INTRODUCTION. 15 
exists in all its complexity. Before the reader can 
peruse these pages by the light of the midnight 
lamp, or the gay party can indulge their revels 
under the brilliant glare of spermaceti tapers, 
myriads of minute diatoms and conferve, floating 
in the waters of the sea, must have formed a basis 
of subsistence for the whales and seals whose oil is 
employed for these purposes. Man’s own structure 
is nourished and built up by the particles which 
these active plants have rescued from the mineral 
kingdom, and which once circulated through their 
simple cells : and thus the highest and most com- 
plex creature, by a vital sympathy and a close 
physical relation, is connected with the lowest and 
simplest organism, to teach him humility, and in- 
spire him with a deep interest in all the works of 
his Maker! 
It may be asked by a class of individuals, un- 
fortunately too numerous, What is the use of these 
minute plants to us? In the business language of 
the world things are called useful when they pro- 
mote the profit, convenience, or comfort of every- 
day life ; and useless when they do not promote, 
or when they hinder any of these desired ends. 
But this definition is extremely one-sided. There 
are higher purposes to serve in this world than 
mere subservience to the physical wants of man. 
There is a much higher utility than the mere 
