knowing that it was received by its editor, and shared the + fate of all intrusive communications which it is easier to throw into the + waste-basket, especially in hot weather, than to answer in the interests + of science, when such answers are difficult to be made. This was the first + and only discussion we attempted to provoke with our "exhaustive + Reviewers," and it will, in all probability, be the last. Little is gained + by these polemical controversies, when conducted in the spirit of + unfairness, or with greater asperity than the true interests of journalism + demand. The beauty of its kindly advice to us, as a "scientific critic," + was that every word of it came back, as a cruel boomerang, into the + writer's own face. + </p> + <p> + But this is enough. For the last three years we have been mostly engaged + in writing another book, the character of which is already sufficiently + indicated in this Preface. The reasons why we have been led to adhere to + our original purpose of making this a "Bible Genesis," as <i>The National + Quarterly Review</i> speaks of it, are best known to our more intimate + friends, and we do not propose to disappoint them in their expectations. + </p> + <p> + If we have failed to make our theory understood by others, we regret it; + if others fail to understand the inspired text, it is manifestly a matter + for them to regret, and for us to deplore. + </p> + <p> + To those who have spoken kindly of "Life: Its True Genesis," we return our + thanks: to those who have extended to it their sharpest criticisms, in + what they believe the true interests of science, we also return our + thanks. We have no fear that Truth will be crushed in this contest: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + "Truth crushed to earth shall heavenward rise again,<br /> Like wayside + flowers that lift their heads, aglow<br /> With a far sweeter fragrance + when they've been<br /> All rudely trampled on by hostile foe,<br /> Than + when in Flora's gentle arms they've lain<br /> The long night through, + and wake at early dawn<br /> To greet Aurora--jewelled queen of morn!" + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + R. W. Wright. + </p> + <p> + West Cheshier, Conn., <i>Oct</i>. 12, 1883. + </p> + <h2> + <a name="pref" id="pref"></a>Prefatory. + </h2> + <p> + The office of a preface is twofold; first, to introduce the author to the + public; second, to introduce his work. As the writer seeks no personal + introduction, beyond what a favorable or unfavorable reception of his work + may give him, he leaves the more formal, if not formidable branch of + salutation untouched. + </p> + <p> + The work has cost him some labor, as the reader will see. The field he has + traversed is vast and varied, and the facts he has gathered are numerous + and from many and diversified sources--all bearing more or less + conclusively on the one vital point he seeks to establish, viz: <i>That + the primordial germs (meaning germinal principles of life) of all living + things, man alone excepted, are in themselves upon the earth, and that + they severally make their appearance, each after its kind, whenever and + wherever the necessary environing conditions exist</i>. + </p> + <p> + The foundation of this emphatic formula we find in the Bible Genesis, in + the words given on our title-page, which are more accurately translated in + the Septuagint, than in our common English version of the Old Testament. + The words are to be found in the 11th verse of the first chapter of + Genesis, and the writer confidently believes that they contain the true + Genesis of Life, although entirely overlooked, heretofore, by both the + biblical and scientific scholar. + </p> + <p> + In the work which he here gives to the public, he will endeavor to show + that all the vital phenomena of our globe, with the single exception + named, find their complete explication in this Genesis of Life; and that + we have only to take the scientific Genesis out of some of its more + imposing categories, to make the two either entirely harmonize, or fall + into the same lines of incidence in human thought. + </p> + <p> + Science has long taught that the <i>absence</i> of necessary physiological + conditions results everywhere in the <i>disappearance</i> of vital + phenomena; by reversing its logical methods, it will also find that the <i>presence</i> + of these necessary conditions results everywhere in the <i>appearance</i> + of vital phenomena. Take, for instance, the vegetation of Northern Europe, + where it is known that the oak succeeded the pine, and the beech the oak, + after each had held possession of the soil for we know not how many + thousand years. In bringing about the necessary conditions of soil, the + pine paved the way for the oak, and that in turn paved the way for the + beech. Neither sprang from the other, nor did the "selection of the + fittest" have anything to do with the appearance or disappearance of + either. Each yielded fruit "after his kind," whose "seed" (germinal + principle of life) was in itself, i.e., after its own kind, upon the + earth, and made its appearance spontaneously,--that is, without the + presence of natural seed,--whenever the necessary environing conditions + favored. + </p> + <p> + And the same law of vegetal propagation is everywhere operative to-day, in + the alternations of forest growths, the spontaneous appearance of oak + forests where pine have been cleared away, and <i>vice versa</i>, in some + parts of the country, where heavy forests of oak timber have been felled. + So with the new growths of timber springing up in the paths of tornadoes, + over large burnt districts, in soils brought up from below the last + glacial drift, and in hundreds of other instances which the reader will + find conclusively verified in these pages,--all making their appearance + without the possible intervention of natural seeds. + </p> + <p> + The great value of the Septuagint, as compared with other versions of the + Hebrew Bible, will appear from the fact that it is older by many hundred + years than any manuscript copy of the Hebrew text now extant. It was + undoubtedly translated at Alexandria, in Egypt, as early as the third + century before Christ, while the oldest known Hebrew MS. is a Pentateuch + roll dating no further back than A. D. 580. Its translators had before + them much older and more perfect MSS. than any that survived to the time + of the masoretic recension, when an attempt was made to give uniformity to + the readings and renderings of the Hebrew text by means of the vowel + points, diacritical signs, terminal letters, etc., all of which are now + subject to rejection by the best Oriental scholarship. + </p> + <p> + According to Irenæus, this Greek version was rendered at the request + of Ptolemy Lagi, in order to add to the treasures of the Alexandrian + library, and it no doubt derived its name from the number of Hebrew and + Hellenistic scholars,--probably the most eminent to be found in that + day,--employed upon the work. The version comes, therefore, with paramount + authority to our own times; and we accept its Greek rendering as the + highest and most conclusive evidence of the authenticity of the text, and + the "new genesis of life" we derive therefrom. + </p> + <p> + Σπέρμα (as contained in the Septuagint) has almost + an identical signification with the Hebrew word ZRA. It means the "<i>germ</i> + of anything," or the "germinal principle of life," as contained in + anything that lives or grows. No one will claim that it is used in its + literal sense of "seed," in the text. For, when the divine command was + issued, there was no plant or tree, and, presumably, had been none upon + the earth from which seed could have been derived. The word was used in + its larger and more comprehensive (that is, metaphorical) sense, as the + "germinal principle of life in matter," or precisely in the sense in which + the Greek stoics used it in their philosophy. Both Theophrastus and + Diogenes use the terms σπερματ´κοὶ + γόγοι expressing "the <i>laws of generation + contained in matter</i>"--precisely the meaning we attach to it in its + textual connection. The eleventh verse should read, therefore, as follows: + "Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the + fruit-tree yielding fruit after his kind, <i>whose germinal principle of + life, each in itself after its kind, is upon the earth</i>" + </p> + <p> + We accept this rendering of "the seventy," because they had the most + complete and perfect Hebrew MSS. before them, and were no doubt better + scholars, and far more competent renderers of the original text than the + Masorites who came some seven or eight hundred years after them. + </p> + <p> + But this is not the most important point of inquiry in this connection. + The materialistic objector may say: "Admit all this; grant that the true + rendering is here given; grant even that the true law of vegetal + development and growth is here enunciated; what has 'star-eyed science' to + do with the '<i>odium theologicum</i>?'" We answer, nothing. We would bury + both theological rancor and atheistical pretension in the same barrow, and + agree never to "peep and botanize" over their common grave. But if a great + scientific principle--one that fits into all the phenomenal facts of + nature--explains them all, and is, in turn, explained by them--be found in + the Hebrew <i>Hagiographa</i>, of what less value is it to science than if + it had been originally enunciated by Aristotle or Plato? Or--to make the + inquiry still sharper and more emphatic--of what less value is it to + science than if it had originally come from Professor Tyndall or Mr. + Herbert Spencer? + </p> + <p> + Take the "biblical genesis" as we have enunciated and explained it--with + all the facts crowded into these explanatory pages--and science has no + longer any genetic mystery to brood over, further than that every + operation of nature is a mystery into which it is useless for scientific + speculation to pry. We know what nature <i>does</i>, or may know it by the + proper scrutiny, but we shall never know the causes of things, any more + than we shall find God at the bottom of Herbert Spencer's crucible, or at + the top of his ladder of synthesis. In the light of the Bible genesis, + science can account for the origin of the stalwart oak or the lordly pine, + without going back to any mycological or cryptogamic forms, to follow down + an ever-changing vital plexus that is as likely to land in a buttonwood + tree as an oak, or in a hemlock as a pine,--in fact, quite as likely to + land in a carnivorous animal as in an insectivorous plant. "Let the earth + bring forth," is still the eternal fiat,--just as implicitly obeyed to-day + as it was in the world's primeval history, when an exuberance of + endogenous vegetation laid the foundation of the coal measures. It + requires no greater effort on the part of nature to produce the pine, the + oak, the beech, the hickory--all of which we see springing directly from + primordial germs to-day--than it did to produce the lowest vegetal + organism, from an invisible, indestructible "vital unit," or Darwinian + gemmule, thousands of years ago. + </p> + <p> + He who is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever, and in whose sight a + thousand years are but as yesterday, knows no such "law of variability" as + our materialistic friends have been spinning for us in their unverified + theories of evolution, natural selection, selection of the fittest, + rejection of the unfit--force-correlations, molecular machinery, + transmutation of physical forces, differentiation, dynamical aggregates, + <i>molécules organiques</i>, potentiated sky-mist, undifferentiated + "life-stuff," and other hylotheistic and purely hypothetical formulæ, + with which the average mind has been well-nigh crazed for the last fifteen + or twenty years. + </p> + <p> + Believing that the time has come to call for "a halt" in scientific + speculations, and a return to the phenomenal facts of nature as the true + and only basis on which to formulate the immutable laws of life, matter, + motion, etc., the writer submits this volume with trustful confidence to + the public. [<a href="#foot1">1</a>] + </p> + <p> + R. W. Wright. + </p> + <p> + West Cheshire, Conn. + </p> + <h1> + True Genesis. + </h1> + <h2> + <a name="01"></a>Chapter I. + </h2> + <h3> + Introductory. + </h3> + <p> + It is undeniably true that the progress of scientific thought and + speculative inquiry, both in this country and in Europe, is rapidly + tending towards a purely materialistic view of the universe, or one that + utterly excludes the ancient and long-predominating metaphysical + conceptions of Life, to say nothing of the more regnant and universally + prevailing conception of a God. And it is quite as undeniable that the + current of experimental research and investigation is setting, with equal + rapidity, in the same direction. According to the views of many of our + more advanced chemists, physiologists, and other scientific and + speculative writers and thinkers--those whose experimental investigations + have, it is claimed, reached the ultimate implications of all material + substance--there are but two immutable, indestructible, and thoroughly + persistent elements in the universe--<i>Matter</i> and <i>Motion</i>. + Everything else, they confidently assert, is either purely phenomenal, or + else essentially mutable, ephemeral, transitory. Force, according to their + theory, is only another name for motion or its correlates, and, hence, the + two terms are interchangeably used by them in predicating their ultimate + conclusions respecting matter. + </p> + <p> + Light, heat, electricity, magnetism, chemical affinity, molecular force, + and even life itself, are only so many manifestations or expressions, they + claim, of one and the same force in the universe--<i>Motion</i>, With the + exception of matter, it is the only self-persistent, permanently enduring, + ever active and reactive agency. + </p> + <p> + Light, they say, is dependent, heat conditional, electricity and magnetism + more or less phenomenal, chemical affinity and molecular force mere modes + or correlated forms of motion, and all-pervading life itself a mere + postulate of the schools, or at best only the result of the dynamic force + of molecules. + </p> + <p> + Deem not this collocation simply a burlesque on Scientific categories. + Professor Bastian, in his great work on the "Beginnings of Life," has + unhesitatingly said: "The 'vitalists' must give up their last + stronghold--we cannot even grant them a right to assume the existence of a + special 'vital force' whose peculiar office it is to effect the + transformation of physical forces. The notion that such a force does + exist, is based on no evidence; it is a mere postulate. The assumption of + its existence carries with it nothing but confusion and contradiction, + because the very supposition that it exists, and does so act, is totally + averse to the general doctrine of the correlation of forces." + </p> + <p> + And this defiant challenger of the "vitalists," who thus half-sneeringly + speaks of those who believe that the vital forces of the universe are + among the highest potential factors expressed therein, is one who, for the + last decade and a half, has mostly lived in the ephemeromorphic world, and + who, in diving into the "beginnings of life," has so far lost his way that + the all-glorious end of it is as much an inexplicable mystery to him now, + as when he was more successfully expounding pathological anatomy and + ruthlessly hacking away at anatomical subjects over the dissecting-slab of + the London University College. Had he spent less time over this + dissecting-slab, and more in studying the marvellous manifestations of + life in its outspoken beauty of leaf, bud, flower, fruit--things of not + mere guess and fancy--he would undoubtedly have had a higher appreciation + of what is most vital in nature, and less of what is simply material in a + non-functional sense. With Mr. Herbert Spencer, he gratuitously sneers at + the "old specific-creation hypothesis," or the divine fiat in the + beginning; but without that fiat, where would he find his ephemeromorphs? + or even the dead tissues used in his organic infusions for the vainest of + all human endeavors--that of producing life, or seeking to produce it, <i>de + novo</i>? He is so immeasurably disgusted with the vitalists that he + hardly allows himself to speak of "life" or even use the term "vital" as + applied to its simplest manifestations, without quotationizing them as + terms to provoke both incredulity and derision. + </p> + <p> + The world may, however, overlook much of this in him, in view of his past + professional pursuits, as well as in consideration of his eminent services + as a specialist in science. The dissecting-room of a university is not the + most desirable place in the world for profoundly studying the vital forces + of nature. It is too grim and ghastly a repository of dead men's skulls, + and "holes where eyes did once inhabit," in which to regard "life's + enchanting cup" as one sparkling to the brim. Detaching a muscle here, and + laying bare another there; taking out a sightless eye in one subject, and + putting the dissecting-knife deep into the pulseless heart of another; + cutting the fragments of a human body into shreds and tatters over one + dissecting-slab, and loading down another with splintered bones and + mangled hands and limbs, is not exactly the sort of occupation to enkindle + the highest enthusiasm for "life," in any of its more manifold phases in + nature. Too many lifeless notions get crammed into the head--to say + nothing of baffled endeavor in the pursuit--to admit of the more + conclusive and satisfactory inductions respecting living organisms. + </p> + <p> + But why should an assumption of the existence of life carry with it any + greater "confusion and contradiction," than a like assumption respecting + either matter or motion? Simply because the materialists insist, in their + logical inductions, upon so distributing the terms of their syllogism that + only a negative conclusion shall follow. + </p> + <p> + "Matter and motion," they say, are alone indestructible. + </p> + <p> + Life is neither matter nor motion, + </p> + <p> + Therefore: Life is not indestructible. + </p> + <p> + This syllogism is manifestly unanswerable, if there be no fallacy in the + distribution of its major and minor terms. But wherein lies the + incompatibility of reversing the order of its terms, so as to prove that + neither matter nor motion is indestructible? And would such a judgment, + thus derived, be any more spurious, the process of reasoning any more + illicit, or the conclusion any less unanswerable? We might as well say + that neither matter nor motion is an absolute entity in the universe, + without some apprehensive intelligence, or rational intuition therein, to + embrace them as distinct concepts or objects of thought; nor can either + have the least conceivable attribute without some co-existing intelligence + to ascribe it. For to ascribe an attribute, is to conceive or think of + such attribute. And as our general conceptions are conceded to be + realities, even by the materialists themselves, it necessarily follows + that this conscious <i>ego</i>--this thing that conceives, thinks, + ascribes attributes--is either co-existent with matter, or else antedates + it in the order of existence. And here--at this identical point in the + argument--we are irresistibly forced back, in our inductive processes, to + the theological conception of a God--the one supreme <i>Ego</i> of the + universe--from whom alone all our intuitions of consciousness, as well as + apprehensive intelligence, is derived. + </p> + <p> + We can no more get rid of these inductive processes than we can change the + order of nature or reverse the inevitable laws of thought. Hence, we are + constantly driven to formulate the following, or some equivalent + inductions:-- + </p> + <p> + 1. Cause must exist before effect. + </p> + <p> + 2. Without some vital principle, therefore, preëxisting as a cause, + there can be no life-manifestation. + </p> + <p> + 3. But there can be no life-manifestation without organic structure. + </p> + <p> + 4. The reverse of this proposition is also true. + </p> + <p> + 5. Which, therefore, precedes the other as a cause, and which follows as + an effect? + </p> + <p> + 6. Nothing can organize itself. To do so, it must contain within itself + both the operating cause and the resulting effect, which is at once an + incongruent and conflictive judgment. + </p> + <p> + 7. But the thing that organizes must exist before the thing organized, + whether it be a vital principle or an intelligent agency. + </p> + <p> + 8. Hence Life, either as a preëxisting cause or vital agency, must + precede both animal and vegetal organism. Again:-- + </p> + <p> + 9. Cause is that which operates to produce an effect, as effect is that + which is produced by an operating cause. + </p> + <p> + 10. But whatever operates to produce a life-manifestation must precede it + as an operating cause. + </p> + <p> + 11. Life, therefore, whether as a blind or intelligent force or agency, + must precede its own manifestation; that is, must exist as an operating + cause before there is any produced effect. + </p> + <p> + 12. And this is true both as regards physical and moral effects. + </p> + <p> + 13. Our intuitions, as the final arbiters of judgment, demand this or some + equivalent order as the only one embraced in a logical praxis. + </p> + <p> + And since there can be no sound without an ear to appreciate it, so there + be can no matter without an existing <i>ego</i>, in some state of + consciousness in the universe, to apprehend it--to ascribe to it + attributes.[<a href="#foot2">2</a>] On what, therefore, are we to + predicate the existence of either matter or motion, except it be these + intuitions of consciousness whose validity, so far as we have any + knowledge whatever on the subject, rests exclusively on that "breath of + life," which was breathed into man when he became a living soul? But if + our intuitions are not realities, then nothing is a reality. All is as + unsubstantial, as vague and shadowy, as Coleridge's "image of a rock," or + Bishop Berkeley's "ghost of a departed quantity," as he once defined a + fluxion. We may, therefore, retort upon Professor Bastian:--The + "materialists," must give up their last stronghold--we cannot even grant + them a right to assume the existence of either matter or motion, since + both manifestly depend, for their slightest manifestation, upon the more + potent agency of "vital force," as expressed in thought, volition, and + consciousness--that triumvirate of the intellectual faculties without + which neither matter nor motion could have so much as a hypothetical + existence. + </p> + <p> + The great trouble with Professor Bastian, as with Mr. Herbert Spencer, is + that he advances a purely materialistic hypothesis, and then goes to work, + with his quantitative and conditional restrictions, to eliminate all vital + force from the universe. As he has been no more successful in finding + God--the Infinite source of all life--at the point of his + dissecting-knife, than has the speculative chemist at the bottom of his + crucible, or Mr. Spencer at the top of his ladder of synthesis, he + resolutely grapples with logic, as a last resort, and as remorselessly + syllogizes God out of the universe as he would a mythological demon + infecting the atmosphere of his dissecting-room. In the same way, he + successfully syllogizes all life out of existence: although, in the very + act of constructing his syllogism, he demonstrates its existence as + conclusively as that matter and motion are objective realities in the + world of mind and matter which is about him. He fails to see, however, + that the thing which demonstrates must necessarily precede the thing + demonstrated, as life must necessarily precede its manifestation. In + admitting the existence of "vital manifestation," therefore, he virtually + admits an antecedent vital principle, lying back of an effect as a cause, + which must exclude anything like a contradictory judgment, so long as the + laws of the human mind, in respect to logical antecedents and consequents, + remain as they are. + </p> + <p> + Whatever may be the alleged inaccuracies of the Bible Genesis or the + disputes heretofore indulged in respecting the <i>Hagiographa</i>, or + "sacred writings" of the Jews, it will hardly be denied by the Biblical + scholar that some of the most important discoveries in modern science, + especially in the direction of astronomy, as well as in geological + research and inquiry, confirm rather than throw doubt upon their more + explicit utterances. This has been so marked a feature in the controversy, + that whenever scientific speculation has thrown down any fresh gage of + battle, as against the validity of these "sacred writings," the advocates + of the latter have only had to take it up to dispel the mists of + controversy and achieve a more conclusive triumph than ever. For the truth + of this statement it is only necessary for us to instance a few of the + more important facts contained in the Bible Genesis. And should it be + found that the writer of this volume has discovered, in a long overlooked, + much neglected, and inaccurately translated passage of this Genesis, a key + that unlocks the whole "mystery of life," as the great battle is now + waging between the materialists and vitalists of this country and Europe, + it will most conclusively establish the point we shall here make--that in + no equally limited compass, in ancient or modern manuscript or published + volume, since the first dawn of letters to the present time, are there to + be found so many conclusively established facts of genuine scientific + value as in the first chapter of Genesis. + </p> + <p> + In dispelling the mists of prejudice, and possibly of doubtful + translation, let us look this "genesis" squarely in the face:-- + </p> + <p> + 1. Take the statement that "in the beginning" the earth was without form + and void, and darkness rested upon the face of the depths. Here is not + only no conflict with science, but the great suggestive fact which led + Laplace to construct his "Nebular Hypothesis," or that magnificent system + of world-structures which regards the universe as originally consisting of + uniformly diffused matter filling all space, and hence "without form and + void," but which subsequently became aggregated by gravitation into an + infinite number of sun-systems, occupying inconceivably vast areas in + space. + </p> + <p> + 2. Nor can science well afford to cavil at that other most important + suggestive statement that "the spirit of God"--the great formative force + of the universe--moved upon the face of the depths, after which the + evening and the morning were the first day, that is, the first distinctive + epoch in the order of creation. When materialistic science shall define + "gravitation"--the supposed aggregating force of infinitely diffused + matter in space--so as to make it a distinct and separate factor in the + universe from "the spirit of God,"--that spirit which was breathed into + man when he became a living soul, and which, we are told, "upholds the + order of the heavens," then its devotees may sneer at the Bible Genesis, + and the logical deductions to be drawn therefrom. + </p> + <p> + 3. Again, science can have no conflict with the Bible Genesis, except in + the most hypercritical way, in the affirmative statement that God set two + great lights in the firmament, the one to rule the day and the other to + rule the night; and that "he made the stars also." For it is nowhere + stated that the "greater light" was not made to perform a similar office + for each of the other planets of our system, or that it was not set in the + firmament to adorn the skies of other and far-distant worlds, as "bright + Arcturus, fairest of the stars," adorns our own. + </p> + <p> + 4. Nor can materialistic science dispute the more explicitly revealed + fact, that the order of creation, so far at least as animal and vegetable + life are concerned, is precisely that to be found in geological + distribution, or as unerringly recorded in the lithographic pages of + nature. And yet nothing was known of these pages--not a leaf had been + turned back--at the time the Bible Genesis was written. So that, whoever + was its author, this precise order of distribution could only have been + "guessed at," setting aside its inspirational claims, by the writer of + this most remarkable genesis. + </p> + <p> + 5. And again, science can have no successful conflict--certainly none in + which she will ultimately come off victor--in reference to the equally + explicit statement that every living thing, and every living creature, + either yields seed, bears fruit, or brings forth issue, "after his kind," + and distinctively none other. For this would seem to be the one inflexible + law governing all living organisms, from which there can be no divergence + in any such sense as the "scientific genesis," pretentiously so called, + would authoritatively indicate. No "increase in variety," which Mr. + Spencer regards as the "essential characteristic of all progress," will + ever enable us "to gather grapes from thorns or figs from thistles." + </p> + <p> + 6. Nor will materialistic science ever succeed in overthrowing the Bible + theory herein advanced, that "the germs of all living things, man only + excepted, are in themselves (that is, each after its kind) upon the + earth," and that they severally make their appearance whenever the + necessary environing conditions occur. This most remarkable statement of + the Bible genesis will be found to fit into all the vital phenomena + occurring upon our globe, explaining the appearance of infusoria, all + mycological and cryptogamic forms, as well as all vegetal and animal + organisms. All these come from "the earth wherein there is life," and + hence the divine command for the earth "to bring forth" every living thing + (except man) "after his kind." + </p> + <p> + But let us embrace, in the proper antithetical summary of statements, some + of the more distinctive points of antagonism between the Bible genesis and + that of materialistic science:-- + </p> + <p> + THE BIBLE GENESIS. + </p> + <p> + 1. The Bible Genesis presents the theological conception of a God, or an + Infinite Intelligence in the universe, with whom, as personified, there is + no variableness, neither shadow of turning. + </p> + <p> + 2. The Bible Genesis represents every living thing as <i>perfect</i> of + its kind, which the earth was commanded to bring forth from seed or + "germs," declared to be in themselves upon the earth. + </p> + <p> + 3. The Bible Genesis represents God as causing to grow, out of the ground, + every tree that is "pleasant to the sight and good for food," also every + plant of the field "before it was in the earth," and every herb of the + field "before it grew." + </p> + <p> + 4. The Bible Genesis represents God as causing the waters of the earth to + bring forth abundantly great whales and every living creature that moveth + therein, and every winged fowl that flieth above the earth in the open + firmament of heaven. + </p> + <p> + 5. The Bible Genesis represents God as causing the earth to bring forth + every living creature "after his kind," enumerating them in the order in + which they appear in geological distribution. + </p> + <p> + 6. The Bible Genesis represents God as making man in his own image, after + he had commanded the waters and the earth to bring forth abundantly of + every other living creature. + </p> + <p> + 7. The Bible Genesis represents God as breathing into man "the breath of + life," and he became a "living soul," + </p> + <p> + 8. The Bible Genesis represents God as creating the earth for the abode of + man--giving him dominion over the fish of the sea, the fowl of the air, + the beasts of the earth, and of every living thing that creepeth upon the + face of the earth. + </p> + <p> + 9. The Bible genesis represents God as exercising a moral government over + man, to the exclusion of every other living creature. + </p> + <p> + 10. In fine, the Bible Genesis represents man as only "a little lower than + the angels." + </p> + <p> + THE SCIENTIFIC GENESIS. + </p> + <p> + 1. The Scientific genesis virtually eliminates the idea of a God from the + universe, by assigning to natural causes all the diversified and + myriad-formed phases and changes that have taken place therein, extending + through an infinite duration of past time, and constantly confronted by an + infinite duration of time to come. + </p> + <p> + 2. The Scientific Genesis represents every living thing as more or less <i>imperfect</i> + of its kind, but advancing towards perfection by some underlying law of + variability or selection of the fittest, or by gradual development from + lower into higher organisms. + </p> + <p> + 3. The Scientific Genesis emphatically repudiates the idea of any divine + agency in the growth of plants and trees, and insists that "life," in all + its manifold phases, is only "an undiscovered correlative of motion," or, + at best, only a sort of <i>tertium quid</i> between matter and motion. + </p> + <p> + 4. The Scientific Genesis represents all fishes, amphibia, reptiles, + birds, etc., as travelling along their respective lines of developmental + progress and differentiation, from points far back in geologic time, and + constantly working their way up from cold and flabby creatures into those + of higher cerebral activity, and brighter and more varied life, until + gigantic winged reptiles mounted into the air and became birds. + </p> + <p> + 5. The Scientific Genesis attributes the appearance of every living + creature upon the earth to a law of "evolution," by which one thing + constantly overlaps another, forming a sort of stairway for lower + organisms to climb into higher, without regard to "kind," or even orders, + genera, or species. + </p> + <p> + 6. The Scientific Genesis distinctly takes issue with that of the Bible + respecting the divine origin of man, and insists that he has been climbing + up from protoplasmic matter, through a thousand other and lower organisms, + until he finally leaped from an anthropoid ape into man. + </p> + <p> + 7. The Scientific Genesis emphatically repudiates the idea of a soul as + thus derived, and even insists that "conscience," the highest known moral + factor in the universe, is only a modified expression of the social + instincts of the lower animals--the difference being in degree only, not + in kind. + </p> + <p> + 8. The Scientific Genesis promptly takes issue with this creative plan and + purpose--insisting, in the dazzling speculations and fancies of its + adherents, that well known physical and physiological laws have worked out + all these phenomenal aspects and changes, and that these laws are wholly + indifferent as to whether man shall have dominion over the shark and the + tiger, or they dominion over him. + </p> + <p> + 9. The Scientific Genesis illogically insists that "natural laws,"--those + expressing no sovereign will, and having "no seat in the bosom of + God"--are fully adequate for the government of man, he exercising to that + end all the higher powers with which, by evolutional changes, he has + become endowed. + </p> + <p> + 10. While the Scientific Genesis represents him as only a little higher + than the apes! + </p> + <p> + And yet no scientific authority has ever been claimed for these sacred + Hebrew writings. They were simply designed as a rule of human faith and + conduct, ostensibly having the divine sanction, and containing historical, + devotional, didactic, and prophetical writings, to be read through, at + least once a year, in the Jewish synagogues. + </p> + <p> + But the most important of these antithetical statements, so far at least + as modern scientific research and inquiry are concerned, is that which + represents the germs of all living things--man alone excepted--as being + implanted in the earth itself. We take the definition of the Hebrew word + <i>ZRA</i>, translated "seed" in the 11th verse of the 1st chapter of + Genesis, from Professor Edward Leigh, of Magdalen Hall, Oxford, in his + "Critica Sacra," first published in 1662:--"<i>Sparsit, asparsit, cum + aspersione fudit, diffudit</i>," etc, that is, "something sown, scattered, + universally diffused, everywhere implanted," as a germ in the earth. That + the Hebrew word <i>ZRA</i>. does not mean, in this connection, the seed of + a plant or tree, is manifest from the fact that the first plant or tree, + from which "seed" could have been derived, had not yet appeared upon the + earth. + </p> + <p> + The exact translation is, "whose primordial germs are in themselves (that + is, each after its kind) upon the earth," implanted therein, as the "<i>diversa + diversorum viventium primordia</i>" of Dr. William Harvey, were originally + implanted in the earth. This illustrious physician and biologist, the + discoverer of the circulation of the blood, not only taught the doctrine + expressed in his phrase "<i>omne vivum ex ovo</i>," but that of + "primordial germs"--living indestructible "principles of life"--existing + in the earth itself. For it is evident that he uses the word "egg," in its + more general sense, as designating any material substance capable of + receiving his "primordium" (first principle of life) and developing itself + into a living organism. + </p> + <p> + The whole controversy, as at present conducted by the materialists and + vitalists, resolves itself into this one question:--Whether life springs + from what Dr. Harvey calls a "primordium,"--a pre-existing vital germ or + unit--or whether it originates <i>de novo</i>, as the materialists assert, + from infusions contained in their experimental flasks, or from plastide + particles contained in protoplasmic matter, or from the still more daring + hypothesis of "molecular machinery" as worked by molecular force? It is + certain that the materialistic theory is quite as inexplicable, on the + basis of analogical reasoning and microscopical investigation, as that + indicated in the Bible Genesis; while the vitalistic theory would seem to + be more in harmony with vital phenomena, and hence the more rational + hypothesis of the two. Besides, the Bible Genesis answers to the logical + necessity of predicating a determinate cause for each and every vital + effect, or each living organism apparently springing from plasmic + conditions or mere structureless matter. Whenever the seeds of plants or + trees are actually planted or sown in the earth, this logical necessity + rests on an induction impregnably laid in cause and effect; while the + materialistic dogma, <i>nihil ex nihilo</i>, would necessitate a like + induction wherever seed is not sown. In either case the change that ensues + is manifestly due to vital properties, whether the same be inhering in the + seed, or in necessary environing conditions. And the vital processes are + the same, with the single difference as to actual environment. + </p> + <p> + The germ in the seed is capable of assimilating, by well-determined and + thoroughly specialized processes, the nutrient matter contained in its + environment, precisely as the "primordial germ" develops under its + environing conditions. From the moment they strike their rootlets into the + ground, the processes of development and growth are the same. The only + point, however, necessary to make in this connection, is, that when we go + back to the first living organism of a species--its primordially developed + form--we necessarily reach environing conditions within which there is no + such thing as a germ-cell with an exterior environment corresponding to + the testa of seeds, or to any conceivable notion we may have of seeds + themselves. + </p> + <p> + At this point--one not merely theoretical, or speculatively possible only, + but absolutely fixed and determinable in our backward survey of the vital + forces of nature--we find individual parentage lost in a natural matrix, + or in the vital principle implanted as a "primordium," in the earth + itself. To this inevitable induction of Dr. Harvey we are all driven in + the end, by those intuitive processes of reasoning which are hardly less + conclusive than mathematical induction itself. We may call these + "primordia viventium" plastide particles, bioplasts, vital units, or + whatsoever we will,--the name is nothing, the working process is + everything. Scientific speculation accomplishes nothing, therefore, by its + new terminology, except it be to confound the ignorant and astonish the + wise. To call the homogeneous basis of an egg "blastima," and its germinal + point a "blastid," is all well enough in its way; but it adds no new + knowledge, nor additional wealth of language, wherewith to predicate vital + theories, whether they relate to the progeny of a hen-coop or the lair of + a tiger in an Indian jungle. + </p> + <p> + Teach us to know what nature <i>does</i>, not what she <i>is</i>; and + whatever of "divine revelation" is vouchsafed us, whether it be found in + the majestic "Poem of the Dawn," attributed to the inspired pen of Moses, + in the "myriad-minded Shakespeare," or the irradiated and deeply-prophetic + soul of a Shelley, let us accept it with thanks, if not to the inspired + authors themselves, at least to "the great Giver of life" who imparted + their inspiration. + </p> + <p> + We accept the theory of "primordial germs," not simply because it is + contained in the Bible Genesis, nor because it was conceived by the great + and gifted Harvey as a possible solution of the whole difficulty, but + because it presents, as we have before said, a satisfactory explanation of + all the phenomenal facts of life with which we are acquainted. If Mr. + Herbert Spencer will descend from his stilted theory of "molecular + machinery worked by molecular force," and tell us what it all means; and, + at the same time, turn us out a single plastide particle, or fungus spore, + by any generating process referable to "the machinery" in question, we + will as devoutly worship Matter and Motion as ever ancient Egyptian did + the god Osiris. But until he does this, we prefer to accept the positive + assurance of Professor Lionel S. Beale, a far more competent authority to + speak of hypothetical molecules, that none of the "forces possessed by the + molecules of which the primitive nebulosity of the universe was composed" + ever produced a vital manifestation, or succeeded in "making life a slave + to force." We shall consider this question of "molecular force" in its + proper place, and with reference to the different theories of life + advanced by the materialists, without pursuing it further in this + connection. + </p> + <p> + The evidence we shall present in reference to the alternations of forest + growths, and the impossibility of accounting for them on any theory of + seed-distribution--alternations covering, in many instances, independent + forests springing up on a vast scale--and the still wider dispersion of + domestic weeds, grasses, forage plants, etc. in localities where they were + never known before, will be conclusive, we think, of the correctness of + our position, that the Bible Genesis contains <i>the true key to the + mystery of life</i>. Bear in mind that the true theory of life, whenever + it shall be reached in human conception and formulated into + definitely-known processes of action, must satisfactorily explain all + life-manifestations, as Newton's theory of gravitation accounts for the + movements of all celestial bodies. And the simpler the theory when once + formulated--the more perfectly it falls into the grooves of + definitely-expressed thought, and the more harmoniously it adapts itself + to all vital manifestations--the more conclusive must be the induction on + which it rests.[<a href="#foot3">3</a>] The emphatic statement that the + "primordial germs" of all living things are in the earth, from the lowest + infusorial form to the highest vital organism below "specifically-created" + man, when supplemented by the scientific statement that "vital units" make + their appearance whenever environing conditions favor, is conclusively a + theory which accounts for all the life-manifestations heretofore occurring + upon our globe. + </p> + <p> + And this theory falls at once into the necessary categories of human + thought. Life, as generally defined, is a state of organized being wherein + there is functional activity; while a state, or <i>status</i>, is an + incidence determined by environing conditions. But back of each of + these--life and its <i>status</i>--there must lie some efficient cause, + producing, in the first instance, the environing conditions, and then the + functional activity dependent on organization. To assume that this + efficient cause is simply the effect or result of organization--one of its + dependent conditions--is begging the whole question, and, at the same + time, discarding a very important element in the problem--that of + conditional environment. What this efficient cause <i>is</i>, is a + question that awakens no responsive inquiry. It strikes its roots too + deeply into the intuitions of consciousness for the soul to give back an + intelligible reply. Certain it is that neither metaphysical speculation, + nor scientific inquiry, will ever enable us to reach the roots of this + question, or extract from them the first quantitive essence of life + itself. + </p> + <p> + We shall also consider, in their proper place, the various theories of + life which have been advanced from time to time by the materialists, in + their avowed hostility to current religious beliefs, and especially those + founded on the sacred Hebrew writings, and the supplementary teachings of + the New Testament. And to show the extent of this hostility, and the real + <i>animus</i> of those waging it, it is only necessary to refer to the + great central doctrine of the Sacred Scriptures, that Life--natural, + spiritual, eternal--is "the gift of God." And this is the grand + corner-stone of all religious edifices--those erected by the Egyptians, + the Assyrians, the Phoenicians, the Greeks, and even the inhabitants of + farther India. Materialistic science must, therefore, deal its first and + most effective blows at "Life," either as a theory to be resolutely + assailed and overthrown, or else thoroughly ignored and set aside, in the + more imposing and august temple of Science. Hence, the reader will find, + in none of the great encyclopedias prepared under the supervision of + scientific men, the slightest mention whatever of "Life" as a subject + worthy of consideration at their hands. It finds, of course, its meagre + definitional place in the dictionaries, but the bulky and more exhaustive + encyclopedias have no room for it, except as it may be defined, under some + correlate of motion, as "the latent possibility of a nebula," or of + "undifferentiated primeval mist," originally pervading the interplanetary + spaces. + </p> + <p> + We have no disposition to charge such materialists as Professors Tyndall, + Bastian, Haeckel, Virchow, and Mr. Herbert Spencer, with directing their + experimental batteries against the phenomenal facts of "life" for the + purpose of overthrowing the foundations of religious faith and belief in + the world. They are all eminent scientists, and apparently earnest seekers + after truth in the several directions in which their respective paths of + investigation have been pursued. But they manifestly array their opinions + against the vitalists on the assumption that there is no scientific value + whatever in the many and singularly diversified statements respecting + "life" in both the Old and New Testaments. And this, it may be claimed, is + necessitated by the generally accepted dogma, that science and religion + are more or less hostile, the former resting on the inexorable logic of + facts only, and the latter entirely on <i>pre</i>conceived and <i>pre</i>judicial + notions respecting faith and belief. To this position of theirs we have no + objection to make, so long as they subject their scientific statements to + the one rigid ordeal of positively ascertained facts. But when they set + themselves to spinning their theories of life on the strength of "nebular + potentialities," and the possibilities of "undifferentiated sky mist," we + must insist that they are infinitely wider of the mark than the + theologians who claim that the great formative power of the universe is + God, and that his "spirit," and not gravitation, "upholds the order of the + heavens:"--certainly much wider of the mark than was Pope, when he wrote + of the universe:-- + </p> + <p> + "All are but parts of one stupendous whole, Whose body nature is, and God + the soul." + </p> + <p> + The truth is, that religion is quite as much the handmaid of science as + science can be said to be the handmaid of religion. She breathes far more + household laws for her devotees, if she does not veil her "sacred fires" + more modestly from the sight of men. She is certainly less dogmatic, less + dictatorial, less abounding in positive assertion, than what now passes + for "science," in the popular estimation. Perhaps Mr. Herbert Spencer + represents the scientific side of a greater number of questions agitating + the public mind to-day, than any other one man, and he is still + industriously engaged in solving, or endeavoring to solve, a greater + number of social problems. And yet the most enthusiastic admirer of this + gentleman will be forced to admit, when driven to the wall of actual + controversy, that one-half, if not two-thirds, of his more formidable + statements, put forth in the name of science, remain undemonstrated as + scientific truths. We are thankful enough, however, for the one-third he + has vouchsafed us to let the other two-thirds pass as the dogmatic + achievements of his wonderfully gifted pen. + </p> + <p> + Professor Beale asks the question, whether "a man who has the gift of + science must ever be wanting in the gift of faith?" It is certain that + this inquiry sharply emphasizes the antagonism at present existing between + materialistic science and religious faith. But there is only one reason + why this antagonism should be continued, and that is, the persistent claim + of science to superior recognition in all cases where there is the + slightest apparent conflict between the two. Certainly no man ever did + more to popularize the genuine truths of science in this country than + Professor Agassiz, or worked more successfully to that end. He was willing + to place the decorative wreath on the starry forehead of science, but + refused to pluck from the soul "the starry eyes of faith and hope," that + man might be dwarfed down to the "nearest of kin" to the anthropoid ape. + </p> + <p> + When we come to this assumed relationship in genetic types, we have not so + much as laid the first abutment of the bridge by which these revivers of + Lucretian materialism would span the chasm between mind and matter, + between the spiritual and physical side of man, between dark brute sense + and "a soul as white as heaven." For going back to undifferentiated + primeval mist, and following down the whole line of vital phenomena, from + whatever subtle molecular combinations their first manifestation may have + arisen, until we reach the highest differentiated organism below man, we + shall find the chasm between the physical and the psychical not a + thousandth part spanned. And even if man, with the assistance of all the + maleficent spirits that "walk the air both when we wake and sleep," could + span this chasm, it would be only by another bridge of Mirza across which + no daring mortal could ever pass. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Herbert Spencer, in his "Principles," thinks he has mastered the + necessary psychological, if not mechanical, engineering for the successful + construction of this bridge. In that branch of his work entitled the + "Principles of Psychology," he so far abandons the exact scientific method + as to take up psychical phenomena, and deal with them genetically, as he + would with the phenomenal manifestations of organic life, in the + continuous chain of ideas every where presented as consecutive thoughts in + the universe. He finds, or claims to find, in these psychical + manifestations, a constant tendency towards differentiation--towards + advanced and continuously advancing differences, varieties, and new modes + of thought--the same as, or similar to, those taking place in living + organisms. He accordingly assumes, for the science of mind, as complete a + foundation on which to base the doctrine of "evolution," as in the case of + either physical or physiological science. But he is no less troubled, in + this psychological realm, with divergent varieties, and exceptional + variations and changes, than when he plants himself on the more solid + substratum of life in the abounding realm of nature. His psychological + differentiations present too many and constantly-shifting divergencies and + re-divergences--exceptional branchings in one direction, and still more + exceptional in another--to admit of any sufficiently potentiated + potentiality for bridge timber. The arch to such a bridge would have to + abut, according to Professor Tyndall, on a vital foundation at one end, + and spring from undifferentiated sky-mist at the other. + </p> + <p> + The bridge will never be built. + </p> + <h2> + <a name="02"></a>Chapter II. + </h2> + <h3> + Life--Its True Genesis. + </h3> + <p> + The profound Newton did not attempt to show what the gravitative force of + the universe was. He bore himself more modestly, only endeavoring to show + that such a force existed, and that it accounted for all the movements of + celestial bodies, even to their slightest perturbations. He frankly + admitted his inability to determine what this force was, but by + observations and calculations made with the greatest care, he ascertained + that its action upon matter was proportional to its mass directly, and to + the square of its distance inversely; and, with the requisite data and the + principles of pure geometry, he demonstrated that this mysterious + force--utterly inapproachable by human conception in its mystery--not only + governs and controls the movements of all the mighty masses of matter + rolling in space, but transmits its influence--not successively, but + instantly and without diminution--to the smallest conceivable molecule on + the outlying boundaries of the universe. In the same calm and + comprehensive spirit, if it be possible for us to reach it, let us look + upon this mysterious force called "life," not to show that it is simply a + "correlate" of this or that motion (a thing utterly impossible of + demonstration, if it actually exists), but to ascertain how and in what + way it acts, and by what known law, if any, it is governed. + </p> + <p> + In all the vast realm of Reality there is no more conclusive and palpable + fact than that "life" exists--appearing wherever the bright light flashes, + the loving raindrop falls, the dancing brook ripples, the sparkling + streamlet murmurs, and the broad river flows to mingle with the sea. All + along this bright pathway of sunlight and cool translucent wave, this + wonderful principle of vitality manifests itself in all-glorious + life--filling the air with balmy odors; making perennial bud, leaf and + flower, speeding from sire to son, from heart to heart, from spirit to + spirit, from age to age, from time into eternity.[<a href="#foot4">4</a>] + For like all living principles, in this realm of Reality, it cannot die. + It is immortal in its primal source, immortal all along its bright + pathway, immortal as it flows onward to eternity, immortal in its return + to the bosom of God. It is no postulate, no corollary, no mere + hypothetical judgment; no "undiscovered correlative of motion," no + "baseless fabric of a vision"--but the one grand comprehensive <i>Datum</i> + on which all the objective, as well as subjective, data of the universe + rest. It is the same "spirit that moved upon the face of the depths," in + that majestic Dawn of Creation when the "evening and the morning were the + first day;" the same spirit that "upholds the order of the heavens;" that + pervades the vast realm of Reality, that flashes in the bright sunlight, + descends in the loving raindrop, ripples in the dancing brook, sparkles in + the murmuring stream, and forever flows onward bearing its primal fulness + to the sea. + </p> + <p> + To deny the existence of this vital principle because we cannot bottle it + up in our airless flasks: to reduce it to some unknown correlate of motion + because it constantly defies our poor mental grasp; to insist upon its + artificial production because elementary substances may be chemically + handled in our laboratories--is the same sort of preposterous folly that + Newton would have been guilty of, had he attempted to show that there was + no such thing as "gravity" in the universe; that it was only some + undiscovered correlative of a thermal limit,--some unknown molecular + complexity or entanglement in cosmic ether--some spontaneously occurring + affinity or antagonism of ethereal molecules in the interplanetary + spaces--some "potentiated potentiality" of mere sky-mist,--conditions of + which he could have had no experimental knowledge, nor have given the + slightest analogical proof. That we are justified in thus partially + travestying the technical methods of some of our modern scientists, so + called--especially those of the materialistic school--those advocating a + purely physical theory of life, we need only quote a sentence or two from + Professor Lionel S. Beale, of King's College, London. This eminent + physiologist, in his recent work on "The Mystery of Life," says: + "Notwithstanding all that has been asserted to the contrary, not one vital + action has yet been accounted for by physics and chemistry. The assertion + that life is correlated force rests upon assertion alone, and we are just + as far from an explanation of vital phenomena by force-hypotheses as we + were before the discovery of the doctrine of the correlation of forces." + And he further adds that each additional year's labor, in this special + field of investigation, "only confirms him more strongly than ever in the + opinion that the physical doctrine of life cannot be sustained." + </p> + <p> + Many able and eminently learned physiologists have been disposed to + recognize the presence of pre-existing "germs" in the earth, but not to + the extent of accounting for all life-manifestations therein, as the + doctrine is conclusively taught in the Bible Genesis. The language of this + genesis is too clear and explicit to be misunderstood, in its proper + renderings. It especially emphasizes the remarkable and most extraordinary + statement, at least for the period in which it was written, that all life + comes primordially from the waters and the earth. Note the order in which + the command "to bring forth" was issued:-- + </p> + <p> + 1. Let the earth bring forth its vegetation. + </p> + <p> + 2. Let the waters bring forth the fishes, the amphibia, the reptiles, <i>the + fowl of the air</i>. + </p> + <p> + 3. Let the earth bring forth the beast, the cattle, every living creature, + and everything that creepeth upon the earth--each after his kind. + </p> + <p> + 4. <i>Let us make man in our own image</i>. + </p> + <p> + And this is the precise order in which the Scientific genesis proceeds, + with all the lithographic pages of nature turned back for its inspection. + Before vegetation there could have been no animal life upon the globe. + This fact is most conclusively proved, not only by geographic and + paleontologic records, but by legitimate induction. From the highly + crystalline, and, for the most part, non-fossiliferous era, far back in + the Laurentian period, down, in the order of time, to the modern or + post-tertiary period, there is one continuous history of + life-manifestations, written upon the stratified rocks, in the order of + the Bible Genesis. Was this mere guess and fancy on the part of the + writer, even to the seemingly improbable element wherein is assigned the + origin of the "fowl of the air?" Bear in mind that nothing was known of + geological distribution at the time this most remarkable genesis was + written. Had there been, it is certain that the careful and painstaking + Hesiod, who suffered no important fact of the <i>Cosmos</i> to escape him, + would have given us some hint of it in his "Works and Days;" for Greece + was, even in his early day, largely the recipient of Phoenician learning + and literature, as she was certainly Phoenicia's foster-child in letters. + </p> + <p> + But the more conclusive proofs of the correctness of the order of + creation, as given in the Bible Genesis, are to be found in the accurate + observations of modern geological science. Before there could have + appeared in the primeval oceans any living organism, even the lowest + primordial forms of crustacea, there must have been marine + vegetation--that springing from inorganic matter and laying the foundation + of organic life. Plants originate in, and are solely nourished by, + inorganic substances; or, to speak more definitely, they originate from + primordial germs--the first elementary principles of life--whenever + inorganic conditions favor, and, assimilating air, water, and other + inorganic materials, convert them into organic substances, or such as + answer to the conditions of organic life. In doing this, they take up and + decompose carbonic acid, retain the carbon, and give off oxygen--a vital + process not known to occur in the case of animal life. That their + primordial germs, or vital units, are in the earth, as the Bible Genesis + declares, is conclusively shown by the experimental processes first + successfully entered upon by the Abbé Spallanzani, Charles Bonnet, + and others, and more recently renewed and advocated by M. Pasteur, and his + co-laborers in super-heated flask experimentation, as well as logically + established by inductive methods. + </p> + <p> + <i>Nihil ex nihilo</i> is conceded to be as conclusive an induction as <i>omne + vivum ex vivo.</i> That is, as without some chemical unit--some primary + least considered as a whole--there can be no chemical action, so without + some vital unit, in the same primary sense, there can be no vital + manifestation. The doctrine of "chemical units" is universally conceded, + and that of "morphological units" almost as universally claimed. What + greater incongruity is there, then, in assuming the presence between the + two of a physiological or vital unit? [<a href="#foot5">5</a>] At all + events, it is as impossible to demonstrate the non-existence of the one + unit as the other. And so long as legitimate induction supports the + doctrine of the Bible Genesis, it is useless to indulge in a contrary + assumption which is wholly without verification or proof. + </p> + <p> + But to return to land vegetation. This appeared and flourished throughout + the Devonian period, if not anterior to it, and long before the appearance + of batrachian reptiles and other low air-breathing forms of life. In fact, + there could have been no life-breathing atmosphere until the earlier land + vegetation had whipped out its more destructive elements, and paved the + way, in necessary conditions, for the appearance of air-breathing animals. + Hence the command for the earth to bring forth both marine and land + vegetation--the vegetation of the earth--before there was any similar + command respecting either marine or land forms of organic life. But by + what logical method was this exact order inferred in the Bible Genesis? + Neither the Jews, nor their earlier Hebrew ancestors, nor the Phoenicians + before or after them, were in any sense of the word metaphysicians; nor + did their language admit of those nicer distinctions and speculative + conclusions which would have enabled any writer using it, thousands of + years ago, to draw the commanding induction contained in this remarkable + genesis. There is nothing in the incomparable methods of M. Comte, or the + metaphysical spirit of Herbert Spencer, in his most daring speculations, + which gives the world a more legitimate and conclusive induction than is + contained in this simple statement of the order of creation. That it + should have been a mere piece of guess-work on the part of Moses, or any + other writer of his time,--covering, as it does, so many particularities + of statement, all according with the exact observations of geologic + science, and supported by paleontologic records,--requires quite as much + credulity of judgment as to accept it for divinely inspired truth. A + disciple of M. Comte might object to this conclusion as susceptible of two + interpretations, the one a legitimate induction, and the other not. But + the mind of the profounder reasoner would accept the interpretation which + is supported by the higher reason, and validated by the greater number of + conclusively-established facts. In the case of a strongly intuitive mind, + it might be possible to guess the exact order of three or four apparently + disconnected events, but to arbitrarily associate with them other and more + distinctively subordinate occurrences, like the appearance or + disappearance of whole groups and classes of plants and animals, the + supposition that guess-work, and not positive information, governed in the + formation of a judgment, is at once rejected because of its utter + incredibility. + </p> + <p> + It is not our purpose, however, either to affirm or dis-affirm the + inspirational claims of the Bible Genesis. We simply take its language as + we find it, stript of its Masoretic renderings and irrational + interpretations, and unhesitatingly aver that the three Hebrew words, + translated in our common version--"whose seed is in itself upon the earth" + --contains, when properly rendered, the key that unlocks the whole + "mystery of life," or, as Dr. Gull emphasizes it, "the grand <i>questio + vexata</i> of the day." It expressly declares that "the primordial germs + of all plant-life (and, inferentially of all life) are in themselves (<i>i.e.</i> + each after its kind) upon the earth," and we have only to supplement this + physiological statement with the "necessary incidence of conditions," as + formulated by the physicists, to explain every phenomenal fact of life + hitherto occurring upon our globe. + </p> + <p> + Take all the hints as to the spontaneous origin of life to be met with in + Aristotle; all those subsequently repeated by Lucretius and Ovid; all the + experiments of the renowned Abbé Spallanzani--all the alleged + "fantastic assumptions" of M. Bonnet--all the theories of "panspermism," + by whomsoever advocated--all the fortuitous aggregations of "<i>molecules + organiques,</i>" as put forth by the French school of materialists--all + the <i>primordia viventium</i> of the gifted Harvey--all the "molecular + machinery" and "undiscovered correlates of motion" formulated by Herbert + Spencer and Professor Bastian--in fine, all the more brilliant theories of + life ever spun from the recesses of the human brain,--and we shall find + that they all fit into the three simple Hebrew words to be found in the + Bible Genesis, <i>and all are explained by them.</i> We say <i>all</i>, + with one exception only--that of man. And how inconceivably grand and + majestic this exception! The crowning work of creation was MAN. He came + from no "muddy vesture of decay;" no mere life-creating fiat spoke him + into existence. He who was to have "dominion over all the earth"--who was + to be created only a little lower than the angels--"in the image of God + created He him." And, breathing into his nostrils the breath of life, <i>he + became a living soul</i>! + </p> + <p> + Here is the "bridge" over which the "evolutionist" may pass, if he will, + without wearing either the dunce's cap or the ass's ears. It spans the + chasm between the anthropoid ape and man as no other bridge can span it. + Across this bridge is flung the living garment of God, and how grandly, + yet reverently and humbly, did the profound Newton cross it! Oh, ye + defiant iconoclasts of sublime faith in the "old doctrines;" ye who talk + so flippantly of the "potentialities of life in a nebula;" who sit on the + awe-inspiring Matterhorn, at high noon, and muse in sadness over "the + primordial formless fog," teeming with all the mighty possibilities of + myriads of sun-systems like our own; and, musing, sneer, if you can, at + the idea of a "specific creation" in the beginning--of an Infinite + Intelligence that directs and superintends all! Because <i>you</i> cannot + annihilate matter, nor conceive of its annihilation in the infinitessimal + compass of <i>your</i> brain, is that any reason why Infinite power and + intelligence may not have spoken it into existence at <i>His</i> sovereign + and commanding will? If man would presumptuously press towards the + threshold of the Infinite, let him do it reverently, and with humility of + spirit, and not as one "that vaunteth himself of strength," or + "multiplieth words without knowledge." + </p> + <p> + But let us examine the Bible Genesis a little further in this direction. + It is said in the second verse of the first chapter that "the spirit of + God moved upon the face of the waters," that is, upon the face of the + abyss--the chaotic mass at creation--the earth "without form and void." + </p> + <p> + What is here meant by "the spirit of God," is that life-giving breath or + power of God which operates (continuously operates) <i>to impart life to + inanimate nature.</i>[<a href="#foot6">6</a>] From the connection in which + it here stands it means this, as in other connections it means the power + which operates (continuously operates) to produce whatever is noble and + good (God-like) in man. There is no implication in the text that this + life-giving principle or power was suspended in the act of creation. On + the contrary, there is abundant evidence in nature to show that it is just + as operative now as it was in the beginning. One of the definitions given + by Professor Gibbs of this spirit is, "that which operates throughout + inanimate nature," not that which once operated, and then forever ceased + its operations. And Professor Gibbs no doubt meant by "nature," in this + connection, not only all the physical phenomena she presents, but the + aggregate or sum total of all her phenomena, whether active or passive, + animate or inanimate, embracing the world of matter or the world of mind.[<a + href="#foot7">7</a>] "All are but parts of one stupendous whole,"--not a + part nature, and a part not nature. + </p> + <p> + Again, in the eleventh verse, it is distinctly declared that the <i>ZRA</i>. + the "germinal principle of life," is in the earth, producing each living + thing, at least in the vegetable world, after its kind, that is, after its + own class, order, genera, species. Hence, the three distinct and separate + commands given to the earth, or to the earth and its waters, "to bring + forth." No such command would have been given to the earth, had it not + first received its <i>baptism of life</i> from God--in other words, + derived the animating principle of life from the source of all Life. + </p> + <p> + And hence, also, the two separate averments in the second chapter of + Genesis, both entirely meaningless apart from the construction we here + give it, that "out of the ground made the Lord God to grow" the vegetation + of the earth, and "out of the ground" produced he (or caused to be + produced) every beast of the field, etc.,--all of which has a definite and + comprehensive significance in this one sense only, that the animating + principle of life is in the earth, as the language of this most remarkable + genesis implies. And this seems to have been the patristic idea, namely, + that law and regularity, not arbitrary intervention, nor any specific act + of creation, were what governed in the case of both vegetal and animal + life. + </p> + <p> + St. Augustine says: "In prima institutione naturæ non quseritur + miraculum, sed quid natura rerum habeat." And it is certain that both St. + Thomas Aquinas and St. Basil held the same view. And they further held + that the animating principle of life once implanted in nature, held good + for all time. But we are not seeking for early and mediæval + authority. What we propose to show is, that nature is still implicitly + obeying just such a law as that implied in the command given her "to bring + forth," however doubtful may be the authority on which it rests, in the + opinion of our modern scientists. + </p> + <p> + And how completely does this genesis of life take man out of the + definitional formula embracing the "beasts of the earth." From the lowest + vertebrate, in Mr. Darwin's plexus, to the highest quadrumane (his nearest + allied type to man), covering almost an infinite variety of distinct + living forms, the distance to be traversed, in order to reach man, is + hardly more than one-third the length of the still unlinked and + uncompleted chain. In the average capacity of the monkey's brain-chamber, + to say nothing of his other characteristic differences, the distance is + not half traversed. As a "beast of the earth," he remains allied to his + own type, and nothing higher. Both Darwin's vertebral <i>plexus</i>, and + Herbert Spencer's "line of individuation," must begin with the lancelet + and its disputed head, and end in the Catarrhine or Old World monkey. No + <i>a priori</i> induction will ever extend this line <i>or plexus</i> to + man. The developmental chain, if indeed there be one, has no congenital + link that will either drag man down to the "beast of the earth," or lift + the latter up to the transcendent plane of humanity. Each must remain + specifically in his own type, whatever may be their vertical tendencies, + upwards or downwards.[<a href="#foot8">8</a>] And this word "type" implies + a fundamental ground-plan--an archetype--an original conception of what + each should unconditionally be, and what plane each should as + unconditionally occupy. Man's place in nature can never be changed or + modified by materialistic speculations. Whatever theories the materialists + may spin into the unsubstantial warp and woof of their scientific formulæ + respecting life, will never stand before the tenacious and stubborn + physiological facts which almost any thoroughly-informed and well-read + scholar of nature may readily present against them. + </p> + <p> + Even the wild Indian of our prairies has a more rational conception of + life and its accountabilities, than some of these learned professors whose + theoretical conclusions we find it imperative to handle. With all his + rude, rough nature, hanging like so many mental clogs about him, this + unlettered savage recognizes the fact that the earth is the <i>genetrix + omnium viventium</i>, or the living <i>mother</i> on whose bosom he shall + rest when his spirit has passed to the happy hunting-fields beyond. + Unlettered as he is, and unread in any genesis of life, he fails not to + perceive that the earth is forever teeming with the germinal principles of + life, and that when his prairie fires have invaded the forests in which he + had previously hunted the deer, other and different forest growths are + constantly making their appearance, without any apparent intervention of + seeds, but not without the supervisional care and direction of the Great + Spirit,--while many of his hardier prairie grasses have disappeared, only + to give place to the more nutritious <i>gramma</i> coveted by his favorite + game. + </p> + <p> + And here we may as well anticipate an objection which will be raised + against the presence of this animating principle of life in the earth, as + to meet and answer it further on in the argument. But as the objection to + which we refer is one of those dragon's teeth we do not care to leave + behind us, we will meet it at the very threshold of the controversy. It + will probably be admitted that the vegetation of the earth may appear in + the way and manner indicated in the biblical genesis, the same as + infusorial forms appear in super-heated and hermetically-sealed flasks. + But how about the preëxisting germs or vital units of the mastodon, + the megatherium, and other gigantic mammiferous quadrupeds of the Eocene + period? From what experimental flasks, in the great laboratory of nature, + did they first make their appearance? The objection is a legitimate one, + and we will answer it. + </p> + <p> + But first, let us do so from the materialist's own stand-point. Time, they + all agree, is practically infinite--past time, as well as future; while + matter is susceptible of an infinite number of diverse movements, changes, + modifications, combinations, etc.,[<a href="#foot9">9</a>] chemically as + well as molecularly considered. This, they claim, is not a mere + hypothetical judgment, but a mathematically demonstrable proposition. + Grant it for the sake of the argument, and then see if the mastodon does + not promptly emerge from some one of their "experimental flasks," as they + choose to put it. + </p> + <p> + For if the number of these diverse movements, changes, modifications, + etc., of matter, have been infinite, in its progress from the lowest + statical to the highest dynamical manifestation, then every possible, as + well as conceivable, form of matter, must have existed somewhere, and at + some time, in nature, even to its highest and most potentially endowed + plasmic form in which there is life. And if this be true, and the + materialists will not deny but rather affirm it, then the inter-uterine + conditions of matter, in the case of all animals (the mastodon included), + as well as the inter-cellular conditions in the case of all plant-life, + must have existed, with their necessary environments, somewhere and at + some time, in the all-hutched laboratory of nature. Hence, in the infinite + number of these changes and combinations--in the countless collocations of + molecules and chemically changed conditions of matter, we have the + possibilities of all terrestrial life-manifestations, as we have, in the + infinite number of cosmical changes, the possibilities of all planetary, + cometary, and asteroidal manifestations. For whenever these vital changes + occur, the life-manifestations dependent thereon, must as inevitably + follow as that infinitely diffused matter should be aggregated by gravity, + or by what Humboldt calls, in his "Cosmos," the "world-arranging + Intelligence" of the universe. + </p> + <p> + Who shall say, then, that in that immensely remote and long-protracted + era--the Eocene period--in which the gigantic elephantoids first made + their appearance, there did not exist somewhere, in some one of nature's + more cunning and prolific recesses, the exact plasmic conditions necessary + for the appearance of the mastodon? If they existed anywhere (which is + concessively possible), with the necessary environment (also concessively + possible), then the mastodon could no more help wallowing out of his + essential plasma than the earth can help responding to its axial motion. + All things are framed in the prodigality of nature, and she never commits + an abortion upon herself. If both the conditions and necessary environment + were at any time present, as they must have been on the materialistic + theory, the mastodon is just as easily accounted for as the first fungus, + or the first fungus-spore. [<a href="#foot10">10</a>] + </p> + <p> + All physicists, as well as physiologists, agree that individual species of + both plants and animals have <i>disappeared</i> from the earth for the + want of the "necessary conditions" under which they once lived and + flourished. What greater fallacy is there, then, in the assumption that + they originally <i>appeared</i> from the presence of these identical + conditions, whatever they may have been, and whenever they may have + occurred? We put this question not simply because the Bible Genesis + asserts that "<i>out of the ground</i> made the Lord God to grow" every + plant of the field "before it was in the earth," as well as every herb of + the field "before it grew;" nor because it declares that their primordial + germs are in the earth; nor because it speaks of the earth as containing + within itself the "animating principle of life." But we put it on the + irrefragable logic of the materialist's own premises and conclusions. They + may use other and different physiological terms from what we should care + to employ, but their "correlates of motion," their "molecular force," + their "highly differentiated life-stuff," etc., may possibly mean nothing + more than what we mean by "vital units," "vital forces," "vital + conditions," etc. Their preference for the terms they employ, over + essential "qualities" or "properties" of matter, is entirely due to the + obvious invalidity of their conclusions, except as their physical theory + of life may help them out of an unpleasant dilemma. "Force" is a more + convenient term on which to allege the <i>de novo</i> origin of life--its + spontaneous manifestation in their experimental flasks--than any vital + principle primarily inhering in matter, and manifesting itself whenever + conditions favor. It is to validate their own reasoning that they + construct their fallacious force-premises, from which to draw their + materialistic inductions. In other words, theirs is the fallacy of <i>non + causa pro causa,</i> or that vicious process of reasoning which alleges + some other than the real cause of vital manifestation, and fastens + induction where none is legitimately inferable. + </p> + <p> + Burdach, Buffon, Pouchet, Needham, and other professed vitalists, agree + that in all life-manifestations there must be some preëxisting vital + force or principle, without which no living thing, whether plant or + animal, can come into existence.[<a href="#foot11">11</a>] M. Pouchet + says: "I have always thought that organized beings were animated by forces + which are in no way reducible to physical or chemical forces." The Abbé + Needham is satisfied to formulate a "force végetative," so far as + plant-life is concerned; Buffon invariably falls back on vital force or + energy; and Burdach on a "force plastique," which is essentially + inseparable from nature in her vital manifestations. According to the + latter, the whole universe is an "<i>organisme absolu</i>" constantly + endowed with life, and giving expression to it in all conceivable + directions. And all that these vitalists need, to give a full + interpretation to their facts of observation, is to supplement their + theories with the Bible declaration that the animating principle of life + is in the earth, from which all living things make their appearance, each + distinctively after its own kind, whenever environing conditions favor. + For they severally recognize these "necessary conditions" as inseparable + from all vital manifestation. + </p> + <p> + An effort has been made to show that Goethe was the great inspired prophet + of the doctrine of "Evolution," as a ceaselessly progressive + transformation of one thing into another, in the metamorphoses of plants + and animals; and Haeckel quotes this passage from him as entirely + conclusive of this point: "Thus much we should have gained (towards + solving the problem of life) that all the more perfect organic beings, + among which we include fishes, amphibians, birds, mammals (and at the head + of the latter, man), to be formed according to an archetype, [<a + href="#foot12">12</a>] which merely fluctuates more or less in its ever + persistent parts, and moreover, day by day, completes and transforms + itself by means of reproduction." But this attempt to give a poetic + glorification to Haeckelism in Goethe's speculations, and bring his + commanding name into support of the evolution theory of development, will + prove utterly futile in the light of his "archetype," and the persistency + with which he concedes that nature adheres to perfected forms. + </p> + <p> + Goethe accepts the doctrine of <i>vis centripeta</i>, beyond the influence + of which no developmental progress can be made in the way of diversifying + or variegating ideal types. In other words, he virtually fixes limits to + variability, from the outermost circumference of which reversion must + inevitably take place. His whole doctrine may be summed up generally, if + not specially, in these words: "The animal is fashioned <i>by</i> + circumstances <i>to</i> circumstances," as the eagle to the air and + mountain top, the mole to the loose soil in which it burrows, the seal to + the water in which he frolics, and the bat to the cave, the twilight, and + the night air. We should rather say that the animal is fashioned, after + the Great Architect's pattern, <i>to</i> circumstances, and is only varied + <i>by</i> circumstances, and that within the narrowest limits of + variability. For the most that Goethe means by his "archetype" is an ideal + pattern, after which, or on which, a natural group of plants or animals + has been fashioned within the limits of possible variability. But by whose + mind, or rather within whose mind, was this ideal pattern--this essential + archetype--fashioned? Whence this ideal type, this natural group, this <i>Archeus</i> + pervading all nature and fashioning all organic matter? Not from the mind + of Goethe certainly, nor from that of Aristotle or Lucretius, but from the + one supreme mind of the universe, in which the groups of all living things + were originally fashioned in the archetypal world--that world "which," + according to Bolingbroke, "contains intelligibly all that is contained + sensibly in our world." + </p> + <p> + This archetypal doctrine of Goethe, coupled, as he couples it, with the + influences of environment, or necessary external conditions, with typical + modifications only, while it entirely harmonizes with the Bible genesis of + types (everything modeled after its kind), is far from aiding, or in any + way abetting, the materialistic hypothesis of Haeckel, unless we make + nature at once the creator and modifier of her own archetype. And even + then the variability of species remains unaccounted for, except as we + attribute to nature a <i>purpose</i> to modify persistent forms under a + law that is immutable even in its variability. For the assumption of an + archetype carries with it an archetypal plan and purpose, with a degree of + intelligence, either in or above nature, capable at once of conceiving the + type and determining the limits of its variability. The question is not, + therefore, as many may seem to think, whether species originate by miracle + or by law, but whether laws and causes can exist independently of any + predetermining will or agency in the universe. + </p> + <p> + Our language, and that of all civilized peoples on the globe, must be + thoroughly recast, not only in its philological and etymological + character, but in its ideologic, etiologic, and other significations, + before we can successfully fall back on an antecedent cause without an + effect, or an effect without an antecedent cause. Besides, the human mind + would have to undergo as complete a subversion of structure as language + itself, before any such attempt at recasting it, on the basis of modern + materialistic ideas, could possibly prove successful. And then, at least + one-third of our language would have to disappear in this iconoclastic + reform. For instance, take any well-tabulated synopsis of our categories + and their relations, and they would nearly all have to be recast or + entirely abandoned. Time, space, matter, motion, intellect, abstract + ideas, volitions, affections, etc., with their several correlates or + co-relations, would all have to undergo a thorough recasting process. The + personal, intersocial, sympathetic, moral, and religious relations and + obligations, would have to be summarily set aside for future revision, if + not for sweeping rejection. All our ideas of life, materiality, + spirituality, animality, vegetability, sensibility, etc., would have to + fall into greater or less desuetude, the language disappearing with the + ideas. All the words expressing our ideas of a superhuman agency, of God, + angels, heaven, revelation, religious doctrines, sentiments, acts of + worship, piety, human accountability to divine institutions, rites, + ceremonies, etc.,--to say nothing of maleficent spirits, mythological and + other fabulous divinities, entering so largely into the spirit and + machinery of all our best poetry--would utterly disappear from our + language. All our churches, minsters, chapels, tabernacles, cathedrals, + and temples erected to the "living God," embracing the finest and most + majestic architecture of the world, would have to succumb to the + iconoclastic zeal of these materialistic reformers. The ten categories of + Aristotle would disappear in the one category of Haeckel, or possibly the + two categories of Bastian--Matter and Motion! Philologically speaking, we + should all be at sea, drifting, like a set of deaf-mutes, on a wide and + inaudible ocean--all inarticulate, tongue-tied, voiceless--with only the + screeching of the sea-mew, or some other sepulchral bird of the night, to + greet us as in wide-mouthed derision of our speechlessness and folly. + </p> + <p> + But let us see how the incontestible facts of nature, and the truths of + science, fit into the three simple Hebrew words referring to "germs," or + the germinal principle of life, instead of the natural "seeds" of plants + or trees. We have given what we claim to be the true rendering of these + words. To show how perfectly they harmonize with all the phenomenal + manifestations of life in nature, we hurriedly pass to our third chapter. + </p> + <h2> + <a name="03"></a>Chapter III. + </h2> + <h3> + Alternations of Forest Growths. + </h3> + <p> + No fact has more profoundly puzzled the vegetable physiologist than the + alternations of forest growths which are everywhere occurring without the + apparent interposition of natural seeds, and which have been considered as + wholly inexplicable except as one unsatisfactory theory after another has + been suggested to account for the wide dissemination and distribution of + their seeds. We have had any number of these theories, more or less + ingeniously constructed, but it is safe to say that none of them + satisfactorily accounts for more than a very limited number of the + phenomena presented. It is only within a comparatively recent period that + these alternations of timber growth have attracted the attention of + scientific men; consequently little more than crude suggestions and + ill-digested facts are at the command of the general reader and writer. + And yet the facts themselves, such as they are, would fill a dozen volumes + of the size of Dr. Hough's recent "Report upon American Forestry." We can + only give a few of the more important facts we have gathered, and many of + these are so deficient in necessary detail that their value is greatly + lessened for scientific uses. This is especially true of nearly all those + noticed and collated by Dr. Hough, in his report to the United States + Commissioner of Agriculture, made in 1877, in which the alternations in + question are referred to at length, but no new suggestions presented, nor + any very important new facts given. + </p> + <p> + If our construction of the Bible genesis be the correct one, it will, we + think, be unhesitatingly admitted that all the facts collected and + collated by Dr. Hough, together with others more carefully noticed by our + ablest writers on vegetable physiology, not only harmonize with this + ancient Hebrew text, but so completely fit into it, both in its + implications and explications, that adverse criticism will be awed into + silence rather than provoked into any new controversy on the subject. This + remarkable genesis declares that the germs of all living things are in + themselves upon the earth--"upon the face of all the earth." It is true + that this declaration, as contained in the 11th verse of the first chapter + of Genesis, is textually limited to the vegetation of the earth; but the + further emphatic statement that "the animating principle of life" is in + the earth, coupled with the more substantive fact that God commanded the + waters and the earth to bring forth abundantly of every living creature, + with the single exception of man, conclusively extends the language of the + 11th verse to whatever vegetable and animal life the earth was + specifically directed to "bring forth." It is our purpose to consider, in + this connection, not only the various facts noticed and theories suggested + by our ablest writers and thinkers on the subject of seed-distribution, + but to ascertain, as far as possible, to what extent their several facts + and theories harmonize with natural phenomena, and at the same time + determine what disposition should be made of them in the light of this new + genesis, herein for the first time disclosed. + </p> + <p> + Professor George P. Marsh, in his work on "Man and Nature," in which he + treats largely of forestry in Europe, says that "when a forest old enough + to have witnessed the mysteries of the Druids is felled, trees of other + species spring up in its place; and when they, in their turn, fall before + the axe, sometimes even as soon as they have spread their protecting shade + over the surface, the germs which their predecessors had shed, perhaps + centuries before, sprout up, and in due time, if not choked by other trees + belonging to a later stage in the order of natural succession, restore + again the original wood. In these cases, the seeds of the new crop may + have been brought by the wind, by birds, by quadrupeds, or by other + causes; but, in many instances, <i>this explanation is not probable</i>." + It is manifest that Professor Marsh uses the word "germs," in this + connection, in the sense of seeds only; for no seed-bearing trees "shed" + any other germs than the natural seeds they bear. And while he admits + that, in many instances, the generally accepted theory concerning the + dissemination of seeds is not a probable one, he still clings to the + exploded notion that vegetable physiology furnishes a record of "numerous + instances where seeds have grown after lying dormant for ages in the + earth." He further says, in the same connection, that "their vitality + seems almost imperishable while they remain in the situations in which + nature deposits them;" although he is reluctant to accept the accounts of + "the growth of seeds which had lain for ages in the ashy dryness of the + Egyptian catacombs," believing that they should be received with great + caution, if not rejected altogether. But why he should scruple about + receiving these speculative accounts of ancient Egyptian cereals, which + are sometimes hawked about the country for two and three dollars a seed, + and, in the same breath, accept the absurder theory that seeds may lie + dormant for ages in soils where the hardest and most enduring woods will + utterly perish and disappear in a few brief years, is wholly inexplicable + to us, except as an hypothesis to force a conclusion, or to account for + the otherwise unaccountable alternations of forest growths. + </p> + <p> + But the idea that nature has any cunning devices by which she may hide + seeds away where they will remain "almost imperishable" for ages, is not + entirely new with Professor Marsh, nor is it any suggestion that would be + protected by copyright. In finding the winds, birds, quadrupeds, and other + assumed agencies of distribution improbable, he seeks, with Dr. Dwight, + for "the seeds of an ancient vegetation," and, finding none by actual + observation, concludes that nature has some occult, and thoroughly + surreptitious, method of hiding them away, even in soils below the last + glacial drift, where no microscope can possibly reach them. As the + accounts of seeds taken from the mummy-cases of Egypt may answer the + purposes of those seeking to palm off some new cereal as a nine-days + wonder on the ignorant, so these speculations about the indestructibility + of seeds, when hidden away by nature, may answer a like purpose in + imposing upon the over-credulous; but they will hardly be accepted by the + intelligent, much less the scientific, in the light of all the facts + herein given. The simple truth is that all seeds are speedily perishable + by out-door exposure. We hardly know a single seed that will survive + beyond the second year when subjected to such exposure. If they do not + germinate the first year, their vitality is utterly gone the second year, + as hopelessly so as if they had been cast into the fire and consumed to + ashes. + </p> + <p> + But there is a large class of vegetable phenomena which wholly excludes + the idea of this wonderful vitality of seeds. It is well known that soil + brought up from deep wells and other excavations, often produces plants + entirely unlike the prevailing local flora. This soil has been brought up, + in many instances, from beneath the last glacial drift, where it must have + remained for not less than a quarter of a million years at the lowest + calculation, and may have remained for millions of years, if not longer; + and yet the same singular phenomenon is presented. Exposed to the sun's + rays, and the fructifying influences of showers and dews, the soil + burgeons forth into an independent flora, and such as are nowhere to be + found in the surrounding locality. The writer, in digging a well in + Waukesha, Wis.,--a place now famous for the curative properties of its + waters--in 1847, struck soil at a depth of about thirty-five feet--that + which was evidently ante-glacial. The place is some twenty miles back from + Milwaukee, and the whole section, far into the interior of the state from + Lake Michigan, is one of drift, covering the primeval soil at various + depths, from a few feet up to a hundred or more; and the imbedded soil + must have remained in its place for untold ages. And yet, it was no sooner + brought to the surface than it produced several small plants that were + wholly unlike the prevailing local flora; although, unfortunately, they + did not sufficiently mature to enable us to determine their genera and + species. Considerable portions of this soil were dried and subjected by + us, and the late Dr. John A. Savage, then president of Carroll College, to + microscopic examination, but without discovering the slightest trace of + any seed, or anything resembling seed, in the several portions carefully + examined. The soil, however, contained, in its imbedded place, several + large Norway spruce logs, in a more or less perfect state of preservation. + But there were no cones, nor chits to cones, to be found in it, although + the most rigid examination was made at the time to discover them. That the + seeds of these delicate little plants should have survived the wreck of + this ancient Norwegian forest, or the drift from one, and burst forth into + newness of life after hundreds of thousands, not to say millions of years, + is decidedly too large a draft upon our credulity to be honored "without + sight." But we will return to the alternations of forest growths. + </p> + <p> + It is within a comparatively recent period that extensive areas of + hemlock, in Greene and Ulster Counties, N.Y., were cut off to supply the + neighboring tanneries with bark. These clearings were no sooner made than + oak, chestnut, birch, and other trees of deciduous foliage, sprang up and + entirely usurped the place of the hemlock; for the reason, no doubt, that + the soil had become chemically unbalanced for the growth of the latter, + while its condition was entirely favorable for the development of the + "germs" (not the natural seed) of the former. These changes in timber + growths have been widely noticed in all parts of this country, as well as + in Europe, but the universal supposition has been that they came from the + natural seeds of their respective localities, those either scattered by + the winds, or borne thither by the birds, by quadrupeds, or by some other + natural agency. No one has suggested the theory of "primordial germs" or + "vital units," or come any nearer to it than Dr. Dwight did in suggesting + "the seeds of an ancient vegetation." The great truth of the Bible genesis + has been wholly overlooked by reason of a faulty translation in the first + instance, as taken from the Masoretic renderings of the sixth century, and + implicitly followed since. + </p> + <p> + In 1845, a violent tornado swept a wide strip of forest in Northern New + York, from the more thickly settled portions of Jefferson County to Lake + Champlain. The timber that succumbed to the force of the tornado, and + growing at various points along its track, was mainly beech, maple, birch, + ash, hemlock, spruce, etc.; but it was rarely replaced, at any point, by + the same timber, in the growths that almost immediately followed. The + trees that are now growing along the track of the tornado are principally + poplar, cherry, birch, and a little beech and ironwood: no ash, maple, + spruce, or hemlock, except here and there, at considerable intervals, a + tree or two which may have been replaced by natural seed. The important + fact noticeable, in this connection, is that the aggressive timber--that + replacing the old--entirely usurped the place of the evergreen growths, + supplanting them with those that were wholly deciduous. Besides, it does + not appear that the poplar, the cherry, and the ironwood, which were + altogether aggressive, previously grew near enough to the track of the + tornado to have possibly supplied the seed necessary for their appearance + and growth. + </p> + <p> + The fact was specially noticeable at the time, and has been widely + communicated since, that the white oak timber cut off at Valley Forge for + fuel and other army purposes in the American camp, in the winter of + 1777-78, was succeeded by black oak, hickory, chestnut, etc.--the white + oak entirely disappearing, although by far the most favorably situated for + propagation by seed. But the alternations of forest growths had attracted + too little attention at that time to render the meagre facts given of any + special value to scientific men. If the usurping timber had grown in the + immediate neighborhood (a fact not stated), it might have come from + natural seeds, and not from primordial germs under "favoring conditions." + </p> + <p> + In the Ohio Agricultural Report of 1872, an account is given of a + storm-track, in that state, which swept for a considerable distance, and + was violent enough to bear down all the timber before it. It is stated + that the path of this tornado (which must have occurred many years ago) + "had grown up with black-walnut, another and different growth from that + prostrated by the force of the storm." In this instance, there were no + neighboring trees, except perhaps at distant intervals, from which the + nuts of the black-walnut could have been derived, unless they had been + promiscuously strewn by the tornado along its entire track. But it is, + unfortunately, not stated that the tornado occurred at that opportune + season of the year when the nuts were properly matured for planting. + </p> + <p> + In many parts of the United States, particularly in the South and West, + the paths of local tornadoes--those sweeping the native forests long + before the axe of civilization invaded them--may still be traced by the + alternations of timber growths, extending for long distances, and through + forests where there were no neighboring trees from which it was possible + that their seeds could have been derived. One of these tornadoes the + writer traced many years ago (as early as 1837) in South Alabama, and he + is satisfied, both from observation and reading, that the instances are + rare, if not altogether exceptional, where the clean path of a tornado, + through any of our primitive forests, has been succeeded by the same + growth of timber as that borne down by the winds. Where the path of this + ancient tornado of Alabama swept through a pine forest, a clean growth of + oak was buttressed on either side by pine; and <i>vice versa</i>, where it + swept an oak forest. And it is certain that the tornado, whenever it may + have occurred, could have exhibited no such discriminating freak as + alternately to distribute acorns in pine growths, and pine cones in oak + growths, either to make good a scientific theory or balk an unscientific + one. + </p> + <p> + Professor Agassiz, in passing through a dense young spruce forest some + years ago, on the south shore of Lake Superior, noticed that the ground + was thickly strewn with fallen birch trunks, showing that their place had + been but recently usurped by the spruce; and he supposed that the birch + had first succumbed to the force of the winds, and the spruce promptly + taken its place, since, as a general rule, an evergreen growth succeeds a + deciduous, and <i>vice versa.</i> We have any number of well authenticated + facts similar to this stated by Professor Agassiz, but we cannot give + place to them, in this connection, without greatly exceeding our limits. + </p> + <p> + Dr. Franklin B. Hough, in his recent "Report upon American Forestry," to + which we have already referred, says: "It is not unusual to observe in the + swamps of the northern states, an alternation of growth taking place + without human agency. Extensive tracts of tamarack (<i>Larix Americana</i>) + may be seen in northern Wisconsin that are dying out, and being succeeded + by the balsam fir (<i>Abies balsamea</i>), which may be probably caused by + the partial drainage of the swamps, from the decay or removal of a fallen + tree that had obstructed the outlet." The writer of this work resided for + a period of ten years or more in Wisconsin, and during that time traversed + extensive portions of its territory, both before and after it became a + state. As early as 1844, the extensive tamarack swamps of that region were + manifestly dying out for the want of the proper nutritious elements in the + soil, and the balsam fir rapidly taking its place, especially where the + accumulations of soil, resulting from decayed vegetation, were favorable + for its appearance. The drainage of the swamps had not been thought of at + that time, nor had the swamps themselves been disposed of, to any + considerable extent, by the federal government. They were subsequently + granted to the state for educational purposes, and afterwards purchased up + in the interest of speculative parties. + </p> + <p> + But the decay of the tamarack had really commenced long before population + found its way, in any considerable numbers, into that section of the + country; and the balsam fir had begun its usurpation, in many of the + swamps, long prior to the advent there of the white man. Neither + artificial drainage, nor accidental drainage, had anything to do with the + appearance of the balsam fir, or the disappearance of the tamarack. The + latter was manifestly dying out for the want of the proper nutriment, and + the former coming in for the reason that the soil was chemically balanced + for the development of its "primordial germs"--those everywhere implanted + in the earth, to await the necessary conditions for their development and + growth. The natural seeds of this balsam fir were not present in either + the first, second, or third tamarack swamp in which this alternation of + growth originally took place. The change commenced as soon as conditions + favored, and not before. It is safe to say that, in none of these tamarack + swamps, was there a single balsam fir cone, or a single chit to a cone, + nor had there probably been for thousands of years, before the time when + the first balsam fir made its appearance in that section. They came, as + all primordial forests come, from germs, not from the seeds of trees. + Universally, the germ precedes the tree, as the tree precedes the seed, in + all vegetal growths, from the lowest cryptogam to the lordliest conifer of + the Pacific slope. Otherwise, we should be logically driven back to an act + of "specific creation," which the materialist stoutly rejects, and the + Bible genesis nowhere affirms. + </p> + <p> + Mr. George B. Emerson, in his valuable work on the "Trees and Shrubs of + Massachusetts," suggests as a cause (undoubtedly the true one) for the + dying out of old forests, "the exhaustion of the nutritious elements of + the soil required for their vigorous and successful growth." But he is + evidently at fault in his speculations as to the alternations of forest + growths. The Cretan labyrinth that everywhere confronts him is the + "seed-theory," which is so inextricable to him that he constantly + stumbles, as one scientifically blind, yet eager to lead the blind. All + the phenomenal facts with which he deals admirably fit into the Bible + genesis, but he fails to see it because the sublime truth (with him) lies + locked up in an unmeaning translation. He is indefatigable, however, in + his hunt after seeds where there are no seeds, and in his jumps at + conclusions where there are manifestly no data to justify them. + </p> + <p> + He says: "Nature points out in various ways, and the observation of + practical men has almost uniformly confirmed the conclusion to which the + philosophical botanist has come from theoretical considerations, that a + rotation of crops is as important in the forests as in the cultivated + fields." And he supplements this statement (measurably a true one) by + adding that "a pine forest is often, without the agency of man, succeeded + by an oak forest, <i>where there were a few oaks previously scattered + through the woods to furnish seed.</i>" This is a very cautious, as well + as circumspect, statement; but one that Mr. Emerson would not have made, + had his experience and observation been that of Professor Agassiz, + Professor Marsh, and others we might name. His few oaks previously + scattered through the woods are no doubt among the "theoretical + considerations" taken into account by him, as a philosophical botanist + rather than a practical one. They were necessary for the extreme caution + with which he would state a proposition when its "conditioning facts" were + not fully known by him. His anxiety to account for the appearance of an + oak forest in the place of a pine, where the latter had been cut off, was + commendable enough to justify him in a pretty broad supposition, but not + in any such general statement as he here makes. Had he consulted any of + the older inhabitants of Westford, Littleton, and adjoining towns, in his + own state, he would have found that not a few oak forests had succeeded + the pine without the intervention of "scattered oaks," or even scattered + acorns, in the localities named. Nor would his "squirrel-theory" of + distribution have been very confidently adhered to, fifty years ago, in + localties where the shagbark walnut was almost as abundant as the white + oak itself. No squirrel will gather acorns where he can possibly get + hickory nuts, and few will gather hickory nuts where the larger and + thinner-shelled walnuts are to be had for the picking. The squirrel is + provident, but no more so than he is fastidious in the choice of his food. + He never plants acorns except for his own gratification, and is never + gratified with indifferent food so long as he can command that which is to + his liking. + </p> + <p> + In further speaking of the "exhausted elements" of the soil--those + necessary for the food of trees as well as plants, and without which they + inevitably perish and disappear--Mr. Emerson says; "This is clearly + indicated in what is constantly going on in the forests, particularly the + fact which I have already stated, and which is abundantly confirmed by my + correspondents, that a forest of one kind is frequently succeeded <i>by a + spontaneous growth of trees of another kind.</i>" In the sense in which he + manifestly uses the term "spontaneous" in this connection, his new forest + might be accounted for on the theory of "primordial germs," but not on + that of "seeds;" for few trees or shrubs in Massachusetts bear winged + seeds, or possess any other means of dispersion (the <i>Acer</i> family + excepted) than those common to our general forest growths. Spontaneity, in + a strictly scientific sense, is not predicable upon the artificial or + chance sowing of either acorns, hickory nuts, or the chits to pine cones. + A spontaneous growth implies a process which is neither usual nor + accidental--a growth without external cause, but from inherent natural + tendency--and it is questionable whether there is any such process in + nature. It belongs to the same class of idle speculations as "spontaneous + generation" in the infusorial world--a subject that will be considered as + we advance in this work. + </p> + <p> + Our vegetable physiologists, Mr. Emerson among the number, are simply + unfortunate in their use of terms--those expressing even the commonest + operations of nature. In their genesis of plants and trees they need to + adhere a little more closely to the genesis of induction, and use language + in harmony with the phenomenal facts and characteristics which they are + called upon to explain. But Mr. Emerson was not alone at fault in this + almost universal slip of the scientific pen. He quotes from a letter of + Mr. P. Sanderson, of East Whately, Mass., in which the writer says: "There + is an instance on my farm of spruce and hackmatack being succeeded by a + spontaneous growth of maple wood;" and he adds that "instances are also + mentioned by him (Mr. Sanderson) of beech and maple succeeding oaks; oaks + following pines, and the reverse; hemlock succeeded by white birch in cold + places, and by hard maple in warm ones; beech succeeded by maple, elm, + etc; and, in fact, the occurrence was so common that surprise was + expressed at the asking of the question." + </p> + <p> + These several alternations in timber growths, effectually vouched for by + Mr. Emerson, occurring "spontaneously" as stated, can hardly be accounted + for on any other theory than the presence of "germs" and "favoring + conditions," such as we have named in connection with the Bible genesis. + They might possibly be explained on the theory of "scattered seeds," if + the several growths had made their appearance gradually, and not + "spontaneously," as stated. The misfortune with Mr. Emerson, as well as + with his several "reliable correspondents," was, that his facts are too + meagrely imparted, in the necessary details, to draw any satisfactory + conclusions from them--such as the nearness or distance of surrounding + trees of the same species, and the possible chances of their seeds taking + lodgment in the soil from which they grew. But, fortunately, there are + facts, and those abundantly substantiated, which entirely negative the + presence of seeds in the soils where these "spontaneous growths" are said + to have appeared. In some instances, they cover large tracts of land, at + distances of thirty, forty, fifty, and even hundreds of miles, from any + native forest from which seed could have been derived. + </p> + <p> + Dr. Dwight, in the second volume of his "Travels," mentions visiting a + town in Vermont (Panton, near Vergennes), in which a piece of land that + had been once cultivated, but was afterwards permitted to lie waste, + "yielded a thick and vigorous growth of hickory, <i>where there was not a + single hickory tree in any original forest within fifty miles of the place</i>." + Of this piece of land he says: "The native growth here was white pine, of + which I did not see a single stem in the whole grove of hickory." He is + greatly puzzled to account for this isolated growth of hickory, but + readily concludes that "the fruit was too heavy to be carried fifty miles + by birds; besides" he adds, "it is not eaten by any bird indigenous to + Vermont." And even if the birds had carried the nuts thither, not one of + them could have been planted there unless the nut-eating bird had been + caught and destroyed on the spot, and the nut released from its crop. This + might account for the appearance of a single tree, but not for a "whole + grove of hickory;" and the squirrels certainly could not have been + provident enough to plant any considerable grove in this particular + locality, and nowhere else within fifty miles of it. The winds could not + have borne them that distance without dropping a single nut by the way, + and there is only one supposition left, which is that indicated in the + Bible genesis. + </p> + <p> + While Dr. Dwight emphatically rejects the "transportation theory," he + imagined he had solved the difficulty in his suggestion "that the + cultivation of the land had brought up the seeds of a former forest, + within the limits of vegetation, and given them an opportunity to + vegetate." But the utter absurdity of this theory may be demonstrated by + any one inside of two years, by placing hickory nuts, in different soils, + at a depth to which an ordinary plough-point would reach in cultivation; + and then, at the end of the second year, examining those that did not + germinate the first year. The commonest observer of a hickory forest knows + that if the fallen nuts do not germinate the first year, their vitality is + utterly and hopelessly gone. It makes no difference whether you leave the + nuts on the ground where they fall, or place them one inch or twenty + inches beneath the soil, the result will be the same. At the end of two + years, you can pulverize them between thumb and finger almost as easily as + so much dried loam. The idea of deriving a new forest from such nuts, is + hardly less absurd than that of emptying the Egyptian catacombs of their + old mummy-cases, in the expectation of seeing a race of Theban kings + stalking the earth as before the foundations of either Carthage or Rome + were laid. + </p> + <p> + Dr. Dwight was a very close and accurate observer of nature, and suffered + few of even the minor points of detail to escape him. In the same work, as + well as in the same connection, he gives an account of another forest, + which he supposes sprang spontaneously from "the seeds of an ancient + vegetation." He says: "A field about five miles from Northampton (Mass.), + on an eminence called 'Rail Hill,' was cultivated about a century ago (<i>circiter</i> + 1720). The native growth here, and in all the surrounding region, was + wholly oak, chestnut, etc. As the field belonged to my grandfather, I had + the best opportunity of learning its history. It contained about five + acres, in the form of an irregular parallelogram. As the savages rendered + the cultivation dangerous, it was given up. On this ground there sprang up + a grove of white pines, covering the field and retaining its figure + exactly. So far as I remember, there was not in it a single oak or + chestnut tree;" and he adds, "<i>there was not a single pine whose seeds + were, or, probably, had for ages been, sufficiently near to have been + planted on this spot</i>." He supposes, however, that the "seeds" (pine + cone chits) had lain dormant for ages before cultivation brought them up + "within the limits of vegetation." + </p> + <p> + As early as 1807, Judge Peters, of Philadelphia, became satisfied that all + that elevated region around the head waters of the Delaware, Alleghany, + and Genesee Rivers, then covered with heavy growths of hemlock, or with + forests of beech and sugar-maple, was originally an oak forest, probably + covering most of that entire region. And Mr. John Adlum, of Havre de + Grace, Md., who originally surveyed the lands south of the great bend of + the Susquehanna, between that river and the Delaware, conceived the same + idea as early as 1788. The section surveyed by him was chiefly covered + with beech and sugar-maple; in fact, it was in what was called, at the + time, "the beech and sugar-maple country." He drew his inferences from the + fact that he found, here and there, at irregular intervals, red and white + oaks growing to an enormous size, none being less than sixteen feet, and + many measuring twenty-two feet or more, in circumference five feet above + the ground. He says that "the hemlock in this region seems to have + succeeded the oak, while the beech and maple no doubt succeeded the + hemlock." This last inference would seem to have been made from the fact + that clumps of large hemlock trees were, at that time, still growing at + intervals among the larger deciduous trees. + </p> + <p> + Indeed, there is no better established fact in vegetable physiology than + that of these alternations of forest growths. They sometimes come on + gradually, but, in a majority of instances, they make their appearance at + once on the cutting off of old forests, in the tracks of tornadoes, or + where fire has devastated extensive regions of timber. From the facts + which have been gathered, it is difficult to determine any regular order + of alternation, except that oaks and other deciduous trees succeed the + different varieties of pine and other evergreen growths, and, perhaps, <i>vice + versa</i>. In Dr. Hough's report upon American Forestry, he makes a brief + summary of the order of these alternations in different sections of the + country, on the authority of persons apparently more or less well-informed + on the subject, but by no means accurate observers. He says that in the + region about Green Bay, Wis., overrun by the fires of 1871, "dense growths + of poplars and birches have sprung up, and are growing rapidly;" but he + omits the most important fact of all, in his failure to state the previous + growths of timber, or whether there were any neighboring growths of poplar + along the track of the burnt district from which seed might have been + derived. + </p> + <p> + Here are some of his more important statements:-- + </p> + <p> + "At Clarksville, Ga., oak and hickory lands, when cleared, invariably grew + up with pine. This is true of that region of country generally." + </p> + <p> + "At Aiken, S.C., the long-leaf pine is succeeded by oaks and other + deciduous trees, and <i>vice versa</i>." + </p> + <p> + "In Bristol County, Mass., in some cases, after pines have been cut off, + oak, maple, and birch have sprung up abundantly." + </p> + <p> + "In Hancock County, Ill., oaks have been succeeded by hickories." + </p> + <p> + "In East Hamburgh, Erie County, N.Y., a growth of hemlock, elm, and soft + maple, was succeeded by beech, soft maple, and hard maple, but a good deal + more of the last named than any other." + </p> + <p> + This is the general character of the summary given, and if its object were + simply to show the fact that these alternations actually took place (one + that nobody has disputed in the last half century), his chapter on the + "Alternations of Forest Growths," is a scientific success. The information + really desired in these cases, was that imparted by Dr. Dwight in his + suggestive work of travel, in which all the incidental facts and + surrounding circumstances are fully given. It does not appear from any of + the foregoing statements, given as a specimen, that there were any + neighboring trees sufficiently near to have supplied seed for the new + forests taking the place of the old,--manifestly the most important + physiological fact connected with the whole inquiry, whether looking to + proper forest-management, or to future "schools of forestry," certain to + be established in this country, as they have been in most of the leading + countries of Europe. + </p> + <p> + It is, however, stated by Dr. Hough, in his voluminous report, that, "in + New England, the pine (without giving its varieties) is often succeeded by + the white birch, and, in New Jersey, by the oak; the succession of oak by + pine, and the reverse, in the southern states." And it is further stated, + without reference to the nature and quality of the different soils, or the + absence or presence of neighboring seed-trees, that "poplars and other + soft woods are very often found coming up in pine districts that have been + ravaged by fire." "We have noticed," he continues, "in Nebraska, ash, elm, + and box-elder following cottonwood. In the natural starting of timber in + the prairie region of Illinois, where the stopping of fires allowed, we + often see a hazel coppice; after a time the cratægus, and finally + the oaks, black-walnuts, and other timber. These growths are often quite + aggressive on the prairies. In Florida, the black-jack oak usually takes + the place of the long-leaf pine." In all these cases, the contiguousness + of similar, or dissimilar growths, is not stated. + </p> + <p> + He nevertheless cites a most important fact respecting the alternations of + timber growth, noticed by Sir Alexander Mackenzie, in his overland journey + from Montreal to the Arctic Ocean, in 1789, who found, in the vicinity of + Slave Lake, that the banks were covered with large quantities of burnt + wood lying on the ground, where young poplar trees had sprung up + immediately after the destruction of the previous growths by fire. In + noticing this fact, the indefatigable English explorer remarks: "It is a + very curious and extraordinary circumstance that land covered with spruce, + pine, and white birch, when laid waste by fire, should subsequently + produce nothing but poplars, <i>where none of that species of tree was + previously to be found"</i>. But facts of a similar character are too + numerous and well-authenticated to be questioned by any intelligent + authority. And they all point to but one solution--that of primordial + germs quickened into life by the necessary environing conditions. The + appearance of a single poplar in the locality named, or even a dozen of + them for that matter, might be accounted for on the theory that a bird of + passage had dropped them there after the fire; but, under no conceivable + circumstances, could the dispersion of the requisite amount of seed to + plant an extensive burnt district, along the banks of Slave Lake, have + occurred on any other theory than that emphatically set forth, as a + physiological fact, in the Bible genesis. + </p> + <p> + There is manifestly importance enough attaching to this subject to justify + a much wider range of observation and inquiry than has yet been made. Pine + forests have been cut off in Alabama and Georgia, covering extensive + areas, where there was not a single oak tree in a circuit of miles; and + yet the oak has promptly made its appearance, in several varieties, over + the whole cleared district. And it is entirely safe to say that, had the + ground been thoroughly examined, from the surface to ten feet below it, + after the pine had been felled, not the first sign of an acorn could have + been met with anywhere within the whole area of the clearing, no matter + whether it covered ten acres, twenty, or a hundred. The paths of the + tornadoes we have referred to conclusively show this. The new-born + forests, in these cases, do not come from seed, but from the living, + indestructible, vital principles implanted in the earth, before it was + specifically commanded to "bring forth," in the language of the Bible + genesis. The "materialists," like Professor Bastian, Herbert Spencer, and + others, may sneer at this declaration, but let them advance some rational + theory to the contrary, to account for these alternations of forest + growths, before they lay bare the joints of their scientific armor too + confidently to the thrusts of the next new-comer in the field of + scientific investigation. Sneers are cheap weapons--the mere side-arms of + pretension and frippery--but they never bear so deadly a gibe as when + effectually turned on the sneerer. + </p> + <p> + Professor Moritz Wagner, in his description of Mount Ararat, mentions "a + singular phenomenon," to which his guide drew his attention, "in the + appearance of several plants on soil lately thrown up by an earthquake, + which grew nowhere else on the mountain, and had never been observed in + this (that) region before." This writer, thereupon, goes into a + disquisition upon the vitality of long-buried seeds, but only to mar the + value of his very important observation. The fact that these new plants + were rejected by the other soil of the mountain--that not thrown up by the + earthquake--is the only other observation of value made by this writer. + And the importance of this one observation lies in the apparent, if not + conclusive fact, that the conditions of the other soil of the mountain + were not favorable for the development of the primordial germs, or vital + units, contained in that which was thrown up by the earthquake, a + circumstance that most materially strengthens the view we have taken, as + all candid and impartial readers will agree. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Darwin inadvertently makes a very material concession in favor of the + theory we have advanced, although unconscious of any such theory, except + that so broadly and unqualifiedly put forth by the "panspermists" as to + meet with a ready refutation. He is laboring, of course, to strengthen his + position that nature eternally works to get rid of her imperfect forms, or + to ensure "the survival of the fittest." But while his facts accomplish + little in this direction, they establish much in another, as the reader + will see. He says: "In Staffordshire, on an estate of a relative, where I + had ample means of investigation, there was a large and extremely barren + heath, which had never been touched by the hand of man; but several + hundred acres of exactly the same nature had been enclosed twenty-five + years before, and planted with scotch fir. The change in the native + vegetation of the planted part of the heath was most remarkable--more than + is generally seen in passing from one quite different soil to another; not + only the proportional numbers of the heath plants were wholly changed, <i>but + twelve species of plants </i> (not including grasses and sedges) + flourished in the plantation which could not be found on the heath." The + attempt is here made, by Mr. Darwin, to convey an altogether different + meaning to his facts than what they will warrant, even as adroitly handled + by him. No heath plants were "wholly changed" in characteristics, but only + in proportional numbers; nor did the "twelve new species of plants" make + their appearance by virtue of any law of variability or selection of the + fittest. The growth of scotch fir had simply changed the conditions of the + soil, so that certain varieties of heath growth disappeared for the want + of "necessary conditions," and certain varieties of forest growth made + their appearance because conditions favored. Similar, if not greater + changes, are constantly occurring in hundreds of localities in New + England, where choked and worn-out pasture lands are left, untouched by + the hand of man, to grow up as best they may into new forests. The + open-field plants and shrubs entirely disappear, as the stronger and more + aggressive trees, taking root in favoring soils, advance in the struggle + for supremacy, while the less hardy and more modest plants--those quietly + seeking shelter in the woods--make their appearance, because they find, + beneath the shade of the usurping forest, the precise conditions necessary + for their more successful growth. + </p> + <p> + No perishable seeds have been awakened from their "sleep of untold + centuries" by these changed conditions of the soil; but nature, everywhere + obeying the divine mandate, brings forth her implanted life in all its + bountiful diversity of stalk, leaf, bud, bough, blossom, fruit,--not in + obedience to man's husbandry alone, but because, as the "vicar of God," + she must provide for her benefice. "Let the earth bring forth" is the + eternal fiat. Nature forever heeds it, and forever obeys it. "Oh, ye blind + guides, who strain at a gnat and swallow a camel, doubt it if ye will." + But forget not that nature has her "compunctious visitings," and will rise + up in insurrection against you. Nothing in her breast lies dormant for + ages, or even for an hour. Her appointed times and seasons forbid it. If + the butterfly does not sport in her sunshine to-day, it is because it lies + dead in its golden-colored shroud, and can never become a butterfly. In + all her profusion and prodigality--flinging her glittering jewels, even in + mid-winter, over all her enamored woods, and causing her little fountains + to leap up from their crystal beds in delight, that they may be frozen, + mid-air, into more sparkling jets--she exhibits no such munificence as in + her unsparing prodigality of life. To be prodigal in this was the first + command she received, and her great heart constantly throbs to give it + expression. And in all this she simply obeys a kindly law which has been + implanted in her bosom, and can never be displanted. She has no need of + seeds in her cunning laboratory to perpetuate plant-life, and only yields + them to man for use, and not abuse. He can utilize them if he will, so + that all things of beauty and golden-fruited promise shall be his. In the + language of her greatest and most profoundly philosophical poet,-- + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + "Nature never lends<br /> The smallest scruple of her excellence,<br /> + But, like a thrifty goddess, she determines<br /> Herself the glory of a + creditor--<br /> <i>Both thanks and use</i>." + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + Those who think, therefore, to make nature a debtor, by reversing her laws + of propagation and making her dependent on what she bestows in use, will + never find out the smallest scruple of her excellence, nor add to her + glory as a creditor. All things are framed in her prodigality, and the + seeds of plants and trees are no exception to the quality of her + bestowals. We may reason, syllogize, speculate as we will, the first plant + and the first tree were not nature's thankless bastards, but her + legitimate and loving offspring. She engendered them in her own fruitful + breast, and her "copy is eterne." + </p> + <h2> + <a name="04"></a>Chapter IV. + </h2> + <h3> + The Distribution and Vitality of Seeds. + </h3> + <p> + Few questions have attracted more attention among vegetable physiologists, + of late years, than the dispersion and migration of seeds from place to + place in the earth, and it is safe to say that none has been more + unsatisfactorily answered. In the case of quite a number of plants and + trees, special contrivances would seem to have been provided by nature for + insuring their dispersion, as well as migration. With a small number of + plants, for instance, the seeds are discharged for short distances by the + explosive force of their seed-vessels, when properly matured; an equally + small number have certain membranous contrivances, called "wings," by + which they may be borne still greater distances; others, again, are + provided with light feathery tufts, to which the seed is attached, and + these may be carried by the winds several miles before finding a lodgment + in the soil; while many others are inclosed in prickly and barb-pointed + coverings by which they attach themselves to animals, and even birds, and + may be transported to almost any distance. But with the great majority of + plants and trees, as the seeds fall so they lie, and must continue to lie + until they either germinate or perish, or are accidentally dispersed or + scattered by some extrinsic agency. The anxiety of speculative botanists + to account for the recognized alternations of forest and other growths, + have led to the different theories of transportation we have named; and + when these theories have been supplemented by the alleged wonderful + vitality of seeds, in the cunning recesses in which nature manages to + conceal them, they imagine the whole difficulty solved, when, in point of + fact, it remains wholly unsolved. + </p> + <p> + This theory of the "wonderful vitality" of seeds is simply one, as we have + said, to force a conclusion--to get rid of a lion in the scientific path. + Professor Marsh, with other eminent and scholarly writers on vegetable + physiology, scouts the idea that the seeds of some of our cereal crops + have been preserved for three or four thousand years in the "ashy dryness" + of the Egyptian catacombs. But what better repository in which to preserve + them? Certainly, none of our modern granaries, with all their machinery + for keeping the grain dry, or from over-heating. Nor are the catacombs to + be despised, as compared with any out-door means of storage yet suggested + by the wit of man. The only means nature has of storage, or rather of + preservation by storage, is to welcome the seed back to her bosom--the + earth from which its parent-seed sprang--where it may be speedily + quickened into life, and bear "other grain," not itself. For "that which + thou sowest is not quickened, except it die;" and much more is that dead + which is not quickened. Whenever seed is thus returned to nature's + bosom--all-palpitating as it is with life--whether it quickens or not, it + dies; and there is no resurrection for dead seed from the earth, any more + than there is for the occupants of the exhumed mummy-cases of ancient + Thebes. + </p> + <p> + The belief in this wonderful vitality of seeds, in the positions in which + nature deposits them, is pretty much on a par with that which assigns a + thousand years to the life of a crow. As nobody but the scholastic fool in + the fable has ever attempted to verify the correctness of this latter + belief, so it is safe to assume that the experiment of verifying the + former will not be successfully undertaken within the next thousand years, + to say the least. It is well known that the vitality of seeds (so far, at + least, as nature handles them) depends, upon her cunning contrivances for + their preservation, as well as their dispersion. But many seeds, in which + these contrivances would seem to be the most perfect, will not germinate + after the second year, and few will do so to advantage after the third or + fourth year, even when they have been kept under the most favorable + circumstances, or in uniform dryness and temperature. Farmers, who have + had practical experience in this matter, and care little for what is + merely theoretical, will never plant seed that is three or four years old + when they can get that of the previous year's growth. It is certain that + no hickory nut will retain its vitality beyond the first year of its + exposure to a New England soil and climate, and few seeds are better + protected by nature against such exposure; and it is equally questionable + whether the chits to Dr. Dwight's pine cones would have had any better + chance of survival at the time the Indians infested the neighborhood of + Northampton, and regularly fired the woods every autumn. + </p> + <p> + Although Professor Marsh confidently says, in his work on. "Man and + Nature," that "the vitality of seeds seems almost imperishable while they + remain in the situations in which nature deposits them," he will no doubt + admit that this statement rests on no experimental knowledge, but simply + on the hypothesis that the new forests and new species of plants to which + he refers, originated from seeds, and not from primordial germs everywhere + implanted in the earth. Dr. G. Chaplin Child, who swallows the "Egyptian + wheat" story, mummy-cases and all, in speaking of some of the English + "dykes" or mound-fences which have existed from time well-nigh immemorial, + says: "No sooner are these dykes leveled than the seeds of wild flowers, + which must have lain in them for ages, sprout forth vigorously, just as if + the ground had been recently sown with seed." He also mentions, as a more + or less remarkable fact, "that a house, which was known to have existed + for two hundred years, was pulled down, and, no sooner was the surface + soil exposed to the influence of light and moisture, than it became + covered with a crop of wild-mustard or charlock." And he instances these + facts to show that the seeds of this charlock, and these dyke plants, had + lain dormant in the soil from the time the dykes were built, and the house + erected. But these physiological facts, however well authenticated they + may have been, are no more conclusive of the presence of dormant seed, + than the appearance of the common plantain about a recently built + dwelling-house, where none ever grew before, is proof that the seeds of + this common household plant had lain dormant for ages before the house was + erected. We cannot tell why this common plant follows the domestic + household, any more than we can tell why rats follow civilization. But + they are both sufficiently annoying at times, to satisfy us that they <i>do</i> + follow, however inexplicable the reason may be. + </p> + <p> + The same writer further says, in connection with the foregoing statements: + "Instances (of the vitality of seeds) might easily be multiplied almost + indefinitely, but we shall be satisfied with noticing one of a very + extraordinary kind. In the time of the Emperor Hadrian, a man died soon + after he had eaten plentifully of raspberries. He was buried at + Dorchester. About twenty-eight years ago, the remains of this man, + together with coins of the Roman Emperor, were discovered in a coffin (!) + at the bottom of a barrow, thirty feet under the surface. The man had thus + lain undisturbed for some 1700 years. But the most curious circumstance + connected with the case was, that <i>the raspberry seeds were recovered + from the stomach</i> (!) and sown in the garden of the Horticultural + Society, where they germinated and grew into healthy bushes," Here is + circumstantiality enough to satisfy the most unlimited skepticism, + provided that the facts were satisfactorily vouched for by the living, and + the record left by the dead were sufficiently explicit in detail, and + conclusive in identity of subject. Then to suggest even a reasonable doubt + would, we admit, be equivalent to making truth a circumstantial liar. + </p> + <p> + But this most remarkable story will bear repetition, with a few running + comments. "The man (presumably a Roman soldier) died seventeen hundred + years ago." This is not unlikely. "He died of eating too plentifully of + raspberries;" a circumstance not altogether improbable. "He was buried at + Dorchester;" where, of course, there were no records of deaths and burials + kept at the time, and hence, we should have to question the record, if one + were presented. "He was also buried in a coffin, or, at least, dug up in + one." This statement must be received <i>cum grano</i>. The Romans never + used coffins, and, under the empire, they burnt most of their dead. After + a battle, however, they generally piled them up in heaps, and, where there + was a lack of fuel to burn them, they covered them with the surface soil, + taking good care to put a Roman coin in each soldier's mouth, so that he + might pay the ferryman in Hades. "There was thirty-five feet of surface + soil shoveled on top of this particular Roman,"--showing that he was a + very consequential personage in camp. No wonder, then, that all these nice + particularities of statement should have been circumstantially noted in + the commanding general's "order of the day," and thus been handed down to + posterity for the future advancement of science! "He had lain undisturbed + for nearly two thousand years." Almost any one would have done so, with + that amount of surface soil shoveled on top of him. "The seeds were + recovered from his stomach;" that is, after improvidently snatching away + the Roman soldier's life, they took good care to preserve their own, as + well as the stomach in which they were deposited. "The seeds were planted + in the Horticultural Society's garden, where they flourished vigorously." + </p> + <p> + All these circumstantially narrated facts (?) were gathered (by somebody) + about forty years ago. In what authentic and satisfactorily verified + record are they to be found to-day? The writer gives us no clue. The + stomach, the coffin, the Roman coins, some of the wonderfully preserved + seeds, as well as the <i>obolus</i> in the mouth of the dead soldier, + should be found somewhere. They could not have disappeared in a night. If + they had withstood the relentless tooth of time for seventeen hundred + years, in the surface soil of Dorchester, the last forty years ought not + to have obliterated all trace of them. The story is simply too incredible + for belief, if printed in forty "Great Architects of Nature." + </p> + <p> + From 1847 to 1851, the writer went into any number of Wisconsin + mounds--those not essentially dissimilar from the Roman barrows in + England--in company with the late I. A. Lapham, of Milwaukee; and the idea + of finding any human stomach, with or without seeds in it--with probably + not half the time intervening between burial and exhumation, as in the + case of this Roman soldier--would have been instantly rejected by the + distinguished archaeologist accompanying us. Indeed, had any such + discovery been made, he would have unhesitatingly pronounced the mound + tampered with for the purposes of imposition. It is possible that surface + soil, containing some raspberry seeds, may have been taken to the + "Horticultural Society's garden" to which Dr. Child refers, and planted + there as stated; but that they were from a human stomach that had lain + buried for seventeen hundred years in the surface soil of England, or any + other country, is simply preposterous. It caps the climax of all the + wonderful "seed-stories" yet manufactured for the scientific mind to + wrestle with. It is easy enough to find soil about old stumps, and fallen + trunks and branches of trees, which will produce raspberries, either with + or without the presence of seed. And soil might have been taken from the + bottom of this Dorchester barrow which produced them. But the appearance + of the bushes must have depended on the conditions of the soil, not on + seeds eaten by a Roman soldier nearly two thousand years ago. That version + of the story must be summarily dismissed the attention of scientific men. + </p> + <p> + Professor Marsh, in the work to which we have already several times + alluded, says: "When newly cleared ground is burnt over in the United + States, the ashes are hardly cold before they are covered with a crop of + fire-weed, a tall herbaceous plant, very seldom growing under other + circumstances, and often not to be found for a distance of many miles from + the clearing." The botanical name of this plant is <i>Erechthites + hieracifolia</i>, and it is well known to the botanists of New England. + Its seeds are almost as destructible by fire as thistle-down itself; and + it is not to be supposed that any of the seeds borne by the winds or by + birds, and scattered through the clearing before it was burned, could have + survived the intense heat to which they must have been subjected in the + burning off of a heavy and dense growth of felled timber. The seeds, if + any, must have been scattered after the fire, and not before it. But these + heavy clearings--those in which we have witnessed the most abundant crops + of fire-weed--are generally burnt off in the early spring, when there are + no seeds to be scattered, as all those of the previous year's growth find + their proper lodgment in the soil before the winter fully closes in. The + seeds for which Professor Marsh would have to search, therefore, would be + those <i>grown in some corresponding latitude, or plant zone, in the + southern hemisphere</i>, not within thousands of miles from the clearing + in which they so promptly make their appearance. + </p> + <p> + Professor Marsh suggests, however, that they may have come from "the + deeply buried seeds of a former vegetation, quickened into life by the + heat." But had he examined these plants, in their incipient stages of + growth, he would have found that they sprung directly from the surface of + the burnt soil, their initial rootlets hardly extending to the depth of + two-thirds of an inch below it, and where they must have utterly perished + from the heat. The theory he suggests is the only possible one, he thinks, + to account for the mystery, and hence its suggestion by him. But he has + only to pass one of the delicate seeds of this plant through the flame of + a candle to see that it instantly perishes by fire. His suggested theory + must be abandoned, therefore, and that of the Bible genesis accepted in + its place. + </p> + <p> + The fact is, and it ought to be well known to the closer student of + nature, that the fire-weed makes its appearance in the "conditions" of the + burnt soil, just as stramonium does in the conditions of the soil where a + coal-pit has been recently burned; that is, not from seed, but from "vital + units," or germs, everywhere present in the earth--those taking advantage + of environing conditions, just as <i>Bacteria</i> or <i>Torultz</i> spring + from the proper organic infusions. And the young shoots of stramonium, in + a recently burned coal-pit, will be found to spring directly from the + surface of the burnt ground, where all seeds and living organism must have + perished in the heat, and not at any considerable depth below it. Their + first appearance is on the immediate surface of the burnt ground, the same + as in the case of fire-weed, and at a time when there were no seeds to be + distributed, except such as must have come from the southern hemisphere, + or been casually picked up by birds, and taken their slim chances of + survival after passing through the natural "gristmills" of the birds. And + even this supposition, would only account for the appearance of a single + stramonium plant or two, not for a thick bed of it covering the entire + ground. The theory of seed-distribution, in this and other cases, is + wholly out of the question; as much so as when white clover makes its + appearance on a closely-grazed prairie, hundreds of miles away from where + there has been a single sprig of clover growing in a thousand years. Every + closely observant person, living for any length of time on our western + prairies, is familiar with the fact that when the rank and hardier + grasses, usually growing thereon, are effectually fed down by stock, and + especially by sheep, the prairie grasses disappear, and the ground at once + comes in with white clover, and the other nutritious gramma or grasses of + our common pasture lands. No seed has been sown in these localities, and + none could have been found had every square inch of the surface soil been + examined by the most powerful microscope. The white clover and these + nutritious grasses make their appearance on these prairies, just as the + first sprig of vegetation did on the earth, not from seed, but from preëxisting + vital units or primordial germs, implanted therein from the beginning, and + awaiting the necessary conditions for their development and growth. + </p> + <p> + The "bird theory" is the one almost universally relied upon for the + explanation of these phenomena, where the seeds distributed, or supposed + to be distributed, are not winged. But we are satisfied that birds perform + no such important office, in the matter of seed-distribution, as is + generally attributed to them. We have examined, during the past two + seasons, a large number of bird-droppings, and find our previous + impressions respecting them fully verified. With all the more delicate + seeds--those of our common field grasses and weeds--the chances are a + thousand to one that none of them will ever pass the cloaca of the bird + eating them, in any condition to germinate. All seed-eating birds are also + gravel-eaters; and the pebbles and gravel they eat are mostly silex, or + the material from which our best buhrstones are made. These pass into the + gizzard, or pyloric division of the bird's stomach, where they are + utilized, the same as we utilize our buhrstones. The gizzard has sharply + corrugated interior walls, extremely thick and muscular, which + involuntarily contract and expand, giving the bird a tremendous grinding + power over his food, considering the size of his grinding apparatus. The + seeds--all the seeds, in fact, he eats--pass at once into his crop, or the + natural "hopper" to his "gristmill," where they undergo a moistening or + macerating process previous to being ground into the finest pulp in the + gizzard. As a general rule, all the seeds a bird eats are ground into this + pulpy state before they pass into the intestinal canal, extending from the + gizzard to the cloaca. The hard, semi-translucent, and highly elastic + outer coating of most small seeds, may be measurably preserved in its + passage through the gizzard, and, resuming its oval shape in the thinner + pulpy mass contained in the upper portion of the intestine, present the + appearance of seed in the cloacal discharges, and thus deceive the casual + observer. But the use of a spatula and a small piece of polished stone + slab will show that the entire discharge is excrementitious matter, with + the single exception of this silicious coating of the seeds. + </p> + <p> + The case is different, however, with the fruit-eating birds. The fruits + they consume are retained but a comparatively short time in the crop, pass + hurriedly through the gizzard, and no doubt carry along with them some of + the smaller seeds of berries, and now and then the pit of a cherry or + small plum. The gizzard, in these cases, is simply gorged with the pulp + and juices of the fruit, its muscular action more or less relaxed, and + some of the seeds consequently escape the grinding process they would + otherwise undergo. And yet we are satisfied that a majority of these seeds + even, are more or less thoroughly triturated by a healthy gravel-eating + bird. This would certainly be the case if they were retained for any + length of time in the pyloric division of the bird's stomach. All birds + have gizzards, but their grinding capacity depends very much on the + character of the food they eat. Birds of prey, and others subsisting + mostly or entirely on animal food, have thin, membranous, and + comparatively flabby gizzards; while those living on hard grains and seeds + have extremely thick, powerful, and muscular ones,--those capable of + crushing up and thoroughly triturating all the food they take into their + crops. These gizzards are nature's gristmills, and they grind exceedingly + fine. If any seed escapes, it is because the mill has been flooded by the + bird, and not because of any defect in the grinding apparatus. + </p> + <p> + These birds are not, therefore "natural sowers of seeds," as Professor + Marsh and some others claim; but are, at most, only accidental or + chance-sowers. Nature never designed that they should do anything more + than consume the food they eat, or submit it to the proper action of their + digestive organs. It might as well be claimed that the secretary bird is a + "natural sower of serpents," as that many of the grain-eating birds are + "the natural sowers of seeds." The theory is too foraminated--too full of + loopholes and unsatisfactory conditions--to be accepted as an explanation + of the more general phenomena presented. The fruit-eating quadrupeds are, + relatively, far better sowers of seeds than the birds, for they eat fruit + without sending their grists to mill. Dr. Dwight rejected the + transportation theory as early as 1820, and Professor Marsh gives any + number of cases where it was necessary for him to abandon it. And yet some + of our ablest writers, publishing works of quite recent date, adhere to it + as the only theory that accounts for all the phenomena presented. + </p> + <p> + Professor George Thurber, in speaking of the dissemination of seeds, finds + other agencies therefor than winds, birds, quadrupeds, etc., such as we + have already named. For instance, he claims that rivers, ocean currents, + mountain torrents, and even wars, contribute largely towards their + dispersion and dissemination throughout different parts of the earth. All + this may be true to a limited extent; but none of these enumerated + agencies will account for more than a very few of the many + well-authenticated facts we have given, and many others that might be + given, if our limits permitted. Among the instances where wars have had, + or are claimed to have had, an important agency in the distribution of + seeds throughout an invaded country, he mentions the fact that "after our + late civil war, a little leguminous plant (<i>Lespedeza striata</i>) + sprang up all over the southern states," and adds, "that it was not known + how it came, or where from, but its native country is Japan." In some + parts of the South it is known as "Japan clover," and is highly valued as + a forage plant. But the war had nothing more to do with the appearance of + this plant "all over the southern states," than the changes of the moon, + or the phenomenal man therein. The plant had been noticed in certain + localities in the South before the war, but the circumstance of its very + general appearance throughout a large area of that section of country, was + not particularly noticed until the confederate troops began to move from + one southern state to another, when, finding it a valuable forage plant, + they naturally enough regarded it as a providential dispensation, + especially in those sections where other forage plants and nutritious + gramma were not abundant. But this plant would have made its appearance + just the same had the war never been thought of as a possible remedy for + aggressive legislation, however real or imaginary it may have been. + </p> + <p> + It can be easily accounted for, however, on the theory we have + suggested--that of the germinal principle of life implanted in the earth, + as the Bible genesis indubitably indicates. The plant in question has long + been a native of Japan, which lies in the same warm temperate zone as the + southern states. The same general hygrometric and thermometric conditions + prevail throughout the two countries or sections of country. These, added + to the necessary telluric conditions, give the required moisture, heat, + and soil-constituents for the development of the Japan clover in the + South, the same as it was originally developed in its native country. And + it is just as much native to the South now, as it was hundreds or + thousand's of years ago to Japan. It did not come from seeds scattered by + war, or any other imaginable agency of man, but from the indestructible, + vital units or germs implanted in the earth itself. Had the plant appeared + in any one locality, or even in half a dozen separate localities, in the + South, it might possibly have been accounted for on the theory of + Professor Thurber. But its simultaneous appearance over "all the southern + states," as he puts it, absolutely negatives any such theory. Neither + winds, river or ocean currents, casual mountain torrents, birds, + quadrupeds, war, or even man himself, could have effected this sudden and + wide distribution of the plant in question. It came as did all other + plant-life, in the first instance, from geographical conditions--those + favoring the development of primordial germs--just as the different + organic infusions, experimentally prepared by the physiologist, produce + their respective forms of infusorial life; each distinctive form depending + on the chemical conditions of the infusion at the time the microscopic + examination is made. Change the conditions, or defer the examination until + the conditions themselves are changed, and other and different forms of + life will make their appearance, in harmony with the physiological law we + have named. + </p> + <p> + This wonderful play of the vital forces of nature is no less dependant on + "conditions"--on the necessary pre-existing plasma, chemically balanced + soils, organic solutions, etc.--than the alleged "dynamical aggregates," "<i>molecules + organiques</i>," "plastide particles," or "highly differentiated + life-stuff," insisted upon by the physicists, in their materialistic + theories of life. These physicists make even the slightest change in + developmental phases--whether statical, as in the case of crystals, or + dynamical, as in the case of living organisms--to depend on physical + conditions,--those aiding and abetting what they call the "molecular play + of physical forces." But with their theory that matter and motion are the + only self-subsistent, indestructible elements in the universe, what + "molecular play" can be attributed to matter but that which is derived + from motion, or some one of its alleged correlates? We can only imagine + two sorts of motion as possible metaphysical conceptions in connection + with matter--<i>molar</i> motion, or that relating to matter moving in + mass, and <i>molecular</i> motion, or that relating to the movements of + matter in its unaggregated form, or as confined to molecules. + </p> + <p> + But motion itself is not an absolute entity. It is not so much even as a + collocating or placing force of matter itself. It is, at best, only a + mechanical impulse imparted by one moving body to another; or, more + accurately speaking, a continuous change of place in a moving body. In + other words, it is simply a <i>process</i> or <i>mode</i> of action, and + stands in about the same relation to matter as <i>growth</i> does to a + living plant or tree. Independently of matter it has no existence, either + objectively or subjectively, or even as a metaphysical conception. To + allege its indestructibility, as the physicists do, is simply to predicate + an additional property of indestructible matter. We may call it + "force"--something that constantly expends itself in a moving body--but it + is utterly incapable of definition, or of conception even, except as it + stands related to such moving body. All the marvellous "correlates of + motion," therefore, producing such wonderful effects upon matter, in both + its molar and molecular states or conditions, are nothing more nor less + than vague and inconclusive inductions, derived from premises having, at + best, nothing but a relative existence in a universe of moving matter. It + would be decidedly better to agree with Haeckel, that matter is the only + actual existence, than to predicate of matter a co-existent and wholly + inexplicable "somewhat," whereon to base a purely physical hypothesis of + life. + </p> + <p> + But let us return from this slight digression. The beautiful and purely + local fern (<i>Schizoea pusilla</i>) growing in the pine barrens of New + Jersey, affords quite as conclusive proof of the correctness of the Bible + genesis of life as the phenomenal appearance of Japan clover in the South. + It was at one time supposed that this most delicate and beautiful of all + our ferns was peculiar to the New Jersey pine barrens. But it has been + ascertained that it grows quite as abundantly in similar barrens in New + Zealand, which are in the south temperate zone, at about the same latitude + south, that these pine barrens of New Jersey occupy in the temperate zone + north. So that, at whatever period this fern originally made its + appearance in either locality, it unquestionably found the exact + thermometric, hygrometric, telluric, and other conditions necessary for + the development of its vital germs. Take any accurate, or even + half-accurate, chart of plant distribution on the earth's surface, and it + will be found that, everywhere, under the same favoring conditions, plants + of the same genera and species make their appearance independently of any + known processes of dissemination in the case of seeds. The distribution is + not one of seeds, but rather of geographical conditions--thermometric, + hygrometric, telluric, and possibly chemical. And this is true of all + vegetation, whether growing in the same plant zones, in high latitudes, at + high altitudes, or under one degree of temperature and moisture or + another. Whenever the telluric conditions are the same or similar, in the + respective localities named, and the temperature and moisture correspond, + the necessary plant distribution follows in obedience to the divine + mandate--"Let the earth bring forth." This is the one uniform law that + governs everywhere, and the only one that accounts for all the diversified + manifestations of plant-life, now, as heretofore, taking place upon our + globe. And the same is measurably true of animal life. It accounts for the + appearance of every form of life in organic infusions; for <i>Bacteria</i> + in the blood, <i>Torulæ</i> in the tissues, plastide particles, + morphological cells, and every other vital manifestation, from the + smallest conceivable "unit" of life in protaplasmic matter, to the + lordliest and most defiant forest oak that ever bared its arms to the + storms and tempests of centuries. A purely materialistic science may perk + its head with an air of affected incredulity, and superciliously turn + aside from this hypothesis, because it does not shock our veneration for + the Sacred Scriptures, but let its special advocates advance some more + consistent and rational life-theory than that of "molecular machinery + worked by molecular force," or content themselves, with Dr. Gull, in + confessing that they are unable to draw the first line between "living + matter" and "dead matter," as they absurdly use these terms. + </p> + <p> + It is conceded that much extravagant speculation has been wasted upon this + question of the distribution of seeds. The ambition of each new writer has + seemingly been to hit upon some new theory of distribution. The "bird + theory" is a failure, as we have shown; nor do they invariably fly due + east or west, so as to supply the several climatic zones with their + respective vegetations. The same is true of the "squirrel theory," for + this nimble little rodent is as likely to head north or south as to follow + the course of the sun; the "wind theory" is subject to too many shifts and + changes to be accounted a reliable agency; the "river-and-ocean-current + theories" are still less satisfactory, since rivers flow in diverse + directions, and ocean currents bear with safety only their own aquatic + plants; the "mummy-case theory" is hardly an accredited agency, and the + "war theory" is attended with too much destruction of life to be safely + relied on as conserving the vital forces of nature. The climatic zones, + and high and low altitudes, have still to be consulted to get at the real + causes of distribution, or such as conclusively satisfy the scientific + mind. For no single plant is really a cosmopolite. They are simply the + habitats of their own separate zones, except as high altitudes are + reached, and climatic and other conditions favor the appearance of such + vegetation as belongs to other plant zones. If we would find the more + common plants and weeds of New England in North Carolina or Tennessee, we + must go into the mountainous regions of those states, at an altitude which + compensates for the difference in latitude, and where the influencing + conditions of plant-life are essentially the same. In such localities, we + shall find the same household plants, garden weeds, and general + vegetation, as in higher northern latitudes, not because their seeds have + been borne thither from New England or elsewhere, but because the same + climatic, telluric and other conditions prevail as in the more northern + localities. And these conditions are what determine the development and + growth of local vegetations. + </p> + <p> + And so of the alpine firs, grasses, harebells, lichens, mosses, etc. Their + seeds have not been scattered, by any known agencies, over intervening + regions, for thousands of miles or more, in order to find lodgment on + these lofty mountain cones; but, conditions being the same, the same + vegetable growths appear. This is nature's method of propagating "vital + units" and diversifying plant-life--geographical conditions everywhere + determining the proper distribution. But if nature is so prolific of vital + resources, in the propagation of plant-life, what need has she of natural + seeds? We anticipate this inquiry only to answer it; for we recognize it + as a legitimate one in this connection. Our answer is that the seeds are + given for the use of man, that he may control and utilize vegetation, and + not have to depend on more or less uncertain conditions. Agricultural + chemistry must be carried to a much higher degree of perfection than it is + likely to reach in the next ten centuries at least, to determine whether + any particular plat of ground has been chemically balanced for the growth + of wheat, to the exclusion of other cereal crops. Besides, the process of + soil-balancing might be altogether too expensive to be indulged in by + judicious husbandry. These chemical conditions admit of too many possible + failures, in balancing even the smallest patch of ground, to justify + experiments in the direction named. Seeds also subserve the important + subsidiary purpose of supplying food for many birds and animals, more or + less useful to man. + </p> + <p> + But chemistry has its limits as to usefulness in all human laboratories. + As man's wisdom is limited, so is his power over the elementary forces of + nature confined to very narrow boundaries. It is given to him to search + out many inventions, and to pry, thus far and no farther, into the secrets + of nature, or, more properly speaking, into the secrets of God. There is + no doubt that if our chemico-molecular theorists respecting + life-phenomena, could produce, in their laboratories, the exact + inter-uterine plasma, or plasmic conditions, of an animal--any animal, in + fact--and continue these conditions during the proper period of gestation, + they <i>might</i> produce life <i>de novo</i>.[<a href="#foot13">13</a>] + But the most daring physicist would stand aghast at the bare proposal of + such an experiment. Neither his knowledge of chemistry, nor the present + uncertain value attaching to "molecular machinery," would justify him, for + a moment, in entering upon such a purely tentative and empirical an + undertaking. + </p> + <p> + It is hardly necessary to assume that the same law of vital force governs + in the appearance and geographical distribution of <i>fungi</i>, as + universally obtains in the higher and more complex vegetal growths. And + although it may be difficult, in some instances, to draw the precise line + between certain low mycological forms and the amoeboid and some other + primitive manifestations of animal life, yet all vegetable physiologists + agree in assigning a purely vegetable origin to all the primary groups of + fungi--their general cellular character determining their proper place in + classification. And in all their extended family groups, pervading nature + as widely as animal and vegetable life, we find that uniform chemical and + other conditions produce uniform mycological results. Spores are no more + necessary for their appearance, in the first instance, than acorns are + essential to the appearance of an oak forest when it succeeds the pine. + Wherever the necessary conditions of moisture and heat are found to + obtain, in connection with decayed or decaying substances, the particular + form of fungus indicated thereby, whether parasitic or non-parasitic, will + make its appearance. Continuously damp walls, or wall-paper, will produce + them in specific variety, not because their invisible spores are flying + about in the atmosphere to find appropriate lodgment, but because the + necessary conditions obtain for their manifestation, or for the + development of their vital units--those everywhere diffused, and ready to + burgeon forth from the proper matrix, or from certain nutrient conditions + to be met with in all vegetable substances, after the process of decay has + commenced. Some orders appear only in a single matrix, but the greater + part of them flourish on different decaying substances. + </p> + <p> + Dr. M.C. Cooke, in speaking of non-parasitic fungi, and especially of + moulds, says: "It would be far more difficult to mention substances on + which they are never developed than to indicate where they have been + found." The parasitic fungi, however, generally confine themselves to + certain special plants, and rarely to any other. It is only the condition + of these special plants, when affected by decay, that seems favorable for + their development; not because their spores (assuming that all fungi come + from spores,) possess the intelligence to fly about and hunt up the proper + nutrient matter on which to subsist during their developmental progress + from specific spores into genetic forms of life. The rust or blight of + grain is not the cause, therefore, but rather the result, of the common + disease known as "blight." Without some excess or deficiency of absorption + and elaboration in the growth of grain or plants--something essentially + disturbing their normal and harmonious processes of development--no + mycological forms would appear on their stems or roots, nor would they + develop themselves on their fading leaves or congested and decaying fruit. + To say that there is any intelligent preference in these fungi--the + different species of <i>Mucor</i>, for instance--for disgusting offal over + decaying fruit, bread, paste, preserves, etc., is to predicate a higher + degree of intelligence of fungus spores than of the average brute + creation, with all its wonderful instincts for guidance. + </p> + <p> + We might refer to other classes of fungi developing themselves in the + testa of hard seeds, and in the interior of acorns, sweet chestnuts, + etc.,--those in which there is no discoverable external opening by the aid + of the microscope--to show the absolute absurdity of the theory that the + spores of fungi, including the non-parasitic and other autonomous moulds, + go madly foraging about the country in pursuit of decaying cocoanuts, + apples, pears, plums, oranges, etc., and even committing their + depredations on hermetically canned fruits, the concealed honeycomb of + beehives, the pupa of moths, and whatever else they may intelligently + select as a desirable matrix or habitat. No such theory as this will stand + the test of thorough research and investigation, in any mycological + direction. Fungi everywhere make their initial appearance in the + conditions of decay, as plants and trees originally make theirs in the + environing conditions of vital manifestation. That our life-giving + atmosphere--the "<i>pater omnipotens Æther</i>" of Virgil, + "descending into the bosom of his joyous spouse (the earth) in fructifying + showers, and great himself, mingling with her great body" for the + development of all things of life--should be so immeasurably thronged with + death-pursuing fungi that myriads of their spores might dance without + jostling on the point of a cambric needle, is infinitely more fanciful + than the conceptions of the poet, in personifying the atmosphere as + "father Æther," and the earth as his "joyous spouse." But life, with + its "pardlike spirit, beautiful and swift," has reached its highest + conceptions in the mind of the poet, not in the speculations of the + scientist. What a "mingled yarn," spun from many-colored yet invisible + threads, is it in the creative mind of a Shakespeare, and how it looms up + into "a dome of many-colored glass, staining the white radiance of + eternity," under the magic touch of a Shelley! And yet how is it dwarfed + down to a contemptible piece of "molecular machinery" by the + scientist--one so utterly contemptible in its manifestations that it is + ordered to take "a back seat" in this universe of all-potential matter and + motion! + </p> + <p> + Dr. Cooke, in his "Handbook of British Fungi," virtually concedes that the + spores of the large puff-ball (<i>Lycoperdon giganteum</i>), as well as + those of mushrooms, truffles, and other edible fungi (those with whose + methods of propagation man is best acquainted), may be produced + artificially. But the process by which their production is thus effected, + is more properly a natural than an artificial one. In speaking of + truffle-grounds, he says (quoting from Broome) "that whenever a plantation + of beech, or beech and fir, is made in the chalky districts of Salisbury + Plain, after the lapse of a few years truffles are produced, and that the + plantations continue productive for a period of from ten to fifteen years, + after which they cease to be so." No truffle spores were planted in these + cases, but the conditions of the soil, interlaced by the roots and shaded + by the branches of the young beech trees, or the beech and fir, became + favorable for the development of truffle "germs," and they made their + appearance just as mushrooms do in caves and other places, where + artificial beds are made and chemically balanced for their development and + growth. And the reason why they disappeared, after a period of ten or + fifteen years, was simply because the proper nutriment of the soil was + exhausted, and not in consequence of its being too deeply shaded by the + growing trees. One uniform rule would seem to govern in the culture of + this much-coveted fungus. Wherever the necessary environing conditions + obtain, they <i>appear</i>, and wherever these conditions fail, they <i>disappear</i>, + notwithstanding the most persistent efforts to save them by watering the + soil with fresh infusions of the plant. In proof of this, one form of + truffle (<i>Tuber æstivum</i>) appears under beech trees, another + form (<i>Tuber macrosporum</i>) under oak trees, and still a third form (<i>Tuber + brumale</i>) under oaks and white poplars; showing that so slight a change + in soil conditions as that resulting from the presence of poplars among + oaks, produces a very material change in the character of the fungus--one + amounting to a specific difference in variety. + </p> + <p> + The process of artificially producing mushroom spores is a very simple + one, and may be easily followed. You have only to collect a quantity of + horse-droppings, mingle with them some common road sand, place them under + cover, see that they are well beaten down in order to prevent + over-heating--turning them occasionally for the same purpose--and in due + time they will generate sufficient spores for a dozen mushroom beds of the + ordinary size. The reason for their appearance is the same as that + governing truffle spores--they come whenever conditions favor, that is, + whenever the soil is chemically balanced for their development and growth. + In other words, they come because it is just as impossible for them not to + come, in their proper environing conditions, as it is for the earth, in + its present cosmical relations, not to respond to its axial rotation. "Let + the earth bring forth" is just as much an outspoken law of nature, and one + as inexorably obeyed, as that unerring force of gravity which led + Leverrier, in the faith of his inductions, to indicate the precise point + in the heavens where the far-off planet, now bearing his name, might be + seen by the required telescope. + </p> + <p> + Dr. Cooke, quoting Mr. Cuthill's directions for producing mushroom spores, + says: "These little collections of horse-droppings and road sand, if kept + dry in shed, hole, or corner, under cover, will, in a short time, generate + plenty of spawn, and will be ready to spread on the surface of the bed in + early autumn." The collections should, of course, be made in the early + summer. But it is no part of our object to indicate, in this connection, + the process of truffle or mushroom culture. We merely refer to the methods + to show that the vital units, or germinal principles of life, in the case + of fungi, are just as dependent on "conditions" for their development, as + were the primordial germs of the gigantic cryptogams of the carboniferous + era. These primordial germs, or the <i>ZRA</i> of the Bible genesis, must + have preceded the first fungous growth, as they preceded the first + spore-bearing cryptogam. + </p> + <p> + M. Gasparin, in his report on the production of truffles, made to the + great "Paris Exposition" of 1855, refers to the "natural truffle-grounds + at Vaucluse," where the "common oak produces truffles like the evergreen + oak;" although, in other localities, owing no doubt to the different + conditions of the soil, those gathered at the base of the one species of + oak differ very materially from those gathered at the base of the other. + All these experimental results, and many others we might give in + connection with the culture of edible fungi, point to the conditions of + the soil, produced by natural rather than artificial means, as + all-essential for the propagation of fungus spores, as well as their + development into full-sized plants. The cultivation of other and minuter + fungi, for scientific purposes, need not be referred to in this + connection. The same general observations will be found to apply in the + case of all the experiments tried, although some very curious and + remarkable modifications occur where pseudospores are to be found in the + micelium of different plants. Nearly all these fungi have their own + parasites, originating undoubtedly in the diseased conditions of the plant + from which they derive their nutriment. Indeed, all fungi, whether + parasitic or non-parasitic, have their origin, more or less definitely + occurring, in decay. It is no more true that death is a necessity of life, + than that life is an equal necessity of death. As out of the dead past + springs the eternally living present, so from the "muddy vesture of decay" + spring all the marvellous powers of reproduction with which nature was + endowed from the beginning. + </p> + <p> + But it is unnecessary to dwell longer on the spores of fungi. As with the + seeds of plants and trees, these spores never had an existence, and never + could have had one, before the first independent fungus appeared to + produce them. The fungus before the spore is the inevitable induction. No + distinction between necessary and contingent truth can ever take a + stronger hold than this on the human mind. Whence, then, the <i>first</i> + fungus? or whence, rather, all those colonies, families, orders, + divisions, and countless distinct individuals, extant everywhere, in the + mycological world? The answer we shall give will be anticipated from what + we have already so confidently affirmed. Life comes from Life, as spirit + comes from God. And when "the spirit of God" moved upon the face of the + depths--upon the face of all the earth--at whatever stage in the progress + of our planet, from its original form to its present myriad-thronged + condition of life, that transcendent event occurred, <i>Nature</i>, as we + half-idolatrously worship her, received her first baptism of life, and her + solemn consecration as "the vicar of God." No wonder, then, that at that + ecstatic moment, when the ineffably bright mantle, fringed with "the white + radiance of eternity," fell upon her, "the morning stars sang together and + all the sons of God shouted for joy." And nature has been true to both her + baptism and her consecration. She claims no worship, no adoration, no + idolatrous homage from man, but continually sends up her eternal chant and + choral anthem of praise to the great Giver of life. Every flower of the + field, every blade of grass, every stream that mirrors the heavens above + her, every mountain top from which she points an index finger, every + breeze in which she whispers, and every cataract in which she speaks, all + proclaim the power, the wisdom, the goodness of God--the source of all + life in the universe, from the minutest spore to all-inventive, + soul-endowed man. + </p> + <h2> + <a name="05"></a>Chapter V. + </h2> + <h3> + Plant Migration and Interglacial Periods. + </h3> + <p> + Among the leading propositions laid down by Arthur Renfrey, Esq., F.R.S. + etc., etc., in the able article prepared by him for "The Physical Atlas of + Natural Phenomena," by Alexander Keith Johnston, Edinburg Edition, 1856, + on "The Geographical Distribution of the most Important Plants Yielding + Food," are the following:-- + </p> + <p> + 1. "The primary condition of the existence of any species of plant, is its + absolute creation, of which we know nothing. + </p> + <p> + 2. "But we assume each species to have been <i>created but once in time + and in place</i>, and that its present diffusion is the result of its own + law of reproduction under the favorable or restrictive influences of laws + external to it.[<a href="#foot14">14</a>] + </p> + <p> + 3. "The most important of external laws are those relating to climate, + since <i>any species can flourish only within narrower or wider, but + always fixed limits, of temperature, humidity etc</i>., + </p> + <p> + 4. "The climate depends primarily on latitude, since this indicates + distance from the source of heat, and the degree of obliquity of the + heating rays." + </p> + <p> + There are other governing conditions, of course, such as the average + rain-fall, distance from the equator, the elevation above the sea level in + the various mountain systems of vegetation, etc., including the + hygrometric, thermometric, telluric, and other conditions, of the several + localities in which the different species of vegetation make their + appearance. + </p> + <p> + But why should this distinguished naturalist insist upon the specific + creation of either plants or animals? No scientific work of any paramount + value confines the creative power of the universe to such narrow and + restricted limits. Nor is there a particle of evidence to be drawn from + the Bible that either plants or animals primarily originated in pairs. + "Let the earth bring forth" is a command without limitation, or + restriction, as to time, place, or number; and there is no reason to doubt + that myriads of living forms swarmed everywhere, at first as now, in + nature. + </p> + <p> + The idea, as expressed by Mr. Renfrey, that they were specifically created + at one time and place only, whether in pairs, tens, twenties, or hundreds, + is neither a rational one, nor has it any experience-argument or + scientific authority on which to stand. Take, for instance, an + experience-argument directly in point:--When the salt wells were first + bored at Syracuse, N.Y., and the salt water was suffered to flow in waste + over the low grounds about the salt-works, the small saline plants + peculiar to salt-marshes in the warm temperate zone made their appearance, + not in pairs, tens or hundreds, but in thousands rather, and have + nourished there ever since. They came because conditions favored; because + a salt-marsh had been artificially produced hundreds of miles away from + the sea coast. This is only one of a large number of cases--more than we + have room to specify in this connection--showing that wherever man, + artificially or otherwise, produces the necessary conditions of + plant-life, nature responds to the germinal law precisely as she did + millions of years ago when the first salt-marsh favored the appearance of + these saline plants--such as grow under no other conditions or + circumstances. + </p> + <p> + But this idea of plants coming primarily from a single pair of + progenitors, and each primordial pair branching off into diversified + offspring, as in the case of the cabbage, assumed to be the original + ancestor of all the turnips and ruta-bagas, may be an article of botanical + faith, but never of experimental proof. "<i>Entia non sunt multiplicanda + præter necessitatem</i>" is an old and well-approved maxim, + applicable alike to the countless myriads of living organisms, as to the + innumerable crystalline forms to be found everywhere in nature. Nothing is + produced without the necessary conditions on which its production depends. + "Necessity," in its primitive signification, is a term of the very widest + meaning, and most universal application. It applies as well to the course + of nature as to the course of human events--to the laws of vegetable and + animal growth as to the inevitable march and order of celestial movements. + As applied to any form of life-manifestation it implies a law of + development and growth, as well as the physiological conditions without + which vital manifestations are impossible. For law, in a physiological + sense, is that mode of vital action by which effects are invariably and + inevitably produced.[<a href="#foot15">15</a>] And this law is just as + dependent on necessary vital conditions as vital manifestations are + dependent on a physiological law. There must always be this reciprocal + dependence and relationship between conditioning causes and effects. + Whenever and wherever the necessary vital conditions exist, the + physiological law takes effect, and the requisite vital manifestation is + witnessed. And this is no doubt as true of animal as of vegetable life. + </p> + <p> + The earth's surface has been divided into eight separate zones, each of + which is distinguished by its peculiar or characteristic fauna and flora. + Their order, measured from the geographical equator, is as follows; + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> 1. The Equatorial Zone, extending from 0° to 15°. + 2. " Tropical " " " 15° " 23°. + 3. " Sub-tropical " " " 23° " 34°. + 4. " Warm Temperate " " " 34° " 45°. + 5. " Cold " " " 45° " 58°. + 6. " Sub-arctic " " " 58° " 66°. + 7. " Arctic " " " 66° " 72°. + 8. " Polar " " " 72° " 82°.</pre> + <p> + These several zones become sixteen in number when considered with + reference to both the northern and southern hemispheres. And a like + division of isothermals is made in the case of all our mountain systems, + extending in both directions from the equator. In ascending our + equatorial, tropical, and sub-tropical mountains, we find, of course, at + their several bases, the temperature of the zones in which they + respectively lie; from two thousand to three thousand feet, we reach the + next higher zone, and so on, at about the same ratio of altitude, until we + ascend to the polar zone or the line of perpetual ice and snow. The peak + of Teneriffe, for instance, lies in the sub-tropical zone, but, at the + elevation named, we meet with the vegetation which characterizes the warm + temperate zone. And this holds true of all our mountain systems, in all + latitudes, and at all altitudes, in all parts of the globe. + </p> + <p> + They all present the same or strikingly similar characteristics in plant + life, with such variations and modifications only as might be accounted + for, were all the influencing conditions and surrounding circumstances, + modifying geographical distribution, known to us. From the lowest to the + highest regions in which vegetation flourishes, this rule, with slight + exceptions only, will be found to obtain, and it is in this direction that + the observations of the scientific, as well as practical botanist, should + hereafter be extended. + </p> + <p> + Humboldt noticed this characteristic feature of the earth's vegetation + quite early in his explorations, and accordingly divided the tropical + mountains, as the earth's surface was then divided, into three separate + zones, the tropical, the temperate, and the frigid. But a closer + classification now distinguishes them into the same number of zones as are + marked, in approximate isotherms, on the earth's surface. Mr. Renfrey + gives us further statistics of great value respecting these several plant + zones of the globe, all of which fit so admirably into our theory of + plant-distribution, that we can hardly see how the most prejudiced mind + can resist the force of its application. Among the most important of these + statistical facts are tables giving the comparative rain-falls in the + different plant zones of the old and new worlds, and the classes of + vegetation peculiar to each of them. + </p> + <p> + The Equatorial zone, for instance, is characterized by extreme luxuriance + in growth, owing no doubt to the great heat and abundant moisture therein, + and exhibits a vegetation which is peculiar to itself, and which could + only thrive under the hygrometric, thermometric, telluric, and other + conditions of that extensive zone. + </p> + <p> + The Tropical zones (those north and south of the equator) are + characterized by a more abundant and diversified underwood, and, while + retaining some of the equatorial forms, present fewer parasites and less + rapid and luxuriant growths. They contain many plants and trees which are + peculiar to their own limits, and these are generally the hardiest and + most abundant. All equatorial forms disappear in these zones, that is do + not pass into the sub-tropical zones. And these characteristics obtain in + both the northern and southern tropical zones, as well as in the mountain + systems within the equatorial regions. + </p> + <p> + The Sub-tropical zones, while retaining some of the more marked forms and + general features of the tropical zones, such as palms, bananas, etc., + exhibit the most striking characteristics of their own, consisting of a + greater abundance of forest trees, especially those having broad, leathery + and shining leaves, like the magnolias, the different species of laurels, + and plants of the myrtle family. The tropical forms all disappear in these + zones, as the equatorial do in the tropical zones. + </p> + <p> + The Warm Temperate zones exhibit the same disposition to retain some of + the hardier and more abundant sub-tropical forms that characterize the + other zones, in respect to their adjoining isotherms. But the trees and + plants peculiar to this zone north, (and the same is no doubt true of the + corresponding zone south), are more numerous, and embrace a wider range of + deciduous, as well as evergreen growths. Evergreen shrubs, heaths, + cistusses, and leguminous plants are everywhere more abundant. The marked + characteristic of these zones is that the trees, plants, and arborescent + grasses differ more widely in their general character, as well as run more + extensively into varieties. + </p> + <p> + The Cold Temperate zones retain many of the deciduous trees of the warm + temperate, but with less conspicuous blossoms, while a stronger tendency + is shown toward social conifers, and the trunks of the deciduous trees are + more profusely overrun with mosses, lichens, etc. These zones are also + abundant in grasses. + </p> + <p> + The Sub-arctic zone north largely retains its hold upon the social + conifers, giving place, northward, on this continent, as well as in Europe + and Asia, to birch and alder, alternating with willows where the soil is + sufficiently moist. Green pastures are still abundant, and showy flowering + herbs abound during the brief spring, summer, and autumn months. + </p> + <p> + The Arctic zone retains few of the sub-arctic forms and its vegetation + generally corresponds to what we call alpine shrubs, grasses, etc. + </p> + <p> + The North Polar zone shows few signs of vegetation and is thought to be + entirely devoid of shrubs. A few small herbacious perennials of the most + extreme dwarf habit, with a few lichens and mosses, constitute its entire + vegetation. + </p> + <p> + There are some seeming exceptions to these general statements respecting + plant-distribution, but they are hardly exceptions when we consider the + elevation at which any one species, as the birches for instance, may + appear, as they frequently do, in three several zones. + </p> + <p> + From these facts, gathered from the highest authorities, and well-attested + on all hands, what general conclusions, if any, are to be drawn? Before + answering this inquiry, let us proceed to state what conclusions <i>have</i> + been drawn. According to all the authorities we have examined on the + distribution of plant life; on the migration of plants and animals; on + climate and time as affecting the transference of isothermal and + isochimenal lines; on glacial and inter-glacial periods (with one + important exception only), the assumption maintained is substantially that + of Mr. Renfrey, that "each species of plant and animal was created but + once in time and place," and that its present diffusion is the result of + its "own law of reproduction under the favorable or restrictive influences + of laws external to it." In other words, they insist upon original + plant-centres, without definitely stating when or where they occurred, and + that from these centres both plants and animals have migrated to all parts + of the globe where they now appear, even crossing the equatorial zones + where they could not live for a single day. This migration theory they + attempt to explain in a way that is altogether more ingenious than + satisfactory. + </p> + <p> + The important exception to which we refer is that of Professor Agassiz, as + reported by his associate professor of Harvard University, Mr. Asa Gray, + in his "Essays and Reviews Pertaining to Darwinism." In this work + Professor Gray says of his late distinguished associate, that so far as he + was aware, Professor Agassiz was the only leading naturalist "who did not + take into his very conception of a species, explicitly or by implication, + the notion of a material connection resulting from the descent of the + individuals composing it from a common stock, of a local origin." + </p> + <p> + And Professor Gray adds this further testimony to the closeness of his + associate's observations, in considering the very point here under + consideration: "Agassiz wholly eliminates community of descent from his + idea of species, and even conceives a species to have been as numerous in + individuals, and as widely spread over space, or as segregated in + discontinuous spaces, from the first to the later periods." And this view + is undoubtedly the correct one. At all events, it entirely harmonizes with + the facts of the biblical genesis, and obviates the necessity of + accounting for the appearance of the same genera and species of plants or + animals in the southern as in the northern hemispheres; in fact, their + appearance in all parts of the globe, in corresponding isotherms, and + under similar conditions of moisture and soil-constituents. + </p> + <p> + Wherever the hygrometric, thermometric, telluric, and other conditions + favor, the class of vegetation indicated by the presence of these + conditions makes its appearance, just as the fire-weed makes its + appearance in our warm temperate zone, not from the presence of seed, but + simply the presence of "conditions"--the <i>pro</i>vision of man + harmonizing with the <i>pre</i>vision of nature. In the same way the + "Japan clover" made its appearance, as Professor Thurber states, "all over + the southern states" during the late civil war, not from the migration of + plants, but the presence of natural conditions.[<a href="#foot16">16</a>] + </p> + <p> + The numerous facts we have already given, and many others that might be + arrayed in advocacy of our position, taken in connection with the general + facts here presented in regard to plant-distribution, all point directly + to climatal and soil conditions as the real cause of dissemination, and + not to their migration from continent to continent, and across vast + intervening seas and oceans, as the theory of Professor Gray and others + would require us to believe. Take the case of the <i>Schizoea pusilla</i> + of the New Jersey pine barrens, to which we have already referred, growing + in similar barrens in New Zealand, and how are we to account for their + antipodal appearance upon the globe? Professor Thurber refers to this + plant as a "purely local fern" of New Jersey, and says it was for a long + time supposed to be peculiar to that state until it was ascertained that + it grew in New Zealand. Whether this plant "travelled" from New Zealand to + New Jersey, or journeyed in the opposite direction, none of these + "specific-centre" gentlemen can well inform us. Professor Agassiz would + have said that it might have appeared, in numerous individuals, in both + localities at the same time, or at different times, as conditions favored; + and this would have been an exact scientific statement, no doubt, of the + fact. Mr. Arthur Renfrey, and those who accept his scientific formulæ, + must insist that this most beautiful of all our ferns was such a "favorite + child of nature" that she condescended to create it <i>twice</i> "in time + and place," instead of only <i>once</i>. It is a poor rule, they may say, + that has no exceptions in phenomenal manifestation. + </p> + <p> + Professor Gray may insist that such a phenomenon as this requires belief + in the supernatural, and that migration by ocean-currents is the more + rational theory of the two. But M. Alphonse de Candolle--quite as high + authority as we can quote--has come to the conclusion that marine + currents, and all other suggested means of distant transportation, "have + played only a very small part in the actual dispersion of species," even + across narrow channels and the near arms of seas. But why should the + appearance of this fern at opposite points of the globe, with thousands of + miles of ocean and continent intervening, be any more supernatural than + the presence of <i>Bacteria</i> or <i>Torulæ</i>[<a href="#foot17">17</a>] + in different organic infusions? If the vital units of these <i>infusoriæ</i>, + are present in experimental infusion, as Professor Bastian virtually + admits, why may not the vital germs or units of this <i>Schizoea pusilla</i> + have made their appearance, in developmental forms, both in New Zealand + and New Jersey, at the same or different periods of time? If Professor + Gray regards the microscopical forms in organic infusions, or the statical + forms in inorganic solutions, as supernatural, or as above the powers of + nature, then we have no exceptions to make to his position. First, prove + that these vital manifestations of nature are above the powers with which + she has been endowed, or was originally endowed and we will concede the + question of supernaturalness, and drop all exceptions to his line of + argument. Whenever a dynamic law, or a statical, is found to be uniformly + operative under a given set of conditions, we had supposed the operation + not to be above the powers of nature, but in entire accord with them, and + hence not supernatural. + </p> + <p> + But let us see into what an inextricable labyrinth of difficulty we are + led by this theory of plant-migration from the equatorial to the + sub-arctic zone, and <i>vice-versa,</i> and even beyond the equator to the + sub-antarctic zone, and still <i>vice versa</i>. Before proceeding to + consider the probable duration of the several geographical epochs, called + glacial periods, on which their theory of plant-migration depends, or + considering the evidence touching these glacial periods, we will state + their position in regard to these possible migrations as briefly and + concisely as we know how. Mr. Darwin's solution of this problem is the + generally accepted one of the evolutionists, as well as most of the + present scientific world. As the truth, or rather the falsity, of his pet + theory of evolution depended on the satisfactory solution of this vexed + problem, it became necessary for him to give his best and entire mental + energies to the gigantic task which was, by universal consent, assigned + him. The reader shall see how admirably the thermal equator is crossed by + Mr. Darwin, with his vast swarms of flies, mosquitoes, insectivorous and + other plants, forest trees, anthropoid apes, and general menagerie of wild + animals, such as would gladden the heart of the "great American showman" + beyond the most extravagant comparison. + </p> + <p> + The question, bear in mind, which he was specially called upon to solve, + was how the temperate forms north--those, for instance, of the warm and + cold temperate zones--managed to cross the thermal equator, and invade the + corresponding zones in the southern hemisphere; just as though there was + any more necessity of determining this question than the opposite one, of + how the southern forms came to invade the northern hemisphere. We will + give his solution of this problem in his own language, that we may not be + charged with misrepresentation. + </p> + <p> + He says, in speaking of the glacial periods: "As the cold became more and + more intense, we know that arctic forms invaded the temperate regions; + and, from the facts just given, there can hardly be a doubt that some of + the more vigorous, dominant, and widest-spread temperate forms invaded the + equatorial lowlands. The inhabitants (flora and fauna) of these hot + lowlands would at the same time have migrated to the tropical and + sub-tropical regions of the south; for the southern hemisphere was at this + period warmer. On the decline of the glacial period, as both hemispheres + gradually recovered their former temperatures, the northern forms living + on the lowlands under the equator would have been driven to their former + homes or have been destroyed, being replaced by the equatorial forms + returning from the south. Some, however, of the northern temperate forms + would almost certainly have ascended any adjoining highland, where, if + sufficiently lofty, they would have long survived, like the arctic forms + on the mountains of Europe. + </p> + <p> + "In the regular course of events the southern hemisphere would, in its + turn, be subject to a severe glacial period, with the northern hemisphere + rendered warmer; and then the southern temperate forms would invade the + equatorial lowlands. The northern forms which had before been left on the + mountains would now descend and mingle with the southern forms. These + latter, when the warmth returned, would return to their former homes, + leaving some few species on the mountains, and carrying southward with + them some of the northern temperate forms, which had descended from their + mountain fastnesses. Thus we should have some few species identically the + same in the northern and southern temperate zones, and on the mountains of + the intermediate tropical regions." + </p> + <p> + We are sorry to spoil so ingenious a theory as this to account for + plant-migration from the temperate zones north to the corresponding zones + south. But in spite of all the great names which will frown down upon us + in the attempt, we are obliged to demolish this altitudiness structure, + even at the risk of its tumbling about our own ears. + </p> + <p> + But first let us lay down a few undeniable propositions, on the strength + of which this ingenious and purely speculative theory of Mr. Darwin must + rest:-- + </p> + <p> + 1. It is universally conceded by the scientific world that these glacial + epochs, however many of them there may have been in the past and however + few there may be in the future, depend, for their occurrence, upon the + maxima of eccentricity in the earth's orbit about the sun. + </p> + <p> + 2. The actual amount of heat which the earth annually receives from the + sun is in no way affected by the eccentricity of its orbit. It is a + constant quantity, and only unequally distributed on the earth's surface, + being neither increased nor diminished, as our winters occur in aphelion + or perihelion. + </p> + <p> + 3. The actual amount of ice-cap accumulated about the two poles of the + earth, is also a constant quantity. And to measure the severity of any + glacial epoch, we have only to determine the exact amount of ice (not + altogether an impossible problem) about the two poles at any given time, + and then determine the effect of its entire transference from one pole to + the other. + </p> + <p> + 4. It is not probable that the present ice-cap of the south pole extends + continuously and permanently much farther north than 80° or 81°. + Mt. Erebus, in Victoria Land, lies in about this latitude, and it was only + a few years since that the coast line of that island or continent was + traversed, by English exploring vessels, from Mt. Erebus to a point some + ten or twelve degrees further north. [<a href="#foot18">18</a>] + </p> + <p> + 5. But if we estimate the southern cap as extending continuously to 75°, + what would be the effect of its transference at once to the ice-cap of the + north pole? Would it extend it, after assuming its proper glacial slope, + below 60°, a point falling within the present subarctic zone? The + utmost limit to which Mr. Croll, in his great work on "Climate and Time," + conceives it possible that it should extend, in any glacial epoch, is to + 55°, or about the northern boundary of England. + </p> + <p> + Now unless the astronomers and physicists are all at sea about the causes + of glaciation, the warm temperate zone can never be pushed any further + south than the tropical zone, nor the cold temperate any further than the + sub-tropical. This would be the extreme limit. Mr. Croll says, in speaking + of these glacial periods; "It is, of course, absurd to suppose that an + ice-cap could ever actually reach down to the equator. It is probable that + the last great ice-cap of the glacial epoch nowhere reached half way to + the equator. Our cap (that of Europe) must therefore, terminate at a + moderately high latitude." And if the gulf stream flows southward during + the glacial period north, as he supposes probable, the cap on this + continent would probably terminate at the same moderately high latitude. + Assuming that Mr. Croll's estimate is the more probable one, it would only + push the cold temperate zone down to the line of the Gulf States; the warm + temperate, to the southern line of Mexico; the sub-tropical, to the + Central American States, and the tropical to the United States of + Columbia, Venezuela, and Guiana. + </p> + <p> + Suppose, then, that some seven hundred thousand years ago, more or less, + when the North Pole had fully donned the earth's ice-cap, with all the + isothermal and isochimenal changes thereby effected, what must have been + the line of march taken by our northern vegetal and animal forms to escape + the cataclysm of ice and snow then impending? Manifestly, they would have + flocked, first to the Gulf states, then to Mexico, and afterwards to the + Central American states; but none of them could ever have been crowded + through the Isthmus of Panama, since at the height of the last glaciation, + that portion of the continent must have been the tropical barrier to our + northern forms, as it is now the equatorial barrier. + </p> + <p> + For the sake of the argument, however, we will suppose the northern + ice-cap to have been even more imperative in its demands than Mr. Croll + has deemed possible, driving some of our warm and cold temperate forms + down into the lowlands of Columbia, Venezuela, etc., in the extreme + northern portions of South America. But how would these forms have + managed, even then, to cross the thermal equator and secure a permanent + habitat in the present warm and cold temperate zones of that continent? + Manifestly, this question has never been practically solved, nor is it + ever likely to be in our day or generation. It is nevertheless susceptible + of solution, as Mr. Darwin thinks, by easy mental processes. We have only + to take a bird's eye view of the situation, and mentally follow these + forms in their long geographical tramp from the northern to the southern + hemisphere. + </p> + <p> + They must have started, of course, some twenty thousand years or more + before the earth reached its last superior limit of eccentricity. At that + distant epoch the sub-arctic breezes must have been blowing pretty stiffly + in our present temperate latitudes, and these forms would have been + constrained, in due time, to seek a more congenial isotherm. They must + accordingly have set out on their expedition, at about the period + indicated, with the prospect of a long and tedious journey before them. + Some twenty thousand years must have transpired before they reached the + line of the present Gulf states, and it would have taken as many more + years for them to deploy to the right and successfully enter the Mexican + states. In another twenty thousand years or so they might have doubled + Vera Cruz, and headed, in a southeasterly direction, for the Central + American states. The thermal equator would by this time have reached a + point some thirty degrees south of the geographical equator, while the + northern ice-cap would have swept down upon the traditional "hub of the + universe," or some ten or twelve degrees in excess of Mr. Croll's + calculations. + </p> + <p> + To have accomplished this grand glaciatorial feat the North Pole must have + donned some twenty times the amount of ice now about both poles of the + earth, and so changed the earth's centre of gravity as to have inundated + every foot of land on its habitable surface. But if this terrible + catastrophy had been avoided, and some of our extreme northern forms had + forced their way through the Isthmus into the lowlands of Columbia, they + must have done so at their greatest possible peril, even if they had + reached the base of Old Mt. Tolima in advance of the thermal equator, now + fleeing in dismay before the southern Ice-monarch, with all his + isochimenal hosts in mad pursuit of their invaders. And if these + adventurous northern forms had succeeded in ascending Mt. Tolima, they + could never have got down again, with the assistance of forty glaciations. + </p> + <p> + But we can imagine Mr. Darwin promptly snatching his pen to show the + stupidity of these northern forms in not climbing Popocatepetl or some + other lofty mountain in Central America or Mexico, on their retreat before + the still advancing thermal equator. But how this would have helped them + to cross the geographical equator, we fail to see. When Mr. Darwin, and + the eminent corps of geologists and physicists accepting his solution of + this "vexed question," can make a "warm term" south <i>succeed</i> a "cold + term" north, we shall have no difficulty in solving the problem ourself. + But, unfortunately, the two terms--the cold one north and the warm one + south--are simultaneous in occurrence, and the same causes which forced + these northern invaders into the tropics, when they followed <i>after</i> + the thermal equator, would have driven them ignominously back again <i>before</i> + it. The climbing of mountains would only have prolonged their disaster. + For after the glaciation north comes the glaciation south, and unless our + cold temperate zone were pushed down beyond the geographical equator, none + of its living forms could ever have reached the corresponding zone in the + southern hemisphere. + </p> + <p> + But as this "migration theory" is one of paramount importance to modern + science, and especially to "Darwinism," [<a href="#foot19">19</a>] + distinctively so called, let us, at the risk of repetition and + tediousness, propose a scientific expedition for the better solution of + this problem. To do this, we propose to cut loose from our stupid + predecessors, the plants and animals, and invite Mr. Darwin and some of + his more distinguished European contemporaries, not omitting Professors + Gray, Winchell, Yeomans, and some few other American admirers of his, to + accompany us on a fresh expedition from the warm and cold temperate zones + north to the corresponding zones south, <i>purely in the interest of + science</i>. To make it certain that the time fixed upon for this + "expedition" to start, will not escape their attention, we will state what + many of them already well know, that the present eccentricity of the + earth's orbit is very low, being only 0.0168, and that, in the year of our + Lord 851,800, it will reach its next superior limit, with a few + intervening oscillations of such minimum value as to render it hardly + worth our while to start before that time. + </p> + <p> + We shall be obliged, of course to invite our distinguished European party + to join us on this side of the Atlantic, as their own narrow and + contracted continent furnishes no proper field for determining the problem + in question. We shall insist upon one condition only: "<i>That they shall + never leave the warm temperate zone in which we shall set out on our + expedition, except to pass halfway into an adjoining zone as is the habit, + at times, with plants and animals</i>." This condition will have to be + rigidly observed, otherwise our expedition would be of no scientific value + to future generations. As we shall have plenty of time to provide the + necessary outfit, we will appoint Mr. Darwin purveyor-general of the + party, and hold him responsible for any misadventure. + </p> + <p> + We will arrange for the expedition to start in the early autumn of the + year of our Lord 831,800, or about twenty thousand years before the earth + shall reach its next superior limit of eccentricity,--all of us eager, of + course, to brave the climatic vicissitudes of the journey, and to solve + the "great problem of the ages," which is, to determine how the gigantic + elephantoids of the Eocene period managed to cross the thermal equator, + and pass into the present arctic regions of our globe. + </p> + <p> + As "the king never dies," so the old southern Ice-monarch will be + succeeded by the young northern one, at about the period named. We shall + then have a decided advantage over our predecessors, the plants and + animals, in their journey southward, since we shall know the exact route + they took, and need only follow it. Presumably they had no such + information, nor had they either chart or compass to guide them,--a + circumstance which Mr. Darwin has not sufficiently taken into account in + predicating intelligence of his favorite pedestrians. Besides, these + vegetal and animal forms had one difficulty to encounter which we shall + not experience. With all the northern forms driven down into the Central + American states, they must have been sadly crowded for room, especially + near the Isthmus. The social conifers must have monopolized all the more + favored sites on the mountain sides and tops, while the humbler denizens + of the forest must have contented themselves with still more limited + quarters. The more impatient animals, for lack of necessary forage, must + have crowded through the Isthmus only to be driven back by the tropical + heats to their proper isotherms. + </p> + <p> + But our warm temperate zone is now moving southward, and our scientific + expedition is moving with it. The northern Ice-monarch has resumed + absolute sway, and our aphelion distance from the sun has increased some + tens millions of miles. We have, in the mean time, moved down to the line + of the Gulf states, and are deploying to the right in order to make a + triumphant entry into Mexico. Mr. Darwin is daily consulting the + isochimenals, and is confident that our northern ice-cap will equal Mr. + Croll's highest expectations. The news finally reaches us that the Gulf + stream has turned its course southward, and is now pouring its immense + treasures of heat into the South Atlantic, if not turning the African + "horn" and washing the far-off Australian coast. This fact greatly + increases the enthusiasm of our European party, and they hasten forward + into the sub-tropical zone, almost "violating conditions" in their haste + to enter the tropics. + </p> + <p> + At length, we crowd the narrow passages of the Isthmus, and the glory of a + warm temperate climate bursts upon our view in the Columbian states, of + South America. <i>The expedition promises to be an entire success</i>. At + least, Mr. Darwin thinks so, and he is now the Sir Oracle of our party. We + deliberately enter the lowlands of Columbia, and make ready to ascend the + sub-tropical mountains--those formerly equatorial--where the "great + scientific problem of the ages" is to be demonstrated. But we are + measuring time by almost <i>Sirius</i> distances, and vast geologic + periods sweep by without apparent record. The northern ice-cap has been a + prodigious one, crowding us nearly down to the geographical equator, with + the advantage we have of appropriating some five and half degrees of the + sub-tropical zone. + </p> + <p> + But the year Anno Domini 851,800 finally rolls round, and the maximum of + the earth's ice-cap is reached. Old Mt. Tolima looms up in the distance, + and we soon ascertain that its height is sufficient for all scientific + purposes. Its summit displays a glittering ice-cap, and we are certain to + find the proper isotherm by climbing its umbrageous sides. We accordingly + make haste to reach its base, and get there not a minute too soon; for the + young southern Ice-monarch has stolen a march on the thermal equator, and + is driving it irresistibly back to its old quarters. His march northward + is a continuous triumph and ovation up to 55°, and the heart of + Patagonia is made glad by his near approach. True, the white gates of + commerce are closed about the Horn; but that is no concern of these wild + Patagonians. The aggressive Britton is driven out of New Zealand, and that + is another source of joy to the savage breast. Tasmania would extend a + gladder welcome than all to the Ice-crowned monarch, but alas, not a drop + of Tasmanian blood runs in human veins! Cape Good Hope has now a + sub-arctic climate, and the heart of the wild Kaffir and Zulu rejoices + that the sceptre of "perfidious Albion" is broken. + </p> + <p> + The thermal equator at length reaches the base of Mt. Tolima, and hastens + northward to the Isthmus, and thence to Hondurus and New Guatemala, where, + by sheer force of exhaustion, it comes to a halt. + </p> + <p> + But, as the equatorial zone extends fifteen degrees both ways from the + thermal equator, its southern limit now rests on the geographical equator, + and accordingly encircles the base of our "mount of refuge." We are now up + this mountain some sixteen thousand feet above the equatorial lowlands, + with the sub-tropical, tropical, and equatorial zones between us and the + possibility of our further migration southward, without violating the + express conditions imposed at the outset of our expedition. + </p> + <p> + The fact soon stares us in the face that we have been no more successful, + in our efforts to cross the thermal equator and pass into high southern + latitudes, than the stupid plants and animals before us; and Mr Darwin's + faith in high mountains springing from equatorial lowlands, disappears in + jest and derision as we all good-humoredly agree "to break conditions," + and find our way back to the centres of activity and trade in the Old and + New Worlds, leaving the great scientific problem of the ages to solve + itself as best it may. We accordingly descend from our mountain fastness, + hasten to the coast, and take passage by steamer to Manhattan, the great + commercial metropolis of the world. Here we find that the barometer of + exchange was long ago taken down in London and hung up in New York. The + Old Antiquarian Society rooms are the first object of interest sought by + us. On making our way thither we look for a copy of the <i>Herald</i>, of + the date of our departure, in which we find an account of the scientific + expedition fitted out by us, facetiously termed "<i>The Great Wild-Goose + Chase after the Thermal Equator</i>"--presenting one of the most humorous + bits of sensational pleasantry ever given to the American public. + </p> + <p> + But an apology is due the staider reader for the seeming levity of this + narrative adventure. The exposition of Mr. Darwin, though widely accepted + on both sides of the Atlantic by the scientific world, has seemed to us + too trivial for serious reply. If we have leaped over vast periods of + time, it makes no difference with the argument. So long as the thermal + equator, or more properly the equatorial zone, or any part of it, lies + between the warm or cold temperate forms, whether plants or animals, and + their point of destination in the southern hemisphere, they can never + migrate thither, any more than the right whale of the arctic seas can swim + the equatorial oceans. Nothing is gained by going out of the way to climb + mountains, except to hopelessly retard the return of both plants and + animals to their native zones. If we have not demonstrated this fact to + the reader's fullest comprehension, it will be useless for him ever to + write a Q.E.D. at the end of any proposition. + </p> + <p> + It is true that some eminent astronomers and physicists hesitate to accept + the theory that these glacial epochs are due to the eccentricity of the + earth's orbit. But the argument favoring it is well fortified and ably + advanced, and if we add to the astronomical considerations involved, the + physical proofs of a change in the earth's centre of gravity, caused by + the excessive accumulation of ice about either pole, and the probable + shifting of the Gulf stream to a southerly direction during the glacial + period north, it is difficult to resist the conviction that the real cause + of glaciation has been suggested in this theory. With all the ice now + accumulated about the south pole transferred to the north pole, it would + make an ice-cap of over thirty miles in thickness at the pole, and one + sloping in all directions southward to about 60°. This accumulation, + it is claimed, would so change the earth's centre of gravity as to cause + all the equatorial warm waters to flow southward instead of northward, as + they now do. + </p> + <p> + This would certainly seem to be a most wonderful provision of nature, as + well as one strongly calculated to impress the human mind with the belief + that an Infinite <i>Pre</i>vision lies behind all possible <i>pro</i>vision, + whether witnessed in the heavens or in the earth, in astronomical or + physical phenomena. Everywhere we see infinite perfection, combined with + infinite beneficence, in the adaptation of means to ends. Nothing runs to + waste--all things are conserved for use. + </p> + <p> + But in all the outspoken grandeur of the universe, there is nothing so + grand, in exhibition at least, as the simple faith of a child, that "He + who watereth the hills from his chambers," and "causeth the day-spring to + know his place," will watch over the trustful little sleeper during the + darkness and silence of the night. + </p> + <h2> + <a name="06"></a>Chapter VI. + </h2> + <h3> + The Distribution and Premanence of Species. + </h3> + <p> + Professor Gray, in his address before the American Association for the + advancement of science, delivered at Dubuque (Ia.) in 1872, while + remarking upon the wide extent of similar flora in the same plant zones, + says: "If we now compare, as to their flora generally, the Atlantic United + States with Japan, Mantchooria and Northern China,--<i>i.e.</i> Eastern + North America with Eastern North Asia--half the earth's circumference + apart, we find an astonishing similarity." But why astonishing? Had our + distinguished botanical professors, in this country and in Europe, + thoroughly informed themselves as to the climatic conditions, the general + physical features, geographical characteristics, soil-constituents, and + other conditional incidences of this Asiatic region, in the light of all + the physiological facts before them, the circumstance of this great + similarity of flora would have been anything but astonishing. Indeed, the + astonishment, if any, would have been expressed at the want of similarity, + had it been found to exist. + </p> + <p> + Ever since 1862, these distinguished professors have had the great + plant-charts of Mr. Arthur Renfrey before them, with the warm temperate + zone north accurately laid down in its proper isotherms, as well as the + different classes of vegetation peculiar to the two regions referred to, + and some general conclusions of value to science might have been drawn + therefrom. Besides, the fact of these similar antipodal flora was well + known to many of them before this chart was issued. They also knew that + all along the higher mountain ranges of this country, as well as in + Europe, the same alpine flora was to be found under the same or similar + alpine conditions. From Mt. St. Elias, in Alaska, to the Central American + States, and thence, through the Isthmus, to the southern extremity of the + Andes in South Patagonia, there is one unbroken line of alpine vegetation + pressing the sides or summits of the loftier mountain ranges, at altitudes + correspondingly varying with the latitudes in which they occur. And the + same is true of the Alps in Europe and the Himalaya ranges in Asia, if not + of all the mountain systems of the globe. + </p> + <p> + These, and hundreds of other equally suggestive facts, all pointing to + geographical, climatic, and other influencing conditions, as the real + objective points of inquiry, have been constantly before our botanical + friends; and yet they have been content with Mr. Darwin's theory of + climbing mountains to cross the geographical equator, under the impression + that an enormous ice-cap, or rather prodigious "ice-ulster," would + ultimately drift them into the southern hemisphere, or enable them to + "coast" their way thither with the greatest imaginable ease. But why + insist upon the migration of plants growing in the lowlands and about the + bases and sides of mountains, and not suggest some means of transport for + the equally beautiful flora, known as "alpine," on the mountain summits of + the earth? These are distributed, as we have before shown, over all our + mountain systems, in all latitudes and in all parts of the globe, as well + as in the higher regions of vegetation as we approach the north pole. + Surely, the delicate little harebells of these alpine regions should + attract some interest, if not sympathy, from those who are constantly + hunting up means of transport for the more hardy and robust plants that + seem able to take care of themselves almost anywhere. + </p> + <p> + When the next great ice-cap shall sweep down from the north pole upon + these beautiful alpine flowers they will have to travel somewhere. There + is manifestly as much necessity for them to get out of the way as for the + rest of the flora. How will they manage to get down the mountains into the + lowlands, and traverse uncongenial plains and deserts, to find other and + far-distant alpine homes? They can never, of course, get very far away + from the regions skirted by eternal frost, for their cup of joy must be + chaliced by the snow-flake, or their beautiful life is soon ended. But if + all our alpine flora have traveled from one evolutional centre, or have + been "created but once in time and place," how have they managed to cross + the thermal equator and spread themselves out over all the alpine regions + of the globe? We call upon Mr. Darwin and Professor Gray to rise and + explain. Not that we want any explanation, but that their theory of + plant-migration stands sadly in need of one. + </p> + <p> + The theory which the Bible genesis suggests to us is fully adequate to the + explanation wanted. It explains not only <i>why</i> these alpine flora + appear where they do, but why they cannot appear anywhere else. It also + explains all the physiological facts to which we have referred in the + foregoing chapters. Wherever the necessary alpine conditions exist the + earth responds to the divine command, and the beautiful little alpine + harebell is cradled into life, and rejoices in the bright embroidery it + wears. And so, wherever streams are turned aside to flow through new meads + and sheltered woods, or over broken and swaly places where cowslips never + grew before, hardly a year will pass before this "wan flower" will hang + therein "its pensive head," while all along the line of the stream the + black alder will make its appearance in the lowlands, no matter how far + its current may be diverted from its original channel, or how distant the + supply of natural seeds. For nature's sternest painter can only delineate + her as "instinct with music and <i>the vital spark</i>." + </p> + <p> + If our botanical professors would come forth into the true light of + nature, they should accept the position of pupil to her, and not assert + that of teacher. So long as they continue to peep and botanize upon her + grave, or over ancient mounds and Hadrianic tumuli, they will never find + out the cunning of her processes, much less the means she employs to + accomplish her perfected ends. This modern idolatry of "hypotheses," with + our chronic neglect of what nature <i>does</i>, is the great scientific + stumbling-block of the age in which we live. Our botanists all agree that + certain plants and trees disappear--hopelessly die out--from the <i>absence</i> + of "necessary conditions;" when will they come to recognize the reverse of + this undeniable proposition, and agree that the <i>presence</i> of + necessary conditions may cause the same plants and trees to make their + appearance, that is, spring into life in obedience to some great primal + law, as unerringly obeyed by nature as the attractive force of the + universe itself? + </p> + <p> + For nearly half a century the fact has been known that the geographical + distribution of the European flora, and especially that of the British + Islands, was referable to latitude, elevation, and climatic conditions. As + early as 1835, Mr. Hewett Watson, a well-known botanist of that day, in + his published "Remarks on the Geographical Distribution of Plants, in + connection with Latitude, Elevation, and Climate," drew the attention of + the botanical world to this remarkable feature of plant distribution; + while the late Professor Edward Forbes pursued the same line of thought in + his attempt to show how geographical changes had affected plant areas in + Great Britain as far back as the last glacial drift. And yet all our + botanical writers have been steadily persisting on immense + plant-migrations to account for their geographical distribution, and have + given us maps without number to show how the vegetal hosts have traversed + vast continents, swam multitudinous seas, braved the fiery equator, and + scaled the summits of the loftiest Andes. In the mean time, no botanist of + any distinguished note, except M. De Candolle, has confidently ventured to + question this migration theory, so imposing and formidable has been the + array of names which have frowned down, like so many gigantic ghauts, upon + the audacious questioner. + </p> + <p> + But the present actual state of knowledge on this subject forbids us any + longer to accept theories for facts, premises for conclusions, or + fallacious reasoning for legitimate induction. Truth and daylight never + meet in a corner, and no one, in our day, need go to the bottom of a well + in search of either. We are forever stumbling over the truth without + knowing it, because our old traditional beliefs, like so many + superannuated grasshoppers, are constantly springing up in our path and + diverting our attention from her. There are physiological facts enough + daily obtruding themselves upon our attention, if we would but notice + them, in the case of wayside plants, garden and household weeds, and the + more aggressive vegetation of worn out pasture-lands, to satisfy us of the + truth of our theory, were it not for the swarms of these old traditional + grasshoppers continually rising into the air before us, and shutting out + the truth as it is in nature. And the worst feature about this whole + business is, that we have come to regard these multitudinous insects as a + delight instead of a burden. + </p> + <p> + But it is hardly necessary to pursue this subject further. We have shown, + or shall show in the succeeding pages, that all crystalline forms come + from necessary or favoring statical conditions; that all infusorial forms + come in the same way, only their conditions may be said to be dynamical + rather than statical; that all mycological forms (fungi) are dependent, + for their primary manifestation, on conditions of moisture and decay; that + all plant-life, from the lowest cryptogam to the lordliest conifer, is + dependent on some similar incidence of conditions; that the mastodon, now + only known by his fossil remains, must have wallowed forth from his + "necessary mire" (plasmic conditions) in the Eocene period; and that all + animal life must have come from some underlying law of primordial + conditions, as impressed upon matter, in harmony with the "Divine + Intendment" from the beginning; and that this law is still operative in + the production of new forms of life whenever and wherever the same may + appear. We shall also show that all living organisms, such as seeds, + fungus-spores, morphological cells, etc., perish at a temperature of about + 100° C., and that <i>Bacteria, Torulæ</i>, and other infusorial + forms, making their appearance in super-heated flasks, originate not from + morphological cells, plastide particles, bioplasts, or any other vital + organism, but from indestructible vital units, which are everywhere + present in the organic matter of our globe, and ready to burgeon forth + into life whenever the necessary vital conditions exist, and the proper + incidences of environment occur. + </p> + <p> + We have also shown that the earth still obeys the divine command to bring + forth, or--if objection be made to this form of statement as + unscientific--still obeys some inexorable underlying law tantamount to + such command, and can no more help "bringing forth," when the necessary + telluric conditions favor, than the cold can help coming out of the north, + or the clouds dropping rain, when the necessary meteorological conditions + occur. Give the future American botanist the physical geography of a + country--its average rain-fall, temperature, etc., and the plant zone in + which it lies, and, whether explored or unexplored, he will give us the + general character of its vegetation, and name most of the plants and trees + peculiar to its soil. And he will do this, not because he has any faith in + the present theories of plant-migration, nor in the necessary distribution + of seeds, but because he will study his favorite science with reference to + latitude, elevation, climate, physical characteristics, rain-fall, + soil-constituents, and other influencing conditions of plant-life. + </p> + <p> + But we will now proceed to consider the duration of vegetable species, for + the purpose of showing that the evolutional changes they are undergoing, + if any, must cover infinitely vaster periods of time than we have any data + for determining, to say nothing of the unverified theories the + evolutionists have been spinning for us. + </p> + <p> + Our geologic and paleontologic records are becoming richer in materials, + more interesting in details, and more authentic in character, every year. + We are turning back page after page of these lithographic records, only to + find the domain of science widened and deepened in interest as we advance, + or as our rocks are being excavated, our mountains tunneled, our vast + mines explored, and the beds of our rivers and arms of seas thoroughfared + and traversed by the iron rail. Meanwhile, science exhibits signs of + becoming less devoted to new-fangled theories, more exacting in her + demands upon her votaries, and more eager to extend the domain of facts as + the only true basis on which to rest her claims for future recognition. + She is less dogmatic to-day than she was a year ago, and is likely to + become less so a year hence than now. And this is largely due to her + methods of research and inquiry. She is now everywhere sending out her + hardier and more enthusiastic sons into new fields of exploration, to + return laden with ampler materials to build, and richer treasures to + adorn, a temple worthy of her name. In the field of the fossilized fauna + and flora, these treasures are of the highest value and interest, all + indicating not only wide areas of distribution, but immense periods of + time, in which species have existed without any greater changes in + character than the necessary shadings into varieties would seem to + require. For nature everywhere characterizes her methods of production and + reproduction by a loving tendency to diversify and variously adorn her + species, as if to express the infinite conceptions of that power above + her, which "spake and it was done, which commanded and it was brought + forth." + </p> + <p> + From the fossilized plants of Atanekerdluk--a flora rich in species and + wonderfully preserved in type--and the Miocene flora of Spitzenburg, to + the southernmost limits of vegetation on the globe, science has reached + out her hands for materials, and gathered them with as much success as + avidity. And all scientific botanists agree in referring these fossilized + forms from the high northern latitudes, to the Miocene period--one so + remote that we can form no adequate conception of it, except as time may + be measured by geologic periods. And these materials show that varieties + of the <i>Sequoia</i>, the tulip-tree, oaks, beeches, walnuts, firs, + poplars, hazelnuts, etc., etc., all flourished in these sub-arctic regions + during the far-distant period we have named. Many of them must have grown + on the spot where their trunks are now to be found, as their roots remain + undisturbed in the soil, as well as at a time when these regions enjoyed a + warm or cold temperate climate. Many of these fossilized and carbonized + forms are identical with the living species of to-day, conclusively + showing that neither natural variation, nor any secondary causes, have + worked out any changes capable of being scientifically expressed in + genetic value. + </p> + <p> + There is also abundant evidence to show that many of the present tropical + forms flourished in central and southern Europe as far back as the warm + inter-glacial epoch in the Eocene period. And if these inter-glacial + periods occurred at the lowest minimum limits of eccentricity in the + earth's orbit, as calculated by Leverrier's formulæ, we can have no + conception whatever of the length of time actually intervening the period + named and our present era. Mr. Croll has given us the limits of highest + glaciation covering the last three million years, and shows that there + have been but two periods of superior eccentricity in that time, and can + be only one in the next million years, with but two or three intervening + maxima and minima that may, or may not have been, of any special value. It + is true that he assigns importance to these maxima, as affecting possible + glaciations, but there are other eminent astronomers and physicists who + differ from him, and really attach little or no importance to these of any + other intervening periods of eccentricity. If Mr. Croll is correct in his + theory and estimates, we must separate these superior glacial epochs by an + interval of not less than one million seven hundred thousand years; and + nearly three of these periods must have intervened since some of the + present tropical forms flourished in Europe. And if these forms have + undergone no specific change in all this time, how many years will it + require to work out even <i>one</i> of Mr. Darwin's many evolutional + changes? + </p> + <p> + The kinship between some of these arctic and sub-arctic fossilized flora + and the living forms of to-day, is so near that they cannot be + distinguished by a single difference. This is true of some of the + varieties of the <i>Sequoia</i> family, the oaks, beeches, firs, + hazelnuts, etc., while others are so nearly identical that it would be + difficult to classify them as separate varieties. At all events, if they + cannot be placed in the list of identical species, they cannot be ruled + out of representative types. But why should our speculative botanists + insist upon these "evolutional changes" in plant-life--these "derivative + forms" of which they are constantly speaking? Paleontological botany has + given us the very highest antiquity of species, and the most that can be + claimed is that nature was just as prolific of diversified forms millions + of years ago as now. Because we, by forcing nature into unnatural, if not + repugnant, alliances, can produce + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + --"Streak'd gillyflowers,<br /> Which some call nature's bastards." + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + it is no evidence that she commits any such offence against herself. Her + alliances are all loving ones. She indulges in no forced methods of + propagation. If she produced the <i>Sequoia gigantea</i>, or the great + redwood tree of our California Sierra, as far back as the Crustaceous + period, she has propagated it ever since according to her own loving + methods, and it is idle to talk of the <i>Sequoia Langsdorfii</i> as being + the original ancestor of this tree, or any other distinguished branch of + the sequoias. How much more rational the suggestion of Professor Agassiz + that these trees--the entire family of sequoias--were quite as numerous in + individual varieties at first as now, and that the fruit of the one can + never bear the fruit of the other. + </p> + <p> + Again, take the still hardier and more numerous branches of the <i>Quercus</i> + or oak family. M. De Candolle has expended a vast deal of ingenuity to + show that the various members of this old and ancestrally-knotty family + have all descended from two or three of the hardier varieties. He arrives + at this conclusion from a geographical survey of what he would call the + "whole field of distribution," and "the probable historical connection + between these congeneric species." But science should deal with as few + probabilities as possible, especially where experience furnishes no guide + to certainty, and only the remotest clue to likelihood. We should never + predicate probabilities except on some degree of actual evidence, or some + likelihood of occurrence, falling within the limits, analogically or + otherwise, of human observation and experience. In no other way can we + determine whether an event is probable or not. But here we have not so + much as a probable experience to guide us. Geographical distribution in + the past is hardly a safe criterion to go by, because we can never be + absolutely certain that we have the requisite data on which to form a + determinate judgment. The <i>Quercus robur</i> may furnish the maximum + test to-day, but a few concealed pockets of nature may bring some other + variety of the congeneric species to the front to-morrow, requiring M. De + Candolle to correct his classification. There are no less than + twenty-eight varieties of this one species of oak, all of them conceded to + be spontaneous in origin, and it has been on the earth quite as long as + the more stately tribe of Sequoias. Besides, not more than one + twenty-thousandth part of the earth's surface has been dug over to + determine the extent to which any one of its varieties has flourished in + the past. + </p> + <p> + Since these several varieties are only one degree removed from each other, + M. De Candolle supposes divergence to be the natural law which has + governed their growth, and not hereditary fixity. But here again he has + only remote probabilities to work upon, no absolute data. We are still + speaking of his fossilized herbaria, not his modern specimens. These may + show a large number of genetically-connected individuals, or those claimed + to be so connected. And yet no naturalist can be certain that, because + they exhibit similarly marked characteristics, the one ever descended from + the other; for the universal experience-rule still holds good that "like + engenders like," and we search in vain for anything more than a similarity + of <i>idea</i>, or logical connection, which justifies a recognition of + the <i>individuorum similium</i> in Jessieu's definition of species. But + similarity must not be mistaken for absolute likeness, which nowhere + exists in nature. Infinite diversity is the law, absolute identity the + rarest possible exception. No two oak leaves, for instance, in a million + will be found actually alike, although taken from the same tree, or trees + of the same variety; and the same may be said of the segmentation and + branching of their limbs, as well as the striatures of their corticated + covering, <i>Et sic de similibus</i> everywhere, and with respect to every + thing. Nature is more solicitous of diversity and beauty, than of + similarity and tameness of effect, in all her landscape pictures; and the + Platonic conception that "contraries spring from contraries," may be only + a supplementary truth to that of <i>de similibus</i>. In the eye of the + soul all objective existences are discerned in their logical order, or as + consecutive thoughts of the Divine mind, as outspoken in the material + universe. To insist upon cutting down these transcendental forms[<a + href="#foot20">20</a>] into the smallest possible number of similar or + identical forms, may be all well enough to accomplish scientific + classification; but the productive power of nature can never be limited by + these mental processes of our own. + </p> + <p> + The oak family can be traced back to the Miocene period, and consequently + enjoys quite as high an antiquity as the sequoias. Professor Gray, in + speaking of the <i>Quercus robur</i> and its probable origin, says that it + is "traceable in Europe up to the commencement of the present epoch, looks + eastward, and far into the past on far-distant shores." By "far-distant + shores," he undoubtedly means Northwest America, where its remotest + descendants still flourish. But that these trees should have waded the + Pacific, or sent their acorns on a voyage of discovery after new habitats + on the Asiatic coast, is hardly more probable than Jason's voyage after + the golden fleece, in any other than a highly figurative sense. The + spontaneous appearance of a forest of oaks on the eastern shores of Asia + was just as probable, under favoring conditions--though occurring + subsequently to the time of their appearance on this continent--as that of + the miniature forests of "samphire," or small saline plants, which + spontaneously made their appearance about the salt-works of Syracuse, when + conditions actually favored. The high antiquity of the oak makes no + difference in respect to the principle of dispersion, since geographical + conditions are what govern, and not the theoretical considerations of the + speculative botanist. + </p> + <p> + Mr. A. R. Wallace's formula concerning the origin of species, that they + "have come into existence coincident both in time and place with preëxisting + closely-allied species," may or may not be true so far as individual + localization is concerned. But it proves nothing in the way of original + progeny, nor can we, by any actual data before us, satisfactorily + determine, under this formula, which of the two closely-allied species + preceded the other. If they came coincidently, both in time and place, + their existence must have been concurrent, not separated by preëxistence. + The formula may be true to this extent, that the conditions favoring the + appearance of one species may have equally favored what we call a + closely-allied species. But even in this case, the material sequence is + lost, and we have nothing to express a relationship as from parent to + progeny. For, however restricted as to localization, each species + preserves its own characteristics, the similarities always being less than + the dissimilarities. These, and other equally conclusive facts of + observation, led Professor Agassiz to question any necessary genetic + connection between the different species, or between even the same + species, in widely-separated localities; his idea being precisely that + advanced by us in connection with the Bible genesis, that localization + depended on geographical conditions, not on the migration of plants or the + dispersion of seeds. + </p> + <p> + The actual geographical distribution of species--any species--does not + depend solely on lines of ancestry, however great their persistence of + specific characters; nor on any principle of natural selection, nor on the + possibility of fertile monstrosities, but on the simple incidence of + conditions; and M. De Candolle, in his "Geographie Botanique," virtually + concedes this, while treating of geographical considerations in connection + with distribution. He in fact says, in so many words, that the actual + distribution of species in the past "seems to have been a consequence of + preceding conditions." [<a href="#foot21">21</a>] And he is forced to this + conclusion by his virtual abandonment of plant-migration, and the alleged + means of seed-distribution. + </p> + <p> + The question after all, says Professor Gray, is not "how plants and + animals originated, but how they came to exist where they are, and what + they are." On only one of these points--that of favoring conditions--can + any satisfactory answer be given, except as we defer to the Bible genesis, + which explains all. And the reason is, that we can never determine what + forms are specific without tracing them back to their origin, and this is + impossible. Orders, genera, species, etc., are only so many lines of + thought on which we arrange our classifications, just as the parallel + wires of an abacus, with their sliding balls, are the lines on which we + make our mathematical computations. Agassiz would not allow that varieties + existed in nature, except as man's agency effected them, that is, as they + were brought about by artificial processes. + </p> + <p> + These artificial processes are quite numerous, and many of them have been + practised from remote antiquity. But they seem to have no counterpart in + nature, except as insects may contribute to modifications by the + distribution of pollen. But all modifications of this character tend + towards infertility, while few plants accept any fertilizing aid from + other and different species. Any break in their hereditary tendencies, + resulting in a metamorphosis that involves the integrity of their stamens + and pistils, is stoutly resisted by nature. In considering the question of + species, therefore, we should confine our observations to those produced + by natural, not artificial, methods; to plants as propagated by the loving + tendencies of nature, not by the arbitrary and exacting methods of + man--those looking to his gratification only. All these fall into the + category, of "nature's bastards," as Shakespeare happily defines them. In + view of these considerations, and the new methods of classification, such + as grouping genera into families or orders, and these into sub-orders, + tribes, sub-tribes, etc., we can readily understand why the great Harvard + Professor should have wholly eliminated community of descent from his idea + of "species," or hesitated to regard varieties otherwise than as the + result of man's agency. + </p> + <p> + Indeed, the whole question of species, as well as varieties, is likely to + undergo material modifications in the future. On some points the botanists + and zoologists differ widely already, many making likeness among + individuals a secondary consideration, and genealogical succession the + absolute test of species. Others, on the contrary, make resemblance the + fundamental rule, and look upon habitual fecundity within hereditary + limits as provisional, or answering to temporary needs only. These + differences of opinion would seem to be the more tenaciously held as the + question of new varieties presses for solution at the hands of nature, + rather than by the agency of man. All these varieties tend less to new + races than to cluster about type-centres, and can go no further than + certain fixed limits of variation, beyond which all oscillations cease. + But none of these questions touch the real marrow of the controversy as to + origin, or aid us in determining the duration of species. + </p> + <p> + The presence of the two great families of trees--the sequoias and the + oaks--as far back as the Miocene period, if not extending through the + Eocene into the Cretacious, is conclusive of the point we would make, that + no great evolutional changes have taken place in the last two or three + million years, and none are likely to take place in the next million + years, except that the <i>Sequoia gigantea</i> may drop out, from the + vandalism of man or the next glacial drift. + </p> + <p> + M. Ch. Martins, in his "Voyage Botanique én Norwege," says "that + each species of the vegetable kingdom is a kind of thermometer which has + its own zero." It may also be said to have its hygrometric and telluric + gauges, or instruments to determine the necessary conditions of moisture + and soil-constituents. When the temperature is below zero, the + physiological functions of the plant are suspended, either in temporary + hybernation or death. And so when the hygrometric gauge falls below the + point of actual sustentation, the plant shrinks and dies; while, without + the necessary conditions, it would never have made its appearance. There + was nothing more imperative in the command for the earth to bring forth + than the necessary conditions on which plant-life depended in the first + instance, and still depends, as we have endeavored to show. + </p> + <p> + Dr. J.G. Cooper, in an interesting article prepared by him at the expense + of the Smithsonian Institute, on the distribution of the forests and trees + of North America, with notes and observations on the physical geography, + climate, etc., of the country, after classifying, arranging, and + tabulating the results of the various observations forwarded to that + institution, indulges in the following general observations: "We have with + a tropical summer a tropical variety of trees, but chiefly of northern + forms. Again, with our arctic winters, we have a group of trees, which, + though of tropical forms, are so adapted to the climate as to lose their + leaves, like the northern forms, in winter. But, here, it must be + distinctly understood, is no alteration <i>produced</i> by climate. Trees + are made for and not <i>by</i> climate, and they keep their + characteristics throughout their whole range, which with some extends + through a great variety of climate." The italics are the authors, and we + suppose he means by "tropical" and "arctic," the sub-tropical and + sub-arctic. + </p> + <p> + In making his general observations, he had before him large collections of + the leaves, fruits, bark, and wood of trees from all parts of the United + States, including portions of Mexico, the Canadas and Alaska, and + extending from the Atlantic to the Pacific. But one of the most important + elements--in fact, the <i>most</i> important--is wanting in the tables + before us, and that is, the elevation at which these thousands of + specimens were obtained. So great an oversight as this should not have + occurred, although it may not have been entirely Dr. Cooper's fault. He + had his materials to work upon, and may have done the best that any one + could with them. And yet it is just as important to know at what <i>elevation</i> + a particular tree grows in its own plant zone, as to know whether it comes + from a sub-arctic or sub-tropical region. + </p> + <p> + But this was not the comment we designed to make. Dr. Cooper labors, with + most professional botanists, under the delusion that all our plants and + trees originated in some one "centre of creation," at some period or other + in time and place, and have been steadily spreading themselves outward + from that centre until they occupy their present areas of distribution. We + have no objection to his clinging to this superannuated faith and belief, + if he derives any pleasure in flushing up these "traditional + grasshoppers." But we have a right to insist that he shall be logical. He + wants it distinctly understood that trees are made <i>for</i>, and not <i>by</i>, + climate. Then his "centre of creation" should be everywhere, not a + localized one. For he insists that no alteration can be produced by + climate, but that the characteristics of each specific form are preserved + throughout its entire range of distribution. But if these nomadic and + migratory forms have wandered thus far from their centres of creation, it + would seem that the trees had either adapted themselves to the climate, or + the climate to the trees. But our Smithsonian systematizer will allow us + neither horn of this dilemma. He insists that the trees were made for the + climate, and that they have preserved their characteristic features during + their entire ambulation upon the earth's surface. + </p> + <p> + With the change of a single monosyllabic predicate, this proposition is + undoubtedly true. We have never heard that plants or trees were "made." + They were ordered "to grow," or rather the earth was commanded to bring + them forth, which is an equivalent induction. And the fact that they grow + now, renders it absolutely certain that they grew at first, when "out of + the ground made the Lord God <i>to grow</i>" every plant of the field, and + every tree that is pleasant to the sight. We accept this genesis for the + want of a better. And if Dr. Cooper will add to his climatic conditions, + the hygrometric and other conditions necessary for the development and + growth of his plants and trees, we will agree with him to the fullest + extent of his novel position--that trees neither adapt themselves to the + climate, nor the climate to the trees; although it is true that trees + modify climate quite as much as they are modified by it. The true + physiological formula is undoubtedly this:--Trees make their appearance <i>in</i> + climatic and other environing conditions, and flourish, without material + change in characteristics, so long as these conditions favor. <i>Why</i> + they make their appearance is not a debatable question, except as we + assume a preëxisting vital principle, and apply to its elucidation + our subtlest dialectical methods. We are told that God commanded the earth + to bring them forth, after <i>his</i> spirit (the animating soul of life) + had moved upon the face of the depths--the chaotic and formless mass of + the earth in the beginning. Plato has uttered no profounder or more + comprehensive truth than this, with all his conceptions of Deity and the + perfect archetypal world after which he conceived our own to be modeled. + Our preference for the Bible genesis over the Platonic conception is, that + it is vastly simpler and constitutes a more objective reality to the human + soul. Besides, we find <i>it true in fact</i>, since the earth is + constantly teeming with life, as if in obedience to some great primal law + impressed upon matter by an infinitely superior intelligence to our own.-- + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + "If this faith fail,<br /> The pillar'd firmament is rottenness,<br /> And + earth's base built on stubble." + </p> + </blockquote> + <h2> + <a name="07"></a>Chapter VII. + </h2> + <h3> + What Is Life? Its Various Theories. + </h3> + <p> + The question, "What is life?" does not lie within the province of human + reason, the science of logic, or the intuitions of consciousness, to + determine. It furnishes no objective <i>datum</i> on which to predicate + attributes that are either congruent or diverse. It can only be defined as + the coordination of the <i>vis vitae</i> in nature, which is an + undisguised form of reasoning in a circle. We can ascribe to it only such + attributes as are utterly inconceivable in any other concept or object of + thought. It admits of but one attribution, and that embracing an identical + proposition. To say of life that it is "a coördination of action," + might be true as a partial judgment, but not as a comprehensive one; + otherwise, crystallization would fall under its category, which is + manifestly an illicit induction. It allows, therefore, of no possible + explication, analysis, or separate logical predicament. It stands + absolutely alone and apart by itself--a positive, self-subsistent vital + principle, or process of action, which all physiologists agree, for the + sake of convenience and uniformity of expression, in designating as a <i>power, + property, force</i>, etc., in nature. Whenever questioned as to its origin + the subtlest and profoundest intellects, in all ages of the world, have + returned but one answer: "I know no possible origin but God"--the great + primal source of all life in the universe. + </p> + <p> + Among the ancients we find an almost equivalent induction in the phrases, + borrowed by them from the highest antiquity, "<i>Jupiter est genitor</i>," + "<i>Jupiter est quodcunque vivit</i>," etc., which, although uninspired + utterances, strike their roots deeply into the <i>terra incognita</i> of + consciousness, wherein we ascribe to God the "issues of life" as a + paramount theological conception. When the ingenious and learned Frenchman + defined life as "the sum of all the functions by which death is resisted," + he was as conclusively indulging in the <i>argumentum in circulo</i> as if + he had said, "Life is the antithesis of what is not life." This would be + as luminous a definition as that which should make Theism the opposite of + Anti-theism, or the Algebraic statement <i>x-y</i> the antithesis of <i>x+y</i>--one + of no definitional value so long as there is no known quantity expressed + in the formula. + </p> + <p> + To begin with begging the question, and then adroitly whipping the + argument about a pivotal point, as a boy would whip a top, may be amusing + enough to the childish mind, but is manifestly making no more progress in + logic than to substitute an ingenious paraphrase of a term for its real + definition. It is a mere verbal feat at best, without the possibility of + reaching any determinate judgment. It is like some of the half-circular + phrases we are likely to meet with in the categories of modern + materialistic science, such as the "correlated correlates of motion," the + "potentiated potentialities of sky-mist," the "undifferentiated + differentialities of life-stuff," called, by special condescension on the + part of the materialists, "life." All of which is an easy logic, but a + whimsical enough way of putting it. + </p> + <p> + According to Leibnitz, everything that exists is replete with life, full + of vital activity, if not an actual mass of living individualities. But + this daring hypothesis has ceased to attract the attention it once + received. There are states and conditions of matter in respect to which it + is idle to predicate the <i>vis vitae</i>. For the great bulk of our globe + is made up of the highly crystallized and non-fossiliferous rocks, which + neither contain any elementary principle of life, nor exhibit the + slightest trace of vital organism, even to the minutest living speck or + plastid. During all those vast periods of uncomputed time, covering the + world's primeval history, there was an utter absence of life until the + chief upheavals of the outer strata of our globe, now constituting the + principal mountain chains of its well-defined continents, occurred. In + whatever atomic or molecular theories, therefore, we may indulge, in + respect to the original formation of the earth, the utmost stretch of + empirical science can go no further, in the solution of vital problems, + than to touch the threshold of inorganic matter, where, in our backward + survey of nature, vegetable life begins and animal life ends. All beyond + this point must be given up to other "correlates of motion" than those to + which the materialists specifically assign the beginnings of life. + </p> + <p> + The theory of "panspermism," originating with the Abbé Spallanzani + in modern times, and still stoutly advocated by M. Pasteur and some few + others, is manifestly defective in this,--that it goes beyond the + inorganic limit in assigning vital units to all matter, even to its + elemental principles. It is true that they speak of "pre-existing + germs"--"primordial forms of life"--that are "many million times smaller + than the smallest visible insect." But their assumptions go far beyond the + construction we give to the Bible genesis, which merely asserts that the + germinal principle of life--that of every living thing--is in the earth, + or in "the waters and the earth," which were alone commanded "to bring + forth." + </p> + <p> + Some of the panspermists have gone so far as to assert that everything + which exists is referable to the <i>vis vitæ</i>--to non-corporeal, + yet extended vital units, mere metaphysical points--like Professor Beale's + bioplasts in the finer nerve-reticulations--or living things endowed with + a greater or less degree of perceptive power. This was the assumption of + the great German philosopher, Leibnitz, who carried the panspermic theory + so far as to accept the more fanciful one of "monads"--those invisible, + ideal, and purely speculative units of Plato, which go to make up the + entire universe, extending even to the ultimate elements, or elements of + elements. Leibnitz says: "As it is with the human soul, which sympathizes + with all the varying states of nature--which mirrors the universe--so it + is with the monads universally. Each--and they are infinitely numerous--is + also a mirror, a centre of the universe, a microcosm: everything that is, + or happens, is reflected in each, but by its own spontaneous power, + through which it holds ideally in itself, as in a germ, the totality of + things." + </p> + <p> + But the specific germ theory advanced in the Bible genesis, is capable of + being taken out of the purely speculative region in which "panspermism" + landed the great German philosopher. It is a simple averment that the + animating principle of life is in the earth; that the germs of all living + things, vegetal and animal alike, are implanted therein, and that they + make their appearance, in obedience to the divine command, whenever and + wherever the necessary environing conditions occur. The fact that nature + still obeys this command is proof that she has the power to do so--that + this indestructible vital principle still animates her breast. Innumerable + experiments, as well as phenomenal facts, attest the truth of this genesis + of life, while the researches of Professor Bastian and other eminent + materialists, made in infusorial and cryptogamic directions, confirm + rather than discredit it. The fact that it appears for the first time in + this ancient Hebrew text can detract nothing from its value as a + scientific statement. Granting that panspermism may rest upon a purely + fanciful and unsubstantial basis, it is but fair to concede that its great + advocates have honestly attempted to explain by it all the vital phenomena + occurring in nature, as M. Pasteur is conclusively attempting to do now. + It is certain that the materialists, who are resolutely antagonizing the + panspermic, as well as all other "vital" theories, have not yet gone so + deeply into elementary substance as to shut off all further investigation + in these directions.[<a href="#foot22">22</a>] Neither the lowest + primordial cell, nor the least conceivable molecule, has yet been reached + by the aid of the microscope, any more than the outermost circle of the + heavens has been penetrated by the aid of the telescope. We must stop + somewhere, and when we find a scientifically formulated statement which + embraces all vital phenomena, and satisfactorily accounts for them all, + whether it originally came from Aristotle, from Plato, or from Moses, is a + matter of comparatively slight moment, so far as the scientific world is + concerned. At least, it would seem so to us. But to talk of the <i>de novo</i> + origin of "living matter" as the result of the dynamic force of + molecules--themselves concessively "dead matter"--is to indulge in quite + as fanciful a speculation as the advocates of the panspermic hypothesis + have ever ventured to suggest. Professor Bastian is forced to go back of + his infusorial forms and fungus-germs to a microscopical "pellicle," from + which he admits they are "evolved." But why evolved? Does not the + principle of vitality lie back of the pellicle, as well as the + fungus-germ? How absolutely certain is he that the extremest verge of + microscopic investigation has been attained, in what he is pleased to + designate "primary organic forms?" "Evolution" is a very potential word, + and no one may yet know what boundless stores of absurd theory and + metaphysical nonsense are locked up in it![<a href="#foot23">23</a>] He + admits that "evolution," as embracing the idea of "natural selection," can + have nothing to do with the vast assemblage of infusorial and cryptogamic + organisms, until they assume definitely recurring forms, that is, rise + into species and breed true to nature. Then, he agrees with Mr. Darwin, + that the law of vital polarity or "heredity," as he calls it, may come in + and play its part towards effecting evolution, or variability, in both + animal and vegetal organisms, but not before. Why then should he lug in, + or attempt to lug in, the diverse potentialities of this word "evolution," + for the purpose of demonstrating the dynamic law governing the + developmental stages of his microscopic pellicle? This, he will agree, + lies far below the point, in primary organism, where specific identity, or + the law of heredity, asserts its full recognition. All below this + developmental point is inconstancy of specific forms, with no line of + ancestry to be traced anywhere. + </p> + <p> + This, Professor Bastian readily concedes, notwithstanding it cuts the + Darwinian <i>plexus</i> squarely in the middle. He says: "Both Gruithuisen + and Tréviranus agree that the infusoria met with have never + presented similar characters when they have been encountered in different + infusions; nor have they been uniform in the same infusion, when different + portions of it have been <i>exposed to the incidence of different + conditions</i>. The slightest variations in the quality or quantity of the + materials employed, are invariably accompanied by the appearance of + different organisms--these being oftentimes strange and peculiar, and + unaccompanied by any of the familiar forms." Other writers of equal + eminence in this field of investigation have not only observed the same + characteristics, but encountered the same difficulties in classification, + from the very great diversity obtaining even in the nearest allied forms. + So great is this diversity, and so multitudinous the different forms, that + little certainty or value can be attached to the classifications already + made. Even Professor O.F. Müller, after he had convinced himself that + he had discovered not less than twelve different species belonging to a + single genus, was subjected to the mortification of seeing Ehrenberg cut + them all down to mere modifications of one and the same species. + </p> + <p> + We refer to these several statements of fact for the purpose of + emphasizing the true genesis of life as supplemented by "the incidence of + different conditions," on which all vital manifestations depend. The + presence of the germinal principles of life in the earth is emphatically + averred in the Bible genesis. And we have only to connect the doctrine of + "conditional incidence" with this averment, to account for all the vital + phenomena which so profoundly puzzle these gentlemen while prying into the + mysteries of the ephemeromorphic world. Whatever may be the character of + any infusion, or to whatever incidence of conditions it may be subjected, + it will produce <i>some</i> form of life; not because it contains this or + that morphological cell, destructible at a temperature of 100° C--that + to which it is experimentally subjected before microscopic + examination,--but because every organic infusion, whether undergoing the + required heat-test or not, contains vital units--those as indestructible + by heat as by glacial drift--which burgeon forth into life whenever the + proper conditions of environment obtain. The slightest variation, in + either the quantity or quality of the material employed in the infusion, + is, as these eminent microscopists agree, invariably accompanied by the + appearance of different forms of life, just as the slightest change in + soil-conditions, such as that produced by the presence of one species of + tree with another in natural truffle-grounds, will result in the + appearance of another and altogether different plant, as well as truffle + tuber. + </p> + <p> + But the theory which the vitalists are more particularly called upon to + combat is that to which the non-vitalists most rigidly adhere; and we + refer to it, in this connection, that the reader may compare its + complexity and involution of statement and idea with the extreme + simplicity of the biblical genesis, as heretofore presented. We give it in + the exact phraseology employed by Professor Bastian: "Living matter is + formed by, or is the result of, certain combinations and rearrangements + that take place <i>in invisible colloidal molecules</i>--a process which + is essentially similar to the mode by which higher organisms are derived + from lower in the pellicle of an organic infusion." This carefully-worded + definition of life, or the origin of "living matter," presents a + hypothetical mode of reasoning which is eminently characteristic of all + materialists. In the stricter definitional sense of the word, there is no + such thing as "living matter" or "dead matter," as we have before claimed. + There are "living organisms" in multitudinous abundance--those resulting + <i>from</i>, not <i>in</i>, the <i>vis vitæ</i>, or the elementary + principle of life in nature--as there are also "dead organisms" in + abundance. This materialistic definition of life, which is not so much as + a generic one even, begins in an absurdity and ends in one. It is agreed + that the "proligerous pellicle" of M. Pouchet, the "plastide particle" of + Professor Bastian, the "monas" of O.F. Müller, the "bioplast" of + Professor Beale, etc., are essentially one and the same thing, except in + name. They are mere moving specks, or nearly spherical particles, which + exhibit the first active movements in organic solutions. They vary in size + from the one hundred-thousandth to the one twenty-thousandth of a second + of an inch in diameter, and appear at first hardly more than moving specks + of semi-translucent mucus. Indeed, Burdach calls them "primordial mucous + layers." But they move, pulsate, swarm into colonies, and act as if they + were guided, not by separate intelligence, but by some master-builder + supervising the whole work of organic structure. This master-builder is + the one "elementary unit of life," which directs the movements of all the + plastide particles, constantly adding to their working force, from the + first primordial mucous layer of the superstructure to the majestic dome + of thought (in the case of man) which crowns the temple of God on earth.[<a + href="#foot24">24</a>] + </p> + <p> + But this "pellicle" of Professor Bastian is not mere structureless matter, + any more than the "bioplast" of Professor Beale. The fact that they move, + pulsate, work in all directions, shows that they have the necessary organs + with which to work. These organs may be invisible in the field of the + microscope, but that is no proof that they do not exist. Organs are as + essential for locomotion in a plastide particle as in a mastodon or + megatherium, and if the microscope could only give back the proper + response, we should see them, if not be filled with wonder at the + marvellous perfection of their structure. But into whatever divisions or + classifications we may distinguish or generalize the properties of matter, + we can never predicate <i>vitality</i> of it, any more than we can + predicate <i>intellectuality</i>. Indeed, "intellectual matter" presents + no greater incongruity or invalidity of conception than "vital matter." + These qualifying terms are applied to the known laws and forces of nature, + not to insensate matter. To assert that life results <i>from</i> "certain + combinations and rearrangements of matter," and not <i>in</i> them, is + utterly to confound cause and effect, or so incongruously mingle them + together that no logical distinction between the two can exist as an + object of perception. Without the <i>vis vitæ</i>, or some germinal + principle of life, lying back of these "combinations and rearrangements of + matter," and determining the movements of their constituent molecules, + there could be no vital manifestation, any more than there could be a + correlate of a force without the actual existence of the force itself. [<a + href="#foot25">25</a>] + </p> + <p> + The materialists give the name of "protoplasm" to that primitive + structureless mass of homogeneous matter in which the lowest living + organisms make their appearance. They claim that this generic substance is + endowed with the property or power of producing life <i>de novo</i>, or, + as Professor Bastian puts it, of "unfolding new-born specks of living + matter" which subsequently undergo certain evolutional changes; but + whether they die in their experimental flasks, or rise into higher and + more potentially endowed forms of life, it is difficult for those + following their diagnoses to determine. They further claim that the same + law of vital manifestation obtains in organic solutions as in the + structureless mass they call "protoplasm." Both are essentially endowed + with the same potentiality of originating life independently of vital + units, or <i>de novo</i>, as they more persistently phrase it. But why + speak of <i>unfolding</i> "new-born specks of living matter?" "To unfold" + means to open the folds of something--to turn them back, get at the + processes of their <i>infoldment</i>. It implies a pre-existing something, + inwrapped as a germ in its environment. If not a germ, what is this + pre-existing vital something which their language implies? Is our + scientific technology so destitute of definitional accuracy that they + cannot use half a dozen scientific terms without committing half that + number of down-right scientific blunders? "New-born specks of living + matter" is language that a vitalist might possibly use by sheer + inadvertence; but no avowed materialist, like Professor Bastian, should + trip in this definitional way. + </p> + <p> + "Living matter," <i>born</i> of what? Certainly not of <i>dead</i> matter. + Death quickens nothing into life, not even the autonomous moulds of the + grave. It implies the absence of all vitality--a state or condition of + matter in which all vital functions have been suspended, have utterly + ceased, if, indeed, they ever existed. It behooves the materialists to use + language with more precision and accuracy than this. "Dead matter," + whatever the phrase may imply, can bear nothing, produce nothing, quicken + nothing. The pangs of death once past, the pangs of life cease. Nor is + there any birth from unquickened matter. Animals <i>bear</i> young, trees + <i>bear</i> fruit, but force <i>produces</i> results. What then quickens + protoplasmic matter? Neither vital force, nor vegetative force, if we are + to credit the materialists. They would scorn to postulate such a theory, + or accept any such absurd remnant of the old vitalistic school. It is + rather "molecular force"--a physical, not a vital unit--that gives us + these "new-born specks of living matter." [<a href="#foot26">26</a>] This + is what they would all assert at once, in their enthusiasm to enlighten us + on a new terminology. + </p> + <p> + But "molecular force" fails to give us any additional enlightenment on the + subject we are investigating. It is even less satisfactory than "atomic + force," or "elementary force"--that which may be considered as inhering in + the elementary particles from which both atoms and molecules are derived. + And since both the ultimate atom and the ultimate molecule lie beyond + microscopic reach, the assumption that vital phenomena are the result of + either molecular force or atomic force, rests upon no other basis than + that of imaginary hypothesis. To postulate any such theory of life, is + going beyond the limits of experimental research and inquiry, and hence + adopting an unscientific method. At what point the smallest living + organism is launched into existence--started on its life-journey--no one + is confident enough to assert. The materialist is just as dumb on this + subject as the vitalist; and the only advantage he can have over his + antagonist is to stand on this extreme verge of attenuated matter, and + deny the existence of any force beyond it. The postulation by him of + molecular force at this point, is virtually an abandonment of the whole + controversy. He ceases to be a materialist the moment he passes the + visible boundaries of matter, in search of anything like "undifferentiated + sky-mist" beyond it. + </p> + <p> + All that we definitely know is that certain conditions of protoplasmic + matter, of organic solutions, of soil-constituents, etc., produce certain + forms of life; and, in the case of solutions, certain low forms of life: + But whether the lower rise, by any insensible gradations, into the higher, + more complex, and definitely expressed forms of life, is altogether + unknown. That any such gradations can be traced from the lowest vital + unit, in the alleged collocations of molecules, is not yet claimed. These + primordial collocations, like the lowest living organisms, lie beyond the + microscopic aids to vision, so that the ultimate genesis of life remains + as much a mystery as ever--becomes, in fact, a mere speculative + hypothesis. And when it comes to this sort of speculation, the materialist + is just as much in the dark as the vitalist, and neither can have any + advantage over the other, except as the one may adopt the analytic, and + the other the synthetic method. + </p> + <p> + This is the materialistic argument covering the <i>de novo</i> origin of + living organisms:--There is no greater microscopical evidence, they + assert, that these organisms come from pre-existing invisible germs or + vital units, than that crystals are produced in a similar manner--that is, + come from pre-existing invisible germs of crystals. But this is + overlooking all generic distinction in respect to processes or modes of + action. Crystals are inorganic matter which <i>form</i>, do not <i>grow</i>. + They are mere symmetrical arrangements, not organic growths; and are + produced by some law akin to chemical affinity, acting on the molecules of + their constituent mass. They possess no vital function. They show no + beginning or cessation of life. But, once locked up in their geometric + solids, they remain permanently enduring forms--concessively inorganic, + not functionally-endowed, matter. To speak, therefore, of the "germs of + crystals," is using language that has no appreciable significance to us. + Germs are embryonic, and imply a law of growth--a process of assimilation, + not of mere aggregation. + </p> + <p> + But, at the risk of being tedious, let us extend this argument of the + materialists a little further: The only difference, they will still + insist, between the preëxisting germs of crystals and plants--or the + only difference essentially worth noticing--is that crystalline particles + of matter are endowed with much less potentiality of undergoing + diversified forms and structural changes than the more highly favored + vital particles, such as the proligerous pellicle, the bioplast, the + plastide, etc. The one represents mere crystallizable matter, the other + the more complex colloidal or albuminoid substance, or that capable of + producing a much greater number of aggregates. The analogies, they + concede, end here. But the difference is world-wide when we come to + processes--the true experimental test in all classification. + Crystallizable substances <i>crystallize</i>--that is all. They pass into + a fixed and immovable state, and mostly into one as enduring as adamant; + while colloidal or albuminoid matter (laboratory protoplasm) takes on no + fixed forms--only those that are ephemeral, merely transitory. This is so + marked a feature, in respect to all the primordial forms of life, that + Professor Bastian gives them the more distinctive name of + "ephemeromorphs," in place of <i>infusoria</i>. But all these primordial + forms grow--develop into vital activity. Not so with a solitary crystal. + Everywhere the statical unit <i>forms</i>, the dynamical unit <i>grows</i>; + the one aggregates, the other assimilates; the one solidifies, the other + opens up into living tissue; the one rests in the embrace of eternal + silence, the other breaks the adamantine doors, and makes nature resonant + with praise. + </p> + <p> + Great stress is laid by the materialists on the changeability of certain + microscopic forms, and the startling metamorphoses they apparently undergo + in different infusions, especially those forms having developmental + tendencies towards fungi and certain low forms of algæ. They + attribute their different modes of branching, articulation, segmentation + of filaments, etc., both to intrinsic tendencies and extrinsic causes, the + latter depending, no doubt, in a great measure upon the chemical changes + constantly taking place in their respective infusions. These intrinsic + tendencies, they would have us believe, depend upon the dynamic force of + molecules, rather than any vital unit, or even change in elementary + conditions. But "Dynamism" simply implies that force inheres in, or + appertains to, all material substance, without specifically designating + either the quantity or quality of the inhering force. If these + materialists, therefore, use the terms "dynamic force," in this + connection, in the sense in which we use vital force, or in the sense in + which they use "statical force" as applied to the formation of crystals, + in contradistinction from "dynamical force" as applied to living + organisms, we have no special objection to urge against this particular + formula. It presents no such formidable antagonism as the vitalists would + expect to encounter from them. + </p> + <p> + M. Dutrochet is approvingly quoted by Professor Bastian, as asserting that + he could produce different genera of mouldiness (low mycological forms) <i>at + will</i>, by simply employing different infusions. This is unquestionably + true, with certain limitations. And the chief limitation is as to <i>his</i> + (M. Dutrochet's) will. He might "will," for instance, to plant one field + with corn and another with potatoes, but if the husbandman he employed to + do the planting should happen to plant the one crop where he had willed to + plant the other, and corn should grow where potatoes were planted, and <i>vice + versa</i>, then he might be said to have produced corn <i>at will</i>. And + so of his infusions. No change in their conditions enabled him to produce + one species, much less a genus, of mouldiness in preference to another, by + any change in the infusions employed by him. The power which implants life + in the mycological world, implants it in every other world, from that + without beginning to that without end. And this implanted life is quite as + complete in one form as another,-- + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + "As full, as perfect, in vile man that mourns,<br /> As the rapt seraph + that adores and burns." + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + All that the materialists can claim respecting man's agency in the + production of life is, that he may take advantage of the uniform laws of + nature, so far as they are known to him, planting seeds here, changing + chemical conditions there, using different infusions in his experimental + flasks,--organic or inorganic, as he may choose--and then await the action + of these uniform laws. He will find them operative everywhere, and if he + studies them deeply enough, he will find that they are not so much the + laws of nature as they are the laws of nature's God. + </p> + <p> + Professor Bastian thinks he has conclusive evidence that what he calls + "new-born specks of living matter" are produced <i>de novo</i>, that is, + independently of any conceivable germ or germinal principle of life + implanted in nature. But he confounds this implanted principle of life + with the living organism it produces. His morphological cells, as well as + plastide particles, are among these living organisms, as is conclusively + shown by his own experiments. These all perish in his super-heated flasks. + But the vital principle that produced them--that which becomes germinal + under the proper conditional incidences--he can no more destroy by + experimentation than he can create a new world or annihilate the old one. + His flask experiments, therefore, prove nothing; and all this talk about + <i>de novo</i> production is the sheerest scientific delusion. For, were + it possible to destroy every plant, tree, shrub, blade of grass, weed, + seed, underground root, nut, and tuber to-day, the earth would teem with + just as diversified a vegetation as ever to-morrow. A few trees, like the + gigantic conifers of the Pacific slope, might not make their appearance + again, and some plants might drop out of the local flora; but the <i>Pater + omnipotens Æther</i> of Virgil, would descend into the bosom of his + joyous spouse (the earth), and, great himself, mingle with her great body, + in all the prodigality, profusion, and wealth of vegetation as before.[<a + href="#foot27">27</a>] + </p> + <p> + But these defiant challengers of the vitalists, who refuse us even the + right to assume the existence of a special "vital force" in nature, are + anything but consistent in their logical deductions. For while they + resolutely deny the invasion of vital germs in their experimental flasks, + they talk as flippantly of the "germs of crystals," and their presence in + saline and other solutions, as if there were no scientific formula more + satisfactorily generalized than that establishing their existence. Even + Professor Bastian speaks of "germs," in a general sense, as if they + thronged the earth, air, water, and even the stratified rocks, in + countless and unlimited numbers. But we fail to see that any of his + accurately obtained results determine their exclusion from the + experimental media employed by him for that purpose. His unit of value is + a morphological cell, a derivative organism rather than a primary vital + unit; and all organisms are, as we have before said, destructible by heat. + Professor Agassiz is pretty good authority for doubting the existence of + such a cell. The difficulty of assigning to it any definitional value is, + that it lies too near the ultimate implications of matter--those shadowy + and inexplicable confines not yet reached--to admit of any scientific + explication necessarily resting on objective data. If they mean by "germs" + primary organic cells, then none exist in their super-heated infusions, + and they are logical enough in rejecting the idea of their invasion. But + in assuming the cell to be the ultimate unit of value, is where they trip + in attribution, and stumble upon a partial judgment only. + </p> + <p> + The only value attaching to their theory of crystalline germs is, that it + conclusively establishes the law of uniformity by which all structural + forms are determined, whether they originate in organic infusions or + inorganic solutions--in protoplasm or protoprism. The crystalline system + presents no variability in types, but a rigid adherence to specific forms + of definitely determined value. Whatever geometrical figure any particular + crystal assumed at first, it has continued to assume ever since, and will + forever assume hereafter. As a primary conception of the "Divine + Intendment" (to speak after the manner of Leibnitz) it can neither change + itself, nor become subject to any law of change, or variability, from + eternally fixed types. And this is as demonstrably true of all living + types, after reaching the point of heredity, as of the countless + crystalline forms that go to make up the principal bulk of our planet. In + this light, and as affording this conclusive induction, the crystalline + argument of the materialists has its value. + </p> + <p> + The materialists should not too mincingly chop logic over the validity of + their own reasoning. If they force upon us their conclusions respecting + statical aggregates, or crystalline forms, let them accept the inductions + that inevitably follow in the case of dynamical aggregates, or living + organisms. Beggars of conditions should not be choosers of conditions, nor + should they be al lowed to dodge equivalent judgments where the validity + of one proposition manifestly rests upon that of another. If they insist + upon the presence of a chemical unit, or, worse still, a crystalline + "germ" or unit, in the case of statical aggregations, they are effectually + estopped from denying the presence of vital units in dynamical + aggregations. And if they further force upon us the conviction that the + process of aggregation, when once determined, remains in the one case, + eternally fixed and certain, they should not be permitted to turn round + and insist that, in the other case, there is nothing fixed and certain, + but all is variability, change, uncertainty of specific forms. If vital + units have only a hypothetical existence, then chemical units, statical + units, and morphological units, should fall into the same categories of + judgment. + </p> + <p> + A great deal of needless ingenuity has been wasted, both by the vitalists + and materialists, in formulating impossible definitions of life--in + attempts to tell us what life is. But Mr. Herbert Spencer is believed, by + his many admirers, to have hit upon the precise explanatory phrases + necessary to convey its true definitional meaning. He defines it as "<i>the + continuous adjustment of internal relations to external relations</i>." + This definition, when first formulated, was received by all the + materialists of Europe with the wildest enthusiasm. It was absolutely + perfect. All the phenomenal facts of life fitted into it, as one box, in a + nest of them, fitted into another. The universal world was challenged to + show that any other phenomenal fact than the one of life would fit into + this prodigious formula of Mr. Spencer. The London "Times" tried its hand + on it, but only in a playful way. It said: "All the world, or at least all + living things, are nothing but large boxes containing an infinite number + of little boxes, one within the other, and the least and tiniest box of + all contains the germ,"--the elementary principle of life. But this was + hardly a legitimate characterization. A nest of boxes presents no idea of + "continuous adjustment," nor are the internal relations of one box + adjusted to the external relations of another. The definition is really + that of a piece of working machinery--any working machinery--and was + designed to cover Mr. Spencer's theory of "molecular machinery" as run by + molecular force. + </p> + <p> + But the earth presents the most perfect adjustment of internal relations + to those that are external, and it continuously presents them. Even the + upheaval of its fire-spitting mountains affords the highest demonstration + of the adjustment of its inner terrestrial forces to those that are purely + external; and much more does it show the adjustment of its internal to its + external relations. There is a continuous adaptation of means to ends, of + causes to effects, of adjustments to re-adjustments, in respect to the + characteristics of the earth's surface--its physical configuration, the + distribution of its fluids and solids, its fauna and flora, its + hygrometric and thermometric conditions, its ocean, wind, and + electro-magnetic currents, and even its meteorological manifestations--all + showing a continuous adjustment of interior to exterior conditions or + relations. The earth should, therefore, fall under the category of "life," + according to Herbert Spencer's definitional formula. And so should an + automatic dancing-jack that is made to run by internal adjustments to + external movements or manifestations. There are any number of Professor + Bastian's "ephemoromorphs" that do not live half as long as one of these + automatic dancing-jacks will run, and so long as they run, the adjustment + of their internal to their external relations is continuous. + </p> + <p> + The success of Mr. Spencer's definition of "life" encouraged Professor + Bastian to try his hand at it, with this definitional result: "Life," he + says, "is an unstable collocation of Matter (with a big M), capable of + growing by selection and interstitial appropriation of new matter (what + new matter?) which then assumes similar qualities, of continually varying + in composition in response to variations of its Medium (another big M), + and which is capable of self-multiplication by the separation of portions + of its own substance." + </p> + <p> + It shall not be our fault if the reader fails to understand this + definition--to untwist this formidable formula of life. And we can best + aid him by grammatically analyzing its structure. And, + </p> + <p> + 1. "Life is capable of growing." We are glad to know this. As a vitalist + it enables us to take a step towards the front--gets us off the "back + seat" to which we were summarily ordered at the outset of this inquiry. We + let its "unstable collocation" pass for what it is worth, and stick to our + grammatical analysis. + </p> + <p> + 2. "Life grows--is capable of doing something." This assurance positively + encourages us. + </p> + <p> + 3. "It grows by selection and interstitial appropriation." This is still + more encouraging. It emboldens us to take a second step forward. Life, we + feel, is increasing in potentiality. + </p> + <p> + 4. "By appropriation it enables <i>new matter to assume similar qualities + to old matter</i>." This makes us more confident than ever; we take + another step forward--are half disposed to take two of them. Life is + getting to be almost a "potentiated potentiality," to adopt the style of + materialistic phrases. + </p> + <p> + 5. "It causes matter <i>to continually vary in composition.</i>" Bravo! we + unhesitatingly take two steps forward on the strength of this most + comforting assurance. Life is assuredly getting the upperhand of Matter + (with a big M.) It is no longer a mere "undiscovered correlate of + motion"--a hypothetical slave to matter only. It wrestles with it--throws + it into the shade. We involuntarily take several more steps forward. + </p> + <p> + 6. "Life is capable of self-multiplication"--has almost a creative + faculty. Here we interject a perfect bravura of "bravoes," and, stepping + boldly up to the front, demand of Professor Bastian to "throw up the + sponge," take a back seat, and there--formulate us a new definition of + "life." + </p> + <p> + But our London University materialist is not entirely satisfied with his + own definition, or at least with the moral effect of it. He thinks that + all these attempts to define life as a non-entity only, tend to keep up + the demoralizing idea that it is an actual entity. We entirely agree with + him in this conclusion. The infelicity and entire inconclusiveness of the + definition he has vouchsafed us can hardly have any other effect. He sees + this himself, and hence this foot-note to his great work on + Ephemeromorphs: "Inasmuch as no life can exist without an organism, of + which it is the phenomenal manifestation, so it seems comparatively + useless to attempt to define this phenomenal manifestation alone--and, + what is worse, such attempts tend to keep up the idea that life is an + independent entity." + </p> + <p> + It may be objected that our grammatical analysis of the professor's + definition of life is unfair, since he manifestly intended that it should + cover a "living thing," and not "life" as an abstract, term. Our reply to + this is, that he makes no distinction between the two. Life, with him, is + simply a phenomenal manifestation. The two are correlative terms; so that + his definition of the one must necessarily be the definition of the other, + either as an identical or partial judgment. But let us take his definition + entirely out of its abstract sense, and run it into the concrete. The able + pathological anatomist of the London University college is a "living + thing." He is, therefore, presumably a phenomenal manifestation. He is + capable of growing, by "selection and interstitial appropriation," in + reputation at least, if not in the direction of "an independent entity." + His work of twelve hundred pages, covering his laborious delvings into the + ephemeromorphic world, is conclusive on this point. As a phenomenal + manifestation alone, any attempt to define either him or his professional + labors, may be worse than useless, since it would tend to keep up the idea + that he is an actual London entity. We are very confident that he is not a + London non-entity, but are willing to agree that he is either the one or + the other. The flaw that we are after lies in his interstitial logic, not + in the hallucination in which he indulges respecting nonentities. His + assumption that life cannot exist without an organism, of which it is the + phenomenal manifestation, is what we propose to deal with. + </p> + <p> + Now, directly the reverse of this proposition is what is true. An organism + cannot exist without life or an independent vital principle in nature, any + more than celestial bodies can be held in their place independently of + gravitation. The vital principle that organizes must precede the thing + organized or the living organism, as the great formative principle of the + universe (call it the will of God, gravitation or what you may) must have + existed before the first world-aggregation. In logic, we must either + advance or fall back--insist upon precedence being given to cause over + effect, or deny their relative connection altogether. The organism is the + phenomenal manifestation, not the vital principle which organizes it. To + say that there can be no <i>manifestation</i> of life without an organism + is true; but to assume that the vital principle which organizes is + dependent on its own organism for its manifestation is absurd. It would be + the lesser fallacy to deny the phenomenal fact altogether, and insist that + cause and effect are mere intellectual aberrations, or such absurd mental + processes as find no correlative expression in nature, as that embodying + the idea of either an antecedent or a consequent. + </p> + <p> + "Plato lived." He ate, he drank, he talked divinely. He was the occupant + of an admirably constructed life-mansion; one that St. Paul would have + looked upon as "the temple of God," and all the world would have + recognized as a god-like temple. His head was a study for the Greek + chisel; none was ever more perfectly modeled, or artistically executed. + All agreed in this. And yet it was not the <i>habitat</i> but the <i>habitant</i> + that attracted the admiration of the Greek mind; enkindled its highest + enthusiasm; drew all the schools of philosophy, about him at once. It was + the lordly occupant of the temple, the indwelling <i>Archeus</i>, + presiding over all the organic phenomena and directing all the dynamic + powers therein, which was so profoundly present in the living Plato. Even + Professor Haeckel, of the famous University of Jena, would not deny this, + with all that his new terms "ontogeny" and "phylogeny" may imply. When + potential life passed over into actual life in the individual Plato, it + was not the pabulum that assimilated the man, but the man the pabulum. If + this were not so, then the mere potentiality of growing, as in the case of + plants and animals, would be all there is to distinguish the phenomenal + manifestation of a Plato from that of a mole or a cabbage-stalk. In other + words, if the animating principle of life--or, as the Bible has it, the + "animating soul of life"--is not what manifests itself in material + embodiment, but the reverse, what can Professor Haeckel mean by his new + term "phylogeny," which ought to cover the lines of descent in all organic + beings? + </p> + <p> + If it be a question of mere pabulum, it is altogether <i>mal posé</i>. + Pabulum is nothing without a preëxisting "something" to dispose of + it. It is not so much as a jelly-mass breakfast for one of Professor + Haeckel's "protamoebæ;" for if it were served up in advance, there + would be none of his little non-nucleated jelly-eaters to partake of it, + much less any of his "protogenes." As the famous Mrs. Glass would say, in + her "hand-book of cookery," if you want a delightful "curry," first catch + your hare. But our ingenious professor of Jena dispenses with both the + hare and the curry, in serving up his pabulum to the "protamoebæ." + The improvident pabulum "evolves" its own eaters, and then, spider-like, + is eviscerated by them, as was Actaeon by his own hounds. As Life, + therefore, begins in the tragedy of Mount Cithæron, it is to be + hoped it will end in the delights of Artemis and her bathing nymphs. + </p> + <h2> + <a name="08"></a>Chapter VIII. + </h2> + <h3> + Materialistic Theories of Life Refuted. + </h3> + <p> + The methods by which the advocates of a purely physical origin of life + seek to establish the correctness of their conclusions, are unfortunately + not always attended by uniform results in experimentation. They subject + their solutions of organic matter to a very high temperature by means of + super-heated flasks, the tubes to which are so packed in red-hot materials + that whatever air may enter them shall encounter a much greater degree of + heat than that indicated by boiling water. At this temperature (100° + C--212° F) they assume that all living organisms perish, especially + when the solutions containing them have been kept, for the space of + fifteen or twenty minutes, at this standard point of heat. But, in the + light of all the experiments which have been made in this direction, there + is some doubt as to the entire correctness of their assumption. That many, + if not most living organisms, perish at a temperature of 100° C, there + is little or no doubt; but that there are some which are much more + tenacious of life, that is, possess greater vital resistance to heat, is + equally unquestionable. + </p> + <p> + M. Pasteur, for instance, mentions the spores of certain fungi which are + capable of germinating after an exposure of some minutes to a temperature + of 120° to 125° C. (248-257° F), while the same spores + entirely lose their germinating power after an exposure for half an hour + or more to a slightly higher temperature. Dr. Grace-Calvert, in a paper on + "The Action of Heat on Protoplasmic Life," recently published in the + proceedings of the Royal Society, asserts that certain "black vibrios" are + capable of resisting the action of fluids at a temperature as high as 300° + F, although exposed therein for half an hour or more. But none of these + crucial tests, however diverse in experimental results, really touch the + all-important question in controversy. They all relate either to living + organisms, or to the seeds and spores of vegetation, not to living + indestructible "germs"--invisible vital units--declared to be in the earth + itself. + </p> + <p> + We use the term "vital unit" in the same restricted sense in which the + materialists speak of "chemical units," "morphological units," etc., which + they admit are invisible in the microscopic field, and hence they can have + no positive information as to their destructibility or indestructibility + by heat. That this vital unit lies, in its true functional tendencies, + between the chemical and morphological units--manifesting itself in the + conditions of the one and resulting in the structural development of the + other--is no new or startling theory, but one that has been more or less + obscurely hinted at by Leibnitz, and even acknowledged as possible by + Herbert Spencer. It is this vital unit that assimilates or aggregates + protoplasmic matter into the morphological cell, or the initial organism + in a vital structure, or an approach towards structural form. + Morphological cells are not therefore "units," considered as the least of + any given whole, nor are they mere structureless matter, or any more + homogeneous in character than in substance. Different chemical solutions + give rise to different morphological cells, as differently constituted + soils produce different vegetal growths. Change the chemical conditions in + any solution or infusion, and you change the entire morphological + character of the infusoria appearing therein.[<a href="#foot28">28</a>] + The cells are living organisms springing from vital units, and can no more + manifest themselves independently of these units than life can manifest + itself independently of an actual organism. And they make their appearance + in the proper environing conditions, just as the oak comes from its + primordial germ or vital unit in the chemically changed conditions of the + soil. Everywhere the vital germ or unit precedes the vital growth as the + plant or tree precedes the natural seeds it bears. + </p> + <p> + This is not only the logical order, but the exact scientific method of + vital manifestation and growth. In this truth lies the whole mystery of + vegetal and animal life as hitherto manifested on our globe, with the + single exception of man whose crowning distinction it was to receive "a + living soul." This may be rejected as a scientific statement, but its + verification will appear in the very act of its rejection. Pry as deeply + as we may into the <i>arcana</i> of nature in search of exact scientific + truth, and we shall ultimately land in one or the other of these + propositions,--either that nature was originally endowed with some occult + and unknown power "to bring forth," which power is either continuously + inherent or continuously imparted, or else "specific creation" was the + predetermined plan and purpose, with no higher or more specialized animal + or vegetal forms than were specifically created in the beginning. + Otherwise, we are inevitably forced back, by our mental processes, which + we cannot resist, upon an effect without a cause--a physical law of the + universe without any conceivable law-giver--an all-pervading, + all-energizing principle of matter which must have existed as a cause + infinitely anterior to its first effect. And this is forcing language into + such crazy and paralytic conclusions as to utterly destroy its efficiency + as a vehicle of thought. + </p> + <p> + To conceive of the existence of the universe, or of any possible law that + may be operative therein, without an adequate antecedent cause, is as + metaphysically impossible as to conceive of substance without form, space + without extension, or a God who has been superceded in the universe by the + operation of his own laws. For if the world-ordaining and world-arranging + intelligence of the universe has ceased to ordain and arrange,--if all + things therein have been left to the operation of fixed and eternally + unchangeable laws--then no further supervisional direction is required on + the part of either an infinite or a finite intelligence, and our idea of a + God must disappear in the paramount induction of a universe which has + successfully risen up in insurrection against its own maker and lawgiver, + if it has not remorselessly consigned him to some inconceivable limbo + outside of the universe itself. But this Titanic, and worse than satanic, + insurrection on the part of a universe of matter and motion, is only the + conjectural coinage of the human brain--the wild supposition hazarded by + the materialistic mind--and fortunately has no conceivable counterpart + outside of it. + </p> + <p> + But the palpable blunder, in materialistic science, consists in its + overlooking the necessary outgrowth of theological ideas in the human + mind--as conclusively a phenomenal fact of nature as the invariable + uniformity of astronomical movements, the ebb and flow of the tides, or + the electro-magnetic waves of the earth itself. And nature furnishes no + greater clue to the one set of phenomena than the other. For when we say + that bodies act one upon another by the force of gravity, we are no nearer + an explication of the force itself, than we should be were we to allege + any corresponding manifestation on the part of the human mind. Kant says; + "We cannot conceive of the existence of matter without the forces of + attraction and repulsion--the conflict of two elementary forces in the + universe;" much less can we have any conception of the elementary forces + themselves. Science can, therefore, assign no more conclusive reason for + overlooking psychical manifestations than physical phenomena. Nor is the + one set of phenomena any more marvellous in its manifestations than the + other. They may both furnish food for speculative thought and inquiry, and + yet the nearer we get to the ultimate implications of either, the more + completely are we lost in Professor Tyndall's "primordial haze," from + which he assumes that the universe, and all the phenomenal manifestations + therein, originally came. + </p> + <p> + But however rapidly these materialistic theories may disappear in the + scientific waste-basket of the future, there is one sublime verity that + will stand the test of all time, and that is, that the moral universe of + God is no less complete, in the Divine Intendment, than the physical + universe, while the latter is so inter-correlated and inter-tissued with + the former, in all its conceivable relations, that it can no more exist + independently of its correlative, than matter can exist independently of + space, or time independently of eternity. [<a href="#foot29">29</a>] + </p> + <p> + According to this view of Leibnitz, all living organisms have their own + essence, or essential qualities and characteristics. They have been from + all eternity in the "Divine Intendment," and can undergo no changes or + modifications which shall make them essentially different from what they + were in the beginning, or are now. This is not only true of the "germs" + that are "in themselves upon the earth," but of every living thing, + whether lying within or beyond the telescopic or microscopic limits. As a + law of causation, as well as of consecutive thought, there must be in the + order of life (all life) a continuous chain of ideas linking the past to + the present, the present to the future, and the future to eternity. But + that this continuous chain is dependent on mere physical changes or + manifestations, is a logical induction utterly incapable of being + exhibited in scientific formulæ. The higher and more satisfactory + induction is that which places cause before effect, the Maker before the + made, the Creator before the creature, and so on, in the analogical order, + till the smallest conceivable "vital unit" is reached in the universe of + organic matter. To begin, therefore, with microscopic observation, at a + point in the ephemeromorphic world where that optical instrument fails to + give back any intelligible answer, and synthetically follow this chain of + causation upward and outward to Dr. Tyndall's "fiery cloud of mist," in + which it is assumed that all the diversified possibilities and + potentialities of the universe once lay latent, may answer the logical + necessities of the "Evolution" theory, but will never satisfy the + inductive processes of a Plato, a Leibnitz, or a Newton. + </p> + <p> + Professor Tyndall, in speaking of his "fiery-cloud" theory, says: "Many + who hold the hypothesis of natural evolution would probably assent to the + position (his position) that at the present moment all our philosophy, all + our poetry, all our science, all our art,--Plato, Shakespeare, Newton, and + a Da Vinci--are potential in the fires of the sun." But, to be consistent + in their inductions, they should proclaim themselves sun-worshippers at + once, and ascribe to that transcendent luminary all the potentialities of + a universe + </p> + <p> + "Fresh-teeming from the hand of God." + </p> + <p> + But what possible advantage, we would ask, can this physical hypothesis of + life have over that which ascribes to God the issues of all life in the + universe, from the highest to the lowest living organism? We can + positively conceive of none but that of placing the cosmological cart + before the horse, and so harnessing "cause and effect" <i>in tandem</i>, + that the latter shall uniformly precede the former in the chain of logical + induction. As a dialectical feat, in exhibiting the higher possibilities + of logic, it may have its advantages in subordinating the facts of science + to the higher illuminations of fancy, and thus resting the basis of + reality on the ever-changing and ever-shifting assumptions of the human + mind. For the materialistic theories of to-day are not those of yesterday, + nor is there any certainty that they will be those of to-morrow. They are + almost as fantastic and variable as the forms of the kaleidoscope, + although, as a general rule, they lack the symmetrical arrangements and + proportions of that scientific toy. + </p> + <p> + Professor Bastian, in considering the heterogenetic phenomena of "living + matter," is obliged to fall back, near the end of his great work, on "the + countless myriads of living units which have been evolved (?) in the + different ages of the world's history." But by what process a "vital unit" + can be <i>evolved</i>, he does not condescend to tell us. He has no + "primordial formless fog" to fall back upon as has Professor Tyndall, nor + can he imagine anything beyond the least of possible conceptions in a + chemical, morphological, or vital unit. A "unit" can neither be evolved + nor involved; it admits of no square, no multiple, no differentiation; it + is simply the ever-potent unit of "organic polarity," by which it + multiplies effects, but can never be multiplied itself. The chief fault + that we have to find with the London University professor is that he + confounds a morphological cell with a morphological unit, and insists upon + drawing unwarrantable conclusions therefrom. His "countless myriads of + living units" are all well enough in their way. That they exist in the + earth, and are constantly developed into innumerable multitudes of living + organisms, of almost inconceivable variety, in both the animal and vegetal + world, is true, as he half-reluctantly admits in almost the identical + language we here use. + </p> + <p> + And he also admits that morphological cells, when once formed, continue to + grow by their own individual power or inherent tendency. But before they + can manifest any such inherent tendency, they must be developed from the + vital units that lie back of them, and on which their manifestation + unquestionably depends. The only doubt that can possibly exist on this + point is, that the process of development cannot be determined by + microscopic examination. But we may as well assume the presence of vital + units in the case of dynamical aggregates, as for Professor Bastian to + insist upon crystalline units in the case of statical aggregates or + crystals. Both processes, in their initial stages of development, lie + beyond the reach of human scrutiny, and all that we know, or possibly can + know, is, that certain inorganic conditions are favorable for the + development of crystals, as certain organic conditions are favorable for + the development of morphological cells. Beyond this Professor Bastian + knows nothing--we know nothing. + </p> + <p> + Professor Beale, in his recent work on "the Mystery of Life"--one that is + now justly attracting very wide attention--says: "Between the two sets of + phenomena, physical and vital, not the faintest analogy can be shown to + exist. The idea of a particle of muscular or nerve tissue being formed by + a process akin to crystallization, appears ridiculous to any one who has + studied the two classes of phenomena, or is acquainted with the structure + of these tissues." And he quietly, yet effectively, ridicules the idea + that the ultimate molecules of matter--substantially the same matter, in + fact--have the power to arrange themselves, independently of vital + tendency, alternately into a dog-cell or a man-cell, according to the + specific direction they may take, or the incidence of conditions they may + undergo, in their primary movement. And for the benefit of Professor + Beale, behind whose "bioplasts," we place the "vital unit"--not a variable + but a constant unit--we would have him bear in mind (what he so well + knows) that the finest fibres that go to make up these tissues lie quite + beyond the microscopic limit in their interlaced and spirally-coiled + reticulations, so that nothing can be predicated of their ultimate + contexture, any more than of the ultimate distribution of matter itself. + He has himself traced these wonderfully minute nerve-ramifications under + glasses of the highest magnifying power, and knows that their ultimate + distribution cannot be reached. Let him come out then, as the ablest + vitalist now living, and boldly assert the presence of the man-<i>unit</i> + and the dog-<i>unit,</i> instead of falling back on his bioplastic + spinners and weavers of tissue, which are only the servants and willing + workers of the one integral unit, or life-directing force, within. It is + far more rational, and, at the same time, more accordant with strict + scientific methods, to attribute these muscular and nerve reticulations to + a single direct cause, than to a multitude of secondary causes. + </p> + <p> + There is a world-wide difference between the dog-<i>ego</i> and the man-<i>ego;</i> + but the physical differences are not by any means the greatest. The + bioplastic spinners and weavers work as obediently for the one master-<i>ego</i> + as the other. They never stop to inquire how far they shall differentiate + this vital tissue or that, or in what direction even they shall work. Not + a thread is spun nor a shuttle thrown that is not directed by the one + head-webster of vital tissue. These obedient bioplasts determine nothing, + direct nothing. Each works in his own cell as obediently as a + galley-slave. All specific modifications, all determinate movements, all + molecular arrangements, all multiplications of bioplastic force, are the + work of the one vital webster, or principle of life, within--that which + shapes all, directs all, determines all. And this is true from the first + or embryological inception of the dog-unit or "germ," until the real + occupant of the dog-tenement dismisses his bioplastic weavers, and lies + down to die. And so of all vital units. Each determines its own structural + form, and unchangeably retains it to the end, even to the slightest + impression of a scar inflicted years and years before. The occupant of + this dog-mansion has dismissed one set of bioplastic weavers after + another; has thrown aside this spun tissue and that warp and woof of woven + texture, time and time again, so that the dog of to-day is not the same <i>physical</i> + dog of a year ago; and yet he has the same affection for his master, + carries with him the same scar received twenty years before in the chase, + gives the same glad bark of welcome as his owner nears home, exhibits the + same characteristic wag in his tail, and, lying down to sleep, dreams of + the once happy chase in which he is no longer able to engage. This + continuous presence of the same dog, through all these twenty years of + physical change--the old dog reappearing in the new, a dozen times + over--is what we mean by the constantly differentiating yet + undifferentiated "dog-unit." + </p> + <p> + Those who attempt to bisect this vital unit, divide it up into one + fractional part after another, until it shall represent a million + bioplastic workers in as many different cells, are committing the same + sort of folly--in principle at least, if not in practice--as that which + led the simple-minded daughters of Pelias to cut up their father, in the + expectation of boiling the old bioplasts into new, and then, by the + cunning aid of Medea, who directed the operation, reuniting them into the + one Peliastic-unit they so much delighted to honor. But this first and + only recorded attempt at differentiating a vital unit disastrously failed, + as the reader of ancient myths well knows, although the experiment was + conducted by the most careful and loving hands. The necessary chemical + re-agents to reproduce life, as well as the necessary processes of + producing it <i>de novo</i> have not yet been ascertained, nor is it + likely they ever will be. And herein lies the most marked distinction + between crystallizable matter and living substance. + </p> + <p> + And yet there is no evidence that the vital principle perishes in the + destruction of its temporary organism. It is not the material seed that + germinates, but the vital principle it contains, bursting forth from its + environment into newness of life. All that can be alleged of either boiled + or calcined seeds is, that the material substances of which they were + composed are so changed in their chemical constituents, or molecular + adjustment, that they are no longer capable of developing, or being + developed, into a living organism. "Principles never die," and this is as + true of the vital principles in nature, as those obtaining in ethics and + morals. Were it possible to restore the exact chemical conditions and + constituent particles of the boiled or calcined seed, there is no more + doubt that nature would respond to the environing conditions, and give + forth the proper expression of plant-life, than there is that crystals of + spar would make their appearance in an overcharged bath chemically + prepared for that purpose. It is not the albuminous substance enclosed in + the seed, but the vital principle therein--that continuously imparted to + nature from the great vital fountain of the universe--which burgeons forth + into life whenever and wherever the required conditions obtain. + </p> + <p> + In proof of this statement, we might instance any number of cases where + recently abandoned brick-yards and other clayey excavations, were situated + at considerable distances from any natural water-courses, or fish-stocked + ponds, from which spawn could have been derived, and yet these excavations + have no sooner been filled with permanently standing rain water, than + certain small fishes of the <i>Cyprinidae</i> and other families, have + made their appearance therein.[<a href="#foot30">30</a>] Nobody has + thought of stocking these standing pools of water with the fish in + question, nor has there been any surface overflow to account for their + presence, nor any other apparent means of transportation, if we except the + fish-catching birds, and they generally swallow their food in the water or + on the nearest tree to the point of capture. Any theory accounting for the + presence of spawn is, therefore, out of the question. This spawn must have + traversed hard clay deposits for the distance of half a mile or more to + make their appearance in these waters. The only possible explanation of + this class of phenomena, and they are by no means infrequent, is to be + found in "favoring conditions" and the "presence of vital units." They are + primordial manifestations of life, and such as would have made their + appearance in any corresponding latitude of the southern hemisphere, under + the same favoring conditions. + </p> + <p> + And this is true of all living organisms from the lowest morphological + cell, in the ichthyologic world, to the highest and lordliest conifer that + grows. Their spawn and seeds are perishable by heat, but the vital + principle that organizes them is as imperishable in one element as + another. No seven-times heated furnace, much less the experimental flasks + of the physicist, will affect a vital principle of nature any more than a + May-morning puff of the east wind would shake Olympus. And all the + countless myriads of vital units in nature are now manifesting themselves + in animal and vegetal forms, under favoring conditions, the same as in + those far-distant epochs of the world's history when a more exuberant + vegetation prevailed, if not a more abounding animal life. The same + persistent, ever-acting law of vital development and growth has been + present, in all conditions and circumstances of matter, ever since the + detritus of the silicious rocks felt the first influence of the rains, the + dews, and the sunlight. Then the earth commenced "to bring forth the + grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit-trees yielding fruit, after + his kind;" and in their growth was laid the foundation of animal life. + Whether there was any audible or inaudible command of God uttered at the + time, is not the question. It is the <i>fact</i> of vital growth that we + are after, and not the command. The geologic records attest the fact, as + well as the ever-acting vital law; and it is enough for us to know, with + sturdy old Richard Hooker, that all law--and especially all <i>vital</i> + law--"has her seat in the bosom of God, and her voice is the harmony of + the world." + </p> + <p> + Professor Beale, while resolutely combating the physical hypothesis of + life, is not a little unfortunate in his use of scientific terms. He is + constantly using those of "living matter" and "dead matter," as if they + contained no fatal concession to the materialists, with which to + completely overthrow his own ultimate conclusions as to life. For he gains + nothing by merely substituting "bioplasm" and "bioplasts" for "protoplasm" + and "plastide particles." The essential plasma in both cases is the same, + and behind each lies the vital unit or principle therein manifested--the + invisible, indestructible germ or ZRA of the Bible genesis. Living + organisms come, of course, from this essential plasma, but without an + elementary principle or vital unit therein, there would be no "bioplasts," + in the sense in which Professor Beale uses this term. These bioplasts are + living organisms which take up nutrient matter and convert it by + assimilation into tissues, nerves, fibres, bones, etc.--into the higher + and more complex organs that go to make up living structure. This + mysterious transmutation of one thing into another, as organic matter into + living organisms, is due to a vitally implanted principle, not to these + little bioplasts, or mere epithelial and other tools with which the vital + principle works. To apply the term "living matter" to the tools with which + a living structure is built up, is to lose sight of the master-mechanic + using them for an apparently intelligent purpose. The microscope may + demonstrate that these little bioplasts throb--have life; but there is no + intelligent purpose manifested by them except as they are moved by an + unseen hand that conclusively directs the whole structural work--builds up + the one complete symmetrical structure, not its thousand independent parts + having no relation to a general plan. The future lord and occupant of the + mansion is presumably present, and if he uses tools that "throb and have + life," it is because everything he touches is quickened into life that it + may be the more obedient to his will. If this structure be the + soul-endowed one of man, the vital principle imparted is that which + fashions the epithelial tools, and uses them, as well in laying the + embryological foundation, as in crowning its work with that many-colored + "dome of thought flashing the white radiance of eternity." + </p> + <p> + Mr. Joseph Cook, who enthusiastically follows Professor Beale in his + theory of life, in one of his "Boston Monday Lectures," says; "It is + beyond contradiction that we know that these little points ('bioplasts') + of structureless matter spin the threads, and weave the warp and woof, of + organisms." With all due respect to this distinguished lecturer, we must + except to not less than three points in as many lines of his + over-confident statement. In the first place, we know nothing respecting + the "beginnings of life," which may not be contradicted with some show of + reason. Take his own definition of "bioplasts," as copied from Professor + Beale, coupled with what they both term "nutrient matter" and "germinal + matter," or bioplasm, and this confident assertion of his will land him at + once where the highest powers of the microscope fail to give back any + intelligible answer, or where neither assertion nor contradiction avails + anything. A bioplast, they tell us, is a germinal point in germinal matter + or bioplasm. It is also assumed that the central portion of every cell in + an organic tissue is a bioplast. Here this wonderful little weaver of + tissue sits spinning his threads and weaving them into the warp and woof + of "formed matter"--that which, according to Professor Beale, becomes + "dead matter" as soon as it is woven! But it is admitted that the nerve + fibres constitute an uninterrupted network which admits of no + endings--that is, whose ultimate reticulations lie beyond the microscopic + limit. But there is a cell in every hundredth part of an inch of these + ultimate reticulations, in each of which one of these bioplastic weavers + sits plying his threads into the warp and woof of nerve tissue, if not of + nerve force. What is known of these little weavers, either by Mr. Joseph + Cook or Professor Lionel S. Beale? Manifestly nothing, unless they have + been specially favored with microscopes of over 2,800 diameters--the + highest yet made,--and have fathomed the ultimate implications of nerve + force; an assumption on the part of the Boston lecturer to which we are + bound to except. + </p> + <p> + Nor are these "bioplasts" mere structureless matter, however minute they + may be as "little points." They differ only from "morphological cells," in + the definitional language employed by different theorists, and lack the + all-essential accuracy of distinction necessary to scientific + classification. To define a bioplast as a germinal point in germinal + matter, or bioplasm, is to draw no satisfactory line of distinction + between the two, except that the one is a mere aggregation of the other. A + germinal mass is only made up of germinal points--those considered as the + least of any given whole--however infinitesimal they may be in theoretical + statement. If any germinal point in germinal matter, therefore, be a + bioplast, then every germinal point, to the extent of making up its entire + mass, must be a bioplast; and the distinction between the two becomes + merely verbal, and without generic signification. But every morphological + cell is conceded to be an organism, whether it lie within or beyond the + microscopic limit. And it invariably exhibits a greater or less amount of + cellular activity at its centre. It grows rather than spins; it builds up + tissue, rather than weaves it into warp and woof; it assimilates nutritive + matter rather than plies a loom in any conceivable sense in which we may + view that industrial machine. No matter what we may call this point of + vital activity in a cell--whether it be a bioplast, a plastid, a + physiological unit, or a granule of "elementary life-stuff"--it simply + performs the one single function of life to which it is specifically + assigned in the process of "building up" any one identical individual of a + species, whether it be a man, an ape, a tree, or a parasitic fungus. The + very admission that the bioplast spins, makes it an organism, and not mere + structureless matter. For the first thread it spins is manifestly for its + own covering or the ornamentation of its own cell-walls. And to speak of + these as "structureless matter" is to confound all scientific sense, as + well as meaning. + </p> + <p> + The third objection to Mr. Cook's statement is, that if bioplasts spin, it + is as dependent, and not as independent machines or agencies. There are + millions of these bioplasts--taking the word in the sense in which + Professor Beale uses it--in every living organism considered as a + biological whole. In the case of man, there are millions of them within a + comparatively small compass; and each has its own cell to which its + specific work is assigned. Now, these germinal points, or bioplasts, in + each of these myriads of cells, work, not separately and independently, + like so many oysters in their respective shells, but harmoniously and + together, as if under the supervisional direction of one supreme architect + and builder. This builder is that one elementary principle of life, + appertaining to each specific individual as a species, with which nature + was endowed from the beginning, and which, in the case of man, was a + direct emanation from Deity. It is this vital principle manifesting itself + <i>in</i> all living organisms, not <i>from</i> them; directing Professor + Beale's "bioplastic weavers," not directed by them; availing itself of + necessary plasmic conditions, if not giving rise to them in the first + instance; observing no developmental processes by which one form of life + laps over upon another, and following no order but that of universal + harmony in the Divine intendment. There is struggle and rivalry for + existence, even among the same classes, orders, genera, and species, and + the smallest and weakest must give place to the largest and strongest + everywhere, and <i>vice versa</i>, as Time, the greatest of all rodents, + gnaws away at the mystical tree of life. But in every living organism, + from the lowest and simplest to the highest and most complex, all + bioplastic spinners of filamentous tissue, all plastide weavers of + membranous or spun matter, all epithelial bobbin-runners, and other + anatomical helpers and workers, perform their respective tasks under the + special supervision we have named, that is, under the higher unit of life. + They all work for the advancement and well-being of the higher organism of + which they form a component and necessarily subordinate part. + </p> + <p> + The fact that Professor Beale has discovered that what he calls bioplasm + and germinal points or bioplasts may take on a distinct and separate color + from tissue, when subjected to a solution of carmine in ammonia, is no + evidence that he has penetrated the adytum of this sacred temple of Life, + wherein lies the "mystery of mysteries." It is an important discovery so + far as tracing tissue is concerned, but it admits him into no higher + mystery within the temple built by God than another may attain to by the + accidental discovery that the tissues may take on the same color in some + other solution--by no means an improbable discovery. Carmine in ammonia is + not the only solution that may aid science in the investigations now being + carried forward by the vitalists and non-vitalists with so much bitterness + and asperity of feeling between them; and now that Professor Beale has + made <i>his</i> happy discovery, it is by no means certain that some other + equally persistent worker in this interesting field of inquiry may not hit + upon quite as happy a discovery in the same or some equivalent + direction--one that shall throw the bioplasmic theory as far into the + shade as Mr. Cook thinks the bioplasts have already thrown the cells. But + decidedly the most objectionable statement of Professor Beale, although + one confidently re-affirmed by our "Boston Monday Lecturer," is that which + makes bioplasm and bioplasts the only "living matter." We have already + referred to the phrases "living matter" and "non-living matter" as + altogether objectionable in biological statement, since they are more than + half-way concessions to the materialists, who contemptuously order the + vitalists to take a "back seat" in the discussions now going forward as to + the true origin of life. But the objection we here make is less technical, + and touches a far more vital point in the inquiry. It is true that + Professor Beale speaks of "formed matter," as if it were a peculiar + something--a sort of <i>tertium quid</i>--between living and non-living + matter. But he distinctly avers that the substance which turns red in his + carmine solutions is the "only living matter," and hence asserts, + inferentially at least, that all other matter, in any and every living + organism, is "dead matter." But we may just as confidently aver that no + matter is living in any vital organism which has not been assimilated and + built up into living membranous tissue capable of responding (in the case + of man) to his will, as well as performing the autonomous functions of + plants and the lower animals. For all these membranous tissues are + innumerably thronged with bioplasts or plastide particles, not for the + purposes of obedience to man's will, or of performing any autonomous + function, but simply to supply the tissues with the necessary nutrient + matter to make up for the constant waste that is going on in a healthy + living organ. This waste is very much greater than has heretofore been + supposed, so that the man or animal of to-day may be an entirely distinct + and separate one, considered materially, from that of a year or more ago. + And this averment would have a decided advantage over Professor Beale's, + since, in meeting a friend, we might be certain that four-fifths of him at + least was alive, while the other one-fifth was industriously at work to + keep him alive, instead of a stalking corpse, as he would otherwise be, + upon the street. Besides, it would obviate the necessity, on the part of + the vitalists, of giving themselves four-fifths away to the materialists, + as Professor Beale virtually does in the argument. + </p> + <p> + The too rude touch of a child's hand will rob the canary bird of its + life--stifle its musical throat, hush its most ecstatic note, still its + exquisite song, and render forever mute and silent its voice. But where + are Professor Beale's bioplasts which, but a moment before, were not only + weaving the nerves, tissues, muscles, bones, and even the wonderful + plumage of this canary bird, but plying the invisible threads of + song--throwing off its chirps, carols, trills, quavers, airs, overtures + and brilliant <i>roulades</i>, as if the little vocalist had caught its + inspiration from the very skies? Where, we repeat, are these bioplasts + now? They are all quietly and industriously at work as before. The + occupant of the song-mansion is gone, but not one of these bioplasts has + dropped a clew, thrown down a shuttle, abandoned a loom, or fled in dismay + to the core of its cell. They still pulsate, throb, throw off tissue. No + chemical change has yet intervened to break down their cell-walls, or + interfere with the occupations assigned them. The machinery that ran their + looms is stopped--that is all. The invisible shuttles have ceased to + ply--the meshes of their tangled webs are broken--the more delicate + threads of song are snapped in sunder, but the bioplastic spinners and + weavers are all there. Not one of them has been displaced from its seat, + nor in any way disturbed or molested in its work. If they are conscious of + any danger, it is that the occupant of this little song-mansion has + suddenly stepped out--is no longer present to direct their tasks. The icy + hand of decay and death will soon be upon them--these poor bioplastic + weavers of tissue--but the vocal spark, the "bright gem instinct with + music," is beyond the reach of these dusky messengers. <i>Where</i> it is, + not man, but the Giver of all life knows. We only know, when our faith is + uplifted by inspiration, that-- + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + "The soul of music never dies,<br /> Nor slumbers in its + shell;<br /> 'Tis sphere-descended from the skies,<br /> And + thence returns to dwell." + </p> + </blockquote> + <h2> + <a name="09"></a>Chapter IX. + </h2> + <h3> + Force-Correlation, Differentiation and Other Life Theories. + </h3> + <p> + Among the more startling, if not decidedly brilliant, vital theories which + have been advanced within the last few years, is that which makes life an + "undiscovered correlative of force." Those who have the reputation of + being the profoundest thinkers and delvers in the newly-discovered realm + of Force-correlation in Europe, and who have more or less modestly + contributed to that reputation themselves, have evidently thought to + eclipse, if not to entirely throw into the shade, the great exploit of + Leverrier, in pointing out the exact place in their empirical heavens + where the superior optics of some future observer shall behold, in all its + glory, this "undiscovered correlative of force," which they have indicated + as lying within the higher possibilities and potentialities of matter. + Precisely what they mean by this undiscovered correlate, is what puzzles + us quite as much to determine as it does the materialists to explain. Were + they to define life as an "undiscovered force" simply, their definition + would manifestly lack in brilliancy what it would conclusively make up in + precision and accuracy of definitional statement. But such a poor + metaphrastic and half-circular exposition of vital force would never + answer the necessities of that profounder profundity required for the + success of modern scientific treatises. Hence the interpolation of this + "correlative" of theirs. Let us ascertain, if we can, what it means, since + they are so chary of informing us themselves. + </p> + <p> + A "correlate" of a thing--any thing--simply implies the reciprocal + relation it bears to some other thing. As a cognate term it expresses + nothing, can express nothing, but reciprocity of relationship, such as + father to son, brother to sister, uncle to aunt, nephews to nieces, etc. + As applied to vital force, it means nothing more nor less than that this + particular force stands in some sort of relationship to the other forces + of nature, or, as they would have us believe, the <i>material</i> forces + of nature. And the simple strength or potentiality of this relationship is + what makes all the difference between the severally related forces of the + universe, since it would be as impossible to differentiate a fixed + relationship as to change the nature of vital units. But whether vital + force, as a distinct correlate, is paternal or filial, brotherly or + sisterly, avuncular or amital in its relationship, is not stated. The + scientific formula, however, may be stated thus: As A (chemical force) is + to B (molecular force) so is C (a third known force) to <i>x</i> (the + vital or unknown force); so that, by multiplying the antecedents and + consequents together, and eliminating the value of <i>x</i>, we may + mathematically obtain the value of vital force. + </p> + <p> + But to eliminate the value of <i>x</i> is what troubles them. Herbert + Spencer has tried his hand at it, but failed to express life under any + higher correlation than "molecular force;" nor can he definitely inform us + whether either force is third or fourth cousin to the other. But he + manifestly regards their relationship as constituting either a very + attractive or highly repulsive force. In his vexation at not finding the + value of <i>x</i>, he is driven from mathematical to mechanical biology, + and gives us this new definitional value of life--that singularly + contumacious quantity which so persistently refuses to be eliminated in + scientific equations: "Life is molecular machinery worked by molecular + force." But as Professor Beale has utterly demoralized, if not demolished, + this machinery, in his recent treatise on "The Mystery of Life," we will + spare it any further blows, and proceed to the consideration of "molecular + force." + </p> + <p> + Before we proceed however, to the consideration of this force, let us + definitely understand the meaning of the terms we shall be called upon to + use. We can have no difficulty in understanding the meaning of "molecular + attraction," or that force acting immediately on the integrant molecules + or particles of a body, as distinguished from the attraction of + gravitation which acts at unlimited distances. But when it comes to + ascribing other and higher manifestations of power to molecules, such as + have not been scientifically shown to exist, we must feel our way with + caution, and demand of these pretentious molecules, or rather of their + materialistic backers, a reason for the faith, or rather force, that is in + them. + </p> + <p> + It is agreed by all physicists, as well as chemists, that a "molecule" is + the smallest conceivable quantity of a simple or compound substance, as an + "atom" is the smallest conceivable quantity of an element which enters + into combination with other elements to form material substance. For + instance, the smallest conceivable quantity of water is a molecule, while + the smallest conceivable quantity of either of the two elements of which + water is composed, is an atom. In every molecule of water, therefore, + there are three elementary atoms, two of hydrogen and one of oxygen. And + since a molecule, as a general rule, contains two or more atoms, and may + contain many of them, why not predicate dynamic force of the atoms, which + lie one step nearer the elementary forces of nature? For the mightiest + forces of nature lie in these elements, when forced into unnatural + alliances, or chained up in durance vile. It is in the elements of matter, + and not in its molecules, that this tremendous dynamic force resides. Man, + knowing this, harnesses them into his service, first by forcing them into + unnatural alliances, as in the case of charcoal, sulphur and saltpetre, + and then successfully pitting them in conflict against the rocks and the + general inertia of matter. To charge all the destructive work they do on + the innocent and harmless molecules, which are two steps removed from the + actual force expended, is drawing conclusions from the sheerest + hypothetical data. It is the office of "molecular force," if there is any + meaning to the term beyond what is expressed by "molecular attraction," to + conserve matter--bind rocks together, not rend them in sunder. + </p> + <p> + If the dynamic forces of nature lie pent up in the molecules, then man + must array molecular force against molecular force in order to rend rocks + and tear mountains in sunder. This theory of molecular force, as extended + to vital physics in the force-doctrine of life, is irreconcilably at war + with the principal phenomena of life, and should be classed with the other + undiscovered correlates of force, which Professor Beale speaks of as "the + fictions of a mechanical imagination." The truth is that these much abused + and much slandered molecules are the most innocent and harmless things in + nature. They never become destructive unless some other force than that + inhering in themselves drags them into its service and hurls them along a + devastating path. Of themselves, they are the very quintessence of + quiessence in the universe, and, when formed in nature's laboratory, at + once seek quiet and loving companionship with kindred molecules, and + retain it forever afterwards. The idea that they should break away from + their loving molecular embrace, and, by any process of differentiation or + constructive agency of their own, seek an alliance with some living + dog-germ in order to be built up into living dog-tissue, presents about as + perverse and wayward an impulse on the part of matter as can well be + imagined by the scientific mind. That the dog-germ should seek to get hold + of, and differentiate them, we can well understand. The Circean witchery + and enticement is all on the part of the dog-germ, not in the inclination + of the molecules. + </p> + <p> + If there is any truth in this molecular-force-theory of life, it is about + time for us to discard some of the old categories respecting matter, + motion, and life, and substitute new ones in their place. In the + multiplicity of new scientific terms constantly springing up for + recognition in these days, there ought to be no difficulty in expressing + the true categories, and assigning to them their proper definitional + value. To include physical force, chemical force, molecular force, and + vital force all under one and the same category, and then interpret their + several modes of action on any theory of force-correlation, is not + emancipating language from the gross thraldom into which their "molecular + machinery" has driven it. Besides, there is moral force, mental force, the + force of will, the force of reason, the force of honesty, the force of + fraud, etc., and any number of other forces, all possessing more or less + impetus or momentum, and capable of binding or coercing persons and + things, in all their diversified relations, correlations, incidences, + coincidences, affinities, antagonisms, and so on through an interminable + chapter of interchangeable predications. All these different expressions + of force are to be tethered together--definitionally bound hand and + foot--under the one explanatory head of "force-correlation." We protest + against the labor of thus unifying all the natural forces of the universe, + even if it were practicable under scientific methods. + </p> + <p> + But Professor Tyndall denies that "molecular groupings" and "molecular + motions" explain anything--account for anything--in the way of explicating + life-manifestations, or determining what life is.[<a href="#foot31">31</a>] + And it would be difficult to cite a stronger and more determined + materialist as authority on the point we are considering. He says: "If + love were known to be associated with a right-handed spiral motion of the + molecules of the brain, and hate with the left-handed, we should remain as + ignorant as before, as to the cause of motion." But there is no proof that + the molecules of the brain manifest any other motions than those necessary + for keeping up the normal condition of health and vital activity in the + brain itself. No one can be certain that he has seen these molecules in a + state of mental activity; for where portions of the human brain have been + exposed to microscopic examination, even in perfect states of + consciousness on the part of those whose brains have been laid bare, there + can be no certainty that the molecular action, if any, is referable to one + set of movements more than another. And even in the case of animalcules, + as seen in the object glass of the microscope, there is no absolute + certainty that their quick, darting or jerking movements are due to any + life-manifestation, as heretofore assumed. Some quite as well defined + forms are entirely motionless, and if all were so, it would be idle to + predicate vitality of them.[<a href="#foot32">32</a>] These infinitessimal + and constantly varying forms, many of them not the one hundred-thousandth + part of an inch in length, to say nothing of their other dimensions, may + owe their oscillations, wave movements, darting and other manifestations, + and even their molecular arrangements and rearrangements, to other causes + than those strictly "vital." And it should be borne in mind that their + actual movements are just as much exaggerated under the microscope as + their real dimensions. But as they make their appearance in organic + infusions only, they are presumably vital organisms rather than + fomentative or mere filamentous yeast-manifestations. + </p> + <p> + Professor Huxley, while conceding that molecular changes may take place + under environing life-conditions, or in protoplasmic matter, denies that + the "primordial cells" possesses in any degree the characteristics of a + "machine," nor can they undergo any differentiating process by which the + character of their manifestations can be changed. And he even denies to + them the poor right to originate or in any way modify their own plasma. He + says: "They are no more the producers of vital phenomena, than the shells + scattered in orderly line along the sea-beach are the instruments by which + the gravitative force of the moon acts upon the ocean. Like these, the + cells mark only where the vital tides have been, and how they have acted." + This is undoubtedly true of all cells in which the vital or functional + office has ceased, as in the case of Professor Beale's "formed matter." + The cells are the result of the vital principle that lies behind them, and + simply indicate where life exists, or has manifestly ceased to exist. + Where the vital currents have ceased to flow, the wreck of primordial + cells is quite as wide and disastrous as where millions of sea-shells have + been strewn along a desolated and storm-swept sea-beach. They all come, + both the cells and shells, from the preëxisting vital units, or + determinate germs, that fall into their own incidences of movement, + without any concurrence of physical conditions beyond their own inherent + tendency to development. For "conditions" do not determine life; they only + favor its manifestation. + </p> + <p> + But some of the materialists claim that what we call "vital units," or + invisible, indestructible germs,[<a href="#foot33">33</a>] are at best + only "physical relations;" that they have nothing more than a hypothetical + existence, without any independent recognizable quality justifying our + conclusions respecting them. But may not this identical language be + retortively suggested in the case of their "correlates of force?" What + more than a hypothetical existence have they? Certainly their enthusiasm + to get rid of all vital conditions or manifestations, is quite as marked a + feature in their speculations respecting life as any enthusiasm we have + shown in the verification of vital phenomena, on the established law of + cause and effect. They insist upon this law in the case of statical + aggregates, and even assign absolute identity of attributes; but when it + comes to dynamical aggregates, they fall back on partial identity only, + and deny the presence of the law altogether. + </p> + <p> + Nor are they any more felicitous in their treatment of other points in + controversy. In speaking of his "plastide particles," Professor Bastian, + the most defiant challenger of vitalistic propositions now living, says: + "Certain of these particles, through default of <i>necessary conditions,</i> + never actually develop into higher modes of being." Here he makes the + absence of "necessary conditions" the cause of non-development, while he + stoutly denies that the presence of such "conditions" give rise to the + development of a pre-existing vital unit. And yet, strange to say, he + speaks of the elemental origin of "living matter" as "having probably + taken place on the surface of our globe since the far-remote period when + such matter was first engendered." But how his "sum-total of external + conditions," acting upon <i>dead</i> matter, can "engender" <i>living</i> + matter, is one of those "related heterogenetic phenomena" which he does + not condescend to explain. It is by this sort of scientific verbiage that + he gets rid of the pre-existing vital principle, or germinal principle of + life, which the biblical genesis declares to be in the earth itself. + </p> + <p> + To be entirely consistent with himself, he should deny the existence of + this germinal principle in the seeds of plants themselves, and insist upon + the sum-total of external conditions as the cause of all + life-manifestations, in the vegetal as in the animal world. There can be + no inherent tendency, he should insist, in the seed itself towards + structural development, but only external conditions acting upon "dead + matter," in heterogentic directions. The shooting down of the radicle or + undeveloped root, and the springing up of the plumule or undeveloped + stalk, is accordingly due to no vital principle in the seed, but to the + complexity or entanglement of the molecules wrapped up in their + integumentary environment. And this, or some similar fortuitous + entanglement of molecules, should account for all life-manifestations, as + well as all life-tendencies, in nature. These molecular entanglements + should, therefore, be infinite in number, as well as in fortuitous + complexity, to account for all the myriad forms of life "engendered from + dead matter" in the material universe. + </p> + <p> + For if there is any one thing that the materialists insist upon more + resolutely than another, it is the fortuitousness of nature--the happening + by chance of whatever she does. Formerly it used to be the "fortuitous + concourse of atoms;" now it is the "fortuitous aggregate of molecules." By + what accidental or fortuitous happening the atoms have dropped out of + their scientific categories, and the molecules have been advanced to their + commanding place in <i>absolute accidentalness</i>, is one of those + unassignable causes in which they apparently so much delight. We can only + account for it on the supposition that they have all become worshippers of + that blind and accidental Greek goddess, who bore the horn of Amalthea and + plentifully endowed her followers with a wealth of language and other + much-coveted gifts, but not with the most desirable knack at disposing of + them. + </p> + <p> + The true cause of vital phenomena manifestly depends on these two + conditions--the presence of the specific vital unit, and the necessary + environing plasma, or nutrient matter, for its primary development. + Without the presence of both of these conditions, or conditioning + incidences, there can be no life-manifestation anywhere. And we do not see + that anything is gained, even in the matter of scientific nomenclature, by + merely substituting "molecular force" for "vital force," in the + explication of vital phenomena. Even granting that molecular changes do + take place during the development of the vital units in their necessary + plasmic environment; it by no means follows that these changes are not + dependent on the vital principle <i>as it acts</i>, rather than on the + molecules <i>as they act</i>,[<a href="#foot34">34</a>] The higher force + should always subordinate the lower in all metamorphic, as well as other + processes, of nature. It is the vital principle that differentiates + matter--the aggregate of molecules--not matter differentiating the vital + principle. No "molécules organiques" can ever differentiate an + ape-unit into a man-unit, any more than Professor Tyndall can fetch a + Plato out of mere sky-mist. Once an ape-unit, always an ape-unit; once a + man-unit, eternally a man-unit. + </p> + <p> + Let the vitalists stick to this proposition--this eternally fixed <i>unit</i> + as "<i>une idée dans l'entendement de Dieu," </i> (to use a better + French expression than English)--and they can fight the materialists off + their own ground anywhere. The one sublime verity of the universe is that + "life exists," and that it has existed from all eternity <i>as possible</i> + in the Divine mind, and in the Divine mind alone. If materialistic science + is disposed to butt its head against this impregnable proposition, it can + do so. The proposition will stand, whatever may happen to the + inconsiderate head. + </p> + <p> + For science may press her devotees into as many different pursuits as + there are starting-points to an azimuth circle, and command them to search + and find out the ultimate causes of things in the universe, but the + forever narrowing circle in one direction, and the forever widening one in + the other, would utterly baffle all their attempted research. Whether they + descended into the microscopic world, with its myriad-thronged conditions + of life, or passed upward and outward, in <i>Sirius-</i>distances, to the + irresolvable nebulæ, where other and perhaps brighter stars might + burst upon their view--gleaming coldly and silently down the still + enormous fissures and chasms in the heavens--the result would be the same. + Wider and wider fields of observation might open upon their view, as the + stellar swarms thickened and the power of human vision failed, but the + uranological expedition would return no wiser than when it started, and + Science would still be confronted with the same illimitability of space, + the same infinitude of matter, and the same incomprehensibility of the + world-arranging intelligence that lies beyond. For He who hath garnished + the heavens by his spirit--who divideth the sea with his power, and + hangeth the earth upon nothing--"<i>holdeth back the face of his throne + and spreadeth his cloud upon it</i>." + </p> + <p> + What if, in one direction, we should find those inconceivably small + specks, or mere bioplastic points, which we call "living matter," or, in + the other direction, those inconceivably vast world-forming masses which + we call "dead matter," who shall say that "the secret places of the Most + High" are not hidden from us, or that when the spirit of God first moved + through these vast fissures and chasms in the heavens upon the face of all + matter, there was not imparted to it that "animating principle of life" of + which the biblical genesis speaks, and which we everywhere see manifesting + itself in nature? Surely this inquiry is not one to be superciliously set + aside by the materialists, after the failure of their uranological + expedition, on the ground that it does not furnish food enough for + scientific contemplation, without such physiological fancies as their + specialists have been giving us in the shape of force-correlations and + molecular theories of life. + </p> + <p> + But speaking of the higher forces as subordinating the lower, suggests + that there should be something more definitely explained regarding the + hypothesis of "differentiation," on which Mr. Herbert Spencer hangs so + much of his mathematical faith in the true explication of vital phenomena. + The term "differentiation" is not so formidable as it might seem to the + general reader at first sight. As applied to physiological problems it + should have the same determinate value, in expressing functional + differences, as in the higher operations of mathematics. Nothing can, of + course, differentiate itself, nor can any two things differentiate each + other, even when functionally allied. The actual coëfficient sought + is the difference effected, in functional value, in one of two independent + variables. For all formulæ in differentiation are constructed on the + hypothesis that only one of two variables suffers change. The differential + coëfficient has yet to be determined which shall express the + developmental changes in two variables at once. When, therefore, we + attempt to extend the formulæ of differentiation to plant and animal + life, we are confronted by a very formidable difficulty at the outset--the + impossibility of determining an invariable coëfficient for any two + variables. Besides, all attempts at differentiating an ape-unit into + anything else than an ape-unit would be as impossible as to multiply or + divide cabbages by turnips, or sparrows by sparrowhawks. Such divisions + would give us no quotients, any more than their differentiations would + give us a coëfficient. Physiological differentiation will, therefore, + never help us out of fixed species or nearly allied types. We can bridge + no specific differences by it. In the differentiation of the horse and the + ass for instance, the superior blood will predominate in the preservation + of types, and even the mule will kick against further differentiation. + Nature would so utterly abhor the practice as resolutely to slam the door + in Mr. Spencer's face, if the obstinacy of the mule did not kick it off + its hinges. + </p> + <p> + And nature would be quite as intractable in the case of + "force-correlation," another of Mr. Spencer's redoubtable phrases. This + term is quite recent in its application to animate objects, nor has it + been long applied to inanimate. It is claimed to be a recently discovered + force, and is one that the materialists have seized upon as the Herculean + club with which to smite all vital theories to the earth. Its meaning, so + far as it has any, is not difficult to get at. The simplest way to explain + it, however, is the best. The reader is to understand that when he rubs + two flat sticks together, the heat thereby engendered is not the result of + friction, as all the world has heretofore supposed, but that the amount of + force expended in rubbing the right-hand stick against the left-hand + stick, is, by some law of versability, not over-well defined, transferred + to the two sticks, and gets so entangled between their surfaces that it + can only reappear in another and altogether different kind of force. When + it leaves the hands and passes into the two sticks, it is, as the + materialists assert, vital force. But as no force can be annihilated, the + conclusive assumption is that it still exists somewhere. All of it, in the + first place, went into the two flat sticks, and, when there, <i>ceased to + be vital force.</i> Some of it disappeared, of course, in overcoming the + inertia of the sticks, but the bulk of it became entangled with the + superficial molecules of the two sticks, and reappeared as <i>heat</i>--another + name for molecular force. + </p> + <p> + This is what is meant by the "differentiation" of vital force into + molecular force, and <i>vice versa</i>. But by what process of rubbing, + under this law of versability, molecular force can be reversed, or + differentiated back into vital force, Mr. Spencer has not condescended to + inform us. The simple truth is, and the materialists will be forced to + admit it in the end, that there is no verification of this theory beyond + that of mere force-equivalence. For instance, it has been experimentally + determined that a certain amount of fuel expended in heat is equivalent to + a certain amount of mechanical force, not mechanical <i>work</i>, as M. + Carnot puts it. For force is not expended in work until it is actually + generated, and the amount generated, not that expended in work, is the + real equivalence of the heat produced from fuel. + </p> + <p> + Another problem is presented when it comes to determining the amount of + generated force necessary to run a piece of machinery which shall + accomplish a given amount of mechanical work. + </p> + <p> + A far better phrase to express this equivalence of force has been + suggested and used by several writers in what is called the "Transmutation + of Force." For there is no correlation, or reciprocal relation, between + heat as originally produced by the consumption of fuel and the force as + engendered in steam before it is transmuted into work. Nor is there any + real equivalence as between the two forces after its transmutation. A very + large per centage of heat is lost in its transmutation from a latent form + in fuel to an active or available form in steam, and a still greater loss + in its transmission into work by machinery. Theoretically, there may be + such an equivalence as that named, but practically it is impossible to + realize it. And a theory that is impossible of realization is of no + practical utility in itself, and of little value as the basis of further + theory. If, then, the theory of force equivalence is a failure in + practical application, it furnishes a very poor basis on which to + predicate force-correlation, or the doctrine of reciprocal forces. It is + estimated, for instance, that a pound weight falling seven hundred and + seventy-two feet, will, in striking the earth, impart to it a degree of + heat equivalent to raising one pound of water 1° F. But the heat thus + imparted can never be so utilized as to raise a pound weight seven hundred + and seventy-two feet into the air. + </p> + <p> + This shows that there is no actual reciprocity of relationship between the + force as originally engendered and finally expended in work. Nor can it be + shown that the original force is transmuted or changed into another and + different kind of force by the operation. The force generated and the + force expended are essentially one and the same, as much so as that + transmitted from the power to the weight by means of a rope and pulley. + And the quality of the force is not changed, whether the weight be lifted + by machinery or the human hand. Force, in its mechanical sense, is that + power which produces motion, or an alteration in the direction of motion, + and is incapable of being specialized, except in a highly figurative + sense, into a thousand and one correlates of motion. But these + miscellaneous and figurative forces are not what we are considering. The + doctrine of force-correlation takes no such wide and comprehensive sweep. + It embraces neither the force of wit, nor the force of folly; but + mechanical force and its equivalents. The force exercised by the human + hand in lifting a weight either with or without rope and pulley is, in + every definitional sense of the word, mechanical force. For the arm and + hand are only the implements, or mechanical contrivances of nature, by + which the will-power transmutes itself into work, or, more properly + speaking, transmits itself from the point of force-generation to that of + force-expenditure. And this is precisely the office performed by all + mechanical contrivances for the transmission--not transmutation--of force. + And the most perfect machine is that which transmits the engendered force, + with the least possible waste or abandonment, to its point of ultimate + expenditure in work. + </p> + <p> + All these hypothetical correlates of force, therefore, predicated upon the + doctrine of force-transmutation, have no foundation in fact, since the + force transmitted from the point of generation to the point of expenditure + undergoes no change but that of direction, in its passage along rope, + wire, belt, pulley, shafting, etc. A man whose limbs have been paralyzed, + may still will to remove mountains. The will-power is the same, but the + mechanical contrivances for its transmission are wanting. Of the actual + point or centre of this force-generation, in the case of the will-power, + we know nothing; but the moment the power is started on its way towards + the point of force-expenditure, whether it traverses the nerves and + tissues of the brain, or the right arm or the left, or a crowbar or + pickaxe, it is in no sense distinguishable from the force that traverses a + rope and pulley. Nor is there any evidence that it undergoes molecular + changes, or becomes modified or conditioned by any nearly or remotely + related force, as it darts along the nerves, runs through the contracted + tissues, electrifies the crowbar, or flashes into work from the point of a + pickaxe. Whatever produces, or tends to produce, motion, or an alteration + in its direction, is mechanical force, no matter from what force-centre it + may start. When we can definitely determine the centre of vital force, as + exercised in building up vital structure, <i>not in wielding pickaxes</i>, + it is to be hoped we shall be able to distinguish, by the proper + correlates, vital force from that which is mechanical. But the task is + manifestly a hopeless one with the materialists. + </p> + <p> + Professor Beale positively denies that there are any such physical + force-relations as those claimed by the materialists, and asserts that + vital force bears no relation, or correlation, to either chemical or + physical force; that the one is a distinct and separate factor from the + other, and cannot be interpreted in the same force-formulæ. He says: + "The idea of motion, or heat, or light, or electricity <i>forming</i> or + <i>building</i> up, or <i>constructing</i> any texture capable of + fulfilling a definite purpose, seems absurd, and opposed to all that is + known, and yet is the notion continually forced upon us, that vitality, + which does construct, is but a correlate of ordinary energy or motion." + </p> + <p> + But after devoting so much time to "force-correlation," and + "force-differentiation," the advocates of "molecular-machinery" may feel + themselves neglected if we dismiss their favorite hobby without further + notice. The precise parentage of this term is disputed, but it has any + number of <i>putative</i> fathers. We have spoken of the size of the + molecules themselves, and the numbers of them that might be huddled + together on the point of a cambric needle without jostling. Let us now + consider the size of a molecular machine. For each molecule runs its own + machine, and is provident enough to see that they do not jostle. In fact, + it is a very nice question in physics, whether the machines do not run the + molecules, instead of the prevailing opposite opinion that the molecules + run the machines. Unfortunately, the question is one that can never be + determined. The requisite scientific data will forever be wanting. + </p> + <p> + But Professor James C. Maxwell, now, or quite recently, filling the chair + of experimental physics in the University of Cambridge, England, has + furnished us with <i>approximate</i> calculations. On the strength of his + approximations we will proceed to consider the dimensions of these + wonderful little machines. And first, it may be axiomatically laid down + that these molecular machines, which either run the molecules or are run + by them, can never exceed the size of their respective molecules. + Conceding, then, that each one of these machines exactly fits into its own + molecule, so as to present identically the same dimensions--as well as + their largest possible dimensions--it would require two millions of them, + placed in a row, to make one millimetre, or the one three hundred and + ninety-four thousandths of an inch in length, or seven hundred and + eighty-eight billions of them to make one inch! Who will ever be staggered + at <i>Sirius</i>-distances, after this? And who will deny that an infinite + world lies below the point of our microscopic vision, if not an Infinite + kingdom and throne beyond our telescopic glance? + </p> + <p> + But, following the same high authority in experimental physics, let us + consider the aggregate weight of these molecular machines. We will not + marshal their aggregate numbers in a row, for an array of forty billions + of them would make too insignificant a figure for inspection; but simply + give their actual weight as computed under the French or metric system. + Take, then, a million million million million of these machines, throwing + in molecules and all, and they will weigh, if there is no indiscreet + kicking of the beam, just a fraction between four and five grammes, or--to + differentiate the weights--a small fraction over one-tenth of an ounce! + </p> + <p> + But why not get down to the atoms, of which the molecules are only the + theoretical congeries, and marshal the "atomic forces" into line? These + embryonic atoms are much the braver warriors, and, when summoned to do + battle, spring, lithe and light-armed, against the elemental foe. They are + no cowardly molecules, these atoms, but make war against Titans, as well + as Titanic thrones and powers. The elements recognize them as their body + guardsmen, their corps of invincible lancers, their bravest and best + soldiers in fight. And they are wholly indifferent as to the legions of + molecules arrayed against them, and would as soon hurl a mountain of them + into the sea as to sport with a zephyr or caper with the east wind. Why + not summon these countless myriads of bright and invincible spearmen, to + batter down the walls of this Cretan labyrinth of Life? An army of these + would be worth all the molecules that Professor Maxwell could array in + line, in a thousand years. No life-problem need remain unsolved with their + bright spears to drive the tenebrious mists before them. Even Professor + Tyndall's "fog-banks of primordial haze" would be ignominiously scattered + in flight before these atomic legions. Let our materialistic friends + summon them, then, to their aid. The field of controversy will never be + won by their molecular "Hessians." The ineffably bright lancers that stand + guard over the elemental hosts are the light brigade with which to rout + the vitalistic enemy. Advance them then to the front, and, beneath the + shadowy wing of pestilence or some other appalling ensign of destruction, + the abashed vital squadrons will flee in dismay. + </p> + <p> + But let us pass from scientific speculations to alleged scientific facts. + In a paper read by Dr. Hughes Bennett before the Royal Society of + Edinburgh, in 1861, its author says: "The first step, in the process of + organic formation, is the production of an organic fluid; the second, the + precipitation of organic molecules, from which, according to the molecular + law of growth, all other textures are derived either directly or + indirectly." Here again the molecules, and not the elementary atoms, are + advanced to the front, and not a little anxiety is shown, in a + definitional way, to identify vital processes of growth with crystalline + processes of formation. But Dr. Bennett entirely mistakes, as well as + misstates, the process of vital development, if he does not overlook the + law governing the formation of crystals. There can be no symmetrically + arranged solids in an inorganic fluid without the presence of some law, or + principle, definitely determining, not the "precipitation," but the + "formation," of crystals. The inorganic particles are not precipitated or + thrown downward, any more than they are sublevated or thrown upward. The + process is one of formation, not precipitation. Every crystallographer, + not hampered by materialistic views and anti-vital theories, admits the + presence of a fixed and determinate law governing each crystalline system, + whatever may be the homologous parts or the unequal axes it represents. + </p> + <p> + And so of the equally undeviating law of vital growth. Life comes from no + mere "precipitation of organic molecules," as Dr. Bennett would have us + believe. If so, what is it that precipitates the molecules? They can + hardly be said to precipitate themselves. To precipitate, in a chemical + sense, is to be thrown down, or caused to be thrown down, as a substance + from its solution. What, then, causes the molecules to be thus + precipitously thrown down from a fluid to a solid, or a semi-solid, state? + It cannot be from any blind or inconsiderate haste on the part of the + molecules themselves. There must be some independent principle, or law of + nature--one presupposing an intelligent law-giver--to effect the + "precipitating process," if any such really exists. + </p> + <p> + But it does not exist. The first step is one of development and + growth--the manifestation of functional activity--the building up of + organic or cellular tissue. The exact process, in the case of seed-bearing + plants and trees, is well known. All those familiar with the + characteristic differences of seeds, their chemical constituents, their + tegumentary coverings, rudimentary parts, etc., thoroughly understand the + process in its outward manifestation. There is no precipitation of + molecules as in an organic fluid, unless the albumen lying between the + embryo and testa of the seeds, and constituting the nutriment on which the + plant feeds during its primary stages of growth, can be called a fluid. It + throws none of its characteristic ingredients downward any more than + upward. Indeed the greater tendency of its molecules is upward rather than + downward, in the "molecular processes" (vital ones) by which the embryonic + cell is started upon its career of plant-life. The celebrated Dr. Liebig + says of this albuminous environment: "It is the foundation, the + starting-point, of the whole series of peculiar tissues which constitute + those organs which are the seat of all vital actions." In the case of + animal life, this albumen abounds in the serum of the blood, enters + largely into the chyle and lymph, goes to build up the tissues and + muscles, and is the chief ingredient of the nerves, glands, and even the + brain itself. And in all these developmental stages, its tendency is to + coagulate rather than precipitate. In its coagulated condition, it dries + to a hard, partially translucent and friable state, and is more or less + insoluble in water, and entirely so at a temperature from 140° to 160° + F. + </p> + <p> + When the seed is planted or placed in water, it first commences to swell + from the absorption of the water or moisture of the ground by the pores of + its external covering, the favorable temperature being from 60° to 80° + F. It gradually expands until its outer membranes burst, and its initial + rootlets clasp their hold upon the earth. From this point its several + stages of development are well known to the ordinary observer. Here the + first step is absorption and expansion, not precipitation. There is also a + change in chemical conditions, the water at least being decomposed. For it + would seem to be a law of vegetal growth that reproduction should begin in + decomposition and decay. The Apostle's description of the "death of the + grain," as symbolizing the death of man, in his first Epistle to the + Corinthians, points conclusively in this direction. It is in the + decomposition and decay of the grain that the implanted germ is quickened + into life--ascends into the bright light, the warm sunshine, the + refreshing presence of showers and dews. In this way it fulfils its + providential purpose of yielding to the sower the more munificent life + which he is forever seeking to attain. + </p> + <p> + Its germination is the springing up of the inner living principle of the + grain, not its outer envelope or dead husk. This disappears in decay, + except the small nutrient portion within which the germinal principle of + life would seem to reside, and which undergoes a thorough chemical change + in the process of passing from death unto life, or being assimilated and + taken up into the new living structure. The Apostle's comparison + distinctly marks these several changes as the one process of passing from + death unto life. He saw in this wonderful provision of nature, the still + more wonderful prevision of God. To his mind it was over the debris of the + dead past that the living present is constantly marching towards a higher + and more perfect life--the ultimate fruition and joy of an eternal home in + the skies! And he saw that the two grand instrumentalities and + co-accessory agencies to this end, were Life and Death, both equally + constant and active, like all the other instrumentalities and governing + agencies of the universe. Life is forever unlocking the portals of the + present to youth and vigor; Death is forever closing them to age and + decrepitude. This divine prevision thus becomes the wisest and most + beneficent provision. Without life there would be no such thing as death, + and without death no such thing as this grand succession and march of + life--this passing from out the Shadow into the Day. + </p> + <h2> + <a name="10"></a>Chapter X. + </h2> + <h3> + Darwinism Considered from a Vitalistic Stand-Point. + </h3> + <p> + Granting that the assumption of Darwinism rests, as claimed, on the fixed + and inflexible adaptation of means to ends, in the diversified yet + measurably specialized processes of nature, there is no logical deduction + to be drawn therefrom but that which traces the representatives of all the + great types of the animal kingdom to one single source, and that not the + Sovereign Intelligence of the Universe, but a mere "ovule in protoplasm," + or what may be defined, in its unaggregated form, as an inconceivably + small whirligig, having motion on a central axis, but whether an + independent motion of its own, or one derived from an Infinite + Intelligence, the Darwinian systematizers are not bold enough to aver. + They have too many <i>a priori</i> scruples either to assert the one + proposition or to deny the other. What set this little whirligig in motion + is a mystery that lies beyond the purview of science, so called, and into + the depths of this infinitessimal and most mysterious little chamber they + refuse to go. + </p> + <p> + They search not for the evidence of an Infinite Intelligence in the + outermost circle of the heavens where the highest is to be found, and + where a bound is set that we may not pass, but shutting their eyes to all + the grander evidences of such an Intelligence, they dive down into the + infinitessimal realm of nature and assume to dig out the sublimer secrets + of the universe there. And this is their grand discovery: That this + infinitessimal whirligig of theirs has not only whirled man into + existence, but the entire circle of the heavens, with the innumerable host + of stars that march therein, and all the boundless systems of worlds that + roll in space. With this subordination of the Infinite to the + infinitessimal, of intelligence to insensate matter, of divine energy, so + to speak, to blind molecular force, they are satisfied; and, like the mole + in the fable, conceive their little molecule to be the only possible + creator of a stupendous universe. + </p> + <p> + Scrutinize my propositions closely, and see if I am guilty of misstating + theirs. Their new theory is only a slight modification of an old one, or + the old adage, <i>omne vivum ex ovo</i>--all life is from an egg. For they + assert that every living thing primordially proceeds from an ovule in + protoplasm, the essential part of the protoplasmic egg, so to speak, being + this little <i>ovum</i> or cellule, from which have issued all possible + organisms in both the vegetable and animal kingdoms. Nor is this theory + essentially confined to organic matter. A scientific coördination of + its several known parts, or alleged functions, extends the operations of + this infinitessimal whirligig to the plastic or uniformly diffused state + of all matter, from which has been evolved, in an infinite duration of + past time, not only life in its highest manifestations, but a universe so + stupendously grand that no amount of human intelligence can grasp the + first conception of it. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Emerson--our Ralph Waldo--virtually accepts this theory of + development, substituting, however, a stomach for an ovule, and the + reverse of the Darwinian proposition, in what he is pleased to call "the + incessant opposition of nature to everything hurtful." It is not the + "selection of the fittest" but the "rejection of the unfit," by which "a + beneficent necessity (I use his language) is always bringing things + right." "It is in the stomach of plants," he says, "that development + begins, and ends in the circles of the universe." "'Tis a long way," he + admits, "from the gorilla to the gentleman--from the gorilla to Plato, + Newton, Shakespeare--to the sanctities of religion, the refinements of + legislation, the summits of science, art, poetry." + </p> + <p> + Few persons, I take it, will dispute this proposition. The road is a long + one and beset with all sorts of thorns and briars, such as Mr. Emerson's + philosophy will hardly eradicate from the wayside. Even the most refined + empiricism will find it difficult to stomach his stomachic theory of the + universe, which lands all atomic or corpuscular philosophy in a digestive + sac, such as Jack Falstaff bore about him with its measureless capacity + for potations and Eastcheap fare. It is a road too in which Mr. Emerson's + philosophy will get many sharp raps from an external world of phenomena, + in the futility of both his and the Darwinian hypothesis to explain away + the independent origination of certain species of plants and animals--new + varieties still springing into existence, under favorable conditions, in + obedience to the divine fiat, "Let the earth bring forth." + </p> + <p> + In laying the foundations of this new science, if science it shall be + called, we must insist that the course of nature is uniform, and that, + however extended our generalizations in any one of her lines of + uniformity, all intermediate, as well as ultimate propositions, must not + only be stated with the utmost scientific accuracy, but the logical + deductions therefrom must also be uniform, or lie in the path of + uniformity. The earliest and latest inductions must either coincide or + approximate the same end. No links must be broken, no chasms bridged, in + the scientific series. There must be a distinct and separate link + connecting each preceding and each succeeding one in the chain. The lowest + known mammal must be found in immediate relationship with his higher + congener or brother, not in any remote cousinship. There must be no + saltatory progress--no leaping over intermediate steps or degrees. The + heights of science are not to be scaled <i>per saltum</i>, except as + degrees may sometimes be conferred by our universities.[<a href="#foot35">35</a>] + </p> + <p> + There are some fish-like animals, say our Darwinian systematizers, like + the Lepidosirens and their congeners, with the characteristics of + amphibians; and hence they infer that by successive deviations and + improvements the lower order has risen into the higher. But out of what + page in the volume of nature, in the countless leaves we have turned back, + has the immediate congener dropped, that we are obliged to look for the + relationship in thirty-fourth cousins? We might as well say that some of + the <i>Infusoria</i> possess the same or similar characteristics, and + predicate relationship between them and the amphibians; for giants + sometimes spring from dwarfs and dwarfs from giants. At all events, our + diagnoses must be freed from these intermediate breaks or failures in the + chain of continuity, or the doctrine of descent must tumble with the + imaginary foundations on which it is built. And bear in mind that the most + enthusiastic Darwinist is forced to admit that there are still rigid + partitions between the lower and higher organisms that have not been + pierced by the light of scientific truth, but they assume that future + discoveries and investigations will solve the difficulty. But science, + inflexible as she is, or ought to be, in her demands, admits of no + assumptions, much less sanctions such exceptions and deviations as we + constantly find in the Darwinian path of continuity. The eye of + imagination can supply nothing to her vision. She is eagle-eyed, and soars + into the bright empyrean--does not dive into quagmires and the slime of + creation after truth. + </p> + <p> + But let us see how Mr. Darwin bridges one of the very first chasms he + meets with in constructing his chain of generation. He goes back to the + first link, or to what he calls primordial generation. Here the leap is + from inorganic matter to the lowest form of organic life--from inanimate + to animate dust. The chasm is immense, as all will agree. But he bridges + it by falling back on his infinitessimal whirligig--his <i>primum mobile</i>--or + on the motions of elements as yet inaccessible, except to the eye of + imagination. For even Plato's monad, or ultimate atom, was not matter + itself, being indivisible, but rather a formal unit or primary constituent + of matter, which, like Mr. Darwin's whirligig in its unaggregated form, + admits of neither a maximum nor a minimum of comprehension; but rests + entirely on imaginary hypothesis. And we may here add that a system which + begins in imaginary hypotheses and ends in them--as that of bridging the + chasmal difference between a gorilla and a Plato--can be dignified into a + science only by a still greater stretch of the imagination--that of + bridging the difference between the Darwinian zero and his ninety degrees + of development in a Darwin himself! + </p> + <p> + Bear in mind, as we proceed, that the function of an argument in + philosophy, as in logic, is to prove that a certain relation exists + between two concepts or objects of thought, when that relation is not + self-evident. In the Darwinian chain we have, as the first link, organic + life springing from inorganic matter, without the slightest relation + existing between the two, except what may be universally predicated of + matter itself, whether animate or inanimate, organic or inorganic; and + there is no other affirmative premise, expressing their agreement as + extremes, that can possibly admit of an affirmative conclusion. The parts + are so separated in thought that no metaphysical or ideal distinction + exists to coordinate them in classification. We are simply forced back, in + our attempt at classification, upon the intuitions of consciousness, where + reason manifestly ceases to enforce its inductions. + </p> + <p> + And here the human mind intuitively springs an objection which is at once + aimed at the very citadel of Darwinism. On what rests the validity of + these intuitions except it be that "breath of life," which, as we have + before said, was breathed into man when he became a living soul? If we + follow the divine record, instead of these blind systematizers leading the + blind, we shall have no difficulty in establishing the validity of these + intuitions--the highest potential factors this side of Deity to be found + anywhere in the universe. For if our intuitions are not to be relied + upon--if their objects and perceptions are to be discarded as + unreliable--then there can be no agreement or disagreement between any two + ideas presented, objectively or subjectively, to the human mind. No + processes of mental analysis or ratiocination, like those pursued in the + elementary methods of Euclid, can present the basis of an intellectual + judgment, or lay the foundation of the slightest faith or belief in the + world. To deny the primary perception of truth by intuition is as fatal to + "Evolution" as to the sublimer teachings of the Bible Genesis. + </p> + <p> + But from the very nature of our being, as well as the primary <i>datum</i> + of consciousness itself, we must rest the validity of these intuitions on + something, and that, something more than a finite intelligence; and since + science, with all her knowledge methodically digested and arranged, + furnishes no clue to the mystery, we are left to the higher sources of + inspiration to reach it. And this inspiration, however it may be derived, + necessarily becomes a part of our intuitions, since it addresses itself to + the strongest possible cravings of the human soul, and is accepted as its + inseparable companion and guest. + </p> + <p> + Shall we build our faith then on the Divine Word,--on the Word that was in + the beginning with God, and, when incarnate, <i>was</i> God,--or on Mr. + Darwin's little whirligig that originally set everything in motion, and + has only to go on <i>ad infinitum</i> to whirl us out a God, as it has + already whirled us out a Darwinian universe without one. For if this + ovulistic whirligig has bridged the chasmal difference between protoplasm + and man, since the transition from inorganic matter to organic life, the + process has only to be indefinitely extended to bridge the chasm between + man and Deity, or between finite and infinite intelligence. This gives us + nature evolving a God, instead of the doctrine of the old Theogonies, of a + God presiding from all eternity over nature; one "who laid the foundations + of the earth that it should not be removed forever; who stretchest out the + heavens like a curtain; who layeth the beams of his chambers in the + waters; who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire." + </p> + <p> + These evolutionists manifestly get the cart before the horse in their + category of cosmological events. It is not inert matter organizing itself + into life, nor any mode of physical or chemical action, nor any mere + manifestation of motion or of heat, nor any other conceivable correlation + of natural forces. None of these has enabled us to penetrate the + mysterious <i>inner-chamber</i> of life itself. For reasons obviously + connected with our own welfare, He, from whom alone are "the issues of + life," seems to have ordained that we should fathom the depths of both + physical and chemical force, and beneficently wield and direct them to our + own uses. But this vital force; this something that stands apart from and + is essentially different from all other kinds of force, is of a nature + that baffles all our efforts to approach. The power to grasp it, or even + to penetrate in the slightest degree its mysteries, is delegated to none. + All attempts to lay bare this principle of vitality, or level the barriers + that separate it from physical or chemical action, have utterly failed. We + know no more of its essence now than was known a thousand years ago, and + know no less than will be known a thousand years hence. To become masters + of the mystery, we must enter the impenetrable veil within which the + Infinite Intelligence of the universe presides,--who, we are told, + "sendeth forth his spirit, and we are created, who taketh away our breath, + we die and return to our dust." [<a href="#foot36">36</a>] We are just as + much bewildered in respect to this vital principle in our classifications + of the myriads of little creatures careering over the field of the + microscope, as when we turn to the most marked formations of genera and + species in geological distribution. The great trouble with Mr. Darwin's <i>vinculum</i> + is, that its weakest links are precisely where the strongest should be + found, and <i>vice versa</i>. With a candor rarely displayed by a writer + who is spinning a theory, he admits this. The geological record is not + what he would have it to be. Whole chapters are gone where they are most + needed, and nature's lithography seems constantly at fault. Independent + species are now and then springing up where derivatives should be looked + for, while derivatives are everywhere disappearing in non-derivatives. + Many of the middle Tertiary <i>molusca</i>, and a large proportion of the + later Tertiary period, are specifically identical with the living species, + of to-day. What has "natural selection" been doing for this family in the + last million years or more? Manifestly nothing, and less than nothing, for + some of the species have dropped out altogether. + </p> + <p> + These facts, and hundreds of others like them, are constantly obtruding + themselves upon our attention to show, in harmony with the Bible Genesis, + the immutability of species--the absolute fixity of types--rather than + their variability, as claimed. If nature abhors anything more than a <i>vacuum</i>, + it is manifestly any marked transition from fixed types, and she thunders + her edicts against it in the non-fertility of all hybrids. The doctrine of + variation lacks the all-essential element of continuity, and is oftener at + war with the theory of the "selection of the fittest," than it is with the + selection of the "unfit." The leap from Lepidosirens to Amphibians is no + greater than the interval between any two species of animals or plants yet + discovered, either fossil or living. The intervals are as numerous as the + species themselves, and everywhere constitute great and sudden leaps, or + such transitional changes as "natural selection" could not have effected + independently of intervening forms--those that nowhere exist in nature, + and never have existed, if we are to credit geologic and paleontologic + records. There is everywhere similarity of structure, but not identity; + and the nearer we approach to identity of structure the wider the + divergence in similarity of characteristics. A bird may be taught to talk + and sing snatches of music. But no monkey has ever been able to articulate + human sounds, much less give them rhythmical utterance. + </p> + <p> + Take the case of the wild pigeon, a subject that especially delights Mr. + Darwin. Most of the deviations are confined to the domesticated breeds, + and none of these rank in strength, hardiness, capability of flight, or + symmetry of structure, with the wild or typical bird. There are + well-defined deviations, but no sensible improvements, except to the eye + of the bird-fancier. The deviations are simply entailed weaknesses, or the + very reverse of what should appear from the "selection of the fittest." + The fact undeniably is, that these variations are almost wholly + abnormal--mere exaggerated characteristics, induced in the first instance, + perhaps, by high cultivation and close in-and-in breeding. + </p> + <p> + Turn these abnormal varieties loose, let them go back to the aboriginal + stock, and these characteristics will rapidly disappear; that is, they + will ultimately lose themselves or melt away in the original type. Mr. + Darwin admits that the tendency will be to reversion, but he insists, + manifestly without any positive proof therefor, that the greater tendency + is to new centres of attraction, and not necessarily the primitive one. + But this is mere assumption--sheer begging the question on his + part,--since all the oscillations are incontestibly about the original or + type centre. + </p> + <p> + The same may be said of the typical races of men, like the negro and wild + Indian of our prairies. You may lift them out of their primitive + condition--temporarily suspend, if you please so to put it, their + primordial attraction,--but, left again to themselves, they will go back + to the original type; that is, their offspring will again infest the + jungles and roam their native hunting-grounds. The process here is the + very reverse of the Darwinian theory. Reversion, as a rule, follows the + degeneracy of types, instead of there being any favorable homogeneous + result, springing from a new centre of attraction. The Indian makes a + splendid savage, but a very poor white man. Think of Red Jacket taking the + part of Mercutio in the play or enacting the more valiant <i>role</i> of + Falstaff in King Henry the Fourth. An infusion of white blood does not + help the matter, but rather makes it worse. Generally, the meanest Indian + on the continent is your half-breed, and among the negroes there is no + term so expressive of the contempt of that race, as that applied by them + to a mulatto. The present condition of Mexico affords a striking + exemplification of this law of reversion. The inheritable characteristics + or variations, produced from an infusion of Spanish blood, are rapidly + disappearing--the native blood whipping out the European. The potency is + in the inferior blood, simply because it is the predominating one. The + result has been no homogeneous new race, but a reversion, now manifestly + in progress, to the type centre or aboriginal stock. And the curse + pronounced by Ezekiel upon mongrel tribes--"woe unto the mingled peoples" + may have a significance in this connection worth considering; but it + manifestly falls outside the scope of our present inquiry. + </p> + <p> + In considering the embryological structure of man, and the homologies he + therein presents to the lower animals, Mr. Darwin thus conclusively (in + his judgment) remarks: "We thus learn that man is descended from a hairy + quadruped, furnished with a tail and pointed ears, probably arboreal in + his habits, and an inhabitant of the Old World." + </p> + <p> + But Mr. Darwin's pronominal "we," in this connection, admits of + qualification. He can hardly speak for all the scientific world at once. + The philosophical maxim of Sir Isaac Newton--<i>hypotheses non fingo</i>--I + build no hypotheses, make no suppositions, but adhere to facts--has a few + followers still left. But what are Mr. Darwin's facts? Has he yet + discovered the caudal man, except as the ever-fertile Mr. Stanley heard of + one in Africa? And where is his monkey that first lost the prehensile + power to climb trees? For bear in mind that it was the loss of this + prehensile power that resulted in the caudal atrophy of our monkey + progenitors, <i>who became men simply because they were tailless monkeys!</i> + They had lost their power to climb trees, and accordingly had no longer + any use for tails to let themselves down from the limbs. A "beneficent + necessity" therefore, according to Mr. Emerson, dropped the tail as + something decidedly "unfit." For the simplest tyro in Darwinian philosophy + will see that the loss of the Catarrhine monkey's tail, if it ever + occurred, could not have resulted from the "selection of the fittest." The + deeper Emersonian philosophy of the "rejection of the unfit," affords the + only solution of the difficulty, and then only on the assumption that the + tail is an unfit appendage for the monkey. + </p> + <p> + With the loss of his tail, in the light of this new genesis, the monkey + necessarily ceased to be arboreal in his habits. He could no longer + subsist on the fruits and nuts of trees, or take refuge therein from his + enemies. He had to go to work and make weapons to defend himself--to + construct tools--make and set traps, live on his wits, and not on his + prehensile power to climb trees. He soon discovered, of course, that the + longest pole knocked the persimmon. This was his first intellectual stride + towards the future Edison. From the simplest sort of Grahamitic + philosopher he passed into the robust, beef-eating Englishman. But this + was not all. As an arboreal gymnast, he was manifestly on his way to more + masterly feats of agility than ever,--those dependent, not on muscular + function, but on the nervous action of the brain and spinal marrow. + Necessity became with him the "mother of invention," and how admirably he + improved under this maternal instructor we are left to infer from the + paramount conclusion of Mr. Darwin, <i>that the demoralized monkey became + the incipient man</i>! + </p> + <p> + But this conclusively accounts for only one of the many anatomical + differences between man and his caudal progenitor. For why should the loss + of his tail have resulted in the changed chemistry of the monkey's brain? + or in the increased involutions of his brain even? The specific + differences between the present and ancestral types are very numerous and + demand separate classification. Their variability runs through every bone, + muscle, tissue, fibre, nerve. Their blood corpuscles are not the same. The + chemistry of their bones essentially differs. The nerves are differently + bundled and differently strung. In intonations of voice--symmetry of arms, + legs, chest--hairlessness of body, and aquatic and land habits, the frog + is a much nearer approach to man than the monkey, as all caricaturists, + delineating aldermanic proportions, will agree. And Mr. Darwin might have + immortalized himself by deriving the builders of the ancient + pile-habitations and other primitive water-rats and croakers of the Swiss + lakes, from this tailless batrachian. For everybody knows, or thinks he + knows, how the frog lost his tail. If he didn't wag it off, he certainly + absorbed its waggishness as a distinguishing characteristic of the "coming + man"--the future Artemas Wards and Mark Twains of the race. This ancestral + origin will also account for the otherwise unaccountable proclivity of all + human juveniles to play at the game of leap-frog! Besides, it would have + relieved Mr. Darwin from one of the greatest perplexities he has had to + encounter. As he derives man from a hairy quadruped, the absence of hair + on the human body, is a phenomenal fact that gives him great trouble. He + agrees that it does not result from "natural selection," as he says "the + loss of hair is an inconvenience and probably an injury to man." Nor does + he suppose it to result from what he calls "correlated development." He is + more puzzled over this problem of divestiture than any other, and finds + the solution of it only in "sexual selection." That is, he assumes that + among our semi-human progenitors, far back in the Tertiary or some other + period, some female monkeys were less hirsute than others, and that they + naturally preferred males possessing similar characteristics. These + divergencies were thus commenced, and, by continuous "sexual selection," + the infirmity (for such he regards the loss of hair) was propagated until + the race was almost entirely denuded or bereft of this covering. In the + same way he accounts for nearly all the differentiations of the race, + among the various tribes now or formerly inhabiting the earth. All have + sprung from the same semi-human progenitors--<i>apes that lost their + capacity to subsist as apes, and hence found it necessary to subsist as + men</i>! + </p> + <p> + The law of degeneracy has, therefore, had quite as much to do with human + origins as that of progressive development. In fact, it is the paramount + law from a Darwinian stand-point. For the loss of hair and of the + prehensile power to climb trees are both conceded by Mr. Darwin to be + serious defects and drawbacks in the ape family. + </p> + <p> + But the law of sexual selection, as treated by the evolutionists, is not + scientifically accurate, nor is it true in fact. The loving tendency of + nature is to opposites, not likes. The positive and negative poles are + those that play into each other with most marvellous effect. Each repels + its like and rushes to the embrace of its opposite. Extremes lovingly meet + everywhere. A brunette selects a blonde and a blonde a brunette, as a + general rule in matrimony. A tall man or woman, with rare exceptions, + chooses a short companion for life. Dark eyes delight in those that are + light, and <i>vice-versa</i>. Everywhere nature seeks diversity, not + similitude. The gayest and brightest feathered songster craves + companionship in modest and unobtrusive colors. Diversity is the law of + life, as equality, or versimilitude, is that of death. Neither natural + selection, nor sexual selection, runs counter to this law. If Mr. Darwin's + theory were true, that likes selected likes, then the two marked extremes + which should have characterized the race, soon after its emergence from + the semi-human state, should have been giants and pigmies, Gargantuas and + Lilliputs. Otherwise "sexual selection," as treated by its author, plays + no intelligible part in the economy of nature, except to counterbalance + variability, not to propagate it. + </p> + <p> + But the Darwinian assumption that the primeval man, or his immediate + ape-like progenitor, came through "natural selection," that is, through + the "survival of the fittest," is subject to one or two other objections + which we shall briefly notice. And the first objection is not altogether a + technical one. The term "fittest," as applied to a monkey, has at once a + definite and comprehensive significance to us. It implies the presence of + whatever is most perfect of its kind in the monkey <i>as</i> a monkey, and + not in the monkey <i>as</i> something else than a monkey. They are all + admirably adapted for climbing trees; and it is this adaptation that + secures them safety, or complete immunity, in shelter from their enemies. + To say that nature selects the fittest for them--for any species of + monkey--by converting their forefeet into rudimentary hands, with a loss + of prehension and no corresponding advantages in locomotion, is to use + language without any appreciable significance to us. We can only say that + what is fittest for the monkey is ill-fitted for man, and the reverse. + This is all we can definitely predicate of them, from what we know of + their anatomical structure, and the diversified uses to which it may be + put. + </p> + <p> + The fact is, as the Bible genesis shows, that every living thing is + perfect of its kind, and whatever is perfect admits of no Darwinian + variations or improvements for the better. And the simple statement of + this undeniable proposition is, we submit, a complete refutation of + Darwinism. When the waters and the earth were commanded to bring forth + abundantly of every living creature and every living thing, "it was so, + and God saw that it was good," that is, everything perfect of its kind, + and in its kind. With this single limitation as to kind, a rattlesnake is + no less perfect than a Plato or a John Howard. + </p> + <p> + When we consider man's upright position; the firmness and steadiness with + which he plants his foot upon the earth; when we examine the mechanism of + his hand, and the wonderful and almost unlimited range it possesses for + diversified use; when we see how ill-fitted he is for climbing trees, yet + how express and admirable for climbing among the stars, even to the + outermost milky-way, the idea that what is fittest for him is fit for the + chattering monkey, is too absurd to give us pause. And yet how does Mr. + Darwin know that the monkey has been climbing up, all these hundred + thousand or million years, into man, as one of the congenital freaks of + nature, and not man shambling down into the monkey as a reverse congenital + freak. Children have sometimes been born with a singular resemblance to + the ape family, but no ape has ever, to Mr. Darwin's knowledge, produced + issue more manlike than itself. The divergencies run the wrong way to meet + the conditions of the development theory. We have had nearly five thousand + years in which to mark these transitional changes, and yet the monkey of + to-day is identical with that painted on the walls of ancient Meroe. In + all this time he has made no advance in the genetic relation; and if we + turn back the lithographic pages of nature for a hundred times five + thousand years, we shall find no essential departure from aboriginal + types. + </p> + <p> + But the Darwinian hypothesis admits of a more conclusive answer than we + have yet given. Past time, it will be conceded, is theoretically if not + actually infinite; and in all past time, nature has been tugging away at + Mr. Darwin's problem of the "survival of the fittest." It is no two + hundred and fifty thousand years, nor two hundred and fifty millions, but + an infinite duration of past time that covers the period in which she has + been wrestling with this problem. How successfully has she solved it? In + the Darwinian sense of the term "fittest," she has not so much as stated + her first equation or extracted the root of her first power. She is + manifestly as much puzzled over the problem as Mr. Darwin himself. He + fails to see that the "survival of the fittest," necessarily implies, or + carries with it, the correlative proposition,--the "non-survival of the + unfit." And when such a law has been operative for an infinite duration of + past time, the "unfit," however infinitely distributed at first, should + have disappeared altogether, many thousands, if not millions, of years + ago. If the evolutionists are dealing with vast problems, and assigning to + nature, unlimited factors to express the totality of her unerring + operations, they must be careful to limit the time in which any one of her + given labors is to be accomplished. If she makes any progress at all, an + infinite duration of past time should enable her to complete her work just + as effectually as an infinite duration of time to come. + </p> + <p> + But by what law of "natural selection," appertaining to a single pair of + old world monkeys, have their offspring advanced to this regal state of + manhood, while all other pairs have remained stationary, or precisely + where they were two hundred and fifty thousand years ago or more? Why this + exceptional divergence in the case of a single pair of monkeys? Why this + anomalous, aberrant, and thoroughly eccentric movement on the part of + nature? We had supposed that her operations were uniform--conformable to + fixed laws of movement. The doctrine of the "survival of the fittest" + implies this. Why then, should nature, in her unerring operations, have + selected the fittest in respect to a single pair of Catarrhine monkeys, + and at the same time rejected the fittest in the case of a million other + pairs? If she had selected only the fittest in respect to this old world + stock of monkeys, the entire Catarrhine family should have disappeared in + the next higher or fitter group--a group nowhere to be found in geological + distribution. The break between man and this Catarrhine monkey covers + quite a series of links in the genetic vinculum;[<a href="#foot37">37</a>] + and yet between the two we find no high form of a low type fitting into a + low form of a high type, as we manifestly should, to account for all the + diversified changes that must have taken place in the interim. And what is + true of the types is measurably true of the classes within the types, as + well as of the orders within the classes. Wide deviations in forms, as in + characteristics, would seem to be the invariable rule; the blending of + type into type, except perhaps in remote relationships, is nowhere + visible. + </p> + <p> + But if "variation" and "natural selection" have played important parts in + the economy of nature, why may not "specific creation" have played <i>its</i> + part also? Positive science can hardly flatter itself with the belief that + it is rolling back the mystery of the universe to a point beyond which + "specific creation" might not have commenced, or the divine fiat been put + forth. To believe in the possibility of a rational synthesis, limited to + sensible experience, or phenomenal facts within our reach, that shall + climb from law to law, or from concrete fact to abstract conception, until + it shall reach the <i>Ultima Thule</i> of all law, is to carry the faith + of the scientist beyond the most transcendental belief of the theologian, + and make him a greater dupe to his illusions than was ever cloistered in a + monastery or affected austerity therein as a balm to the flesh. We may + substitute new dogmatisms for old ones, but we can never postulate a + principle that shall make the general laws of nature any less mysterious + than the partial or exceptional, or that shall in the long run, render + "natural selection" any more comprehensible, or acceptable to the rational + intuition, than "specific creation." For while one class of scientists is + climbing the ladder of synthesis, by assigning a reason for a higher law + that may be predicated of a lower, we shall find the broader and more + analytical mind accepting the higher mystery for the lower, and, by + divesting its faith of all metaphysical incumbrance, landing in the belief + of an all-encompassing law, which shall comprehend the entire assemblage + of known laws and facts in the universe. And the natural drift of the + human mind is ever towards this abstract conception--this one + all-encompassing law of the universe. It steadily speculates in this + direction, and some of the highest triumphs of our age, in physical as + well as metaphysical science, are measurably due to this tendency. The + scientific mind is not confined wholly to experimental research. It is + stimulated to higher contemplations, and is constantly disposed to make + larger and more comprehensive groupings of analogous facts. It is fast + coming to regard light, heat, electricity, magnetism, gravitation, + chemical affinity, molecular force, and even Mr. Darwin's little + whirligig, as only so many manifestations or expressions of one and the + same force in the universe--that ultimate, all-encompassing, divine force + (not to speak unscientifically) that upholds the order of the heavens, + "binds the sweet influences of the Pleiades, brings forth Mazzaroth in his + season, and guides Arcturus with his suns." + </p> + <p> + It is the boast of the Darwinian systematizers that their development + theory not only harmonizes with, but admirably supplements and out-rounds + the grander speculation of Laplace, termed the "Nebular Hypothesis," which + regards the universe as having originally consisted of uniformly diffused + matter, filling all space, which subsequently became aggregated by + gravitation, much after the manner of Mr. Darwin's little whirligig, into + an infinite number of sun-systems, occupying inconceivably vast areas in + space. Of the correctness of this hypothesis it is unnecessary to speak. + It is to the Darwinian speculation what the infinite is to the + infinitessimal, and we only refer to it to bring out the vastness of the + conception as compared to the latter theory, and to predicate thereon the + more conclusive induction that an Infinite Intelligence directs and + superintends all. + </p> + <p> + In an area in the Milky-way not exceeding one-tenth of the moon's disc, + Mr. Herschel computes the number of stars at not less than twenty + thousand, with clusters of nebulae lying still beyond. As we know that no + bodies shining by reflected light could be visible at such enormous + distances, we are left to conclude that each of these twinkling points is + a sun, dispensing light and heat to probably as many planets as hold their + courses about the central orb in our own system. From the superior + magnitude of many of the stars, as compared with the sun, we may + reasonably infer that many of these vast sun-systems occupy a much larger + field in space than our own. This would give an area in space of not less + than six thousand millions of miles as the field occupied by each of these + sun-systems. And as the distance between each of these systems and its + nearest neighbor is probably not less than that of our sun from the + nearest star, we have the enormous and inconceivable distance of not less + than nineteen billions of miles separating each one of these twenty + thousand stars or sun-systems, occupying a space in the heavens apparently + no bigger than a man's hand. And yet Infinity, as we apprehend the term, + lies beyond this vast cluster of constellated worlds! Where is Mr. + Darwin's little whirligig in the comparison, or Mr. Emerson's vegetal + stomach, or Mr. Herbert Spencer's "potential factors," to express the + sum-total of all this totality,--this gigantic assemblage of stars + clustered about a single point in the Milky-way? The human mind absolutely + reels--staggers bewildered and amazed--under the load of conceptions + imposed by these few twinkling stars, and is ready to exclaim,-- + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + "Oh, star-eyed Science, hast thou wandered there,<br /> To waft us back a + message of despair?" + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + But when we reflect that all this vast aggregation of sun systems, visible + in the telescopic field, is not stationary, but is revolving with + inconceivable rapidity about some unknown and infinitely remote centre of + the universe, how immeasurably vast does the conception become, and how + unutterably puerile and fatuous the thought of <i>Mr. Darwin's little + whirligig as the author of it all!</i> No wonder the inspired Psalmist + exclaims; "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth + his handiwork." But listen to the Darwinian exclamation: "The heavens + declare the glory of my little whirligig, and the firmament showeth the + immensity of my little ovules." With the veil of faith and inspiration + lifted, the words of the Psalmist swell into the highest cherubic anthem, + while those of Mr. Darwin hardly rise above the squeak of a mole burrowing + beneath the glebe! + </p> + <p> + And what presumptuous mortal shall say that this infinitely remote centre + of the universe, around which revolves this infinite number of + sun-systems, is not the seat and throne of the Infinite One himself--the + Sovereign Intelligence and Power of the universe, directing and upholding + all? We know that some of the stars are travelling about this central + point of the heavens at a pace exceeding 194,000 miles an hour, or with + nearly three times the rapidity of our earth in its orbit. That there must + be infinite power, not physical, at this unknown centre of the universe, + to hold these myriads of sun-systems in their courses, is a logical + induction as irrefragable as that the sun holds his planets in their + orbits. And if infinite power is predicable upon this central point, why + not infinite intelligence also? Intelligence, we know, controls and + utilizes all power in this world; why not all power in the universe? It + can utilize every drop of water that thunders down Niagara to-day, as it + has already seized upon the lightnings of heaven to make them our + post-boy. This is what finite intelligence--that insignificant factor that + science would eliminate from the universe--can do; then what may not + Infinite Intelligence accomplish? + </p> + <p> + But the Darwinian systematizers object that science must limit itself to a + coordination of the known relations of things in the universe, or deal + only with phenomenal facts, not dogmatisms; forgetting that they dogmatize + quite as extensively, in constructing their chain of generation, as the + theologians do in adhering to the Bible genesis. No theologian objects to + a rational synthesis of phenomena, limited to sensible experience; but, in + climbing from law to law, he reasonably enough insists, that, when + concrete facts rise into abstract conceptions, the highest round in the + ladder shall not be knocked out for the accommodation of Robert G. + Ingersoll or any other boasted descendant of a gorilla. And he also + insists that when <i>a priori</i> speculation is lost in abstract + conceptions, the highest must necessarily press alone upon the intuitions + of consciousness, where all generalizations cease, and all synthesis is + undeniably at an end. Here, in this mysterious chamber of the soul, we + stand silent and alone, with only dim and shadowy phantoms about us, as if + in the august presence of Deity itself. + </p> + <p> + But how does scientific speculation propose to stifle these intuitions of + consciousness--reduce them to the least of all potential factors in the + universe? We will take the very latest of these speculations. In + supplementing both the Darwinian theory and the grander speculation of + Laplace, the scientists, so called, tell us that the process of + aggregation, or the turning out of new worlds in the universe, is still + going on; but that the time is coming when all the primeval potency or + energy, originally inhering in diffused matter, will have exhausted itself + in actual energy, and that then all light, life and motion in the + universe, will cease and be at an end. This dissipation of potential + energy is to result, they say, in a played-out universe, as it has already + resulted, they claim, in a played-out moon, if not countless other + heavenly bodies.[<a href="#foot38">38</a>] All the exterior planets, or a + majority of them at least, are to be placed in this category of dismantled + worlds, or those in which all life has hopelessly ceased and become + extinct. All has utterly disappeared, or, to paraphrase one of Pope's + couplets, + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + "Beast, bird, fish, insect--what no eye can scan,<br /> Nor glass can + reach--from zoophyte to man." + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + All these dismantled planets, and satellites to planets, are only so many + immense cinders--mere refuse slag--of no conceivable interest to science, + except to predicate the ultimate conclusion--"a played-out universe, + resulting from a played-out potency within the universe." The magnificent + clockwork of the heavens will then have run down, with no Darwinian + whirligig to wind it up again, and the terrible reality of Byron's dream, + which it would seem was not all a dream, be realized in the bright sun + extinguished, the stars darkling the eternal space, rayless and pathless, + and the icy earth swung blind and blackening in the moonless air. + </p> + <p> + Oh, if this be star-eyed science, give us anything in place of it! + Blear-eyed bigotry in his cloistered den, mumbling unintelligible prayers, + and believing that man is to be saved, not by what he does, but by a <i>credo</i> + only, is far preferable to it. But oh, how unspeakably preferable the + simple faith of the star-led Magi, who + </p> + <p> + "Deeming the light that in the east was seen An earnest and a prophecy of + rest To weary wanderers, such as they had been," + </p> + <p> + came on that bleak December night, 1880 years ago, to pay their homage to + the Christ-child--the long expected Messiah--the Redeemer of the world! + </p> + <h2> + Footnotes + </h2> + <p> + <a name="foot1" id="foot1"></a>1. : It may be proper, however, to state + that the tenth and concluding chapter was originally written as a lecture, + and delivered about a year ago in New Haven, Boston, and at other points. + A request for its publication has induced the author to place it in this + volume, with the portion referring to the Bible genesis omitted. It will + be found germane to the general subject. + </p> + <p> + <a name="foot2" id="foot2"></a>2. : "Without this latent presence of the + 'I am,' all modes of existence in the external world flit before us as + colored shadows, with no greater depth, root, or fixure, than the image of + a rock hath in the gliding stream, or the rainbow on the fast-sailing rain + storm."--<i>Coleridge's</i> "<i>Comments on Essays</i>." + </p> + <p> + <a name="foot3" id="foot3"></a>3. : And science that is not purely + inductive--i.e. primarily based on the inviolability of our intuitions--is + no science at all, but the sheerest possible speculation. + </p> + <p> + <a name="foot4" id="foot4"></a>4. : This presence of an active living + principle in nature, one originally assigned as the "<i>divina particula + auræ</i>" of every living thing, is frequently referred to in the + higher inspirational moods of our poets. Wordsworth exquisitely refers to + it in the following lines of his "Excursion:"-- + </p> + <blockquote class="verse"> + <p> + "To every form of being is assigned<br /> An <i>active</i> principle: + howe'er removed<br /> From sense and observation, it subsists<br /> In all + things, in all nature, in the stars<br /> Of azure heaven, the unenduring + clouds; <br /> In flower and tree, in every pebbly stone<br /> That paves + the brooks." + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <a name="foot5" id="foot5"></a>5. : The existence of vital units is + conceded by some of the staunchest materialists, such as Herbert Spencer, + Professor Bastian and others. Professor Bastian says: "The countless + myriads of living units which have been evolved in different ages of the + world's history, must, in each period, have given rise to innumerable + multitudes of what have been called 'trees of life.'" He insists, however, + that they have been "evolved" from something, or by some unknown process. + But we shall show further on that a "unit" can neither be <i>evolved</i> + nor <i>involved</i>, and that this is as true of vital units as of the + mathematical or chemical unit. Neither evolution nor involution will ever + effect the value of a unit. + </p> + <p> + <a name="foot6" id="foot6"></a>6. : According to Aristotle, the great + world-<i>ordainer</i> is the constant world-<i>sustainer</i>. + </p> + <p> + <a name="foot7" id="foot7"></a>7. : The definition which Professor + Robinson, in his Lexicon of the New Testament, gives of the word σπερμα, + as connected with the "divine life," entirely harmonizes with this view of + the subject. He says: Trop. I John 3, 9, πἃς ό γεγενημένος + ἐκ του ϑεου + σπέρμα ἀυτον (ϑεὄν) + εν ᾶντῶ πενεὶ <i>i.e.</i> the germ + or principle of divine life through which he is begotten of god, το + πνεὒμα. + </p> + <p> + <a name="foot8" id="foot8"></a>8. : Professor Schmidt, of the University + of Strasburg, who insists that species are only relatively stable, admits + that they remain persistent as long as they exist under the same external + conditions. Time is, therefore, not a factor in the mutation of species. + Nor are environing conditions factors, except as a failure of conditions + results in the disappearance of species, as the presence of conditions + results in their appearance. + </p> + <p> + <a name="foot9" id="foot9"></a>9. : Says M. Ch. Bonnet, in his "La Palingéuésie + Philosophique;" "Il est de la plus parfaite évidence que la matiere + est susceptible d'une infinité de mouvemens divers, et de + modifications diverses," and this is the universal claim of the + materialists. + </p> + <p> + <a name="foot10" id="foot10"></a>10. : Professor Burdach (as trad, par + Jourdan), in speaking of the productive power of nature, says, "Limitée + quant á l' étendue de ses manifestations, elle continue + toujottrs d' agir pour la conservation de ce qui a été créé, + et, quoiqu' elle ne maintenue les formes organiques supérieures que + par la seule propagation, il ne répugne point au bon sens de penser + qu' aujourd' hui encore elle a la puissance de produire les formes inférieures + avec des eléments hétérogénes, comme elle a créé + originairement tout ce qui posséde l' organisation." This shows + that its author believed in the possibility of the "superior organic + forms," like the mastodon, megatherium, etc. from the "heterogenetic + elements"--those undergoing every conceivable change--as well as the + "inferior forms." At all events, it is a legitimate induction from + materialistic premises. + </p> + <p> + <a name="foot11" id="foot11"></a>11. : This point is conclusively made by + Professor Burdach, who says (we quote from Jourdan); "La tendance + interieure á la configuration existe avant sa manifestation." And + by his <i>tendance interieure</i> he must mean some vital or other law, + equivalent to an <i>entia</i> in matter, which results <i>in</i>, not <i>from</i> + manifestation. + </p> + <p> + <a name="foot12" id="foot12"></a>12. : Goethe borrowed his idea of an + archetypal world from Plato and the Eleatic school. They held that the + world was originated, and not eternal; that it was framed by the Creator + after a perfect archetype, one eternally existing in the divine mind, if + not an actual soul-world of which our own is but the reflex. + </p> + <p> + <a name="foot13" id="foot13"></a>13. : In a note to Prof. Bastian's + "Beginnings of Life" (vol II. p. 537) an important fact is mentioned as + obtained from the writings of Dr. Schneider, to wit, that <i>Nematoids</i> + (microscopical forms) may be "obtained at will," almost as readily as + mushrooms, by a process entirely independent of spores. For instance, + small pieces of beef were carefully examined to see if they contained any + of the ova of Nematoids, and, finding none, they were buried in a small + quantity of earth (also carefully examined for the presence of Nematoids + or their ova) in a gallipot. "After three weeks," says Prof. B. "this + earth was found to be absolutely swarming with two kinds of + Nematoids--quite different from any forms which I had previously, seen, + although I had been seeking them for more than two years previously in all + sorts of situations." The reason why he had not found them previously, was + because the "necessary conditions" for their appearance had not been + obtained by him, or he had not sought for them in their proper + environment. They were not produced "at will," but were the natural + outgrowth of conditions, as much so as the spores of fungi, which make + their appearance whenever and wherever the necessary environing conditions + exist. According to Dr. Gros, it takes about three weeks for these + Nematoid forms to develop into a reproductive state. + </p> + <p> + <a name="foot14" id="foot14"></a>14. : The necessity of turning plants and + animals into "tramps" is just as great in the case of "Evolution" as in + that of "specific creation in pairs." In both cases, we must insist upon + geneological consanguinity. For the chances of any two highly specialized + forms, originally starting on different lines of divergence, and + ultimately reaching individual identity, both in form and characteristics, + is an impossible problem in the determination of chances. Consequently, + Mr. Darwin finds the necessity of accounting for the presence of northern + forms in the southern hemisphere, and the reverse, just as great as in the + Linnæan theory, which was fully accepted by Cuvier. + </p> + <p> + <a name="foot15" id="foot15"></a>15. : Burdach, in his "<i>Traité + Physiologie" (Trad. par Jourdan</i>. 1837) says: "Effectivement nous + rencontrons des traces de vie dans toute existence quelconque." This is as + broad a panspermic statement as can be made, and is only true of inorganic + matter so far as vegetable life is concerned, including such infusorial, + mycologic, and cryptogamic forms as may lie so near to the "force + vegetative" of Needham as to be indistinguishable from it. + </p> + <p> + <a name="foot16" id="foot16"></a>16. : In the case of volcanic islands, + the upheavals were undoubtedly accompanied by deposits of mud, sand (ocean + detritus), marine vegetation, and more or less animal matter, and these + organic substances were washed down by the rains into the broken valleys + and plains below, when land vegetation almost immediately made its + appearance; not because seeds may have drifted thither by any of the + different agencies that have been mentioned, but because organic matter + can no more help bringing forth life in some form, when conditions favor, + than salt water, when exposed to evaporation, can help crystallizing into + its symmetrically-arranged salts. And the same would be true of all the + coral islands, bringing up the organic matter of the sea to the influence + of the light, the rains, and the dews. The islands thus formed in the + Pacific Ocean begin to exhibit vegetable life almost as soon as they make + their appearance above the reefs, and a line of sea-beach is formed about + them. + </p> + <p> + <a name="foot17" id="foot17"></a>17. : These, while presenting the most + varied and diverse forms of infusorial life, are nevertheless the most + constant and abundant type. They abound more or less in all organic + infusions. Ehrenberg, however, holds that they are no more animal than + vegetal forms. They vary in length from 1/15000 to 1/2000 of an inch, and + are consequently too minute to be satisfactorily classified in respect to + all their diversified characteristics. + </p> + <p> + <a name="foot18" id="foot18"></a>18. : The extent of the southern ice-cap + may at least be approximately reached from explorations already made. + Capt. Weddell, in 1823, extended his explorations southward to within + about 15° of the south pole, where he found an open sea. Capt. Ross, + in 1842, approached to within about 13° of the same pole, without + serious obstruction. It is true that, in the following year, he + encountered ice barriers near the line of the antarctic circle, but they + were floating barriers coming down from Weddell's open sea. Capt. Wilkes, + in 1840, explored a considerable portion of the Antarctic Continent, lying + almost entirely within the antarctic circle. Other explorations have been + made, showing that the southern ice-cap does not probably extend, + continuously at least, much farther north than 78° or 80°, or to + within some ten or twelve degrees of the south pole, independently of the + packs of drifting ice in the otherwise open seas. + </p> + <p> + <a name="foot19" id="foot19"></a>19. : The truth or falsity of "Evolution" + depends entirely on the successful solution of this problem, for the + chances are quintillions to ones that no two identical forms could have + originated from different centres, or from the same centre on divergent + lines, and ever reached identically the same results. And how any two + forms should happen to be sexually paired, on the same or different lines + of divergence, is one of those inexplicable mysteries which must puzzle + Herbert Spencer in all his labyrinthian searches into "Force-correlation," + "Differentiation," "the Dynamic Force of Molecules," etc., etc. However + successful he may be in other directions, he will inevitably fail in this. + We must fall back on the grand Old Bible genesis for the solution of this + difficulty, where every living thing was commanded to produce seed, or + multiply and replenish the waters and the earth with offspring. + </p> + <p> + <a name="foot20" id="foot20"></a>20. : These transcendental or ideal forms + may be said to correspond to the "spiritual essences" of Plato. They are + the eternal, immutable principles which are discernible to the eye of the + soul, as the sensible objects they represent are discernible to the eye of + the body. Modern metaphysics may deem them mere abstractions, but a higher + realistic philosophy will treat them as substantive forms, of which the + objective reality is but the shadow. + </p> + <p> + <a name="foot21" id="foot21"></a>21. : Herbert Spencer may be quoted as + authority on this point. He says: "There is invariably, and necessarily, a + conformity between the vital functions of any organism, and the <i>conditions</i> + in which it is placed ... We find that every animal is limited to a + certain range of climate; every plant to certain zones of latitude and + elevation." And the same law holds good as to the marine fauna and flora, + each specific form being confined to its own sea-depth, or distance north + or south from the thermal equator. + </p> + <p> + <a name="foot22" id="foot22"></a>22. : Speaking of the ultimate principles + or elements of matter, Plato is quoted by Humboldt as exclaiming with + modest diffidence, "God alone, and those whom he loves among men, know + what they are." It is only those who seek to eliminate God from the + universe that speak with confident flippancy on the subject of molecular + machinery and force-correlations. + </p> + <p> + <a name="foot23" id="foot23"></a>23. : As long as the evolutionists cannot + agree among themselves as to what constitutes the process of evolution, it + can hardly be expected that the public will accept their speculations as + conclusive inductions. Professor Bastian, who strongly commits himself to + the doctrine, thinks the word "evolution" arbitrary and open to many + objections, while Mr. Herbert Spencer says;--"The antithetical word + Involution would much more truly express the nature of the process." + </p> + <p> + <a name="foot24" id="foot24"></a>24. : "Know ye not that ye are the temple + of God, and that the spirit of God dwelleth in you?" 1 Cor. 3. xvi. + </p> + <p> + <a name="foot25" id="foot25"></a>25. : Dr. Drysdale, in his work on the + "Protoplasmic Theory of Life," says: "Matter cannot change its state of + motion or rest without the influence of some force from without. True + spontaneity of movement is, therefore, just as impossible to it as to what + we call dead matter.... So we are compelled to admit the existence of an + exciting cause in the form of some force from without to give the initial + impulse in all vital actions." In all life-manifestations, this "force + from without," must be a pre-existing vital principle operating to effect + the otherwise impossible change in matter. + </p> + <p> + <a name="foot26" id="foot26"></a>26. : A favorite set-phrase of Professor + Bastian in speaking of morphological cells or "units," as he sometimes + calls them. + </p> + <p> + <a name="foot27" id="foot27"></a>27. : That great and justly celebrated + naturalist, Buffon, in speaking of the universal origination of the lower + forms of animal life by a process termed, in his time, "spontaneous + generation," says: "There are, perhaps, as many living things, both animal + and vegetable, which are produced by the fortuitous aggregations of 'molécules + organiques,' as there are others which reproduce themselves by a constant + succession of generations." It is said that Buffon was for some time + associated with the Abbé Needham in his experiments in vital + directions, and was much influenced by them. So that it is by no means + certain that he did not accept the Abbé's "force végétative" + in place of his more materialistic views respecting "molécules + organiques." At all events, his statement that as many living things + appear in nature independently of reproducing causes as by successive + generation, is no doubt true. + </p> + <p> + <a name="foot28" id="foot28"></a>28. : M. Tréviranus, who followed + Spallanzani and M. Bonnet in these flask experimentations, first noticed + the important fact that the animalculæ appearing in different + organic infusions, depended on the nature and quality of the infusions + themselves, and that the changed conditions of the same infusion produced + new and independent forms of life. + </p> + <p> + <a name="foot29" id="foot29"></a>29. : Leibnitz, as quoted by M. Bonnet, + says:--"Que l'Entendement Divin étoit la religion éternelle + des Essences; parce que tout ce qui existe existoit comme de toute + éternité comme possible ou en idée dans l'entendement + de Dieu. J'exprimerai cette vérité sublime en d'autres + termes: le plan entier d'univers existoit de toute Eternité dans + l'entendement du Suprême Architecte. Tou tes les parties de + l'univers et jusqu' an moindre atome étoient deffinés dans + ce plan. Tous les changemens qui devoient survenir aux différentes + pieces de ce Tout immense y avoient aussi leurs représentations. + Chaque etre y étoit figuré par ses characteres propres: et + l'acte par lequel la Souveraine Puissance a réalisé ce plan, + est ce que nous nommons la Création." + </p> + <p> + <a name="foot30" id="foot30"></a>30. : Here is a fact given us by Dr. F. + Hall, of Wallingford, Conn.: In a peat meadow in that town, owned by him, + which was at no time subject to overflow, a large quantity of peat had + been removed at different intervals of time, when the excavations + naturally filled with water. In these excavations there appeared not only + the <i>Cyprinidae</i> in considerable numbers, but fresh water clams which + grew to be as large as those in the most favored streams. They made their + appearance the very first season after the peat was removed, and have + flourished there ever since. In no other portions of the meadow were there + any fish or clams ever noticed before, nor was there any other source of + water-supply than the rain-falls in that locality. + </p> + <p> + <a name="foot31" id="foot31"></a>31. : Professor Beale, in one of his very + latest works says: "Of the chemical and physical forms of energy something + is known, but of the relationship of the so called <i>vital</i> energy, + nothing has been proved. We only know that the influence it exerts is + altogether different from that which has been traced to physical and + chemical energy." + </p> + <p> + <a name="foot32" id="foot32"></a>32. : It is admitted, even in the case of + <i>Bacteria</i>, whose movements are the most uniform, that they are + sometimes so inert and languid as to show no movements at all; while, at + other times, they exhibit mere Brownian movements or those no more nearly + allied to "life" than the minute particles of carbon escaping from the + flame of a kerosene lamp. And among the most distinguished microscopists, + it is a question whether these infusorial forms, those exhibiting the most + active oscillations, are really vegetal or animal in origin; in other + words, whether they are <i>Fungus-spores</i> or <i>Torula</i>-cells, or + whether they may not be some intermediate forms. + </p> + <p> + <a name="foot33" id="foot33"></a>33. : The difficulty of assigning any + definitional value to a "primordial germ" is due to the vagueness of idea + attached to it in the popular mind, as well as to the diversified theories + and speculations of the scientists concerning the origin of life. We can + only define it as a "vital unit," as the chemist defines his smallest + conceivable quantity--his "primary least"--of an element, as a "chemical + unit." + </p> + <p> + <a name="foot34" id="foot34"></a>34. : Let two comrades be shot at the + same instant in battle, the one through the heart, and the other through + the arm, shattering it badly. What is there to prevent the surgeon from + taking a piece of bone out of the arm of the man shot through the heart + and instantly killed, and using it to make good the arm of the man still + living? Apparently nothing but that the dead man's bone will not knit. He + may not have been dead five minutes, and Professor Beale's bioplasts might + still be at work spinning matter and weaving tissue for the integrity of + the displaced bone. Why will it not knit? Simply because the vital + principle that differentiates matter is gone--can no longer act. If the + integrity of the bone depended on the action of the molecules, and not on + the vital principle, there is no reason why this experiment should not be + a success. For the molecules are all there, and their action will not be + disturbed for hours after the death of the man shot through the heart. + </p> + <p> + <a name="foot35" id="foot35"></a>35. : It is safe to adhere to the + Leibnitzian axiom, <i>Natura non agit saltatim</i>. + </p> + <p> + <a name="foot36" id="foot36"></a>36. : One of the most cultured classes of + Christian believers in our day, holds that "all life is from the Lord;" + that "He is the fountain, and we only the streams thence." And this, they + claim, is true of all life. To "take away our breath," therefore, is to + cut off this stream perpetually flowing from its invisible source--the + fountain of all Life. When scientific methods substitute for a first cause + a mere resultant effect, all primary principles disappear in their + intermediates. + </p> + <p> + <a name="foot37" id="foot37"></a>37. : Professor Marsh, of Yale College, + has predicted that the "missing link" will be found in Borneo--evidently + not crediting Mr. Stanley's statement about its presence in the interior + of Africa. But one "missing link" is hardly enough; there ought to be an + extensive family of them to complete Mr. Darwin's plexus. From the lowest + genetic form to the anthropoid ape is a distance which does not half cover + the length of this plexus--the immense gap between the monkey and the man + being decidedly the greater length of chain. And yet the first half of the + chain is traversed by innumerable forms--millions of links, so to speak. + How, then, is the greater length of the plexus to be covered by a single + "missing link?" A long line of caudal ancestry must be dug up, therefore, + in Borneo, and shipped to the Peabody Museum, before this tremendous + stretch in the chain of animated nature is satisfactorily accounted for. + Borneo must be exceedingly rich in osteologic remains, even to bridge the + chasm between its own ourang-outangs and the Dyaks, or aboriginal + inhabitants, of that island. + </p> + <p> + <a name="foot38" id="foot38"></a>38. : This daring hypothesis of the + materialists is so utterly repugnant to all our ideas of a perfected + Cosmos, that we have no patience with those advancing it. It is, at best, + speculation run mad, and is based on no other assumption than that of the + inherent imperfectibility of the universe as it came from the hand of God, + or from the dynamic play of molecules extending throughout vast geognostic + epochs. + </p> + <p> + From a materialistic stand-point this assumption of imperfectibility + inevitably runs into the <i>reductio ad absurdum</i>. For if, in the play + of the material forces of the universe, an infinite duration of past time + has effected nothing but mutually disturbing and re-adjusting movements + and relations among cosmical bodies, then an infinite duration of time to + come can effect nothing but similarly mutual adjustments and + re-adjustments in respect to such bodies. With an infinity of time, space, + matter and motion, everywhere presenting a unity of phenomena in the + universe, "there can never be anything," according to the great Stagirite, + "unconnected or out of place, as in a bad tragedy." Conservation must, + therefore, be the rule, and desinence the impossible exception. + </p> + <p> + But these adherents of inherent imperfectibility instance the fact of + vanished and variable stars, as well as those that have suddenly appeared, + and, after brief periods of intense brilliancy, as suddenly disappeared, + to show that there are mighty disturbances in the sidereal heavens which + entirely negative the idea of "conservation" as a geognostic law. But the + phenomena of variable stars, with all their apparent irregularity of + motion and fluctuations in luminosity, are now being traced to definite + and well-determined laws of motion, if not of light, while the theory of + extinguished and disappearing stars belongs exclusive to the age of Tycho + Brahe. Where there is one self-luminious body (or sun) in the + interstellary spaces, there are probably not less than forty non-luminous + or dark cosmical bodies revolving about their respective centres of light + and heat, as the attending planets revolve about the common centre of + gravity in our own system. And this is especially true of that vast and + fathomless star-stratum, called the Milky-way, in which most of these + peculiar phenomena occur, with the exception of the variable stars only. + </p> + <p> + That stars should vary in their intensity of light by the probable + transits of these dark cosmical bodies across their discs, is no matter of + wonder or astonishment: on the contrary, it is surprising that these + sidereal phenomena do not occur with much greater frequency. This would + inevitably be the case if the planes of revolution, in the case of these + non-luminous bodies about their central orbs, were coincident with the + lines of vision from our own planet--a circumstance by no means improbable + from the vastness of the sidereal heavens and the innumerable hosts of + stars marching therein. Besides, these periodical variations may be + accounted for in part--especially in the case of double stars--from their + apparent rather than real change of place in the heavens. For if our + sun-system is travelling towards a point in the constellation Hercules at + the rate of 194 thousand miles an hour (the rapidity of Arcturus' flight), + it is impossible to determine, in the present state of astronomical + knowledge, whether the apparent change of place in any star is real or + merely optical. But, in the case of double stars, each is travelling + (independently of its other motions) about the common centre of gravity + obtaining in its own system, and these relative movements may account for + the greater or less intensity of light as the two stars, viewed as one, + present a greater or less area of luminosity in their united surfaces. + </p> + <p> + The assumed revolution of one of these stars about the other--thus + destroying all the known analogies of the universe, as exemplified in our + own system--may be accounted for in the same way. With stupendous + planetary systems revolving about each of these apparently double stars, + they must respectively have a revolution, real as well as apparent, about + their own centres of gravity--not one and the same centre, but different + and far distant centres. Lying in nearly the same line of vision, with + planes of movement at right angles with it, they would necessarily present + the appearance of one star revolving about the other--an <i>apparent</i> + motion only. + </p> + <p> + And the writer here ventures an explanation of the phenomena of <i>temporary</i> + stars, or those making their appearance in the heavens, flaming up into + stars of the first, second and third magnitudes, and then disappearing + altogether. The most remarkable of these stars, or <i>apparent</i> stars, + was that of Tycho Brahe in 1572, presenting its maximum brilliancy at the + very first, but gradually diminishing in size until the end of seventeen + months, when it disappeared, without change of place, from the heavens. + This temporary star was visible in Cassiopeia, on the verge of the + Milky-way, within whose swarm of stellar worlds most of these apparent + stars have made their appearance. Tycho Brahe, in seeking to account for + this stellar phenomenon, advanced the theory that stars might be "formed + and molded out of cosmical vapor," or "vapory celestial matter," as the + elder Herschel put it, "which becomes luminous as it condenses + (conglomerates) into fixed stars." But any such rapid condensation of + "vapory matter," in the light of Laplace's "nebular theory," is manifestly + too absurd for scientific recognition. A more satisfactory explanation may + be here suggested:--Supposing the apparent relative position of any six or + seven stars of the sixth magnitude in the Milky-way, should be so changed + by the combined motions of our sun-system and of the stars themselves, as + to throw them into one and the same line of vision, but so clustered + together as to show their several star-discs as one, we should + unquestionably have a star of the first magnitude, which would continue as + long as this extraordinary stellar conjunction should last. As one after + another of these stars should fall out of line, by reason of the combined + motions named, the apparent star would be diminished from the first to the + second magnitude, and so on until it reached the sixth magnitude, when it + would pass beyond the reach of unaided human vision. But as the star of + Tycho Brahe suddenly appeared at its fullest brilliancy, it may be + objected that this suggested theory fails to meet the required conditions. + </p> + <p> + As 18,000,000, out of the 20,000,000, of telescopic stars lie in the + Milky-way, it is not by any means improbable that such a conjunction of + stars may occur therein as often at least as once or twice in a century. + We certainly see brilliant patches of closely-crowded stars, in great + numbers, in this galactic zone, and the fact that these temporary stars + almost uniformly appear in that zone renders the suggestion here made + quite as rational, in the way of speculation at least, as that of "vapory + celestial matter" suddenly condensed into a star of the first magnitude, + as Sir. William Herschel would have us believe was possible, if not + probable. + </p> + <p> + Besides, it is a definitely ascertained fact that such clusters of stars, + lying in almost the same line of vision, exist in various parts of the + heavens, which present to the naked eye the appearance of a star of the + fourth or fifth magnitude, and probably would, if more thickly clustered, + present that of a star of the first magnitude. But powerful telescopes + resolve them into a large number of stars, from the thirteenth to the + fifteenth magnitude. One such cluster in Andromeda's girdle has been + resolved into not less than fifteen hundred small stars of very low + magnitude, and pretty widely scattered in the telescopic field. Alexander + Von Humboldt, in speaking of stars that have thus disappeared, says that + "their disappearance may be the result of their motion as much as of any + diminution of their photometric processes (whether on their surfaces or in + their photospheres), as would render the waves of light too weak too + excite the organs of sight." And he adds: "What we no longer see is not + necessarily annihilation," repeating at the same time the question of + Pliny--"<i>Stellæ an obirent nascerenturve?</i>" + </p> + <p> + But another, and (to our mind) more satisfactory, explanation of these + stellar phenomena, may be hazarded in this connection: There are, for + instance, in the Milky-way, among the more brilliant clusters of stars, + dark granular spots, of greater or less magnitude, in which the most + powerful telescopes show no glints or traces of stars. They are among + Humboldt's smaller "fissures or chasms in the heavens," in which he + asserts that there is a great paucity of stars, or none at all. Now, if + one of these thick stellar clusters, which show to the naked eye as a + single star, should, by the combined cosmical movements of our sun-system + and the stellar group in question, pass into the field of one of these + small rents or "fissures" in the galactic curtain--that lying in front of + the stellar cluster--it would immediately show as a star of possibly the + first magnitude, and would continue to shine as a star of that magnitude + so long as it remained in the field of the narrow rent or fissure. It + would shine out suddenly like a star through a rift in the clouds of a + dark night, and disappear as soon as it had traversed, or apparently + traversed, the rift in question. This galactic curtain, it should be borne + in mind, is made up of 18,000,000 of stars, or sun-systems, and not less + than 720,000,000 dark cosmical bodies revolving about their respective + centres of gravity. If the "nebular theory" of the universe be true, this + is unquestionably the exact condition of things in the Milky-way. Of the + more distant stars in this crowded galaxy, we can only catch, even in the + telescopic field, mere glints of light as the intervening swarms of + stellar and planetary worlds thicken in the foreground and shut out the + more distant view. It is only through these rents and fissures in this + great galactic curtain that the brighter stellar clusters beyond can ever + be seen; and these glints of far distant light, showing dimly through this + curtain, may account for the peculiar <i>milky</i> appearance of the + galaxy, arising from the loss of chromatic power in the full beams + themselves. It was undoubtedly through one of these rents in the galactic + curtain that the condensed starry cluster of Tycho Brahe suddenly made its + appearance in the outer fringes of the Milky-way, and remained visible for + a period of seventeen months. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Life: Its True Genesis, by R. W. 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