Elements of Physiophilosophy

by Lorenz Oken

1049. The vegetable vesicle receives two opposed extremities, an identical earth-and a dyadic air-extremity; and thus the plant must be regarded as the organism, which manifests a constant endeavour, upon the one side to become earth, on the other air, upon the one side identical metal, on the other duplex air.

1050. The plant is a radius, that towards the centre becomes identical, towards the periphery divides or starts asunder. The plant is not therefore an entire circle or globe, but only a section of such, a cone, whose apex has been turned towards the centre of the earth, or would become earth-centre. It can therefore have no middle-point. It will on the contrary demonstrate that the animal is the totality of radii, is consequently diameter, and has therefore a centre of its own, or is entire globe. As the whole earth is surrounded by plants, and all their roots turn towards the centre; the whole vegetable kingdom only forms a sphere, composed of infinitely numerous cones. On the contrary every individual animal forms a sphere for itself alone, and is therefore worth as much as all plants taken together. Animals are entire heavenly bodies, satellites or moons, which circulate independently about the earth; all plants, on the contrary, taken together are only equivalent to one heavenly body. An animal is an infinity of plants.

1051. In so far as an organism strives unto identity or to gravity, it seeks to produce the Metallic, the carbon, the Alkaline. The indifferent and alkaline character appears in the earth-extremity of the plant. Mucus and acid bodies are evidenced for the most part in the root. In so far as the organism strives unto duplicity, it will produce the salt, the acid and the Inflammable. Acids and electric bodies are manifested in the air-extremity of the plant.

1052. The two vegetable extremities are accordingly related to each other as alkali and acid, and as carbon and hydrogen. In the air the water is divided into oxygen and hydrogen, acids and oils; in the earth it hardens into earths and carbon.

1053. The earth-end or the alkaline extremity of the plant is the root; the air-end, or the acid and oily, is the entire stem-fabric, or body. The plant has first of all two cardinal organs, viz. root and stem-fabric. Both together represent the water divided into earth- and air-mucus. The root is the central extremity of the plant, and is therefore prolonged or runs out into magnetic points; the stem-fabric is the peripheric and therefore expands into branches and electric surfaces.

1054. But besides the air, the light also operates upon the plant and stimulates it to grow aloft and produce a light-organ. This light-organ can thus originate only upon the apex or summit. It is the flower. The flower can therefore stand nowhere else than on the summit or end of the plant. The light however acts upon many points of the upper surface of the vegetable trunk and elongates the same. One plant can therefore support numerous flowers, but all of these must stand upon an extremity. Wherever therefore a flower may happen to stand, that spot must be regarded as a summit or end. There is thus also, according to the physiological view of the matter, a light-organ in the plant, which is its animal pre-affection. The chief antagonism in the plant is in this respect therefore between trunk and inflorescence the former is related to the latter as plant to animal. Were the plant to attain unto animal functions; they could thus only take place in the flower.

I. Tissues.

1055. The tissues are the unseparated organs of the three fundamental processes, the earth-, water-, and air-process.

1. WATER-ORGAN, CELLULAR TISSUE.

1056. If a mucus-vesicle lie upon the ground, it thus continues indifferent upon the lower or dark side, and is only affected by the gravity and the water; the upper side, on the contrary, by the differencing air and light. It is consequently prolonged into the earth and into the air. It must pass over from the round into a linear form. The elongation is not a mere protraction of the vesicle, but an apposition of new vesicles. For it happens through polarization, and thus by infinite repetition of the primary vesicle. The plant is thus a body of infinitely numerous vesicles.