COSMIC PHILOSOPHY 



no corresponding adjustment established in the 

 organism. The cases are like that of the child 

 who ignorantly drinks a sweet poison, or satis- 

 fies its desire for muscular activity by climbing 

 out of the window. The dynamic theory of life 

 does not imply the preexistence of internal rela- 

 tions answering to all possible external relations. 

 Were it so, life would be complete from the 

 outset. For new emergencies there have to be 

 new adjustments. Now manifestly if the whole 

 race of moths could be made to live among 

 lighted candles, one of two things must happen 

 — either there must be generated a tendency 

 to avoid the candles, or the race must be ex- 

 terminated. If an animal migrates to a district 

 where poisonous herbs abound, its existence 

 can be maintained only on one of two condi- 

 tions : if it be low in intelligence, a disagreea- 

 ble taste must be generated, so that the nox- 

 ious food will be instantly rejected, or the odour 

 must become offensive, so that the taste will be 

 forewarned ; but if the animal be possessed of 

 high intelligence, like a bird or mammal, it will 

 be enough if the dangerous object is identified 

 by smell or taste, or even by vision or touch, 

 while along with the recognition there occurs 

 an ideal representation of danger. Hence it is 

 not necessary to the maintenance of a race like 

 mankind that all poisons should be bitter, or 

 that injurious actions, newly tried, should pain- 

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