72 ANDREW JACKSON HOWE. 



organism, and futility as the forerunner of disability 

 and extinction, or death. To have this doctrine car- 

 ried out there must be purposive elements in all or- 

 ganic operations. This idea takes us back to the 

 beginning of things, where, according to the essence 

 of Darwinism, the primitive manifestation of life was 

 made. And it does not alter the plan, or modify 

 the hypothesis, whether it be supposed that vivified 

 protoplasm was the primary combination of vitality 

 and substance, or that a simple cell represents the or- 

 ganic starting point. Begin the Darwinian scheme 

 of life as we may, we have to presume that the forces 

 of the mineral world, such as gravitation, attraction, 

 repulsion, and other attributes of inorganic matter, 

 were once competent, when favorably displayed upon 

 "the physical basis of life," to start the vital machine 

 to inaugurate a beginning in living operations though 

 they had never accomplished any thing of the kind be- 

 fore. Previous to this departure the same potencies 

 had been engaged in evolving sidereal systems and de- 

 termining the planes and angles of crystals. In so 

 doing these potencies had acted in a general way, no 

 specific object or end being in view; and after the 

 earth was accidentally or purposely ready for the re- 

 ception of living beings, the forces referred to, oper- 

 ating upon impressible matter, began to act strongly 

 and specifically by imparting form and function to an 

 entirely new class of products to germs instead of 

 crystals to structures possessed of functions operated 

 independently of inorganic forces. The introduction 

 of new forms with novel forces upon earth must have 

 been revolutionary in character, and the most astound- 

 ing change that ever occurred in the universe, unless 



