MATTER AND LIFE FROM WITHIN 77 



into the structure of compounds by the methods 

 of stereo-chemistry offer a solid foundation for 

 work along this line. But imagine a molecule of, 

 say, quinine, consisting of twenty atoms of carbon, 

 twenty-four of hydrogen, two of nitrogen, and two 

 of oxygen, arranged in groups and sub-groups, the 

 whole molecule a veritable phalanx of stars, the 

 suns swaying in gentle oscillations or slow orbits, 

 the planets darting round as if to preserve the 

 integrity of the empire of their central luminary, 

 the whole system ablaze with light and astir with 

 motion, a piece of stellar architecture besides 

 which Orion is without form and void; and this 

 molecule built into a gorgeous system of a trillion 

 units of like structure, all of which go to make up 

 a single grain of the crystalline powder we know to 

 be the invaluable antidote to the fevers of the 

 tropical forest. 



A somewhat less imposing spectacle would be 

 presented to an infra-man who takes his stand on 

 an electron inside a copper wire, and waits till the 

 current was turned on. The sky would not only 

 be ablaze with stars, he would be surrounded on 

 all sides with suns, and his electron would be at 

 a loss to know to which sun it owned allegiance. 

 It would revolve for a thousand infra-years, perhaps, 

 round one particular copper atom ; then it would 

 spend two or three months running free, and would 

 eventually be drawn into the power of another of 



