HIS FUNCTIONAL RELATIONS. 89 



civilisation. Where man cannot subdue the forces of 

 nature, they dominate over him ; and just in propor- 

 tion to this victory, so wUl ever be his material and 

 intellectual advancement. 



Already man has investigated and turned to his 

 aid many of the forces of nature, reduced the metallic 

 ores, and constructed machinery of marvellous capa- 

 bilities ; and as he advances we may fairly believe 

 there is no natural force, however subtle or however 

 powerful, that is not destined to come under his 

 mastery and adaptation. It is this power of adapta- 

 tion that marks ia an especial manner the progressive 

 from the declining races of mankind ; and we may 

 safely hold it as a matter of faith, that according to 

 the possession of this power are certain races destined 

 to advance, and others as certainly doomed to extinc- 

 tion. In virtue of his civilisation man extirpates, 

 disseminates, and cultivates plant-life ; extirpates, 

 disseminates, and domesticates animal-life ; and extir- 

 pates or civilises his fellow-men. In his spread over 

 the earth, and as population increases, man must 

 necessarily raise an increased supply of food by arti- 

 ficial means, and thus he cultivates some plants and 

 extirpates others. He also transfers the plants of 

 one region to another, and thus becomes the instru- 

 ment of new distributions and arrangements. The 

 lower animals may occasionally do the same, and on 



