HOMOGENISM AND HETEROGESISM. 99 







134. Nothing whatsoever is, throughout, of one and 

 the same kind to that absolute degree that no dif- 

 ferences can be discovered in its various parts ; and 

 nothing is, on the other hand, so composed of dif- 

 ferences that no common ground of sameness or simi- 

 larity can be found to exist between the parts. But, 

 relatively, or in Preponderance, some objects are 

 Uniform, that is to say they are nearly uniform in 

 their composition and in all their parts, as Water or 

 the Air, for instance ; and other objects are highly 

 complex, as, for instance, the Human Body, or an 

 Edifice, the Mind of Man, Human Society (with all 

 its manifold interests) and the like. It is this dif- 

 ference between objects as Simple or Uniform, and 

 as Complex or Multiform, especially in respect to 

 the Substances of which they are composed, which is 

 intended, in Science, by the terms Homogeneous and 

 Heterogeneous. The terms U/idi/ferentiated and Dif- 

 ferentiated have similar meanings, but may perhaps 



tend to apply rather to Forms than to Substances. 



135. Even the same word may be differently used 

 to mean at one time, the Homogeneous Aspect of an 

 object, and at another time, the Heterogeneous As- 

 pect. For instance, if we speak of Earth as a sub- 

 stance, as when we say Earth, Air, fire and Water, 

 we assign to it a Homogeneous character, leaving it 

 unlimited (or nearly so), even in our thoughts, in re- 

 spect to shape or form, or the lines of difference, be- 

 tween its Component Parts ; but if we speak of Earth 

 or the Earth, meaning the planet which has that name, 

 we have before the mind a heterogenized or highly dif- 



