THE MEANING OF DISSOLUTION 



inevitably follows upon evolution, alike in the 

 history of societies, living things, the earth s sur 

 face, and the earth itself, Spencer is met with the 

 inference that &quot;evolution must come to a close in 

 complete equilibrium or rest,&quot; which, for aught 

 that appears to the contrary, may last indefinitely. 

 This, as we have seen, is the inference of the phys 

 icists. 



But there is no questioning the astronomical evi 

 dence which Spencer quotes, and which has been 

 abundantly confirmed since his time, that evolu 

 tion and dissolution are both proceeding &quot; in many 

 thousands of places throughout our sidereal sys 

 tem.&quot; As far as the visible evidence goes, there is 

 no hint of any imminent full stop, any more than 

 there is of &quot;one far-off divine event to \vhich the 

 whole creation moves.&quot; The conclusion to which 

 Spencer is led is that 



&quot;It is not inferable from the general progress towards 

 equilibrium that a state of universal quiescence or death 

 will be reached; but that if a process of reasoning ends 

 in that conclusion, a further process of reasoning points 

 to renewals of activity and life.&quot; 



It is to this last conclusion that the physics of 

 to-day is trying to find its way ; but whether Spen 

 cer s a priori assertion will or will not be confirmed 

 by the inductive or experimental method we can 

 scarcely yet decide. 



But to return for a moment to the personal ques 

 tion, it is evident that, have it which way we will, 



