CHANGING IDENTITIES 



There can be no minus without plus. 



There can be no life without death. 



There can be no death without life. 



The sun decomposes that the earth may compose. 



But what is it that says to the sun, ' ' Thou shalt 

 decompose," and to the earth, "Thou shalt grow"? 



This decree we call life. 



Then is all life but a change, and all change but 

 the result of life 



PROPOSITION XIV. 



Life is that power possessed by living identities 

 which enables them to arrange the matter of the 

 Universe into their own identical form. 



To all things which have the power of voluntary 

 motion we concede animal life. 



To all things that reproduce their own form by 

 growth we can observe, we concede plant life. 



Yet every stone is made up of particles, and 

 even stones have a family likeness; many exhibit 

 visible signs of growth namely, crystals and the 

 very fact of particle united with particle in or- 

 dered systematic way argues growth, and growth 

 is the visible sign of life. 



Because we can see no increase of volume in the 

 stone, we hold it to be dead. At least it is dead 

 now. Yet our apple tree does not increase in size 

 during the winter season, and our ox may decrease 

 in bulk and weight, yet both ox and tree are alive. 



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