PREFACE. 



In a work lately published under the title oi^'' Proteus; 

 or^ the Law of Nature" I have endeavoured to realize 

 that unity, or t6 ev^ which is said to ensoul the diver- 

 sities of things, and bind them together in one. I 

 have traced this principle in plant and animal, not 

 merely as a vague generality, but as pervading the 

 entire structure from a simple organ to a perfect 

 organism, and from the complicated nervous, vascular, 

 or osseous systems, to the more rudimentary parts of 

 the economy. I have traced, also, the same principle 

 into inorganic bodies; so that in relation to form, 

 we may conclude that there is one archetypal law in 

 all created things, whether animate or inanimate. 

 Heat, light, chemical affinity, electricity, motion, and 

 other physical agencies, have also been found to be 

 connected with each other, and with the more recon- 

 dite vital influences, as correlative aspects of one 

 central force ; so that the unity of creation is reflected 

 in force as well as form. And finally, this principlef 



