THE PRIMAL MIND 
in no other light, — if the sun is his father and the 
earth his mother as literally as they are the parents 
of all other forms of life, then all that he is or can 
be is latent or potential in nature; then is his human- 
ity, his reverence, his love as much a part of nature 
as are the instincts and the cunning of animals a 
part of nature; then is his literature, his philosophy, 
his art, his religion a part of nature; then is he as 
amenable to biological laws and as truly a subject 
for the natural historian as are the animals; then 
also are all his follies, sins, shortcomings, supersti- 
tions, cruelties, ingratitudes, and the rest a part of 
what we call nature. If not so, then of what are they 
a part? Man is not separated from nature by his 
body; he is dependent upon the material elements 
and forces — upon the air, the water, the soil — to 
the same extent and by virtue of the same organs 
and relations as are all other forms of life. He is 
begotten and nourished like all other animals, and 
he dies as they do. He differs from all others in his 
mental and spiritual equipment, but in view of his 
humble remote ancestry, as seen in the light of pale- 
ontology, and the gradations of intelligence and com- 
plexity of organization between him and them, can 
there be any doubt that these gifts also come out of 
nature? Can there be any doubt that what we must 
call mind pervades at least all organic matter, and, 
potentially, all other forms? 
Where would you have man’s mind come from? 
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