Uni] AND SYMBOLS. 371 



universe are many, and they address us through many symbols. 

 A reptile's accidental footprint, made many thousands of years 

 ago, becomes to-day a sort of telephone whereby a remote age 

 tells us part of its strange story. E. 



Similarity is no Guarantee of Union. 



Why is it that the polar and equatorial waters should appear 

 now to divide and now to be divided ? The Gulf Stream has 

 revealed to us a fact in which the answer is involved. We 

 learn from that stream that cold and warm sea-waters are in a 

 measure like oil and vinegar ; that is, there is among the particles 

 of sea-water at a high temperature and among the particles of 

 sea-water at a low temperature, a peculiar molecular arrange- 

 ment that is antagonistic to the free mixing up of cold and hot 

 together. At any rate, that salt-waters of different tempera- 

 tures do not readily intermingle at sea is obvious. In fact, it 

 often happens throughout this world that similarity is no 

 guarantee of union. In matters of human opinion the currents 

 often run side by side, and seem in all respects similar to each 

 other ; yet they will not unite. This is very noticeable in the 

 various Christian denominations, whose professions are often so 

 similar as to make the difference between them difficult of 

 detection ; yet they will not unite. There is a religious gulf 

 stream, and hence similarity without union. T. 



Unity of Essence in Variety of Form. 



Literally, allotropism or allotropicity, when translated into 

 plain English, is a very startling thing indeed ; meaning, says 

 Dr. Scroffern, little else than expression of the fact, or rather 

 belief that some one thing may be some other thing, and yet 

 remain the same thing. Here is an illustration. Everybody 

 knows that the diamond to look at is very different from a lump 

 of charcoal to look at, and both different from a piece of black- 

 lead. This is physically evident; yet chemistry, apply it as 

 we may, only proves that the diamond, charcoal, and black-lead 

 are one and all carbon. If a diamond be actually burned in 

 oxygen gas, carbonic acid results ; the very same gas we obtain 

 by the combustion of charcoal in a stove. More evidence : by 



