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held to its fellow particles by mutual attraction; and 1 

 there is not a single atom of the earth's substance or of 

 the whole universe that we can say is minus this property 

 of life or activity ; nothing in the universe that we know 

 of ever remains for one moment in a state of rest ; every- 

 thing is constantly moving, and every particle of the 

 whole contributes its own share to the general activity 

 which we term motion or life. The whole universe is a 

 huge manifestation of phenomena, which make up the 

 sum-total of life or activity. The sun rotating on its 

 axis is one form of life ; the moon silently wandering 

 round our planet is another form of life ; the trees and 

 animals growing and multiplying on the land are other 

 forms ; and every lump of ore taken out of the ground 

 and every paving stone in our streets are other forms of 

 life. Every particle of every substance whatever is in a 

 state of continual motion, and therefore full of life. In 

 fact, it is this very motion or life that sustains matter ; 

 for matter could not exist that is, its particles could not 

 hold together, and thus form substance without the life, 

 motion, activity, or whatever we like to term the property 

 which operates upon them and produces mutual cohe- 

 sion. 



Life has always, therefore, been active in matter, and 

 always will be, for life or motion cannot be separated 

 from matter ; and, just as matter has passed from a con- 

 dition of homogeneity to one of heterogeneity, so has 

 life done likewise. Life possesses infinite potentiality, 

 and manifests itself in an infinite variety of ways by 

 means of different combinations, which it brings about in 

 the molecular atoms of universal matter. It acts, for 

 instance, upon a planet by causing its particles to hold 

 together in one mass apart from other bodies of a similar 

 or dissimilar character ; it also acts upon what we un- 

 scientifically call inanimate nature by causing its particles 

 to hold together, forming in one case a stone, in another 

 a metal, etc. ; and it acts upon what we term animated 

 nature by causing its molecules to combine and procreate. 

 This power of attraction and cohesion of particles of 

 universal matter is life, and it depends entirely upon what 

 particular combination of the molecular atoms of univer- 

 sal matter takes place whether a sun, a moon, a planet,. 



