﻿50 
  THE 
  REALM 
  OF 
  ORGANISMS 
  CONTRASTED 
  

  

  be 
  said 
  that 
  a 
  mechanical 
  summing 
  up 
  of 
  even 
  not-living 
  

   occurrences 
  is 
  necessarily 
  exhaustive. 
  Nor 
  can 
  we 
  speak 
  

   with 
  satisfactory 
  precision 
  of 
  the 
  ' 
  physical 
  order 
  ' 
  , 
  for 
  living 
  

   creatures 
  are 
  also 
  physical 
  systems, 
  though 
  more; 
  and 
  the 
  

   phrase 
  f 
  purely 
  physical 
  J 
  is 
  again 
  question-begging. 
  

  

  So 
  let 
  us 
  call 
  it 
  all 
  from 
  the 
  solar 
  system 
  to 
  the 
  dew-drop 
  

   the 
  inorganic 
  domain. 
  We 
  cannot 
  hold 
  it 
  rigidly 
  apart 
  

   from 
  living 
  organisms, 
  for 
  it 
  is 
  continually 
  undergoing 
  mod- 
  

   ification 
  at 
  their 
  hands. 
  Parts 
  of 
  it 
  are 
  ever 
  entering 
  into 
  

   the 
  bodies 
  of 
  organisms, 
  and 
  into 
  its 
  repository 
  the 
  disen- 
  

   chanted 
  dust 
  of 
  life 
  is 
  ever 
  returning. 
  We 
  know 
  the 
  inor- 
  

   ganic 
  system 
  of 
  things 
  only 
  in 
  terms 
  of 
  mind, 
  and 
  our 
  first 
  

   adventure 
  of 
  scientific 
  faith 
  is 
  to 
  believe 
  in 
  its 
  external 
  

   reality; 
  yet 
  it 
  looms 
  impressively 
  over 
  us 
  a 
  great 
  dumb 
  

   giant, 
  holding 
  us, 
  even 
  in 
  our 
  defiance, 
  in 
  its 
  grip 
  and 
  bear- 
  

   ing 
  us 
  with 
  it 
  on 
  its 
  stupendous 
  journeying 
  through 
  space. 
  

  

  2. 
  The 
  Characteristic 
  Features 
  of 
  the 
  Realm 
  of 
  Organisms. 
  

  

  Let 
  us 
  begin 
  with 
  an 
  impressionist 
  survey 
  of 
  the 
  realm 
  

   of 
  organisms, 
  and 
  afterwards 
  contrast 
  this 
  with 
  a 
  general 
  

   view 
  of 
  the 
  inorganic 
  domain. 
  It 
  is 
  surely 
  a 
  magnificent 
  

   spectacle 
  that 
  the 
  obviously 
  animate 
  presents. 
  What 
  a 
  gamut 
  

   of 
  life 
  from 
  the 
  microscopic 
  Infusorian 
  to 
  the 
  giant 
  whale, 
  

   from 
  the 
  hyssop 
  on 
  the 
  wall 
  to 
  the 
  cedar 
  of 
  Lebanon 
  ! 
  What 
  

   abundance 
  of 
  life 
  is 
  revealed 
  when 
  the 
  dredge 
  comes 
  up, 
  

   or 
  when 
  the 
  insects 
  rise 
  before 
  us 
  in 
  a 
  cloud 
  as 
  we 
  walk 
  

   through 
  the 
  grassland 
  of 
  a 
  warm 
  country. 
  What 
  variety 
  of 
  

   architecture, 
  what 
  abundance 
  of 
  individuality 
  within 
  the 
  

   same 
  style 
  ! 
  All 
  is 
  suggestive 
  of 
  fertile 
  imagination. 
  How 
  

   strong 
  the 
  pressure, 
  as 
  the 
  waves 
  of 
  life 
  surge 
  up 
  against 
  

   their 
  shores; 
  how 
  numberless 
  the 
  hand-and-glove 
  fitnesses; 
  

   how 
  subtle 
  the 
  linkages 
  ; 
  how 
  constant 
  the 
  changef 
  ulness 
  ; 
  

  

  