62 Social Environment 



From the standpoint of its evolution life 

 begins with the crystal. Here, from the hid- 

 den sources of energy, formless matter takes 

 form in straight lines which, broken or re- 

 directed, produce a complexity of geometrical 

 forms. These forms in their completest devel- 

 opment predict in miniature the outward shapes 

 of higher types of life. As if broken down 

 by endless clashing, the life energy next appears 

 as protoplasm, which flows into the curving 

 exterior of the cell, and from that into worm 

 and fish, reptile and beast, bird and man, as 

 the compressing forces of the environment 

 allow. The varied lines of growth, striking 

 out in their effort to use and master the en- 

 vironment, clash in strife. Some disappear, 

 others survive only as a food supply for supe- 

 rior types, while still others become the source 

 of new energy that makes of their descendants 

 higher creations. In spite of the anarchy of 

 conflict. Nature reveals her inner spirit in 

 beauty of form, rhythm of motion, and har- 

 mony of flower and song. Even in its pre- 

 human stages, life is not comprehended when 

 it is seen as a mechanical process of conflict 

 with survival of chance-adapted individuals. 

 We are nearer to the heart of things when 



