WHAT IS DARWINISM? 21 



Hylozoic Theory. 



This theory assumes the universe to be eter- 

 nal. There is nothing extra, or antemundane. 

 There is but one substance, and that substance 

 is matter. Matter, however, has an active 

 and passive principle. Life and rationality are 

 among its attributes or functions. The uni- 

 verse, therefore, is a living whole pervaded by 

 a principle not only of life but of intelligence. 

 This hylozoic doctrine, some modern scientific 

 men, as Professor Tyndall, seem inclined to 

 adopt. They tell us that matter is not the 

 dead and degraded thing it is commonly re- 

 garded. It is active and transcendental. What 

 that means, we do not know. The word trans- 

 cendental is like a parabola, in that there is no 

 knowing where its meaning ends. To say that 

 matter is transcendental, is saying there is no 

 telling what it is up to. This habit of using 

 words which have no definite meaning is very 

 convenient to writers, but very much the re- 

 verse for readers. Some of the ancient Stoics 

 distinguished between the active and passive 

 principles in the world, calling the one mind, 

 the other, matter. These however were as 

 intimately united as matter and life in a plant 

 or animal. 



