374 THE B10COSMOS PARTICULARIZED. 



ets and probably the stars. Terrestrial Form 

 can be regarded then, as a primeval act of 

 the Cosmos, the first individual of Nature. 

 On the surface of the Earth we may notice 

 the same characteristic in the falling rain- 

 drops, -which are rounded. (On Matter and 

 Motion of the Cosmos, see Cosmos and Dia- 

 eosmos, p. 39, etc.) The body of Earth-life 

 differs in shape, accordingly, from Plant- 

 life and Animal-life, which show a cylindrical 

 tendency. All, however, strive toward a cer- 

 tain rotundity of shape. 



We have already spoken of the norm of 

 the Plant and the Animal, which is impressed 

 upon all individuals, however varied they may 

 be. Earth-life has also its norm as a whole, 

 the invariable and universal one of Nature; 

 reaching back to the early Cosmos. This 

 norm of Earth-life we may, therefore, deem 

 the cosmical norm. 



1. The Earth-organism as a ivhole. Motion 

 is, then, a primal element of the Earth's 

 material Form, shaping it and keeping it 

 shaped. In other words, terrestrial Form 

 must be perpetually reproduced by Motion. 

 In fact, we can discern three main kinds of 

 terrestrial Motion: first is axial, which may 

 be deemed its own specially, as self-revolu- 

 tion; second is orbital, which acknowledges 

 and obeys an outside power, the sun; third 



