xix.] ASSUMED ASSOCIATION. 263 



processes of development in the different kingdoms of nature. Of 

 course we know that in the organic kingdom evolution always 

 proceeds along many lines ; in the inorganic world the environ- 

 ment was less complex, but to simplify the problem it is per- 

 missible to take one of the simplest that I can think of. 



Let us assume that in a certain very hot star there shall be two 

 substances, which we will call a and b. They will first at the 

 transcendental temperature which I assume, exist as separate 

 entities. The temperature being then reduced, they probably will 

 combine, and, instead of two atoms, a and I, we shall have one 

 group of a + b. If the temperature is still further reduced, we 

 shall get b combining with b ; along that line we shall have a 

 grouping consisting of a + 2 b. Let the same operation be per- 

 formed again, and we shall then have a + 4&; we shall have 

 what we can represent, in short, in chemical language by ab. 

 Now, having got our ab^ having got our temperature reduced, 

 let us assume that ab 2 is now the substance linked on to give 

 a greater complexity, instead of b or 2b merely. We then have 

 this series given in the table. 



TABLE I. 



HYPOTHETICAL SERIES. 

 a b 

 a + b 

 a + bb 

 a 



a G b u 



-j- ab 2 = ...... 



f &i = 



ab = 



4- <*>b 2 = 



