352 THE BIOCOSMOS PARTICULARIZED. 



in the future are to attain their completion. 

 Still again we hear that Evolution has passed 

 out of Nature (Physis) and is henceforth to 

 have its chief seat of activity in the Psyche 

 which is to continue in its sphere the work 

 of association already begun in the cell. (See 

 preceding pp. 37-53.) 



The ordering of the animal kingdom in the 

 present field (metazoa) is just now passing 

 through a transitional state of confusion, es- 

 pecially as regards the larger divisions. The 

 older classification into Invertebrates and 

 Vertebrates has been undermined, and there 

 is no system to take its place. Still the Ver- 

 tebrate, though reduced from the first rank 

 to the third rank in scientific gradation, main- 

 tains its authority. That is, the Vertebrate 

 is now subsumed under the Chordate, and 

 this again under the Segmentate, and this 

 again under the Metazoa. The difficulty 

 seems to be that the naturalist has not yet 

 come upon the ruling, or perchance the crea- 

 tive principle of classifying the diverse shapes 

 of the animal world. Enormous has been 

 the advance in the special study of individ- 

 uals, varieties, species; but with this develop- 

 ment of specialization, the science of today 

 shows a lack of generalization. Still the 

 reader ought not to be set down wholly in 

 chaos. What we have been able to think out 



