Man mid the Universe, 295 



Man Is the one point towards which all the rays of 

 light in the physical universe seem to converge. 

 And whatever ray is struck by the searcher foi 

 truth if he follows its direction, man is his ultimate 

 goal. We may believe that this relationship has 

 been established by the direct and repeated inter- 

 ference of Creative Power and Intelligence ; or we 

 may believe, if we can, that it has come from some 

 law of the universe, which from nebulous matter, 

 has evolved all past and present forms of life ; but 

 the fact of rnan's universal relationship still remains. 



We announced, in the beginning of this course, 

 that it was no part of our plan to discuss theories 

 of development, which attempt to account for the 

 origin of the relations among organic beings. We 

 have referred to them, only incidentally. Our work 

 has been, mainly, to find how things are, what the 

 relations are, which the instinctive principles of ac- 

 tion now estabHsh between the animal kingdom and 

 the world around it, and especially, the position of 

 these principles in man. We have found it impos- 

 sible to study these, without showing their relation 

 to every class of powers which man possesses. And 

 so complex is man, — so linked together are all his 

 activities, — they so act together in every effort he puts 

 forth, — that he must be studied as a whole, before any 

 one portion of his nature can be fully tmderstood. 

 Each portion of his nature has relations to the 

 others, and he has relations to the world, upon 

 which his whole activity depends. 



It has unfortunately happened that too many 

 have attempted to study man, without due atten- 



