the Philosophy of System . 369 



they do not fit. Yet, notwithstanding this, many philosophers, 

 nay most, have laboured, and still do labour, to shew the bounda- 

 ries of; science, and to raise barriers between their respective 

 studies, hence widely to demarcate the provinces of nature ; 

 hut^such efforts, as they always have been vain, so they ever 

 \virt prove abortive; for the provinces, as they exist in nature, 

 approach each other at so many points, and are so mutually 

 and reciprocally dependent, that where the one ends and the 

 next begins, it is often impossible to determine. Some per- 

 sons have invented lines, and others circles ; some have 

 adopted numbers to be regularly repeated into themselves, and 

 others have varied these numbers in each successive stage ; 

 some have planned a tree, some traced a group, and some have 

 forged a chain for nature ; but she laughs at such vagaries, 

 nor will she, like the unwary, weary traveller, be maimed to 

 suit Procrustes* iron bed. 



Physically existing beings — although agreeing in the general 



terms of their existence, viz., that they are — present many 



subordinate distinctions among themselves. One realm or 



kingdom is found to be destitute of life and organization, 



whilst in another, life and organization universally prevail ; and 



in a third, existence is believed to be essentially incorporeal 



and immortal. Hence we talk of spiritual beings, of animated 



and of inanimated nature, or of the metorganic, organic, and 



inorganic realms, vide p. 366, fig. 1. The organic realm, 



though universally endowed with life, has this vitality in its 



' several grades, enjoyed in very different degrees. In one 



■ e^ttreme, life in its lowest state is evident ; these beings merely 



'live ; they vegetate, hence their name, vegetables ; or, rather, 



'^-according to Burton, Field, and Butler, vegetals. Next sense, 



in its various degrees, becomes progressively developed, giving 



^ a higher grade of life or animation ; these beings live and 



*^1fe^l';' they are animated, hence their appellation, animals. 



^'Wh§ii t6 ?h^ vegetation of plants, and the sense of animals, 



reason is superadded, the highest stage of mortal organization 



'is ' aWatniM in man, who ranks but " little lower than the 



Sn^MsJ*^ and hence the rational or human grade (vide p. 366, 



ng.*^iy^ '^hfeW ^the spiritual or metorganic realm, of Avhich a 



f^urth'^i- development is' not, for the present considerations, now 



required. . 



