Matter. 55 



parody on human intelligence to designate it great. 

 Truly enough, it contains facts, accurate as facts, and 

 of value as describing a condition of things in the 

 universe ; but it is also devoid of any point which 

 might suggest a vital principle in the combination of 

 matter or afford any clue to material reciprocation and 

 production. A similar classification of mankind might 

 be facetiously advanced as follows : — 



(i) Simple Bodies, Single Men or Bachelors. — 

 Substances or subjects out of whom nothing 

 can be got. 



(2) Compound Bodies, or Married Couples. — Sub- 

 stances or subjects out of whom two or more 

 things can be got. 

 This classification is equally true, equally profound, 

 equally scientific and equally philosophic with the 

 other; but we should scarcely dignify it as great. 

 The really great classification of mankind is as dual 

 or sexual, male and female, the most essential ante- 

 cedent to human reproduction. The question thus 

 comes with added momentum, Would not a similar 

 duality in elementary substance be productive of 

 equally important issues in elementary reciprocation ? 

 From unlimited corroborative • evidence we believe 

 this to be the case, hence we enunciate as one of the 

 fundamentals of the new Materialism that the normal 

 chemical division of the elements into Metallics and 

 Non-Metallics is the bottom classification of matter, 

 the only one with confidence to be designated great. 

 The next query is, Is the above classification 



