tural series lead to fathomless depths, far beyond the 

 reach of human knowledge. And within this world- 

 wide, physico-chemical system, apparently apart 

 from it, but in reality blending with it, and supported 

 by it at every point, are the various series of plant and 

 animal organizations called life. 



Pervading both these living and non-living sys- 

 tems, like a corrosive or consuming atmosphere, is an 

 ever present disorganization; a universal incomplete- 

 ness of administration, and a mocking instability of 

 purpose, where chance creates and chance destroys, or 

 nips in the bud the tender shoots of new-sprung enter- 

 prise. 



But in this universal strife, constructive action al- 

 ways wins, always increases its power by holding on 

 to some of its gains. For evolution, as we can clearly 

 see in retrospect, is not a process of creating something 

 out of nothing; but a process of mutual moulding, giv- 

 ing and receiving, yielding, and advancing into new re- 

 lations, and thereby constructing new things, themselves 

 adjustable to new constructions. It is the finding of the 

 right way through the shifting maze of nature-action, 

 out of a nullifying chaos into a more dynamic order, 

 and the incorporation of its profits into larger units, 

 or individuals. This universal attribute of adaptation 

 is in reality a universal creative tropism, or a turning 

 toward the right ways of constructive action, and using 

 them constructively. 



Nature-life, as a whole, is the resultant product of 

 the mutually adaptive life of plants and animals, high 

 and low, large and small, to one another and to inani- 

 mate nature. From its beginning, nature-life has grown 

 in volume, in security, in power, and in freedom ; but 



