CHAPTER VI 



THE CYCLE OF LIFE 



(Feom Bieth through Love to Death) 



'Everg instant sbe commences an immense journeg, anO 

 cverg Instant sbe bas reacbeb ber goal '. * Ibec life is in bet 

 cbilOren' .... 'Ibec cbilOren ace numbetless'. . . . 'Ibec 

 ccown is love '. . . . 'i'®vec gceatness sbe spceaDs bee 

 sbielD'. . . . *2)eatbi6becei'pect OevicetogetplentBotlite'. 



— Goethe's Aphorisms, translated by Huxley. 



The Chirve of Life — The Continuance of Life — The Wonder of 

 Development — Growth — Young Animals — Adolescence — Court- 

 ship among Animals — Parental Care and the Family — Ageing 

 and Senescence — Death — Illustrations of Life-histories — The 

 Story of Niners. 



THE living creature is always changing in its material 

 composition, yet it has a remarkable power of 

 retaining its integrity. This is one of its secrets. It burns, 

 but is not consumed. Besides this, however, it has the 

 power of passing from form to form, from phase to phase — 

 the power of ' cyclical development ', as Huxley caUed it. 

 This is our main theme in this chapter. 



The Curve of Life. — ^Prom a microscopic egg-cell, 

 hidden within the ovule, fertihzed by a pollen-nucleus, 

 an embryo plant develops ; the seed is sown and a seedhng 

 develops ; the seedling becomes a saphng ; this grows into 

 a tree which bears flowers and seeds year after year, it 



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