Where do the degrees of life begin?

There seems to be no philosophical necessity for food. We can conceive of organized beings living without nourishment, and deriving all the energy they need for the performance of their life-functions from the ambient medium. In a crystal we have the clear evidence of the existence of a formative life-principle, and though we cannot understand the life of a crystal, it is none the less a living being. There may be, besides crystals, other such individualized, material systems of beings, perhaps of gaseous constitution, or composed of substance still more tenuous. In view of this possibility,—nay, probability,—we cannot apodictically deny the existence of organized beings on a planet merely because the conditions on the same are unsuitable for the existence of life as we conceive it. We cannot even, with positive assurance, assert that some of them might not be present here, in this our world, in the very midst of us, for their constitution and life-manifestation may be such that we are unable to perceive them.

Steine sind stumme Lehrer, sie machen den Beobachter stumm, und das Beste was man von ihnen lernt ist nicht mitzutheilen.

I can tell you, you shall hear of the highest crystalline merits that I can think of, to-day: and I wish there were more of them; but crystals have a limited, though a stern, code of morals; and their essential virtues are but two;—the first is to be pure, and the second to be well shaped.

Ut nihil instituto operi desit, gemmae supersunt et in artum coacta rerum naturae maiestas, multis nulla parte mirabilior. tantum tribuunt varietati, coloribus, materiae, decori, violare etiam signis, quae causa gemmarum est, quasdam nefas ducentes, aliquas extra pretia ulla taxationemque humanarum opum arbitrantes, ut plerisque ad summam absolutamque naturae rerum contemplationem satis sit una aliqua gemma.

Omnis lapis ignem et humiditatem in se habet.

Ob jemand die Steine und Gestirne schon verstand, weiß ich nicht, aber gewiß muß dieser ein erhabnes Wesen gewesen seyn.

Le cristal, vois-tu, et par cristal j’entends toute substance minéralogique bien et dûment cristallisée, n’est pas ce que pense le vulgaire; c’est un miroir mystérieux qui, à un moment donné, a reçu l’empreinte et reflété l’image d’un grand spectacle.

Die Form, die sich in der Krystallisation aufschließt, ist ein stummes Leben, das wunderbarer Weise im bloß mechanischen, von Außen bestimmbar scheinenden Steine oder Metall sich regt, und in eigenthümlichen Gestalten als ein organischer und organisirender Trieb sich äußert.

Estando hoy suplicando á nuestro Señor hablase por mí, porque yo no atinaba cosa qué decir, ni cómo comenzar á cumplir esta obediencia, se me ofreció lo que ahora diré, para comenzar con algún fundamento; que es, considerar nuestra alma, como un castillo todo de un diamante, u muy claro cristal, á donde hay muchos aposentos; ansí como en el cielo hay muchas moradas. Que si bien lo consideramos, hermanas, no es otra cosa el alma del justo, sino un paraíso, á donde dice El tiene sus deleites. ¿Pues qué tal os parece que será el aposento á donde un rey tan poderoso, tan sabio, tan limpio, tan lleno de todos los bienes se deleita? No hallo yo cosa con qué comparar la gran hermosura de un alma y la gran capacidad.

Herein is especially apprehended the Unity of Nature, — the Unity in Variety, — which meets us everywhere. All the endless variety of things make a unique, an identical impression. Xenophanes complained in his old age, that, look where he would, all things hastened back to Unity. He was weary of seeing the same entity in the tedious variety of forms. The fable of Proteus has a cordial truth. Every particular in nature, a leaf, a drop, a crystal, a moment of time is related to the whole, and partakes of the perfection of the whole. Each particle is a microcosm, and faithfully renders the likeness of the world.

Ich könnte meinen, alles wäre noch ich ringsum; durchsichtig wie eines Kristalles Tiefe, verdunkelt, stumm.