ABSTRACT
The fundamental condition of vitality, is, that the internal order shall be continually adjusted to the external order. If the internal order is altogether unrelated to the external order, there can be no adaptation between the actions going on in the organism and those going on in its environment: and life becomes impossible. The entire fact would be expressed by saying that the internal succession parallels the external succession. It is the law to which psychical changes tend more and more completely to conform, as the intelligence becomes higher ; but which can be perfectly conformed to only by a perfect intelligence. Joining with general explanation of minor anomalies, the previous interpretations of the law in its leading applications, it can no longer be doubted that the strength of the tendency which the antecedent of any psychical change has to be followed by its consequent, is proportionate to the persistency of the union between the external things they symbolize.
