ORIGIN OF ORGANIC FORMS 323 



the idea of that insignificant chlorophyll granule, wherein 

 takes place the wondrous process of the transformation 

 of the sun's rays into chemical energy, source of all the 

 manifestations of life on our planet : if you see in a flower 

 surrounded by busy insects something more than a curious 

 form, and involuntarily recall the wonderful ties which 

 bind together the two kingdoms of Nature : if, finally, a 

 dense mass of forest thicket or the luxuriant vegetation 

 of a meadow where wild herbs crowd and intertwine, 

 spreading the broad surface of their toothed leaves in the 

 sun, stretching up their narrow blades, coifing round some 

 chosen victim, stretching themselves from its summit to 

 another, everywhere and always manifesting but one 

 and the same tendency to take possession of the largest 

 possible stretch of land, of the greatest amount of air 

 and light — if this familiar everyday picture involuntarily 

 recalls to your mind a whole range of new ideas, of 

 the laws which inevitably and inexorably govern the 

 organic world, leading it on to perfection and harmony — 

 in a word, if a glance at a plant raises an endless file of 

 questions in your mind, questions that demand answers, 

 or better still if the desire comes to you to put these 

 questions to Nature herself and to extort answers from 

 her — I consider that our time has not been wasted, and 

 I feel I may comfort myself with the thought that by 

 affording you in the future some moments of conscious 

 delight in Nature I have the opportunity of repaying, 

 were it only in small measure, the debt of gratitude I 

 owe to your long and indulgent attention. 



