第39章

Withorwithouttheaccompanimentofthathypothesisofnebularcondensation

whenceitnaturallyfollows，thedoctrinethattheSunisgraduallylosing

hisheat，hasnowgainedgeneralacceptance;andcalculationshavebeenmade，

bothrespectingtheamountofheatandlightalreadyradiated，ascompared

withtheamountthatremains，andrespectingtheperiodduringwhichactive

radiationwillcontinue。Prof。Helmholtzestimatesthatsincethetimewhen，

accordingtothenebularhypothesis，themattercomposingtheSolarSystem

extendedtotheOrbitofNeptune，therehasbeenevolvedbythearrestof

sensiblemotion，anamountofheat454timesasgreatasthatwhichtheSun

stillhastogiveout。Healsomakesanapproximateestimateoftherate

atwhichthisremaining1/464thisbeingdiffused:showingthatdecrease

oftheSun\'sdiametertotheextentof1/10，000wouldproduceheat，atthe

presentrate，formorethan2000years;orinotherwords，thatacontraction

of1/20，000，000ofhisdiameter，sufficestogeneratethelightandheat

annuallyemitted;andthatthusatthepresentrateofexpenditure，theSun\'s

diameterwilldiminishbysomethinglike1/20inthelapseofthenextmillion

years。*<*Seepaper"OntheInter—actionofNaturalForces，"

byProf。Helmholtz，translatedbyProf。Tyndall，andpublishedinthePhilosophical

Magazine，supplementtoVol。XI，inthefourthseries。>Ofcourse

theseconclusionsarebutrudeapproximationstothetruth。Untilquiterecently，

wehavebeentotallyignorantoftheSun\'schemicalcomposition，andeven

nowhaveobtainedbutasuperficialknowledgeofit。Weknownothingofhis

internalstructure;anditisquitepossiblethattheassumptionsrespectingcentraldensity，madeintheforegoingestimates，arewrong。Butnouncertaintyinthedataonwhichthesecalculationsproceed，and

noconsequenterrorintheinferredrateatwhichtheSunisexpendinghis

reserveenergy，militatesagainstthegeneralpropositionthatthisreserveofenergyisbeingexpended，andmustintimebeexhausted。ThuswhiletheSolarSystem，ifevolvedfromdiffusedmatter，hasillustrated

thelawofequilibrationintheestablishmentofamovingequilibrium;and

while，asatpresentconstituted，itillustratesthelawofequilibration

intheperpetualbalancingofallitsmovements;italsoillustratesthis

lawintheseprocesseswhichastronomersandphysicistsinferarestillgoing

on。ThatmotionofmassesproducedduringEvolution，isbeingslowlyrediffused

inmolecularmotionoftheetherealmedium;boththroughtheprogressive

integrationofeachmass，andtheresistancetoitsmotionthroughspace。

Infinitelyremoteasmaybethestatewhenalltherelativemotionsofits

massesshallbetransformedintomolecularmotion，andallthemolecular

motiondissipated;yetsuchastateofcompleteintegrationandcomplete

equilibration，isthattowardswhichthechangesnowgoingonthroughouttheSolarSysteminevitablytend。§172。Asphericalfigureistheonewhichcanaloneequilibratethe

forcesofmutually—gravitatingmolecules。Ifanaggregateofsuchmolecules

rotates，theformofequilibriumbecomesaspheroidofgreaterorlessoblateness，

accordingtotherateofrotation;andithasbeenascertainedthattheEarth

isanoblatespheroid，divergingjustasmuchfromsphericityasisrequisite

tocounterbalancethecentrifugalforceconsequentonitsvelocityround

itsaxis。Thatistosay，duringtheevolutionoftheEarth，therehasbeen

reachedanequilibriumofthoseforceswhichaffectitsgeneraloutline。

TheonlyotherequilibrationwhichtheEarthasawholecanexhibit，isthe

lossofitsrotation;andthatanysuchlossisgoingonwehavenodirect

evidence。Ithasbeencontended，however，byProf。Helmholtzandothers，

thatinappreciableasmaybeitseffectwithinknownperiodsoftime，the

frictionofthetidalwavemustbediminishingtheEarth\'smotionroundits

axis，andmusteventuallydestroyit。Nowthoughitseemsanoversightto

saythattheaxialmotioncanthusbedestroyed，sincetheextremeeffect，

tobereachedonlyininfinitetime，wouldbeanextensionoftheEarth\'s

daytothelengthoflunation;yetitseemsclearthatthisfrictionofthe

tidalwaveisarealcauseofdecreasingrotation。Slowasitsactionis，

wemustrecognizeitsretardingeffectasexemplifying，underanotherform，

theuniversalprogresstowardsequilibrium。（*）

tidalfrictionistodecreasetherateofrotation，thestill—continuedcontraction

oftheEarthhastheeffectofincreasingit。How。thedifferencebetweentheseconflictingeffectsistobeascertaineditisnoteasytosee。>ItisneedlesstoshowindetailhowthosemovementswhichtheSun\'srays

generateintheairandwaterontheEarth\'ssurface，andthroughthemin

theEarth\'ssolidsubstance，（*）

ofAstronomyonanotherquestion，Iwasnotawarethatsofarbackas

1833，SirJohnHerschelhadpointedoutthat"thesun\'sraysarethe

ultimatesourceofalmosteverymotionwhichtakesplaceonthesurfaceof

theearth。"Heexpresslyincludesgeologic，meteorologic，andvital

actions;asalsothosewhichweproducebythecombustionofcoal。>one

andallteachthesamegeneraltruth。Evidentlythewindsandwavesandstreams，

aswellasthedenudationsanddepositionstheyeffect，illustrateonagrand

scale，andinendlessmodes，thatgradualdissipationofmotionsdescribed

inthefirstsection，andtheconsequenttendencytowardsabalanceddistribution

offorces。Eachofthesesensiblemotions，produceddirectlyorindirectly

byintegrationofthoseinsensiblemotionscommunicatedfromtheSun，becomes

dividedandsubdividedintomotionslessandlesssensible;untilbygradual

orsuddenarrestofeach，andproductionofitsequivalentinmolecularmotion，

thereisanescapeofitintospaceintheshapeofthermalundulations。

Intheirtotality，thesecomplexmotionsconstituteadependentmovingequilibrium。

Aswebeforesawthereistraceablethroughoutthemaninvolvedcombination

ofrhythms。Theunceasingcirculationofwaterfromtheoceantotheland

andfromthelandbacktotheocean，isatypeofthesevariouscompensating

actionswhich，inthemidstofalltheirregularitiesproducedbytheirmutual

interferences，maintainanaverage。Andinthis，asinotherequilibrations

ofthethirdorder，weseethattheenergyeverincourseofdissipation，

iseverrenewedfromwithout:therisesandfallsinthesupplybeingbalanced

byrisesandfallsintheexpenditure;aswitnessthevariationsofmeteorologic

activityinnorthernzonescausedbychangesoftheseasons。Butthefact

itchieflyconcertsustonoteisthatthisprocessmustgoonbringingthings

evernearertocompleterest。Thesemechanicalmovements，meteorologicand

geologic，whicharecontinuallybeingequilibrated，bothtemporarybycounter—movements

andpermanentlybythedissipationofsuchmovementsandcounter—movements，

willslowlydiminishasthequantityofforcereceivedfromtheSundiminishes。

Astheinsensiblemotionspropagatedtousfromthecentreofoursystem

becomefeebler，thesensiblemotionshereproducedbythemmustdecrease;

andatthatremoteperiodwhenthesolarheathasceasedtobeappreciable，

therewillnolongerbeanyappreciablere—distributionsofmatteronthesurfaceofourplanet。Thus，allterrestrialchangesareincidentsinthecourseofcosmical

equilibration。Itwasbeforepointedout（§69），thatoftheincessant

alterationswhichtheEarth\'scrustandatmosphereundergo，thosewhichare

notduetotheactionofthemoonandtothestill—progressingmotionof

theEarth\'ssubstancetowardsitscentreofgravity，areduetothestill—progressing

motionoftheSun\'ssubstancetowardsitscentreofgravity。Hereitisto

beremarkedthatthiscontinuanceofintegrationintheEarthandinthe

Sun，isacontinuanceofthattransformationofsensiblemotionintoinsensible

motionwhichwehaveseenendsinequilibrium;andthatthearrivalineach

caseattheextremeofintegration，isthearrivalatastateinwhichno

moresensiblemotionremainstobetransformedintoinsensiblemotion——

astateinwhichtheforcesproducingintegrationandtheforcesopposingintegrationhavebecomeequal。§173。Everylivingbodyexhibits，inafour—foldform，theprocess

wearetracingout——exhibitsitfrommomenttomomentinthebalancing

ofmechanicalforces;fromhourtohourinthebalancingoffunctions;from

yeartoyearinthechangesofstatethatcompensatechangesofconditions;

andfinallyinthearrestofvitalmovementsatdeath。Letusconsiderthefactsundertheseheads。Thesensiblemotionconstitutingeachvisibleactionofananimal，is

soonbroughttoaclosebysomeopposingforcewithinorwithouttheanimal。

Whenaman\'sarmisraised，themotiongiventoitisantagonizedpartly

bygravityandpartlybytheinternalresistancesconsequentonstructure;

anditsmotion，thussufferingcontinualdeduction，endswhenthearmhas

reachedapositionatwhichtheforcesareequilibrated。Thelimitsofeach

systoleanddiastoleoftheheart，severallyshowusamomentaryequilibrium

betweenmuscularstrainsthatproduceoppositemovements;andeachgushof

bloodhastobeimmediatelyfollowedbyanotherbecausetherapiddissipation

ofitsmomentumwouldotherwisesoonbringthecirculatingmasstoastand。

Asmuchintheactionsandreactionsgoingonamongtheinternalorgans，

asinthemechanicalbalancingofthewholebodythereisateveryinstant

aprogressiveequilibrationofthemotionsateveryinstantproduced。Viewed

intheiraggregate，andasformingaseries，theorganicfunctionsconstitute

adependentmovingequilibrium，amovingequilibriumofwhichthemotive

poweriseverbeingdissipatedthroughthespecialequilibrationsjustexemplified，

andiseverbeingrenewedbythetakinginofadditionalmotivepower。The

forcestoredupinfoodcontinuallyaddstothemomentumofthevitalactions，

asmuchasiscontinuallydeductedfromthembytheforcesovercome。All

thefunctionalmovementsthusmaintainedarerhythmical（§85）;bytheir

unioncompoundrhythmsofvariouslengthsandcomplexitiesareproduced;

andinthesesimpleandcompoundrhythms，theprocessofequilibration，besides

beingexemplifiedateachextremeofeveryrhythm，isseeninthehabitual

preservationofaconstantmean，andinthere—establishmentofthatmean

whenaccidentalcauseshaveproduceddivergence。fromit。When，forinstance，

thereisagreatexpenditureofmuscularenergy，therearisesareactive

demandonthosestoresofenergywhicharelaidupintheformofconsumable

matterthroughoutthetissues:increasedrespirationandincreasedcirculation

aidanextragenesisofforce，thatcounterbalancestheextradissipation

offorce。Thisunusualtransformationofmolecularmotionintosensiblemotion，

ispresentlyfollowedbyanunusualabsorptionoffood——thesourceofmolecular

motion;andtheprolongeddraftonthesparecapitalinthetissues，isfollowed

byaprolongedrest，duringwhichtheabstractedcapitalisreplaced。If

thedeviationfromtheordinarycourseofthefunctionshasbeensogreat

astoderangethem，aswhenviolentexertionproduceslossofappetiteand

lossofsleep，anequilibrationisstilleventuallyeffected。Providingthe

disturbanceisnotsuchastodestroylife（inwhichcasecompleteequilibration

issuddenlyeffected），theordinarybalanceisby—and—byre—established:

thereturningappetiteiskeeninproportionasthewastehasbeenlarge;

whilesleep，soundandprolonged，makesupforpreviouswakefulness。Not

evenwhensomeextremeexcesshaswroughtaderangementthatisneverwholly

rectified，isthereanexceptiontothegenerallaw;forinsuchcasesthe

cycleofthefunctionsis，afteratime，equilibratedaboutanewmeanstate，

whichthenceforthbecomesthenormalstateoftheindividual。Andthisprocess

exemplifiesinalargewaywhatphysicianscallthevismedicatrixnaturae。

Thethirdformofequilibrationdisplayedbyorganicbodies，isasequence

ofthatjustillustrated。When，throughachangeofhabitorcircumstance，

anorganismispermanentlysubjecttosomenewinfluence，ordifferentamount

ofanoldinfluence，therearises，aftermoreorlessdisturbanceofthe

organicrhythms，abalancingofthemaroundthenewaverageconditionproduced

bythisadditionalinfluence。ifthequantityofmotiontobehabitually

generatedbyamusclebecomesgreaterthanbefore，itsnutritionbecomes

greaterthanbefore。iftheexpenditureofthemusclebearstoitsnutrition，

agreaterratiothanexpenditurebearstonutritioninotherpartsofthe

system，theexcessofnutritionbecomessuchthatthemusclegrows。Andthe

cessationofitsgrowthistheestablishmentofabalancebetweenthedaily

wasteandthedailyrepair。Thelikeismanifestlythecasewithallorganic

modificationsconsequentonchangesofclimateorfood。Ifweseethata

differentmodeoflifeisfollowed，afteraperiodofderangement，bysome

alteredconditionofthesystem——ifweseethatthisalteredcondition，

becomingby—and—byestablished，continueswithoutfurtherchange;wehave

noalternativebuttosaythatthenewforcesbroughttobearonthesystem，

havebeencompensatedbytheopposingforcestheyhaveevoked。Andthisis

theinterpretationoftheprocesscalledadaptation。Finally，eachorganism

illustratesthelawintheensembleofitslife。Attheoutsetitdailyabsorbs

undertheformoffood，anamountofforcegreaterthanitdailyexpends;

andthesurplusisdailyequilibratedbygrowth。Asmaturityisapproached

thissurplusdiminishes;andintheperfectorganismtheday\'sabsorption

oflatentenergybalancestheday\'sexpenditureofactualenergy。Thatis

tosay，duringadultlifethereiscontinuouslyexhibitedanequilibrium

ofthethirdorder。Eventually，thedailylossbeginstooutbalancethedaily

gain，andthereresultsadiminishingamountoffunctionalaction;theorganic

rhythmsextendlessandlesswidelyoneachsideofthemediumstate;andtherefinallycomesthatcompleteequilibriumwecalldeath。Theultimatestructuralstateaccompanyingthatultimatefunctionalstate

towardswhichanorganismtends，maybededucedfromoneofthepropositions

setdownintheopeningsectionofthischapter。Wesawthatthelimitof

heterogeneityisreachedwhentheequilibrationofanyaggregatebecomes

complete——thatthere—distributionofmattercancontinuesolongonly

astherecontinuessomemotionunbalanced。Whatistheimplicationinthe

caseoforganicaggregates？Wehaveseenthattomaintainthemovingequilibrium

ofone，requiresthehabitualgenesisofinternalforcescorrespondingin

number，directions，andamountstotheexternalincidentforces——asmany

innerfunctions，singleorcombined，astherearesingleorcombinedouter

actionstobemet。Butfunctionsarethecorrelativesoforgans;amounts

offunctionsare，otherthingsequal，thecorrelativesofsizesoforgans;

andcombinationsoffunctionsthecorrelativesofconnexionsoforgans。Hence

thestructuralcomplexityaccompanyingfunctionalequilibrium，isdefinable

asoneinwhichthereareasmanyspecializedpartsasarecapable，separately

andjointly，ofcounteractingtheseparateandjointforcesamidwhichthe

organismexists。Andthisisthelimitoforganicheterogeneity。towhichManhasapproachedmorenearlythananyothercreature。Groupsoforganismsdisplaythisuniversaltendencytowardsabalance

veryobviously。in§85，everyspeciesofplantandanimalwasshown

tobeperpetuallyundergoingarhythmicalvariationinnumber——nowfrom

abundanceoffoodorabsenceofenemiesrisingaboveitsaverage;andthen，

byaconsequentscarcityoffoodorabundanceofenemies，beingdepressed

belowitsaverage。Andherewehavetoobservethatthereisthusmaintained

anequilibriumbetweenthesumofthoseforceswhichresultintheincrease

ofeachrace，andthesumofthoseforceswhichresultinitsdecrease。Either

limitofvariationisapointatwhichtheonesetofforces，beforeinexcess

oftheother，iscounterbalancedbyit。Andamidtheseoscillationsproduced

bytheirconflict，liesthataveragenumberofthespeciesatwhichitsexpansive

tendencyisinequilibriumwithsurroundingrepressivetendencies。Norcan

itbequestionedthatthisbalancingofthepreservativeanddestructive

forceswhichweseegoingonineveryrace，mustnecessarilygoon。Increase

ofnumbercannotbutcontinueuntilincreaseofmortalitystopsit;anddecrease

ofnumbercannotbutcontinueuntilitiseitherarrestedbyfertilityorextinguishestheraceentirely。§174。Theequilibrationsofthosenervousactionswhichconstitute

theobversefaceofmentallife，maybeclassifiedinlikemannerwiththose

whichconstitutewhatwedistinguishasbodilylife。Wemaydealwiththeminthesameorder。Eachpulseofnerveforcefrommomenttomomentgenerated，（anditwas

explainedin§86thatnervecurrentsarenotcontinuousbutrhythmical，）

ismetbycounteractingforces，inovercomingwhichitisdispersedandequilibrated。

Suchpartofitasdoesnotworkmentalchangesworksbodilychanges——contractions

oftheinvoluntarymuscles，thevoluntarymuscles，orboth;asalsosome

stimulationofsecretingorgans。Thatthemovementsthusinitiatedareever

beingbroughttoaclosebytheopposingforcestheyevoke，wehavejust

seen;andhereitistobeobservedthatthelikeholdswiththecerebral

changesthusinitiated。Thearousingofathoughtorfeeling，involvesthe

overcomingofacertainresistance:instancethefactthatwheretheassociation

ofmentalstateshasnotbeenfrequent，asensibleeffortisneededtocall

uptheoneaftertheother;instancethefactthatduringnervousprostration

thereisacomparativeinabilitytothink——theideaswillnotfollowone

anotherwiththeordinaryrapidity;instancetheconversefactthatattimes

ofunusualenergy，naturalorartificial，thinkingiseasy，andmorenumerous，

moreremote，ormoredifficultconnexionsofideasareformed。Thatisto

say，thewaveofnervousenergyeachinstantgenerated，propagatesitself

throughoutbodyandbrain，alongthosechannelswhichthepassingconditions

renderlinesofleastresistance;andspreadingwidelyinproportiontoits

amount，endsonlywhenitisequilibratedbytheresistancesiteverywhere

meets。Ifwecontemplatementalactionsasextendingoverhoursanddays，

wediscoverequilibrationsanalogoustothosehourlyanddailyestablished

amongthebodilyfunctions。Thisisseeninthedailyalternationofmental

activityandmentalrest——theforcesexpendedduringtheonebeingcompensated

bytheforcesacquiredduringtheother。Itisalsoseenintherecurring

riseandfallofeachdesire。Eachdesirereachingacertainintensity，is

equilibratedeitherbyexpenditureoftheenergyitembodiesinthedesired

actions，or，lesscompletely，intheimaginationofsuchactions:theprocess

endinginthatsatietyorthatcomparativequiescence，formingtheopposite

limitoftherhythm。Anditisfurthermanifestunderatwo—foldformon

occasionsofintensejoyorgrief。Eachparoxysm，expressingitselfinviolent

actionsandloudsounds，presentlyreachesanextremewhencethecounteracting

forcesproducereturntoaconditionofmoderateexcitement;andthesuccessive

paroxysms，finallydiminishinginintensity，endinamentalequilibrium

eitherlikethatbeforeexisting，orhavingapartiallydifferentmedium

state。Butthekindofmentalequilibrationtobeespeciallynoted，isthat

shownintheestablishmentofacorrespondencebetweenrelationsamongour

ideasandrelationsintheexternalworld。Eachouterconnexionofphenomena

whichwearecapableofperceiving，generates，throughaccumulatedexperiences，

aninnerconnexionofmentalstates;andtheresulttowardswhichthisprocess

tends，istheformationofamentalconnexionhavingarelativestrength

thatanswerstotherelativeconstancyofthephysicalconnexionrepresented。

Inconformitywiththegenerallawthatmotionpursuesthelineofleast

resistance，andthat，otherthingsequal，alineoncetakenbymotionis

madealinewhichwillbemorereadilytakenbyfuturemotion，wehaveseen

thattheeasewithwhichnervousimpressionsfollowoneanotheris，other

thingsequal，greatinproportiontothenumberoftimestheyhavebeenrepeated

togetherinexperience。Hence，correspondingtosuchaninvariablerelation

asthatbetweentheresistanceofanobjectandsomeextensionpossessed

byit，therearisesanindissolubleconnexioninconsciousness;andthis

connexion，beingasabsoluteinternallyastheansweringoneisexternally，

undergoesnofurtherchange——theinnerrelationisinperfectequilibrium

withtheouterrelation。Conversely，ithappensthat，answeringtosuchuncertain

relationsofphenomenaasthatbetweencloudsandrain，thereariserelations

ofideasoflikeuncertainty;andif，undergivenaspectsofthesky，the

tendenciestoinferfairorfoulweather，correspondstothefrequencies

withwhichfairorfoulweatherfollowssuchaspects，theaccumulationof

experienceshasbalancedthementalsequencesandthephysicalsequences。

Whenitisrememberedthatbetweentheseextremestherearecountlessorders

ofexternalassociationshavingdifferentdegreesofconstancy，andthat

duringtheevolutionofintelligencethereariseansweringeternalassociations

havingdifferentdegreesofcohesion;itwillbeseenthatthereisaprogress

towardsequilibriumbetweentherelationsofthoughtandtherelationsof

things。Thelikegeneraltruthsareexhibitedintheprocessofmoraladaptation，

whichisacontinualapproachtoequilibriumbetweentheemotionsandthe

kindsofconductrequiredbysurroundingconditions。Justasrepeatingthe

associationoftwoideasfacilitatestheexcitementoftheonebytheother，

sodoeseachdischargeoffeelingintoactionrenderthesubsequentdischarge

ofsuchfeelingintosuchactionmoreeasy。Thusithappensthatifanindividual

isplacedpermanentlyinconditionswhichdemandmoreactionofaspecial

kindthanhasbeforebeenrequisite，orthanisnaturaltohim——ifbyevery

morefrequentormorelengthenedperformanceofitundersuchpressure，the

resistanceissomewhatdiminished;then，dearly，thereisanadvancetowards

abalancebetweenthedemandforthiskindofactionandthesupplyofit。

Eitherinhimself，orinhisdescendantscontinuingtoliveundertheseconditions，

enforcedrepetitionmustatlengthbringaboutastateinwhichthismode

ofdirectingtheenergieswillbenomorerepugnantthantheothermodes

previouslynaturaltotherace。Hencethelimittowardswhichemotionalmodification

perpetuallytends，isacombinationofdesirethatcorrespondtothevarious

ordersofactivitywhichthecircumstancesoflifecallfor。Inacquired

habits，andinthemoraldifferencesofracesandnationsthatareproduced

byhabitsmaintainedthroughsuccessivegenerations，wehaveillustrations

ofthisprogressiveadaptation，whichcanceaseonlywiththeestablishmentofequilibriumbetweenconstitutionandconditions。###第40章§175。Eachsocietydisplaystheprocessofequilibrationinthecontinuous

adjustmentofitspopulationtoitsmeansofsubsistence。Atribeofmen

livingonwildanimalsandfruits，ismanifestly，likeeverytribeofinferior

creatures，alwaysoscillatingfromsidetosideofthataveragenumberwhich

thelocalitycansupport。Though，byartificialproductionunceasinglyimproved，

asuperiorracecontinuallyaltersthelimitwhichexternalconditionsput

topopulation;yetthereiseveracheckingofpopulationatthetemporary

limitreached。Itistruethatwherethelimitisbeingrapidlychanged，

asamongourselves，thereisnoactualstoppage:thereisonlyarhythmical

variationintherateofincrease。Butinnotingthecausesofthisrhythmical

variation——inwatchinghow，duringperiodsofabundance，theproportion

ofmarriagesincreases，andhowitdecreasesduringperiodsofscarcity，

itwillbeseenthattheexpansiveforceproducesunusualadvancewhenever

therepressiveforcediminishes，andviceversa;andthusthereisasnearabalancingofthetwoasthechangingconditionspermit。Theinternalactionsconstitutingsocialfunctions，exemplifythegeneral

principlenolessclearly。Supplyanddemandarecontinuallybeingadjusted

throughoutallindustrialprocesses;andthisequilibrationisinterpretable

inthesamewayasprecedingones。Theproductionanddistributionofacommodity

implyacertainaggregateofforcescausingspecialkindsandamountsof

motion。Thepriceofthiscommodity，isthemeasureofacertainotheraggregate

offorcesexpendedinotherkindsandamountsofmotionbythelabourerwho

purchasesit。Andthevariationsofpricerepresentarhythmicalbalancing

oftheseforces。Everyriseorfallinthevalueofaparticularsecurity，

impliesaconflictofforcesinwhichsome，becomingtemporarilypredominant，

causeamovementthatis。presentlyarrested，orequilibrated，bytheincreased

opposingforces;andamidthesedailyandhourlyoscillationsliesamore

slowly—varyingmedium，intowhichthevalueevertendstosettle，andwould

settlebutfortheconstantadditionofnewinfluences。Asintheindividual

organismsointhesocialorganism，functionalequilibrationsgeneratestructural

equilibrations。Whenontheworkersinanytradetherecomesanincreased

demand，andwheninreturnfortheincreasedsupplytheyreceiveanamount

ofothercommoditieslargerthanbefore——when，consequently，theresistances

overcomebytheminsustaininglifearelessthantheresistancesovercome

byotherworkers;thereresultsaflowofotherworkersintothistrade。

Thisflowcontinuesuntiltheextrademandismet，andthewagessofarfall

thatthetotalresistanceovercomeinobtainingalivelihood，isasgreat

inthisnewly—adoptedoccupationasintheoccupationswhenceitdrewrecruits。

Theoccurrenceofmotionalonglinesofleastresistance，wasbeforeshown

tonecessitatethegrowthofpopulationinthoseplaceswherethelabour

requiredforself—maintenanceisthesmallest;andherewefurtherseethat

thoseengagedinanysuchadvantageouslocality，mustmultiplytillthere

arisesanapproximatebalancebetweenitspopulationandthatofothersavailablebythesamecitizens。Thesevariousindustrialactionsandreactionsconstituteadependent

movingequilibriumlikethatmaintainedamongthefunctionsofanindividual

organism，andlikeittendsevertobecomemorecomplete。Duringearlystages

ofsocialevolution，whiletheresourcesofthelocalityinhabitedareunexplored

andtheartsofproductionundeveloped，thereisneveranythingmorethan

atemporaryandpartialbalancingofsuchactions。Butwhenasocietyapproaches

thematurityofthattypeonwhichitisorganized，thevariousindustrial

activitiessettledownintoacomparativelyconstantstate。Moreover，advance

inorganization，aswellasadvanceingrowth，isconducivetoabetterequilibrium

ofindustrialfunctions。Whilethediffusionofmercantileinformationis

slowandthemeansoftransportdeficient，theadjustmentofsupplytodemand

isveryimperfect。Greatover—productionofacommodityisfollowedbygreat

under—production，andthereresultsarhythmhavingextremesthatdepart

widelyfromthemeanstateinwhichdemandandsupplyareequilibrated。But

whengoodroadsaremadeandthereisarapiddiffusionofprintedorwritten

intelligence，andstillmorewhenrailwaysandtelegraphscomeintoexistence

——whentheperiodicalfairsofearlydaysgrowintoweeklymarkets，and

theseintodailymarkets，thereisgraduallyproducedabetterbalanceof

productionandconsumption:therapidoscillationsofpricewithinnarrow

limitsoneithersideofacomparativelyuniformmean，indicateanearapproach

toequilibrium。Evidentlythisindustrialprogresshasforitslimit，that

whichMr。Millhascalled"thestationarystate。"Whenpopulation

shallhavebecomedenseoverallhabitablepartsoftheglobe;whentheresources

ofeveryregionhavebeenfullyexplored;andwhentheproductiveartsadmit

ofnofurtherimprovements;theremustresultanalmostcompletebalance，

bothbetweenthefertilityandmortalityineachsociety，andbetweenits

producingandconsumingactivities。Eachsocietywillexhibitonlyminor

deviationsfromitsaveragenumber，andtherhythmofitsindustrialfunctions

willgoonfromdaytodayandyeartoyearwithcomparativelyinsignificantperturbations。Oneotherkindofsocialequilibrationhasstilltobeconsidered:——

thatwhichresultsintheestablishmentofgovernmentalinstitutions，and

whichbecomescompleteastheseinstitutionsfallintoharmonywiththedesires

ofthepeople。Thoseaggressiveimpulsesinheritedfromthepre—socialstate

——thosetendenciestoseekself—satisfactionregardlessofinjurytoother

beings，whichareessentialtoapredatorylife，constituteananti—social

forcetendingevertocauseconflictandseparation。Contrariwise，those

desireswhichcanbefulfilledonlybyco—operationandthosewhichfind

satisfactionthroughintercoursewithfellow—men，aswellasthoseresulting

inwhatwecallloyalty，areforcestendingtokeeptheunitsofasociety

together。Ontheonehand，thereisineachmanmoreorlessofresistance

againstrestraintsimposedonhisactionsbyothermen——aresistancewhich，

tendingevertowideneachman\'ssphereofaction，andreciprocallytolimit

thespheresofactionofothermen，constitutesarepulsiveforcemutually

exercisedbythemembersofasocialaggregate。Ontheotherhand，thegeneral

sympathyofmanformanandthemorespecialsympathyofeachvarietyof

manforothersofthesamevariety，togetherwithalliedfeelingswhichthe

socialstategratifies，actasanattractiveforce，tendingevertokeep

unitedthosewhohaveacommonancestry。Andsincetheresistancestobe

overcomeinsatisfyingthetotalityoftheirdesireswhenlivingseparately，

aregreaterthantheresistancestobeovercomeinsatisfyingthetotality

oftheirdesireswhenlivingtogether，thereisaresiduaryforcethatprevents

separation。Likeotheropposingforces，thoseexertedbycitizensonone

anotherproducealternatingmovementswhich，atfirstextreme，undergogradual

diminutiononthewaytoultimateequilibrium。Insmall，undevelopedsocieties，

markedrhythmsresultfromtheseconflictingtendencies。Atribethathas

maintaineditsunityforagenerationortwo，reachesasizeatwhichit

willnolongerholdtogether;and，ontheoccurrenceofsomeeventcausing

unusualantagonismamongitsmembers，divides。Eachprimitivenationexhibits

wideoscillationsbetweenanextremeinwhichthesubjectsareunderrigid

restraint，andanextremeinwhichtherestraintfailstopreventrebellion

anddisintegration。Inmoreadvancednationsofliketype，wealwaysfind

violentactionsandreactionsofthesameessentialnature:"despotism

temperedbyassassination，"characterizingapoliticalstateinwhich

unbearablerepressionfromtimetotimebringsaboutaburstingofbonds。

AmongourselvestheconflictsbetweenConservatism（whichstandsforthe

restraintsofsocietyovertheindividual）andReform（whichstandsforthe

libertyoftheindividualagainstsociety），fallwithinslowlyapproximating

limits。sothatthetemporarypredominanceofeitherproducesalessmarkeddeviationfromthemediumstate——asmallerdisturbanceofthemovingequilibrium。Ofcourseinthiscase，asinprecedingcases，thereisinvolvedalimit

totheincreaseofheterogeneity。Afewpagesback，itwasshownthatan

advanceinmentalevolutionistheestablishmentofsomefurtherinternal

actioncorrespondingtosomefurtherexternalaction。Weinferredthateach

suchnewfunction，involvingsomenewmodificationofstructure，implies

anincreaseofheterogeneity;andthatthus，increaseofheterogeneitymust

goonwhilethereremainanyouterrelationsaffectingtheorganismwhich

areunbalancedbyinnerrelations。Evidentlythelikemustsimultaneously

takeplacewithsociety。Eachincrementofheterogeneityintheindividual

implies，ascauseorconsequence，someincrementofheterogeneityinthe

arrangementsoftheaggregateofindividuals。Andthelimittosocialcomplexity

canbereachedonlywiththeestablishmentoftheequilibrium，justdescribed，betweensocialandindividualforces。§176。Herepresentsitselfafinalquestion，whichhasprobablybeen

takingshapeinthemindsofmanywhilereadingthischapter。"IfEvolution

ofeverykindisanincreaseincomplexityofstructureandfunctionthat

isincidentaltotheuniversalprocessofequilibration，andifequilibration

mustendincompleterest，whatisthefatetowardswhichallthingstend？

IftheSolarSystemisslowlydissipatingitsenergies——iftheSunislosing

hisheatataratewhichwilltellinmillionsofyears——ifwithdecrease

oftheSun\'sradiationstheremustgoonadecreaseintheactivityofgeologic

andmeteorologicprocessesaswellasinthequantityofvegetableandanimal

life——ifManandSocietyaresimilarlydependentonthissupplyofenergy

whichisgraduallycomingtoanend;arewenotmanifestlyprocessingtowardsomnipresentdeath？"Thatsuchastatemustbetheoutcomeofthechangeseverywheregoing

on，seemsbeyonddoubt。Whetheranyulteriorprocessmayreversetheseprocesses

andinitiateanewlife，isaquestiontobeconsideredhereafter。Forthe

presentitmustsufficethattheendofallthetransformationswehavetraced，

isquiescence。Thisadmitsofaprioriproof。Thelawofequilibration，not

lessthantheprecedinggenerallaws，isdeduciblefromtheultimatedatumofconsciousness。Theforcesofattractionandrepulsionbeing，asshownin§74，universally

co—existent，itfollowsthatallmotionismotionunderresistance:either

thatexercisedonthemovingbodybyotherbodies，orthatexercisedbythe

mediumtraversed。Therearetwocorollaries。Thefirstisthatdeductions

perpetuallymadebythecommunicationofmotiontothatwhichresists，cannot

butbringthemotionofthebodytoanendinalongerorshortertime。The

secondisthatthemotionofthebodycannotceaseuntilthesedeductions

destroyit。Inotherwords，movementmustcontinuewhileequilibrationis

incomplete，andequilibrationmusteventuallybecomecomplete。Boththese

aremanifestdeductionsfromthepersistenceofforce。Hencethisprimordial

truthisourwarrantfortheconclusionsthatthechangeswhichEvolution

presentscannotenduntilequilibriumisreached，andthatequilibriummustatlastbereached。Atthesametimeitfollowsthatineveryaggregatehavingcompoundmotions，

thereresultsacomparativelyearlydissipationofthemotionswhichare

smallerandmuchresisted，followedbylong—continuanceofthelargerand

lessresistedmotions;andthatsotherearisemovingequilibria。Hence，

also，maybeinferredthetendencytoconservationofsuchmovingequilibria。

Foranynewmotiongiventothepartsofamovingequilibriumbyadisturbing

force，musteitherbesuchthatitcannotbedissipatedbeforethepre—existing

motions，inwhichcaseitbringsthemovingequilibriumtoanend。orelse

itmustbesuchthatitcanbedissipatedbeforethepre—existingmotions，inwhichcasethemovingequilibriumisre—established。Thusfromthepersistenceofforcefollow，notonlythevariousdirect

andindirectequilibrationsgoingonaround，togetherwiththatcosmical

equilibrationwhichbringsEvolutionunderallitsformstoaclose，but

alsothoselessmanifestequilibrationsshowninthereadjustmentsofmoving

equilibriathathavebeendisturbed。Bythisultimateprincipleisprovable

thetendencyofeveryorganism，disorderedbysomeunusualinfluence，to

returntoabalancedstate。Toitalsomaybetracedthecapacity，possessed

inaslightdegreebyindividualsandinagreaterdegreebyspecies，of

becomingadaptedtonewcircumstances。Andnotlessdoesitaffordabasis

fortheinferencethatthereisagradualadvancetowardsharmonybetween

man\'smentalnatureandtheconditionsofhisexistence。

Chapter23Dissolution§177。When，inChapter22，weglancedatthecycleofchangesthrough

whicheveryexistencepasses，inashorttimeorinatimealmostinfinitely

long——whentheoppositere—distributionsofmatterandmotionimpliedwere

severallydistinguishedasEvolutionandDissolution。thenaturesofthe

two，andtheconditionsunderwhichtheyrespectivelyoccur，werespecified

ingeneralterms。Sincethen，wehavecontemplatedthephenomenaofEvolution

indetail，andhavefollowedthemouttothosestatesofequilibriuminwhich

theyallend。Tocompletetheargumentwemustnowcontemplate，somewhat

moreindetailthanbefore，thecomplementaryphenomenaofDissolution。Not，

indeed，thatweneeddwelllongonDissolution，whichhasnoneofthosevarious

andinterestingaspectswhichEvolutionpresents;butsomethingmoremustbesaidthanhasyetbeensaid。Itwasshownthatneitherofthesetwoantagonistprocessesgoesonunqualified

bytheother，andthatamovementtowardseitherisadifferentialresult

oftheconflictbetweenthem。Anevolvingaggregate，whileontheaverage

losingmotionandintegrating，isalways，inonewayorother，receiving

somemotionandtothatextentdisintegrating;andaftertheintegrative

changeshaveceasedtopredominate，thereceptionofmotion，thoughperpetually

checkedbyitsdissipation，constantlytendstoproduceareversetransformation，

andeventuallydoesproduceit。WhenEvolutionhasrunitscourse——when

anaggregatehasreachedthatequilibriuminwhichitschangesend，itthereafter

remainssubjecttoallactionsinitsenvironmentwhichmayincreasethe

quantityofmotionitcontains，andwhichincourseoftimearesure，either

slowlyorsuddenly，togiveitspartssuchexcessofmotionaswillcause

disintegration。Accordingasitssize，itsnature，anditsconditionsdetermine，

itsdissolutionmaycomequicklyormaybeindefinitelydelayed——mayoccur

inafewdaysormaybepostponedforbillionsofyears。Butexposedasit

istothecontingenciesnotsimplyofitsimmediateneighbourhoodbutof

aUniverseeverywhereinmotion，thetimemustatlastcomewhen，eitheraloneorincompanywithsurroundingaggregates，ithasitspartsdispersed。Theprocessofdissolutionsocausedwehaveheretolookatasittakes

placeinaggregatesofdifferentorders。Thecourseofchangebeingthereverse

ofthathithertotraced，wemayproperlytaketheillustrationsofitin

thereverseorder——beginningwiththemostcomplexandendingwiththemostsimple。§178。Regardingtheevolutionofasocietyasatonceanincrease

inthenumberofindividualsintegratedintoacorporatebody，anincrease

inthemassesandvarietiesofthepartsintowhichthiscorporatebodydivides，

aswellasoftheactionscalledtheirfunctions，andanincreaseinthe

degreeofcombinationamongthesemassesandtheirfunctions;weshallsee

thatsocialdissolutionconformstothegenerallawinbeing，materially

considered，adisintegration，and，dynamicallyconsidered，adecreasein

themovementsofwholesandanincreasethemovementsofparts;whileit

furtherconformstothegenerallawinbeing，causedbyanexcessofmotioninsomewayorotherreceivedfromwithout。Itisobviousthatthesocialdissolutionwhichfollowstheaggression

ofmothernation，andwhich，ashistoryshowsus，isapttooccurwhensocial

evolutionhasendedanddecayhasbegun，is，underitsbroadest，aspect，

thereceptionofanewexternalmotion;andwhen，assometimeshappens，the

conqueredsocietyisdispersed，orwhenitscomponentdivisionsfallapart，

itsdissolutionisliterallyacessationofthosecorporatemovementswhich

thesociety，bothinitsarmyandinitsindustrialbodies，presented，andalapseintoindividualoruncombinedmovements。Again，socialdisorder，howevercaused，entailsadecreaseofintegrated

movementsandanincreaseofdisintegratedmovements。Asthedisorderprogresses

thepoliticalactionspreviouslycombinedbecomeuncombined:therearise

theantagonisticactionsofriotorrevolt。Simultaneously，theindustrial

andcommercialprocessesthatwereco—ordinatedthroughoutthebodypolitic，

arebrokenup;andonlythelocal，orsmall，tradingtransactionscontinue。

Andeachfurtherdisorganizingchangediminishesthejointoperationsby

whichmensatisfytheirwants，andleavesthemtosatisfytheirwants，as

besttheycan，byseparateoperations。Ofthewayinwhichsuchdistintegrations

aresetupinasocietythathasevolvedtothelimitofitstype，andreached

astateofmovingequilibrium，agoodillustrationisfurnishedbyJapan。

Thefinishedfabricintowhichitspeoplehaveorganizedthemselves，maintained

analmostconstantstatesolongasitwaspreservedfromfreshexternal

forces。ButassoonasitreceivedanimpactfromEuropeancivilization，

partlybyarmedaggression，partlybycommercialimpulse，partlybytheinfluence

ofideas，thisfabricbegantofalltopieces。Thereisnowinprogressa

politicaldissolution。*<*Thiswaswrittenin1867。>Probablyapolitical

reorganizationwillfollow;but，bethisasitmay，thechangethusfarproduced

byanouteractionisachangetowardsdissolution——achangefromintegratedmotionstodisintegratedmotions。Evenwhereasocietythathasdevelopedintothehighestformpermitted

bythecharactersofitsunits，beginstodwindleanddecay，theprogressive

dissolutionisstillessentiallyofthesamenature。Declineofnumbersis，

insuchcase，broughtaboutpartlybyemigration;forasocietyhavingthe

fixedstructureinwhichevolutionends，isonethatwillnotyieldandmodify

underpressureofpopulation:solongasitsstructureisplasticitisstill

evolving。Hencethesurpluspopulationiscontinuallydispersed:theinfluences

broughttobearonthecitizensbyothersocietiescausetheirdetachment，

andthereisanincreaseoftheuncombinedmotionsofunitsinsteadofan

increaseofcombinedmotions。Graduallyasthesocietybecomesstillless

capableofchangingintotheformrequiredforsuccessfulcompetitionwith

moreplasticsocieties，thenumberofcitizenswhocanlivewithinitsunyielding

frameworkbecomespositivelysmaller。Henceitdwindlesboththroughcontinued

emigrationandthroughthediminishedmultiplicationthatfollowsinnutrition。

Andthisfurtherdwindlingissimilarlyadecreaseinthetotalquantity

ofcombinedmotionandanincreaseinthequantityofuncombinedmotion——asweshallpresentlyseewhenwecometodealwithindividualdissolution。Considering，then，thatsocialaggregatesdiffersomuchfromaggregates

ofotherkinds，formed，astheyare，ofunitsheldtogetherlooselyandindirectly，

insuchvariablewaysbysuchcomplexforces，theprocessesofdissolutionamongthemconformstothegenerallawquiteasclearlyascouldbeexpected。§179。Whenfromthesesuper—organicaggregateswedescendtoorganic

aggregates，thetruththatDissolutionisadisintegrationofmattercaused

bythereceptionofadditionalmotionfromwithout，becomeseasilydemonstrable。Wewilllookfirstatthetransformationandafterwardsatitscause。Death，orthatfinalequilibrationwhichprecedesdissolution，isthe

bringingtoacloseallthosemanyconspicuousintegratedmotionsthatarose

duringevolution。Theimpulsionsofthebodyfromplacetoplacefirstcease;

presentlythelimbscannotbestirred;laterstilltherespiratoryactions

stop;finallytheheartbecomesstationaryand，withit，thecirculating

fluids。Thatis，thetransformationofmolecularmotionintothemotionof

masses，comestoanend。Theprocessofdecayinvolvesanincreaseofinsensible

movements;sincethesearefargreaterinthegasesgeneratedthantheyare

inthefluid—solidmattersoutofwhichthegasesarise。Eachofthecomplex

chemicalunitscomposinganorganicbody，possessesarhythmicmotionin

whichitsmanycomponentunitsjointlypartake。Whendecompositionbreaks

upthesecomplexmolecules，andtheirconstituentsassumegaseousforms，

thereis，besidesthatincreaseofmotionimpliedbydiffusion，aresolution

ofsuchmotionsasthecomplexmoleculespossessed，intomotionsoftheir

constituentmolecules。Sothatinorganicdissolutionwehave，first，an

endputtothattransformationofthemotionsofunitsintothemotionsof

aggregates，whichconstitutesevolution，dynamicallyconsidered;andwehave

afterwards，thoughinasubtlersense，atransformationofthemotionsof

aggregatesintothemotionsofunits。Stillitisnotthusshownthatorganic

dissolutionanswerstothegeneraldefinitionofdissolution——theabsorption

ofmotionandconcomitantdisintegrationofmatter。Thedisintegrationof

matteris，indeed，conspicuousenough;buttheabsorptionofmotionisnot

conspicuous。True，thefactthatmotionhasbeenabsorbedmaybeinferred

fromthefactthatparticlespreviouslyintegratedintoasolidmass，occupying

asmallspace，havemostofthemmovedawayfromoneanotherandnowoccupy

agreatspace;forthemotionimpliedbythisexpansionmusthavebeenobtained

fromsomewhere。Butitssourceisnotobvious。Alittlesearch，however，willbringustoitsderivation。Atatemperaturebelowthefreezingpointofwater，decompositionoforganic

matterdoesnottakeplace。Deadbodieskeptatthistemperatureareprevented

fromdecomposingforanindefinitelylongperiod:witnessthefrozencarcases

ofmammoths（elephantsofaspecieslongagoextinct）thatarefoundimbedded

intheiceatthemouthsofSiberianrivers;andwhich，thoughtheyhave

beenthereformanythousandsofyears，havefleshsofreshthatwhenat

lengthexposeditisdevouredbywolves。What，now，isthemeaningofsuch

exceptionalpreservations？Abodykeptbelowfreezingpoint，isabodywhich

receivesverylittleheatbyradiationorconduction;andthereceptionof

butlittleheatisthereceptionofbutlittlemolecularmotion。Thatis

tosay，inanenvironmentwhichdoesnotfurnishitwithmolecularmotion

passingacertainamount，anorganicbodydoesnotundergodissolution。Confirmatory

evidenceisyieldedbythevariationsinrateofdissolutionwhichaccompany

variationsoftemperature。Allknowthatincoolweathertheorganicsubstances

usedinourhouseholdskeeplonger，aswesay，thaninhotweather。