THE BREATH OF LIFE 



a phase of physics; but the philosophic mind and 

 the trained literary mind will find in "Creative 

 Evolution" a treasure-house of inspiring ideas, and 

 engaging forms of original artistic expression. As 

 Mr. Balfour says, "M. Bergson's 'Evolution Cre- 

 atrice' is not merely a philosophical treatise, it has 

 all the charm and all the audacities of a work of art, 

 and as such defies adequate reproduction." 



It delivers us from the hard mechanical concep- 

 tion of determinism, or of a closed universe which, 

 like a huge manufacturing plant, grinds out vege- 

 tables and animals, minds and spirits, as it grinds 

 out rocks and soils, gases and fluids, and the inor- 

 ganic compounds. 



With M. Bergson, life is the flowing metamorpho- 

 sis of the poets, — an unceasing becoming, — and 

 evolution is a wave of creative energy overflowing 

 through matter "upon which each visible organism 

 rides during the short interval of time given it to 

 live." In his view, matter is held in the iron grip of 

 necessity, but life is freedom itself. "Before the 

 evolution of life . . . the portals of the future remain 

 wide open. It is a creation that goes on forever in 

 virtue of an initial movement. This movement con- 

 stitutes the unity of the organized world — a prolific 

 unity, of an infinite richness, superior to any that 

 the intellect could dream of, for the intellect is only 

 one of its aspects or products." 



What a contrast to Herbert Spencer's view of life 



15 



