CHAPTER XX 



INFINITE VARIETY THE LAW OF THE UNIVERSE CONCLUSION 



Throughout the present work I have liad occasion to call 

 attention to the endless diversity that characterises both organic 

 and inorganic nature. In a previous work, Man's Place in the 

 Universe, I was impressed by the diversity which the new 

 astronomy had shown to exist throughout the stellar universe. 

 Since that book was written such remarkable advance has been 

 made in relation to the nature of matter itself, as to constitute 

 almost a new science. It seems desirable, therefore, to say a 

 few words here upon the whole question of the variety and 

 complexity of every part of the material universe in its rela- 

 tion to man as an intellectual and moral l:)eing, thus summaris- 

 ing the whole aim and tendency of the present work. 



It will, I think, be most instructive to follow the same order 

 as I have adopted in the present volume, of showing how each 

 kind of variety and complexity that presents itself to us can 

 be traced back as dependent upon a preceding complexity, 

 usually less obvious and more recently brought to light. Thus, 

 the most obvious of all the diversities in nature is that of the 

 various forms (or kinds) of animals and plants ; whereas the 

 diversities of inorganic nature — stones, rocks, etc., are far less 

 obvious, and were discovered at a much later period. 



The Causes of the Diversity of Life-forms 



Modern research shows us that the immense diversitv of life- 

 forms we now find upon the earth is due to two kinds of causes, 

 the one immediate, the other remote. The iuimediate cause 

 is (as I have endeavoured to show here), the slow but continu- 

 ous changes of the earth's surface ns regards contour, altitude, 

 climate, and distribution of land and water, which successively 



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