Alps and Sanctuaries of Piedmont and the Canton Ticino by Samuel Butler
page 111 of 249 (44%)
page 111 of 249 (44%)
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watch for doors he will never see them, and that unless he is
incessantly pressing forward to the kingdom of heaven he will never find it--so that the kingdom does come by observation. 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. The views of plants are sadly narrow; all dissenters are narrow-minded; but within their own bounds they know the |
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