Picture - Cosmic Polymath

200 DESIGN IN NATURE
and, therefore, their volume, but are constant as such. These minute parts of the universal substance, the
centres of condensation, which might be called fyknatoms, correspond in general to the ultimate separate atoms
of the kinetic theory ; they differ, however, very considerably in that they are credited with sensation and inclina-
tion (or will-movement of the simplest form), with ' souls' in a certain sense—in harmony with the old theory of
Empedocles of the ' love and hatred of the elements.' Moreover, these atoms with ' souls ' do not float in empty
space, but in the continuous, extremely attenuated intermediate substance, which represents the uncondensed
portion of the primitive matter. By means of certain constellations, centres of perturbation, or systems of
' deformation,' great masses of centres of condensation quickly unite in immense proportions, and so obtain a
preponderance over the surrounding masses. By that process the primitive substance, which in its original state
of quiescence had the same mean consistency throughout, divides or differentiates into two kinds. The centres
of disturbance, which positively exceed the mean consistency in virtue of the pyJcnosis or condensation, form the
ponderable matter of bodies ; the finer, intermediate substance, which occupies the space between them, and
negatively falls below the mean consistency, forms the ether, or imponderable matter. As a consequence of this
division in the mass and ether there ensues a ceaseless struggle between the two antagonistic elements, and this
struggle is the source of all physical processes. The positive ponderable matter, the element with the feeling of
like or desire, is continually striving to complete the process of condensation, and thus collecting an enormous
amount of potential energy ; the negative, imponderable matter, on the other hand, offers a perpetual and equal
resistance to the further increase of its strain and of the feeling of dislike connected therewith, and thus gathers
the utmost amount of actual energy. The two fundamental forms of substance, ponderable matter and ether,
are not dead, and only moved by extrinsic force, but they are endowed with sensation and will (though, naturally,
of the lowest grade) ; they experience an inclination for condensation, a dislike of strain ; they strive after the
one and struggle against the other.
" There is no such thing as empty space ; that part of space which is not occupied with ponderable atoms is
filled with ether.
" There is no such thing as an action at a distance through perfectly empty space ; all action of bodies upon
each other is either determined by immediate contact or is effected by the mediation of ether. Every shade of
inclination, from complete indifference to the fiercest passion, is exemphfied in the chemical relation of the various
elements towards each other, just as we find in the psychology of man, and especially in the life of the sexes.
This fundamental unity of affinity in the whole of nature, from the simplest chemical process to the most complicated
love story, was recognised by the great Greek scientist, Empedocles, in the fifth century B.C., in his theory of
' the love and hatred of the elements.' Tt receives empirical confirmation from the interesting progress of
cellular psychology, the great significance of which we have only learned to appreciate in the last thirty years. On
those phenomena we base our conviction that even the atom is not without a rudimentary form of sensation and
will, or, as it is better expressed, of feeling {xsthesis) and inclination (tropesis)—that is, a universal '
soul ' of the
simplest character. The same must be said of the molecules which are composed of two or more atoms. Further
combinations of different kinds of these molecules give rise to simple and, subsequently, complex chemical com-
pounds, in the activity of which the same phenomena are repeated in a more compUcated form. One of the first
things to be proved by the law of substance is the basic fact that any natural force can be directly or indirectly
converted into any other. Mechanical and chemical energy, sound and heat, light and electricity, are mutually
convertible ; they seem to be but different modes of one and the same fundamental force or energy. This funda-
mental principle is now generally recognised in the entire province of physics and chemistry, as far as it appHes
to inorganic substances.
" It seems to be otherwise with the organic world and its wealth of colour and form. It is, of course, obvious
that a great part of the phenomena of Ufe may be immediately traced to mechanical and chemical energy, and to
the effects of electricity and fight. For other vital processes, however, especially for psychic activity and con-
sciousness, such an interpretation is vigorously contested. Yet the modern science of evolution has achieved the
task of constructing a bridge between these two apparently irreconcilable provinces. We are now certain that all
the phenomena of organic fife are subject to the universal law of substance no less than the phenomena of the
inorganic universe. The combination of elements which are pecuHar to organisms, and which are responsible for
their vital phenomena, are compound protoplasmic substances, of the group of albuminoids. Organic life itself is
a chemico-physical process, based on the metabolism (or interchange of material) of these albuminoids. The
only element which is capable of building up these compound albuminoids, in combination with other elements
(oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, and sulphur), is carbon. The peculiar chemico-physical properties of carbon—especi-
ally the fluidity and the facility of decomposition of the most elaborate albuminoid compounds of carbon—are the
sole and the mechanical causes of the specific phenomena of movement which distinguish organic from inorganic