TJie Earth. 45 



tween instinctive and rational acts, even using the 

 word rational in its lowest sense. 



All the agencies from gravitation to Instinct, as 

 thus far defined, are parts of one plan, and they all 

 do the work of Intelligence as much as Instinct it- 

 self; that is, a work that in the end is approved by 

 man — the highest Intelligence on the globe. 



That we may see that Instinct is nothing pecu- 

 liar as to its method of action, we shall briefly trace 

 the action of the agencies below it that are condi- 

 tional for its work. And we therefore invite your 

 attention to a brief examination of the first two 

 topics of the program presented at the close of our 

 last lecture. 



TJie operations in inorganic nature and plant life 

 that simulate histijict. 



It was the notion of some formerly that the 

 earth was a living thing. The balmy breezes and 

 the storms, the ceaseless tides that mark the chang- 

 ing level of the oceans, and the earthquakes rending 

 the solid ground, were all the living movements of 

 this huge Behemoth, the earth. This poetic notion 

 has no place in the prosaic, scientific beliefs of the 

 present day ; though there was such a semblance 

 of truth as its foundation, that much of its lan- 

 guage and something of its impression still remains 

 even with the most cultivated. In figurative lan- 

 guage we speak of the earth as our mother, and 

 there is significance in the language as we come 

 from her bosom, enjoy the boundless provision 

 which she has made for our wants, and then are 

 gathered to her peaceful rest. But it is only in po- 



