38 PLAIN FACTS FOR OLD AND YOUNG 



and levers by which the hours and minutes are accu- 

 rately measured off, that we begin to appreciate the 

 wonderful ingenuity and skill displayed in this useful 

 mechanism. So it is with the human body. Its beau- 

 tiful and symmetrical exterior excites our admiration; 

 but it is only when we inspect in detail its intricate 

 machinery, its various tissues, organs, and apparatuses, 

 and witness their marvelous processes, that we begin 

 to appreciate the infinite skill and wisdom of the Divine 

 Artist who designed and executed this most marvelous 

 of all created works. 



Microscopic Wonders.— The human eye, when 

 aided by all the other senses, is not able to discern the 

 exceeding delicacy of form and structure which per- 

 vades the entire human form ; and it is only when that 

 adroit revealer of nature's secrets, the microscope, is 

 brought to bear upon each little thread of tissue in the 

 body, that its infinite grace and beauty of structure and 

 marvelous delicacy of form and composition are dis- 

 covered. 



For ages, many of the noblest men have devoted 

 their lives to the study of the ''human form divine," 

 bringing to their aid every appliance afforded by the 

 whole range of art and science, and applying them- 

 selves with untiring energy and patience to the effort 

 of compelling nature to divulge at least a few of the 

 secrets enshrouded in the mystery of human life. 

 Every fiber of the human body has been subjected to 

 the most searching scrutiny of microscopes so power- 

 ful as to make the finest grain of sand equal in appar- 

 ent size to an enormous rock. This mode of studying 

 the body reveals it to us as a community of living, 

 active individuals, which the scientist calls cells. These 

 are gathered into groups called organs. 



