The Wonder of the World 17 



deal farther, to comprehend perfectly those qual- 

 ities that are in it." 



Over a ploughed field in the summer morning 

 we see the spider-webs in thousands, glistening 

 with dew-drops, and this is an emblem of the in- 

 tricacy of the threads in the web of life to be seen 

 more and more as our eyes grow clear. Or, is not 

 the face of nature like the surface of a gentle 

 stream, where hundreds of dimpling circles touch 

 and influence one another in an intricate com- 

 plexity of action and reaction beyond the ken of 

 the wisest? 



Universal Flux. Another aspect of the world, 

 which cannot be clearly thought of without a feel- 

 ing of wonder, was expressed in the old saying of 

 Heraclitus : Trdvra /5e, all things are in flux. The 

 rain falls; the springs are fed; the streams are filled 

 and flow to the sea; the mist rises from the deep 

 and the clouds are formed, which break again on 

 the mountain-side. The plant captures air, 

 water, and salts, and with the sun's aid, builds 

 them up by vital alchemy into complex sub- 

 stances, incorporating these into itself. The ani- 

 mal eats the plant and a new incarnation begins. 

 All flesh is grass. The animal becomes part of 

 another animal, and the reincarnation continues. 

 The living thing dies and returns to the earth, the 

 bundle of life all broken. The microbes of decay 

 break down the dead, and there is a return to air 



