CHAPTER III 



THE iNSUEGENCE OF LIFE 



(The Circumvention of Space and the Conquest 

 OF Time) 



' Sbe is tbc onlg artist ; wocf!lng=up tbc most uniform 

 material Into utter opposltes ; arriving, witbout a trace of 

 effort, at perfection, at tbe most ejact precision, tbougb 

 alwags velle& unDer a certain softness. . . .' 



'Sbe is all tblngs. . , . sbe is rougb an& tenOer, lovely 

 anJ) batcful, powerless an& omnipotent. . . .' 



'Sbe is cunning, but for gooO en&s; anD it is best not to 

 notice ber trlcfjs. . . .' 



'a:be one tbing sbe seems to aim at is JnblplDualitB ; set 

 sbe cares notblng for InDiviDuals. Sbe is always bullDlng 

 up an& Oestroging; but ber worfisbop is inaccessibie.' 



— Goethe's Aphorisms, translated by Huxley. 



Productivity — Pilling every niohe — Difficult Conditions — Tenacity 

 of Life — Plasticity — The Biology of the Seasons — Migration 

 as an Instance of Insurgenoe. 



IN many of its familiar expressions life seems to be an 

 extraordinarily delicate form of activity — easily 

 disturbed and spoilt and ended. A little quickening of tbe 

 rate of metabolism, and life's fitful fever is over. A sligbt 

 lack of barmony in tbe internal laboratory, and tbe bappy 

 cbild becomes a cretin. A pin-prick below tbe tbumb- 

 nail wben be was planting seedUngs and tbe robust 

 gardener dies of lockjaw. An unusually cold night and two 



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