THE EVOLUTION OF SYMMETRY 219 



Of these three the most important is undoubtedly the 

 first — the Force of Gravity. Through its action this globe 

 first took shape, and to its continued action may be attributed 

 not only the evolution of inorganic, but also of living matter. 

 Whatever moulding Environment may do in other ways 

 than through the force of Gravity has to be done in sub- 

 servience to this force ; and this must always have been 

 so. And the result, as a contribution to the equilibrium 

 of personality, is maintained with Gravity's assistance, or 

 in the face of its action. 



In evolving this material world, and all within it, as so 

 many different works of Continuity, Gravity, however, 

 inevitably brought into action innumerable force-manifesta- 

 tions whose action as often as not opposed its direct pull. 

 Thus, the intensification of Continuity resulting in the 

 formation of the various elements with their different atomic 

 weights is fundamentally responsible for the varying density 

 of Matter, varying degrees of terrestrial attractability, and 

 even for induced terrestrial repulsion. So it is that the 

 cork or the air-bubble moves away from the earth to the 

 surface of the water, and so it is that Gravity constantly 

 defeats itself. In fact, the movement eternally associated 

 with Life, as well as that of the electron in its orbit, may 

 have its basis in Gravity's constant contest with itself. 



In spite of this, Gravity is dominantly an attracting 

 force ; one which directly draws and binds objects to the 

 earth, and compresses them by the pull it exerts on their 

 superincumbent atmosphere, aqueous or aerial. As it is 

 certain that all the road of Continuity's evolution up to 

 Segmental Continuity took place in aqueous environment, 

 we are thus bound to recognise what an important compress- 

 ing factor water-pressure must have been in the evolution 

 of the successive Individual types. 



The three chief ways in which Gravity could affect living 

 development are thus : (1) As a force directly attracting 

 towards the earth's surface ; (2) as a vertically and laterally 

 compressing force by means of the direct pull it exerted 

 on the developing organism's overlying atmosphere — in 

 other words, as water-pressure. This would come into 

 play when the organism's density was greater than that 

 of the water. (3) As a force repelling away from the earth's 



