HereitwouldnotbeamisstoconsiderthegeneralprincipleofgradationthroughoutorganicNature—aprinciplewhichanswersinageneralwaytotheLawofContinuityintheinorganicworld, orratherissoanalogoustoitthatbothmayfairlybeexpressedbytheLeibnitzianaxiom, , usedtotestmodallawsorhypotheses, , atleastintheorganicworld, —toperceivethattheruleholds, underduequalificationsandalteredforms, throughouttherealmofNature; althoughwedonotsupposethatNatureintheorganicworldmakesnodistinctsteps, butonlyshortandserialsteps—notinfinitelyfinegradations,butnolongleaps, orfewofthem.
, fulfilloppositeofficesand,astothemassofthemaresounlikethatthedifficultyoftheordinaryobserverwouldbetofindpointsofcomparisonWithoutenteringintodetailswhichwouldfillanarticle, wemaysafelysaythatthedifficultywiththenaturalistisalltheotherway—thatallthesebroaddifferencesvanishonebyoneasweapproachthelowerconfinesofthetwokingdoms, , , others, likethesporesandotherreproductivebodiesofmanyofthelowerAlgae, mayequallyclaimtohavefirstacharacteristicallyanimal, ,asinthatofreproduction, whichisreducibletothesameformulainbothkingdoms, whileitexhibitscloseapproximationsinthelowerforms; alsoinacommonorsimilargroundofsensibilityinthelowestformsofboth, acommonfacultyofeffectingmovementstendingtoadeterminateend, tracesofwhichpervadethevegetablekingdom—while, ontheotherhand, thisindefinableprinciple, thisvegetable
"Animulavagula, blandula, Hospescomesquecorporis,"
, howeverwemayexplainit.
