266 THE BIOCOSMOS PARTICULARIZED. 



source, the Earth-mother, even if it grows and 

 strives in the opposite direction, toward its 

 Sun-father. So much is suggested by the 

 locomotion of the Animal: it can reproduce 

 its position in spite of the mechanical deter- 

 minism of the Cosmos. Or we may say that 

 the position of the Animal in space is medi- 

 ated by itself, while that of the Plant remains 

 immediate, and keeps its appointed spot, not 

 being able to re-appoint itself to a new posi- 

 tion. 



Such a power pre-supposes in the Animal 

 an inner organic self-control; the organism 

 has to be self-centered in order to lift itself 

 and move about; all the organs must be di- 

 rected from within by one organ more or less 

 centralized; in fact, animals are graded by 

 the possession of this power. Plants on the 

 other hand are essentially decentered within ; 

 each organ is practically autonomous, and can 

 be, under certain conditions, the entire Plant, 

 both in assimilation and reproduction. In the 

 animal organism then, each organ is properly 

 a member of the whole and cannot take the 

 latter 's place, being subordinate and not 

 autonomous - - not independent but interde- 

 pendent. The boundaries between the two 

 sides, however, are not precipitate, but very 

 gradual. Here again we should note the 

 fact of separation in the Animal; it has its 



