8 THE FITNESS OF THE ENVIRONMENT 



such exist. Clearly it is well to seek among 

 these data for a more precise formulation of 

 the problem, which may then perchance lead 

 to some more ambitious quest, or at least to 

 new understanding of the old failure. 



Ill 



THE ENVIRONMENT 



The world of our senses is a world of matter 

 and energy, space and time. After centuries 

 of philosophical and scientific study, these, 

 the very logical elements of science, are no 

 doubt still without a final description. None 

 the less is there sound foundation for the 

 belief that our preliminary accounts of all 

 four possess completeness in some respects 

 and for certain purposes. Nor are we to-day 

 less confident of the finality of some of our 

 ideas regarding the nature of life and the vital 

 processes, as they exist in this world. But 

 both of these conclusions call for further 

 consideration. 



A 



MATTER 



Many facts contribute to the belief, uni- 

 versal among chemists, that the known ele- 

 ments constitute by far the greatest part of 



