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TEE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY.— SUPPLEMENT. 



Here we have our general principle for the inter- 

 nal cosmos, the world of our own actions. 



What, now, is our principle for the external 

 cosmos ? We consider here again not a statical 

 thing, but a vast series of events. We want to 

 contemplate, not the nature of the external uni- 

 verse as it now is, but the history of its changes ; 

 not a perpetual cycle of similar events, with 

 nothing new under the sun, but a drama whose 

 beginning is different from its middle, and the 

 middle from the end. For practical purposes, 

 which are what concern us, the solar system is a 

 quite sufficient cosmos. We have certainly a 

 history of it furnished to us by the nebular hy- 

 pothesis ; and the truth of this hypothesis is a 

 matter of practical interest, because the failure 

 of the inferences on which it is founded would 

 modify our actions very considerably. Still the 

 great use of it is to show that the life upon the 

 earth must have been evolved from inorganic 

 matter ; for the evolution of life is that part of 

 the history of the cosmos which directly concerns 

 us. Now here we have the enormous series of 

 events which bridges over the gulf between the 

 smallest of colloid matter and the human organ- 

 ism ; this is our external cosmos. Must we leave 

 it as a series of events ? or can we find a general 

 principle by which the series shall be represented 

 as a single event constantly going on ? Clearly 

 we can, for the single event is a mode of ac- 

 tion which distinguishes organic from inorganic 

 things, and makes organic things more organic. 

 We may regard this mode of action as the gen- 

 erating principle which has produced all the life 

 upon the earth. 



We arrive thus at a common principle, which 

 at once distinguishes good actions from bad in 

 the internal world, and which has created the 

 external world so far as it is living. This prin- 

 ciple is, then, a fit object for cosmic emotion if 

 we can only get rid of the vagueness of its defi- 

 nition. And it has this great advantage, that it 

 does not need to be personified for poetical pur- 

 poses. For we may regard the result of this mode 

 of action, extended over a great length of time, 

 as in some way an embodiment of the action it- 

 self. In this way the human race embodies in 

 itself all the ages of organic action that have gone 

 to its evolution. The nature of organic action, 

 then, is to personify itself, and it has personified 

 itself most in the human race. 



But before we go further two things must be 

 remarked : First, the very great influence of life 

 in modifying the surface of the earth, so great as 

 in many cases to be comparable to the effects of 



far ruder changes. Thus, we have rocks com- 

 posed entirely of organic remains, and climate 

 changed by the presence or absence of forests. 

 Secondly, although we have restricted our cosmos 

 to the earth in space, and to the history of life 

 upon it in time, there is no necessity to maintain 

 the restriction. For we must suppose that or- 

 ganic action will always take place when the ele- 

 ments which are capable of it are present under 

 the requisite physical conditions of temperature, 

 light, and environment. It is, therefore, in the 

 last degree improbable that it is confined to our 

 own planet. 



In this principle, therefore, we must recognize 

 the mother of life, and especially of human life, 

 powerful enough to subdue the elements, and yet 

 always working gently against them ; biding her 

 time in the whole expanse of heaven, to make 

 the highest cosmos out of inorganic chaos ; the 

 actor, not of all the actions of living things, but 

 only of the good actions ; for a bad action is one 

 by which the organism tends to become less or- 

 ganic, and acts for the time as if inorganic. 



To this mother of life, personifying herself in 

 the good works of humanity, it seems to me that 

 we may fitly address a splendid hymn of Mr. 

 Swinburne's, whose meaning if I mar or mistake 

 by such application, let the innocency of my in- 

 tent plead for pardon with one into whose work 

 it is impossible to read more or more fruitful 

 meaning than he meant in the writing of it : 



"Mother of man's time-traveling- generations, 



Breath of his nostrils, heart-blood of his heart, 

 God above all gods worshiped of all nations, 

 Light above light, law beyond law, thou art. 



" Thy fare is as a sword smiting in sunder 



Shadows, and chains, and dreams, and iron things ; 

 The sea is dumb before thy face, the thunder 

 Silent, the skies are narrower than thy wings. 



"All old gray histories hiding thy clear features, 

 O secret spirit and sovereign, all men's tales, 

 Creeds woven of men thy children and thy creatures, 

 They have woven for vestures of thee and for veils. 



"Thine hands, without election or exemption, 



Feed all men fainting from false peace or strife, 

 O thou, the resurrection and redemption, 



The godhead and the manhood and the life." 1 



Still our conception is very vague. We have 

 only said, " Good action has created the life of the 

 world, and in so doing has personified itself in 

 humanity ; so we call it the mother of life and of 

 man." And we have defined good action to be 

 that which makes an organism more organic. 



J " Songs before Sunrise." 



