It is with
this as with everything else--there must be a harmonious fusing of
two principles which are in flat contradiction to one another.
The question whether it is better to abide quiet and take advantage
of opportunities that come, or to go further afield in search of
them, is one of the oldest which living beings have had to deal
with. It was on this that the first great schism or heresy arose
in what was heretofore the catholic faith of protoplasm. The
schism still lasts, and has resulted in two great sects--animals
and plants. The opinion that it is better to go in search of prey
is formulated in animals; the other--that it is better on the whole
to stay at home and profit by what comes--in plants. Some
intermediate forms still record to us the long struggle during
which the schism was not yet complete.
If I may be pardoned for pursuing this digression further, I would
say that it is the plants and not we who are the heretics. There
can be no question about this; we are perfectly justified,
therefore, in devouring them. Ours is the original and orthodox
belief, for protoplasm is much more animal than vegetable; it is
much more true to say that plants have descended from animals than
animals from plants. Nevertheless, like many other heretics,
plants have thriven very fairly well. There are a great many of
them, and as regards beauty, if not wit--of a limited kind indeed,
but still wit--it is hard to say that the animal kingdom has the
advantage.
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