288 On the Subdivisions of Science 



Having discriminated l^etweeu the science of space and 

 time, on the one hand, and the science of the contents of 

 space and time, i. e. the science of natural objects, on the 

 other, the hitter may be divided into the two broad depart- 

 ments of the science of natural objects belonging to the 

 earth and the science of natural objects not belonging to 

 the earth. HiECKEL recognizes this fundamental distinction 

 of cosmology by dividing the latter into uranology, which he 

 defines as the science of nature beyond the earth or the 

 sidereal part of cosmology and pangeology, the science of 

 nature relating to the earth, geology in the widest sense, or 

 the telluric part of cosmology. H^ckel's reason for using 

 the word pangeology, doubtless, is that the restricted sense 

 in which the word geology is ordinarily employed (being 

 defined as that "science which investigates the history 

 of the crust of the earth," instead of eral>racing, as it does 

 etymologically, everything relating to the earth) seemed to 

 him too firmly established to be disturbed. Eather than use 

 jjangeology I would employ tellurology, as Stephen Pearl 

 Andrews does, hybrid though the word be. It of course 

 includes telluric astronomy. As the complement or antithet 

 of geology (or tellurology), I propose the word metageology 

 (or metatellurology) — a term wide enough to include every- 

 thing known of concrete science relating to beyond the earth. 



The more we enter into details of classification the less 

 sharply drawn our lines of demarcation become ; thus, con- 

 crete science relating to the earth concerns either living or 

 unliving existences, hence the divisions of biology and abi- 

 ology, — yet not only is it a matter of great difficulty to 

 determine as to some beings whether they are of exceedingly 

 low vitality or are not alive at all ; but the died (those 

 beings that have been alive, but are so no longer), unliving 

 though the}^ be, must, for convenience' sake, if for no other 

 reason, be classed under the head of biology. The difi'erent 

 subjects ot biology, being either animals, plants, or protists, 

 give rise to the sciences of zoology, vegetology and protist- 



