Now, pray do not leave this chapter with the belief that the writer has said that the Particles of Inorganic Substance are endowed with Conscious reasoning powers. Nothing of the kind has been said--nothing of the kind is meant. The Life and Mind evidenced in the Particles are but the faintest glimmerings. There is no sign of "consciousness" or "reasoning"--the Mind exhibited is less than that of the plant, yes, less than even that of the cell of the plant. The Life is evidenced by power to move, and the Mind is evidenced by the ability to receive impressions and to respond to the same by evidencing Force and movement. There is no evidence of "consciousness" or "understanding" in these mental processes. Consciousness is not an essential attribute of Life or Mind-action. In fact, but a small part of even the Mentation of Man is performed in the field of consciousness. Nearly all of his bodily functions are beneath the field of consciousness--one does not consciously regulate the beating of his heart; the circulation of his blood; the digestion and assimilation of his food; the tearing-down and building-up work of the cells; the work of the organs, etc., etc. Yes, these processes are all mental processes, and far from mere "mechanical movements," or chemical processes, as some imagine. Let the spark of Life leave the body, and the processes stop, although all the chemicals are still there, and the "mechanical movements" might go on unhindered. The Particles of Substance have enough Life and Mind to enable them to move, receive and respond to impressions, and to exert force in accordance with the Law of Attraction--but there it stops. The Crystals show signs of something like taking nourishment, but the real taking of food may be said to commence with the Monera. Not until very high degrees of Life and Mind are attained, do "creatures" begin to exhibit Consciousness, and that which is called "Understanding" is still higher in the scale, and not until Man is reached does the faculty of turning the mental searchlight _inward_ manifest itself. These matters are mentioned here merely to prevent misunderstanding and misapprehension. But still, do not forget--the Particles of Substance receive impressions and respond thereto--they _act_ and exert Force and Energy--they manifest Life and Mentation. CHAPTER V THE STORY OF SUBSTANCE As we stated in a former chapter, there are two Aspects of All-Things, _viz._, (1) Substance; (2) Mind. In this and the following two chapters we shall consider the first one, Substance, which Science calls "Matter."