Bīrūnī, Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad, Alberuni's India (v. 1)

(London :  Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co.,  1910.)

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CHAPTER XLVII.

ON   VASUDEVA  AND   THE   WARS   OF  THE  BHARATA.

Analogies of The life of the world depends upon sowing and pro-

the course of             ,.               t->   ii                                 •                       •        ,i                                p

nature to     Creating.    Both   processes increase  in   the   course   ot
of mankind, time, and this increase is unlimited, whilst the world
is limited.

When a class of plants or animals does not increase
any more in its structure, and its peculiar kind is estab¬
lished as a species of its own, when each individual of
it does not simply come into existence once and perish,
but besides procreates a being like itself or several
together, and not only once but several times, then this
will as a single species of plants or animals occupy the
earth and spread itself and its kind over as much terri¬
tory as it can find.

The agriculturist selects his corn, letting grow as
much as he requires, and tearing out the remainder.
The forester leaves those branches which he perceives
to be excellent, whilst he cuts away all others. The
bees kill those of their kind who only eat, but do not
work in their beehive.

Nature proceeds in a similar way; however, it does
not distinguish, for its action is under all circumstances
one and the same.   It allows the leaves and fruit of the
trees to perish, thus preventing them from realising
I              that result which they are intended to produce in the

economy of nature.    It removes them so as to make
room for others.

If thus the earth is ruined, or is near to be ruined,
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