matter.
The point we wish you to consider now, is that we must separate the Mass into its constituents – its Molecules, Atoms, and even Corpuscles – in our search for the Life in the Mineral and Chemical World. If there is Life in the Mass, there must be life in the Molecule, Atom, or Corpuscle. Now, do we find it there? Certainly, for the tiniest Atom manifests its Attractive Power, and not only does it draw other atoms to itself by virtue thereof, but it even goes a step further, and shows a "preference" – a degree of "liking" in its mutual relations with other atoms.
We shall see, in future chapters, that there is "desire," "love," "marriage," and "divorce" among the chemical Atoms. We shall consider the flirtations, and love-affairs of certain Atoms. We shall see how an Atom will leave another, and fly to a new charmer. We shall have many evidences of the Atom's power to receive sensations, and to respond to the same. Nothing "dead" about this, is there? The Atom is "very much alive." The Attraction; Affinity; and Motions, of the Atom, give a certain evidence of something "very much like Life," as we see it in higher forms. In the Atom exists all the Life that causes crystallization. And in the Atom lies that which causes Force and Motion to manifest. Verily, the Atom lives and moves and has its being.
And, so our journey is ended – we have traced Life to its last stages of manifestations – and we have found it there, and at each step of the journey. But, stop, we have not completed our journey – we have but begun it. "Why," some of us may cry, "how can we go back of the Atom, or Electron?" The answer is "INTO THE ETHER"!
Yes, back of the Atom and the Corpuscle, is said by Science to lie that wonderful, paradoxical Something they call The Universal Ether – that Something that Science has considered the Womb of Matter and Force – Something that is different from Anything ever known or dreamed of by Man, – that Something which Science has labored so diligently to build up, and which it has used as an "explanation" for so much phenomena, but regarding which, of very recent date, there has begun to grow a distrust and a suspicion, owing to the discovery of Radiant Matter, and things that followed in its train. But, notwithstanding these shadowy suspicions, Science still asserts in belief in the constancy and integrity of The Ether, and it behooves us to investigate that wonderful region in which it dwells, in order to see whether Life and Mind are also to be found there. We think that, in the words of the street, we shall find that they are "very much there."
And, so in later chapters of this book, we shall consider the Etherial Region very fully. But before doing so, we had better give Substance and Motion, in all their forms, a careful consideration, for a correct understanding of them is vitally necessary for an intelligent conception of the ideas underlying the philosophy to be herein set forth.
Now, pray do not leave this chapter with the belief that the writer has said that the Particles of Inorganic Substance are endowed with Conscious reasoning powers. Nothing of the kind has been said – nothing of the kind is meant. The Life and Mind evidenced in the Particles are but the faintest glimmerings. There is no sign of "consciousness" or "reasoning" – the Mind exhibited is less than that of the plant, yes, less than even that of the cell of the plant. The Life is evidenced by power to move, and the Mind is evidenced by the ability to receive impressions and to respond to the same by evidencing Force and movement.
There is no evidence of "consciousness" or "understanding" in these mental processes. Consciousness is not an essential attribute of Life or Mind-action. In fact, but a small part of even the Mentation of Man is performed in the field of consciousness. Nearly all of his bodily functions are beneath the field of consciousness – one does not consciously regulate the beating of his heart; the circulation of his blood; the digestion and assimilation of his food; the tearing-down and building-up work of the cells; the work of the organs, etc., etc. Yes, these processes are all mental processes, and far from mere "mechanical movements," or chemical processes, as some imagine. Let the spark of Life leave the body, and the processes stop, although all the chemicals are still there, and the "mechanical movements" might go on unhindered.
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