BIO-DYNAMICS 89 



As regards, once more, the problem of involving a species 

 in a new set of special actions and reactions of sufficient 

 permanence and strength to bring about the necessarily slow 

 process of raising its mean state up to the extreme margin in 

 a particular direction, we shall now place our reliance 

 primarily upon those systematic activities which partake most 

 unmistakeably of the character of " work " (such as that of the 

 roots and leaves of a tree, for instance), which manifestly 

 involves Bio-Economics. 



A tree that "works" establishes symbiotics and is of 

 immense bio-economic usefulness. It is not to be wondered at 

 if the web of life in turn confers advantages and 

 "remunerations" upon such a useful member. We have a 

 conspicuous example of return of service in the cross-fertilisa- 

 tion of trees by animal agency, which in view of the advantages 

 it confers all round is a genuine instance of symbiogenesis. 

 The work of the tree, we may say, increases its own capital 

 pari passu with that of the organic world. On the other hand, 

 organisms which do not work are obliged to live on capital, 

 and to encroach upon the rights of others. Again, we cannot 

 be surprised if such specialty of retrograde action must, and 

 does, in fact, entail a specialty of (retrograde) reaction, which 

 may eventually become cumulative and thus disastrous. If 

 in the latter case, the change produced in the negative direc- 

 tion is at first not so obviously rapid as to enable us to 

 distinguish it at a glance from the necessarily slow change 

 going forward in the progressive types, this is only because the 

 bond of a former (slowly accumulated) utility binding together 

 the various parts remains automatically operative for some 

 considerable time, or because, frequently, some kind of utility 

 still remains. " Selbst die Hoelle hat ihre Rechte." Even 

 degeneration has its laws. Once, however, degeneration is 

 well started it develops at a phenomenal rate depravity runs 

 swifter than death, according to Socrates and it then no longer 

 leaves us in doubt as regards its true anti-symbiotic character 

 and its true value in evolution. 



