1 1 4 Permanence and Evolution. 



portions, instead of in all imaginable ? Why does 

 every particle of matter gravitate equally ? Why, 

 to sum up, is the world a kosmos and not a 

 chaos ? * That this is so renders physical science 

 possible why this should be so physical science 

 can render no reason. We may either seek an 

 answer elsewhere, in the realm of religion or 

 metaphysics, or we may, with Auguste Comte, 

 pronounce the question unanswerable, and the 

 attempt to solve it simply a waste of the powers 

 of the human mind ; but in any case, it cannot 

 surprise us that the universal principle of har- 

 mony and order which pervades the whole of 

 nature, also permeates the whole of organic life, 

 and is there most perfectly exemplified. Nor 

 ought we, without positive evidence, to call into 

 account for the harmonious analogies found in 



* And if it should at any future time be proved, as some 

 expect it will, that all forms of matter are modifications of one 

 simple element, the question would only recur with increased 

 emphasis ; why does every particle of matter in the universe, at 

 bottom resemble every other particle ? 



