CHAPTER XX 



INFINITE VARIETY THE LAW OF THE UNIVERSE 



CONCLUSION 



THROUGHOUT the present work I have had occasion to call 

 attention to the endless diversity that characterises both 

 organic and inorganic nature. In a previous work, Man's 

 Place in the Universe, I was impressed by the diversity 

 which the new astronomy had shown to exist throughout 

 the stellar universe. Since that book was written such 

 remarkable advance has been made in relation to the nature 

 of matter itself, as to constitute almost a new science. It 

 seems desirable, therefore, to say a few words here upon the 

 whole question of the variety and complexity of every part 

 of the material universe in its relation to man as an intellec- 

 tual and moral being, thus summarising the whole aim and 

 tendency of the present work. 



It will, I think, be most instructive to follow the same 

 order as I have adopted in the present volume, of showing 

 how each kind of variety and complexity that presents itself 

 to us can be traced back as dependent upon a preceding 

 complexity, usually less obvious and more recently brought 

 to light. Thus, the most obvious of all the diversities in 

 nature is that of the various forms (or kinds) of animals and 

 plants ; whereas the diversities of inorganic nature — stones, 

 rocks, etc., are far less obvious, and were discovered at a 

 much later period. 



The Causes of the Diversity of Life-Form. 



Modern research shows us that the immense diversity of 

 life-forms we now find upon the earth is due to two 

 kinds of causes, the one immediate, the other remote. The 



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