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Untangling Complex Systems
Untangling Complex Systems
A Grand Challenge for Science
Pier Luigi Gentili

MATLAB® is a trademark of The MathWorks, Inc. and is used with permission. The MathWorks does not warrant the accu-
racy of the text or exercises in this book. This book’s use or discussion of MATLAB® software or related products does not
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Dedication
To God, my family, all my past, present, and next students, and

whoever will read this book with curiosity and open-mindedness.
Contents
Preface.............................................................................................................................................. xv
Acknowledgments ..........................................................................................................................xvii
About the Author ............................................................................................................................xix
Chapter 1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................1

1.1 The Never-Ending Journey to Discovering the Secrets of Nature .................... 1
1.1.1 The “Practical Period” ......................................................................... 4
1.1.2 The “Philosophical Period”..................................................................5
1.1.3 The “Experimental Period” .................................................................. 8
1.1.4 The “Computational Period” .............................................................. 15
1.2 What Is Science, Today?.................................................................................. 16
1.3 Purpose and Contents of This Book ................................................................ 18
1.4 Key Questions..................................................................................................20
1.5 Key Words .......................................................................................................20
1.6 Hints for Further Reading ...............................................................................20
Chapter 2 Reversibility or Irreversibility? That Is the Question! ............................................... 21

2.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................... 21
2.2 The Thermodynamic Approach ...................................................................... 22
2.2.1 The Classical Definition of Entropy ................................................... 23
2.2.2 The Statistical Definition of Entropy .................................................24
2.2.3 The Logical Definition of Entropy ..................................................... 27
2.3 An Exhausting Fight against Entropy ............................................................. 30
2.3.1 The Maxwell’s Demon ....................................................................... 30
2.3.2 A First Mechanical Attempt ............................................................... 30
2.3.3 Another Mechanical Attempt ............................................................. 31
2.3.4 The Involvement of Artificial Intelligence: A “Thought
Experiment” ....................................................................................... 32
2.3.5 The Embodiment of Maxwell’s Demon: A “Real Experiment” ........34
2.3.6 The Surprising Behavior of Small Systems ....................................... 35
2.3.7 There Is Still an Open Question ......................................................... 38
2.4 Key Questions.................................................................................................. 38
2.5 Key Words ....................................................................................................... 38
2.6 Hints for Further Reading ............................................................................... 39
2.7 Exercises .......................................................................................................... 39
2.8 Solutions to the Exercises ................................................................................ 39
Chapter 3 Out-of-Equilibrium Thermodynamics ....................................................................... 41

3.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................... 41
3.2 Definition of the Entropy Change for an Out-of-Equilibrium System ............ 41
3.2.1 Heat Conduction ................................................................................. 43
3.2.2 Chemical Reactions ............................................................................44
3.2.3 Diffusion............................................................................................. 47
3.2.4 Migration ............................................................................................ 47
3.2.5 Generalization .................................................................................... 50
vii
viii Contents
3.3 Non-equilibrium Thermodynamics in Linear Regime ................................. 50

3.3.1 Fourier’s Law: The Law of Heat Conduction .................................. 50
3.3.2 Ohm’s Law: The Law of Electrical Conduction .............................. 51
3.3.3 Poiseuille’s Law: The Law of Laminar Flow of Fluids ................... 52
3.3.4 Fick’s Law: The Law of Diffusion ................................................... 53
3.3.5 Generalization: Symmetry Principle and Onsager Reciprocal
Relations........................................................................................... 54
3.3.6 An Experimental Proof of the Reciprocal Relations ....................... 57
3.3.7 Cross-Diffusion ................................................................................ 59
3.3.8 Thermal Diffusion ........................................................................... 61
3.4 Evolution of Out-of-Equilibrium Systems in Linear Regime ....................... 63
3.4.1 The Case of Heat Conduction ..........................................................64
3.4.2 The Case of Diffusion ...................................................................... 65
3.5 The Theorem of Minimum Entropy Production in Linear Regime .............. 67
3.5.1 A Single Force and Flow ................................................................. 67
3.5.2 The Case of More Than One Force and One Flow.......................... 68
3.6 Evolution of Out-of-Equilibrium Systems in Nonlinear Regime .................. 69
3.6.1 Chemical Reactions ......................................................................... 69
3.6.2 The Glansdorff-Prigogine Stability Criterion .................................. 71
3.7 The Chemical Transformations and the Linear Regime ............................... 72
3.7.1 Onsager’s Reciprocal Relations for Chemical Reactions................. 73
3.7.2 A Particular Case ............................................................................. 73
3.8 The Evolution of Chemical Reactions in Open Systems............................... 74
3.8.1 The Mono-Dimensional Case .......................................................... 75
3.8.2 The Bi-Dimensional Case ................................................................ 76
3.8.3 The Multi-Dimensional Case ........................................................... 81
3.9 Key Questions ............................................................................................... 81
3.10 Key Words ..................................................................................................... 82
3.11 Hints for Further Reading ............................................................................. 82
3.12 Exercises ........................................................................................................ 82
3.13 Solutions to the Exercises .............................................................................. 86
Chapter 4 An Amazing Scientific Voyage: From Equilibrium up to Self-Organization

through Bifurcations ..................................................................................................97
4.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................97
4.2 Bifurcations ................................................................................................. 101
4.2.1 Saddle-Node Bifurcation ............................................................... 101
4.2.2 Trans-Critical Bifurcation.............................................................. 102
4.2.2.1 From a Lamp to a Laser: An Example of
Trans-Critical Bifurcation .............................................. 103
4.2.3 Pitchfork Bifurcation ..................................................................... 105
4.2.3.1 Chiral Symmetry Breaking ............................................ 105
4.2.4 Hopf Bifurcations........................................................................... 110
4.3 Key Questions ............................................................................................. 111
4.4 Key Words ................................................................................................... 111
4.5 Hint for Further Reading ............................................................................. 111
4.6 Exercises ...................................................................................................... 112
4.7 Solutions to the Exercises ............................................................................ 112
Contents ix
Chapter 5 The Emergence of Temporal Order in the Ecosystems............................................ 117

5.1 Introduction ................................................................................................. 117
5.2 Predator-Prey Relationship: The Lotka-Volterra Model ............................. 117
5.3 Entropy Production in the Lotka-Volterra Model ....................................... 121
5.4 More about Predator-Prey Relationships..................................................... 123
5.5 Other Relationships within an Ecosystem................................................... 129
5.6 Mathematical Modeling of Symbiotic Relationships .................................. 130
5.6.1 Antagonism .................................................................................... 130
5.6.2 Mutualism ...................................................................................... 133
5.7 Key Questions ............................................................................................. 135
5.8 Key Words ................................................................................................... 135
5.9 Hints for Further Reading ........................................................................... 135
5.10 Exercises ...................................................................................................... 136
Chapter 6 The Emergence of Temporal Order in the Economy ............................................... 147

6.1 Introduction ................................................................................................. 147
6.2 The Economic Problem ............................................................................... 148
6.3 Linear and Circular Economy ..................................................................... 149
6.4 The Law of Supply and Demand ................................................................. 151
6.5 The Business Cycles .................................................................................... 152
6.5.1 Goodwin’s Predator-Prey Model.................................................... 153
6.5.2 The Multiplier and Accelerator Model .......................................... 156
6.5.3 Other Models ................................................................................. 158
6.5.4 The Real Business Cycles .............................................................. 159
6.6 Key Questions ............................................................................................. 160
6.7 Key Words ................................................................................................... 160
6.9 Exercises ...................................................................................................... 160
Chapter 7 The Emergence of Temporal Order within a Living Being ..................................... 167
7.1 Introduction ................................................................................................. 167
7.2 Metabolic Events ......................................................................................... 167
7.2.1 Michaelis-Menten Kinetics ............................................................ 168
7.2.2 Hill Kinetics................................................................................... 169
7.2.3 The Nonlinearity of Allosteric Enzymes....................................... 170
7.2.4 Glycolysis ....................................................................................... 174
7.3 Cellular Signaling Processes ....................................................................... 176
7.3.1 The Simplest Signal Transduction System..................................... 176
7.3.2 Signal Transduction Systems with Positive Feedback ................... 177
7.4 Epigenetic Events ........................................................................................ 181
7.5 Biological Rhythms ..................................................................................... 185
7.6 Amplification and Adaptation in Regulatory and Sensory Systems ........... 187
7.6.1 Magnitude Amplification ............................................................... 187
7.6.2 Sensitivity Amplification ............................................................... 188
7.6.3 Adaptation ...................................................................................... 190
7.7 Key Questions ............................................................................................. 191
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x Contents
7.8 Key Words ................................................................................................... 192

7.10 Exercises ...................................................................................................... 192
Chapter 8 The Emergence of Temporal Order in a Chemical Laboratory ............................... 197

8.1 Introduction ................................................................................................. 197
8.2 The Discovery of Oscillating Chemical Reactions ..................................... 197
8.3 The Systematic Design of Chemical Oscillators......................................... 199
8.3.1 Excitability .....................................................................................202
8.3.2 Oscillations ....................................................................................203
8.3.3 In Practice ......................................................................................203
8.4 Primary “Oscillators”..................................................................................205
8.4.1 Oregonator Model: The “Primary Oscillator” of Coproduct
Autocontrol ....................................................................................205
8.4.2 The Modified Lotka-Volterra or Predator-Prey “Primary
Oscillator” ......................................................................................208
8.4.3 The “Flow Control Primary Oscillator” ........................................ 212
8.4.4 The Composite System: A Chemical Equilibrium Coupled
to a “Primary Oscillator” ............................................................... 214
8.4.5 “Delayed Negative Feedback Oscillator” ...................................... 216
8.5 Overview and Hints for Further Reading.................................................... 220
8.6 Key Questions ............................................................................................. 222
8.7 Key Words ................................................................................................... 222
8.8 Exercises ...................................................................................................... 222
Chapter 9 The Emergence of Order in Space ........................................................................... 241

9.1 Introduction ................................................................................................. 241
9.2 The Reaction-Diffusion Model ................................................................... 241
9.3 Turing Patterns ............................................................................................246
9.4 Turing Patterns in a Chemical Laboratory .................................................. 251
9.5 Turing Patterns in Nature ............................................................................ 255
9.5.1 Biology: The Development of Embryos ......................................... 256
9.5.2 Biology: Regeneration of Tissues...................................................260
9.5.3 Biology: Phyllotaxis ....................................................................... 261
9.5.4 Biology: Animal Markings ............................................................ 261
9.5.5 Ecology, Sociology, and Economy................................................. 263
9.5.6 Geomorphology ............................................................................. 263
9.5.7 The Next Development of Turing’s Theory: The
Mechanochemical Patterning ........................................................264
9.6 Chemical Waves .......................................................................................... 269
9.6.1 Propagator-Controller Model ......................................................... 270
9.6.1.1 Phase Waves ................................................................... 271
9.6.1.2 Trigger Waves ................................................................. 271
9.6.2 Shapes of Chemical Waves ............................................................ 273
9.6.2.1 Mono- and Bi-Dimensional Waves ................................ 273
9.6.2.2 Three-Dimensional Waves ............................................. 274
9.6.2.3 Effect of Curvature......................................................... 274
Contents xi
9.7 “Chemical” Waves in Biology ..................................................................... 275

9.7.1 Waves in a Neuron ....................................................................... 275
9.7.2 The Fisher-Kolmogorov Equation ................................................ 279
9.7.3 Waves in Our Brain ...................................................................... 281
9.7.4 Waves in Our Heart ...................................................................... 282
9.7.5 Calcium Waves ............................................................................. 283
9.7.6 cAMP Waves: The Case of Dictyostelium Discoideum...............284
9.7.7 Spreading of Species, Epidemics and … Fads ............................. 285
9.8 Liesegang Patterns....................................................................................... 285
9.9 Liesegang Phenomena in Nature ................................................................. 288
9.9.1 In Geology .................................................................................... 288
9.9.2 In Biology ..................................................................................... 289
9.10 A Final Note: The Reaction-Diffusion Structures in Art and
Technology .................................................................................................. 289
9.10.1 Reaction-Diffusion Processes as Art ........................................... 289
9.10.2 Reaction-Diffusion Processes in Technology .............................. 290
9.11 Key Questions ............................................................................................. 290
9.12 Key Words ................................................................................................... 291
9.14 Exercises ...................................................................................................... 291
Chapter 10 The Emergence of Chaos in Time ............................................................................ 317

10.1 Introduction ................................................................................................. 317
10.2 Nonlinearity and Chaos: The Case of the Double Pendulum ..................... 317
10.3 Nonlinearity and Chaos: The Case of the Population Growth and the
Logistic Map................................................................................................ 321
10.4 The Universality of Chaos........................................................................... 326
10.5 Convection ................................................................................................... 327
10.6 The Entropy Production in the Nonlinear Regime: The Case of
Convection ................................................................................................... 332
10.7 The “Butterfly Effect” ................................................................................. 334
10.7.1 The Complexity of Convection in the Terrestrial Atmosphere ..... 334
10.7.2 The Lorenz’s Model ..................................................................... 335
10.7.3 The Sensitivity to the Initial Conditions ...................................... 338
10.7.4 The Hydrodynamic Photochemical Oscillator.............................340
10.8 Aperiodic Time Series................................................................................. 342
10.8.1 How Do We Recognize Chaotic Time Series?............................. 343
10.8.1.1 Time Delay τ ............................................................... 343
10.8.1.2 Embedding Dimension m ............................................344
10.8.1.3 Lyapunov Exponents ................................................... 345
10.8.1.4 Kolmogorov-Sinai Entropy .........................................346
10.8.1.5 Correlation Dimension ................................................ 347
10.8.1.6 Permutation Entropy ................................................... 347
10.8.1.7 Surrogate Data ............................................................ 348
10.8.1.8 Short-Term Predictability and Long-Term
Unpredictability ..........................................................348
10.8.2 Prediction of the Chaotic Time Series ......................................... 349
10.8.2.1 Artificial Neural Networks ......................................... 350
xii Contents
10.9 Mastering Chaos........................................................................................ 352

10.9.1 Applications ............................................................................... 354
10.9.1.1 Communication by Chaotic Dynamics..................... 354
10.9.1.2 Computing by Chaotic Dynamics............................. 354
10.10 Key Questions ........................................................................................... 355
10.11 Key Words ................................................................................................. 355
10.12 Hints for Further Reading ......................................................................... 356
10.13 Exercises.................................................................................................... 356
10.14 Solutions to the Exercises..........................................................................360
Chapter 11 Chaos in Space: The Fractals ................................................................................... 379

11.1 Introduction ............................................................................................... 379
11.2 What Is a Fractal?...................................................................................... 381
11.3 Fractal Dimension ..................................................................................... 383
11.4 Fractals That Are Not Perfectly Self-Similar............................................ 385
11.5 The Fractal-like Structures in Nature ....................................................... 386
11.6 The Dimensions of Fractals That Are Not Perfectly Self-Similar ............ 388
11.7 A Method for Generating Fractal-like Structures in the Lab.................... 389
11.8 Dendritic Fractals ...................................................................................... 392
11.9 Multifractals .............................................................................................. 394
11.9.1 Analysis of the Complex Images ............................................... 394
11.9.2 Analysis of the Complex Time Series........................................ 395
11.10 Diffusion in Fractals ................................................................................. 395
11.11 Chemical Reactions on Fractals and Fractal-like Kinetics in Cells ......... 396
11.12 Power Laws or Stretched Exponential Functions? .................................... 399
11.13 Why Does Chaos Generate Fractals? ........................................................ 401
11.14 Chaos, Fractals, and Entropy ....................................................................402
11.15 Key Questions ...........................................................................................403
11.16 Key Words .................................................................................................403
11.17 Hints for Further Reading .........................................................................404
11.18 Exercises....................................................................................................404
11.19 Solutions to the Exercises..........................................................................405
Chapter 12 Complex Systems ..................................................................................................... 415

12.1 The Natural Complexity Challenges ......................................................... 415
12.2 The Computational Complexity of the Natural Complex Systems ........... 415
12.3 If It Were NP = P, Would Be the Complexity Challenges Surely Won? .. 419
12.4 The Features of Complex Systems ............................................................ 420
12.4.1 Networks .................................................................................... 420
12.4.2 Out-of-Equilibrium Systems ...................................................... 426
12.4.2.1 The Thermodynamics of Thermal Radiation ........... 426
12.4.2.2 The Fate of the Solar Thermal Radiation and the
Climate Change ........................................................ 430
12.4.2.3 Solar Radiation and Life on Earth ............................ 431
12.4.2.4 Solar Radiation as an Energy Source for Life on
Earth ......................................................................... 433
12.4.2.5 Solar Radiation as Information Source for Life
on Earth .................................................................... 437
12.4.3 Emergent Properties...................................................................444
Contents xiii
12.5 Key Questions ...........................................................................................446

12.6 Key Words .................................................................................................446
12.8 Exercises.................................................................................................... 447
12.9 Solutions to the Exercises.......................................................................... 450
Chapter 13 How to Untangle Complex Systems? ....................................................................... 457

13.1 Introduction ............................................................................................... 457
13.2 Improving Electronic Computers .............................................................. 457
13.3 Natural Computing .................................................................................... 461
13.3.1 Computing Inspired by Natural Information Systems ................. 462
13.3.1.1 Artificial Life, Systems Chemistry, Systems
Biology, and Synthetic Biology ................................ 462
13.3.1.2 Membrane Computing.............................................. 463
13.3.1.3 DNA and RNA Computing ......................................464
13.3.1.4 Evolutionary Computing .......................................... 467
13.3.1.5 Artificial Immune Systems ......................................468
13.3.1.6 Cellular Automata ....................................................469
13.3.1.7 Artificial Intelligence, Fuzzy Logic, and Robots ..... 471
13.3.1.8 Protein Computing ................................................... 476
13.3.1.9 Amorphous Computing ............................................ 477
13.3.1.10 Building Models of Complex Systems: ODEs,
Boolean Networks, and Fuzzy Cognitive Maps ....... 477
13.3.1.11 Agent-Based Modeling ............................................. 479
13.3.2 Computing by Exploiting the Physicochemical Laws .................. 482
13.3.2.1 Thermodynamics...................................................... 482
13.3.2.2 Classical Physics.......................................................484
13.3.2.3 Computing with Subatomic Particles, Atoms,
and Molecules........................................................... 486
13.3.2.4 The “Ultimate Laptop”............................................. 491
13.4 Last Conclusive Thoughts and Perspectives ............................................. 491
13.5 Last Motivating Sentences Pronounced by “Important People” ............... 493
13.6 Key Questions ........................................................................................... 494
13.7 Key Words ................................................................................................. 494
13.9 Exercises.................................................................................................... 495
13.10 Solutions of the Exercises ......................................................................... 497
Appendix A: Numerical Solutions of Differential Equations .................................................. 503

Appendix B: The Maximum Entropy Method .......................................................................... 507
Appendix C: Fourier Transform of Waveforms ....................................................................... 513
Appendix D: Errors and Uncertainties in Laboratory Experiments ..................................... 517
Appendix E: Errors in Numerical Computation ...................................................................... 531
References ..................................................................................................................................... 535
Index .............................................................................................................................................. 559
Preface
SCOPE AND GENESIS
Complex Systems are natural systems that science is unable to describe exhaustively. Examples
of Complex Systems are both unicellular and multicellular living beings; human brains; human
immune systems; ecosystems; human societies; the global economy; the climate and geology of our
planet. Science cannot predict the behavior of such systems, especially in the long term. Why is it
so important to study Complex Systems? Because humanity must tackle compelling challenges that
affect Complex Systems. For example, we need to predict catastrophic events, such as earthquakes
and volcanic eruptions, to avoid many deaths. We struggle to protect our ecosystems and the envi-
ronment from climate change and the risk of shrinking biodiversity. We need to find innovative
solutions to guarantee a worldwide sustainable economic growth, primarily by focusing on the
energy issue. We also need to find creative solutions to ensure stability and justice in our societies.
Finally, there are still incurable diseases that must be defeated. I have made a list of what I like to
call “Natural Complexity Challenges.” To try to win the “Natural Complexity Challenges,” we need
to understand Complex Systems deeply. But this is not an easy task because Complex Systems are
intertwined networks, working in out-of-equilibrium conditions, which exhibit emergent properties,
such as self-organization phenomena and chaotic behaviors in time and space. I decided to con-
tribute to the untangling of Complex Systems by writing this book. This book is an account of an
amazing scientific and intellectual journey I made to understand Natural Complexity. I have under-
taken my trip, equipped with the fundamental principles of physical chemistry, and in particular,
the Second Law of Thermodynamics that describes the spontaneous evolution of our universe. Two
central questions have guided me:
1. If the Second Law of Thermodynamics is true, how is it possible to observe the spontane-
ous emergence of order in time and space? Is it possible to violate the Second Law?
2. What are the common features of Complex Systems? When and how do the emergent
properties emerge?
To find answers to my questions, I have gone on a marvelous interdisciplinary journey. I dealt with
many disciplines; particularly, chemistry, biology, physics, economy, and philosophy. Chapter 1
presents an excursus on the evolution of the scientific knowledge and its mutual fruitful relationship
with technology. Chapter 2 is a thorough analysis of the Second Law of Thermodynamics and to
understand if its violation is feasible. Chapters 3 and 4 present the principles of Non-Equilibrium
Thermodynamics. Then, the theory of Non-Linear Dynamics is introduced by the description of
the emergence of the temporal order in ecosystems (Chapter 5), economy (Chapter 6), within a liv-
ing being (Chapter 7), and in a chemical laboratory (Chapter 8). Chapter 9 describes the emergence
of spatial order in chemistry, along with examples regarding biology, physics, and geology. Then,
Chapter 10 introduces the concept of Chaos in time, whereas Chapter 11 covers Chaos in space by
presenting fractals. Chapter 12 offers the typical features of Complex Systems and outlines the link
between Natural Complexity and Computational Complexity. Finally, Chapter 13 proposes strate-
gies to try to untangle Complex Systems and win the Complexity Challenges.
PURPOSES
This book has four principal objectives and one hope. First, it traces a new interdisciplinary didactic path
in Chemistry. This book is useful for graduate students in Chemistry, who want to learn the principles
and theories regarding Non-Equilibrium Thermodynamics, Non-Linear Dynamics, and Complexity.
xv
xvi Preface
Second, the contents I present should boost the spread of interdisciplinary courses in Complex
Systems to universities around the world. Teachers of Complexity can choose this textbook when
they want to highlight the relevant contribution of chemistry.
Third, this book contributes to the training of a new generation of PhD students and researchers
who want to comprehend Complex Systems and win the Complexity Challenges.
Fourth, I want to stimulate public and private funding agencies to sustain interdisciplinary
projects on Complex Systems.
This book terminates with a question: “Can we formulate a new scientific theory for under-
standing and predicting the behavior of Complex Systems?” I hope that someone, also inspired
by this text, will contribute to the formulation of that scientific theory that we have been waiting
for many years.
ADVICE AND NOTES FOR STUDENTS AND INSTRUCTORS

In every chapter, after the presentation of the theory, I offer a list of key questions and key words
that want to help students in fixing the most important concepts that have been presented. Teachers
can exploit these lists to check the level of preparation of their students. Then, I suggest books and
papers for deepening the knowledge of the proposed content. All the chapters, except the first, offer
exercises with solutions. These exercises are useful tools to test the degree of understanding of the
theory and the subjects presented in each chapter. My suggestion is that students solve all the exer-
cises by themselves. Some of the exercises require the numerical solution of differential equations.
The solutions that I propose have been obtained by using MATLAB software. Students can use any
other software they are familiar with.
LIMITATIONS AND APOLOGIES

Regarding the references, I apologize if the reader is upset by any omissions as I did not want the
chapters to be exhaustive reviews of all the work done on that particular subject. But rather, some
representative and didactic examples are proposed. No implication is intended towards the impor-
tance of works cited relative to works not cited. I apologize in advance for those cases where my
selection is faulty. The subject of Complexity is amazingly rich and polyhedral, and apologies are
offered to those readers whose favorite topics are omitted. Of course, this book is the report of a
wonderful personal journey, and it could be enriched by additional content.
Regarding the Figures, I decided to print them in black and white to maintain a low manufacturing
price of the book and make it more affordable.
Whoever wants to suggest me either improvements or constructive corrections or share their
experience in using this textbook, please send me an e-mail to the following address: pierluigigen-
[email protected].
MATLAB® is a registered trademark of The MathWorks, Inc. For product information, please
contact:
The MathWorks, Inc.

3 Apple Hill Drive
Natick, MA 01760-2098 USA
Tel: 508 647 7000
Fax: 508-647-7001
E-mail: [email protected]
Web: www.mathworks.com
Acknowledgments
First, I want to acknowledge Dr. Lance Wobus, who in Summer 2011, after reading one of my
papers related to the field of Natural Computing, sent an e-mail proposing that I write a book on
that topic. Despite being aware of the commitment, I accepted his invitation after extending the
subject of the book to the content of my teaching activity that regards Complex Systems and the role
that Natural Computing can play in the comprehension of Complexity. I am also thankful to Senior
Editor Barbara (Glunn) Knott and Editorial Assistant Danielle Zarfati, who trusted in my project
and helped me to finalize the publication of this book.
I am grateful all my school teachers and professors at the Chemistry Department of Perugia
University, who, along with my family members and friends, contributed to my knowledge and my
forma mentis. In particular, I like to mention Prof. Giuseppe Cardaci, who taught me the principles
of Non-Equilibrium Thermodynamics and made me passionate about that field. I am also grateful
to my tutors of degree and PhD thesis in Chemistry, Prof. Giovanna Favaro, Prof. Gian Gaetano
Aloisi, Prof. Aldo Romani and Prof. Massimo Olivucci, who helped me to grow as a researcher. The
mind of the researcher, including his knowledge, his skills, and his questions, is like a mosaic whose
pieces are made from the books and papers he reads, the lectures he attends, and the colleagues he
meets and works with. In particular, I acknowledge all my direct collaborators, who are too numer-
ous to be listed here. Among them, I want to mention those who helped me to understand Complex
Systems and hosted me in their groups. They are Prof. Irving R. Epstein, Prof. Milos Dolnik,
Prof. Vladimir Vanag (now working at Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University) of the Brandeis
University (MA, USA), Prof. Jean-Claude Micheau of the Université Paul Sabatier-Toulouse III
(France), Prof. Peter Bentley of the University College of London (UK), and Prof. Peter Tompa
of the Vrije University in Brussels (Belgium). Moreover, I want to mention those who noticeably
helped me to develop my research on Natural Computing, who are Prof. Mark B. Heron, Prof.
Raimondo Germani, and Prof. Hiroshi Gotoda. I am also grateful to the Santa Fe Institute for pro-
viding exciting courses and other educational materials related to the Complex Systems science on
the “Complexity Explorer” website. I also want to acknowledge Dr. Veronica Dodero, Dr. Federico
Rossi, Dr. Marcello Budroni, Dr. Christophe Coudret and Dr. Otto Hadač for fruitful discussions
on some of the themes of this book and for suggesting me significant references. I thank Mr. Danilo
Pannacci and Prof. Cristiano Zuccaccia for their sharp questions about some of the subjects of
this book, and for the lively discussions that we had during our shared lunchtimes. I also want to
acknowledge my past students because the lectures that I gave them and the questions they asked
me have been very beneficial for writing this manuscript. I thank Mr. Andrea Nicoziani who helped
me to build a Hele-Shaw cell used for an experiment proposed in Chapter 11. I thank Mr. Antonio
Maria Cinti for bringing me a sample of malachite and one of agate with traces of periodic precipi-
tations, whose pictures are shown in Chapter 9. I thank Mr. Nicomede Pelliccia for helping me in
preparing some pictures. Then, I want to thank all my family, specifically, my parents, who have
never stopped encouraging me in my studies and research. My father helped me also to understand
the principles of the economy. Finally, I am grateful to God for the gift of life and for infusing me
the passion of scrutinizing His Creation. The more I study nature, the more I find it is breathtaking
and amazing. I thank God for guiding me in my research and for all the keen scientists who allowed
me to meet, so far.
xvii
About the Author
Pier Luigi Gentili is a PhD in Chemistry. His research and teaching activities are focused on
Complex Systems. He is trusting in Natural Computing as an effective strategy to understand
Complex Systems and face the Computational Complexity Challenges. In particular, he is developing
the innovative Chemical Artificial Intelligence. He has several collaborations and work experience
in many laboratories such as, the “Photochemistry and Photophysics Group” of the University of
Perugia (Italy); the “Nonlinear Dynamics Group” of the Brandeis University (USA); the “European
Laboratory of Nonlinear Spectroscopy” in Florence (Italy); the “Center for Photochemical Sciences”
of the Bowling Green State University (USA); the “Laboratory of Computational Chemistry and
Photochemistry” of the University of Siena (Italy).
ORCID: 0000-0003-1092-9190
xix
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1 Introduction
A life without research is not worthy of being lived.

Socrates (470–399 BC)
The most beautiful thing we can experience is the Mysterious. It is the source of all true art
and science.
Albert Einstein (1879–1955 AD)
1.1 THE NEVER-ENDING JOURNEY TO DISCOVERING

THE SECRETS OF NATURE
One of the most precious gifts of our life is the possibility of appreciating the beauty of nature. For
example, the bright colors and the peaceful silence of a breathtaking sunset admired on top of a
mountain; the variety of perfumes, colors, and shapes of flowers; the magnificence of grand trees
(see Figure 1.1); the astonishing vastness of a starry sky. These are just a few examples of a countless
number of marvels we can enjoy.
We can scrutinize the beauty of nature simply by using our senses of sight, hearing, smell,
taste, and touch. In fact, our senses are “endo-somatic tools” we use to collect information about
the outside world. The information collected by the sensory cells is transduced in electrochemical
signals that are sent to the brain. Within our brain, such information satisfies our unquenchable
“perceptual curiosity” of always experiencing something completely new, and “diversive curios-
ity” that refers to the relentless desire we must explore and seek new stimulation to avoid boredom
(Livio 2017). However, we also have “epistemic curiosity” to satisfy. It represents our “appetite for
knowledge.” Epistemic curiosity spurs us to get acquainted with natural wonders and understand
how they originated.
I think that everybody will agree with me if I say that the beauty of nature resides in its harmony,
organization, functionality, efficiency, variety, complexity.... In other words, the beauty of nature
derives from the presence of an inherent logos (λóγος), i.e., a rational logic based on laws and
principles that are universal in space and time. The natural marvels have drawn the attention and
ignited the curiosities of many men and women in the course of history. This attraction is still active,
and it will never cease until the end of life on earth. People who dedicated their lives, entirely or
partly, to the study of nature, can be called “Philo-physicists,” from the Greek “φίλος-φύσις,” which
means “fond of nature.” Philo-physicists have been gifted with unquenchable epistemic curiosity
about nature. They have discovered many natural wonders, unveiled fundamental natural laws,
and relentlessly extended human knowledge. The acquisition of new knowledge about nature has
often promoted technological developments. Technology is the ensemble of methods and tools
helpful to fulfill the natural human will of improving our psycho-physical well-being by solving
practical problems. Between science and technology, there exists a reciprocal positive feedback
action1 (see Figure 1.2). In fact, not only does scientific knowledge promotes technological develop-
ment, but any new technical achievement allows for more time and/or new tools, i.e., “exo-somatic
facilities,” to deepen our exploration of nature.
1 Feedback occurs when the output of an action becomes the input of another.
1
2 Untangling Complex Systems
FIGURE 1.1 Three examples of natural wonders.
Scientific
Technology
knowledge
Epistemic Will of improving

curiosity our well-being
FIGURE 1.2 Reciprocal positive feedback action between Science and Technology. Science is fed mainly by
epistemic curiosity, whereas technology by the dream of improving our welfare.
The journey to discovering the secrets of nature, made by humanity, has been punctuated by
two revolutionary intellectual events: (1) the birth of philosophy in the ancient Greek colonies, dur-
ing the sixth century BC, and (2) the use of the experimental method for inquiring about nature,
proposed by Galileo Galilei and finalized by Isaac Newton in the seventeenth century AD. These
two intellectual revolutions have been two “gateway events” (to use a term coined by Nobel prize
Murray Gell-Mann2). In fact, they have induced profound and fundamental changes in the human
methodology of gaining insights about nature. The two mentioned “gateway events” have been
cultural facts, and as such, they have not been abrupt, but gradual outcomes of slow evolution-
ary intellectual processes. Once across these gateways, scientific inquiry has never been the same
again. These two events split out the scientific journey into three main stages (see Figure 1.3). The
first stage is the period that preceded the birth of philosophy. It can be named as the “Practical
2 Murray Gell-Mann (1994) coined the term “gateway event” to indicate a change opening up a new kind of a phase space
with a huge increase in kinds and levels of complexity in system’s dynamics. Once through the gateway, life is never
the same again. For example, new technology is often an economic gateway event because it expands the production
possibilities frontier.
Introduction 3
Sixth century BC
Phylosophical The first philosophers
period in Greece and its colonies
Practical
period
1 × 103 BC
Stone Iron age
age ~3 × 106 BC
3 × 103 BC
Seventeenth century AD Bronze
G. Galilei age
and I. Newton
Twenty-first century AD
Experimental Computational
period period
FIGURE 1.3 The humankind journey to discovering the secrets of nature represented as a spiral
partitioned in four periods. First, the “Practical Period” started with the appearance of humankind on earth,
about 3 million years ago. Then, the birth of philosophy in sixth century BC initiated the “Philosophical
Period.” The formulation of the experimental method began the “Experimental Period” in the seventeenth
century AD. Finally, in the twenty-first century, we are waiting for the next gateway event to enter the
“Computational Period” and deeply understand Complexity.
Period” because humans, spurred by their necessities, were particularly ingenious in making arti-
facts for solving practical problems. Unconsciously, they obtained the first important achievements
in the technological development. The second stage is named as the “Philosophical Period,” because
authentic Philo-physicists started to investigate nature and human thoughts by using philosophical
reasoning. The rigorous and systematic use of experiments as a method of inquiry into nature began
only in the seventeenth century AD, opening a new stage that we can name as the “Experimental
Period.” We are still living it. Three hundred years of productive scientific investigation and aston-
ishing technological development have elapsed. Nevertheless, we still experience strong limita-
tions on our attempts to exhaustively describe systems, such as the climate and the geology of our
planet; the living beings; the human brain; the human immune system; the ecosystems on earth;
the human societies and the global economy. These are called Complex Systems. We are aware
that the traditional scientific methodologies, the available theories, and computational tools are not
enough to deeply understand and predict the behavior of Complex Systems. Therefore, we expect
that more efficient algorithms, brand-new computing machines, and probably new methodologies
and theories are needed. Do we need to study Complex Systems? Of course, yes. In fact, if we suc-
ceed to comprehend Complex Systems, we will surely possess new strategies and effective tools to
tackle the Natural Complexity Challenges. The Natural Complexity Challenges are: (1) predicting
catastrophic events on our planet (like earthquakes or volcanic eruptions) to save lives; (2) defeat-
ing diseases that are still incurable (such as glioblastoma, diabetes, HIV, etc.); (3) protecting our
environment and ecosystems from climate change and the risk of shrinking biodiversity; (4) guar-
anteeing worldwide sustainable economic growth, primarily by focusing on the energy issue; and
(5) ensuring stability in our societies.
After reading this book, it will be evident that for the comprehension of Complex Systems we
probably need a new intellectual gateway event. This third gateway event will spark a new stage in
the scientific journey to discovering the secrets of nature. It seems plausible that a proper name for
the expected next and fourth stage is “Computational period” (see Figure 1.3). In fact, whenever we
4 Untangling Complex Systems
face the description of Complex Systems, or we tackle the Natural Complexity Challenges, we need
to collect and process a vast amount of data, the so-called Big Data (Marx 2013).
In the next three paragraphs of this chapter, I present just a few relevant historical events and
achievements in the first three stages of that exciting experience, which is the human journey to
discovering the secrets of nature. Then, I outline what we expect in the fourth stage.
1.1.1 The “PracTical Period”

The first stage of the scientific journey begun, of course, with the appearance of humankind on
earth, a few millions of years ago. The early humans had to face many practical problems to sur-
vive, such as those of retrieving food supplies, defending themselves in dangerous situations, and
resting in safe shelters. It is reasonable to think that, in the beginning, our ancestors used to pick
fruit and vegetables for eating and collect available tools made of stones, wood, leaves, bones, and
leather for hunting and making shelters and clothing. Then, humankind took a giant step in the
development of Physical Technologies by making artifacts. Physical Technologies are the methods
and tools for transforming matter, energy, and information from one state into another for specific
goals (Beinhocker 2007). Direct evidence of first artifacts is found in the archeological records.
The earliest appearances of toolmaking are the crude, flaked-stone hand axes found in Africa and
date back to, at least, 3.3 million years ago (Hovers 2015). Over time, tools became lighter, smaller
and more heavily modified, suggesting a trend towards greater technological sophistication (Shea
2011). The technical improvements were promoted by careful observation of the surrounding envi-
ronment; processes of trial and error; serendipity3 and formulation of inductive rules of thumb.
Every breakthrough was presumably transmitted to children and peers, at first by grunts and body
language and then by formulating spoken languages. The invention of languages promoted the
development of Social Technologies that are the methods and tools for organizing people in pursuit
of goals (Beinhocker 2007). In fact, without language, the spread of knowledge and instructions is
highly inefficient. Language makes it easier for people to live in large groups, helps the build-up
of complex belief systems, establishes laws and theories over several generations (Szathmáry and
Számadó 2008). It was crucial to teach how to spark a fire by friction of adequately selected materi-
als, grow a plant from a seed, or establish symbiotic relationships with dogs, sheep, goats, and other
animals. The domestication of plants and animals triggered the first agricultural revolution during
the Neolithic period of the Stone Age.4 It determined the transition from hunting and gathering to
agriculture and settlement. The Neolithic revolution favored the development of sedentary societies
based on villages and towns, which radically modified their surrounding environment using irriga-
tion and food storage technologies. The size of human groupings rose significantly. Cooperation
began to extend beyond clans of family members. The Neolithic revolution determined consistent
improvement in both Physical and Social Technologies and brought about the production of a sur-
plus of foodstuffs. The food in excess was stored and carried by stone and wicker containers first,
then ceramic vessels. The first ceramic containers were produced by drying clay under the sun; then
the fire was used to “cook” them. Clay was more functional than the other materials. Our ingenious
ancestors devised the wheel to build better vessels more quickly. The principle of the wheel was
also applied to the cart, and this novelty made transport and transfer of supplies easier. There is
evidence that around 5000 BC, not only stones but even metals, such as gold and copper, found
3 The term serendipity come from the Persian fairy tale The Three Princes of Serendip, whose heroes “were always making
discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things they were not in quest of”. An inquisitive human mind can turn accidents
into discoveries.
4 The Stone Age is the first period of a Three-Age System proposed by the Danish archeologist Christian Jürgensen
Thomsen (1788–1865) for classifying ancient societies and prehistoric stages of progress. After the Stone Age, the Bronze
and Iron Ages followed.
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within us. We feel sure of rising from the perusal a wiser if not a
better man. In no instance are we deceived. From the brief Tale—
from the "Monos and Daimonos" of the author—to his most
ponderous and labored novels—all is richly, and glowingly
intellectual—all is energetic, or astute, or brilliant, or profound. There
may be men now living who possess the power of Bulwer—but it is
quite evident that very few have made that power so palpably
manifest. Indeed we know of none. Viewing him as a novelist—a
point of view exceedingly unfavorable (if we hold to the common
acceptation of "the novel") for a proper contemplation of his genius—
he is unsurpassed by any writer living or dead. Why should we
hesitate to say this, feeling, as we do, thoroughly persuaded of its
truth. Scott has excelled him in many points, and "The Bride of
Lammormuir" is a better book than any individual work by the author
of Pelham—"Ivanhoe" is, perhaps, equal to any. Descending to
particulars, D'Israeli has a more brilliant, a more lofty, and a more
delicate (we do not say a wilder) imagination. Lady Dacre has written
Ellen Wareham, a more forcible tale of Passion. In some species of
wit Theodore Hook rivals, and in broad humor our own Paulding
surpasses him. The writer of "Godolphin" equals him in energy.
Banim is a better sketcher of character. Hope is a richer colorist.
Captain Trelawney is as original—Moore is as fanciful, and Horace
Smith is as learned. But who is there uniting in one person the
imagination, the passion, the humor, the energy, the knowledge of
the heart, the artist-like eye, the originality, the fancy and the learning
of Edward Lytton Bulwer? In a vivid wit—in profundity and a Gothic
massiveness of thought—in style—in a calm certainty and
definitiveness of purpose—in industry—and above all in the power of
controlling and regulating by volition his illimitable faculties of mind,
he is unequalled—he is unapproached.
As Rienzi is the last, so it is the best novel of Bulwer. In the Preface

we are informed that the work was commenced two years ago at
Rome, but abandoned upon the author's removing to Naples, for the
"Last days of Pompeii"—a subject requiring, more than Rienzi, the
advantage of a personal residence within reach of the scenes
described. The idea of the present work, however, was never
dismissed from the writer's mind, and soon after the publication of
"Pompeii" he resumed his original undertaking. We are told that
having had occasion to look into the original authorities whence are
derived all the accounts of modern historians touching Rienzi, Mr. B.
was induced to believe that no just picture of the Life or Times of that
most remarkable man was at present in the hands of the people.
Under this impression the novelist had at first meditated a work of
History rather than of Fiction. We doubt, however, whether the spirit
of the author's intention is not better fulfilled as it is. He has adhered
with scrupulous fidelity to all the main events in the public life of his
hero; and by means of the relief afforded through the personages of
pure romance which form the filling in of the picture, he has been
enabled more fully to develop the private character of the noble
Roman. The reader may indeed be startled at the vast difference
between the Rienzi of Mr. Bulwer, and the Rienzi of Sismondi, of
Gibbon, and of Miss Mitford. But by neither of the two latter are we
disposed to swear—and of Sismondi's impartiality we can at no
moment be certain. Mr. B., moreover, very justly observes that as, in
the work before us, all the acts are given from which is derived his
interpretation of the principal agent, the public, having sufficient data
for its own judgment, may fashion an opinion for itself.
Generally, the true chronology of Rienzi's life is preserved. In regard

to the story—or that chain of fictitious incident usually binding up
together the constituent parts of a Romance—there is very little of it
in the book. This follows necessarily from the character of the
composition—which is essentially Epic rather than Dramatic. The
author's apology seems to us therefore supererogative when he
says that a work which takes for its subject the crimes and errors of
a nation and which ventures to seek the actual and the real in the
highest stage of action or passion can rarely adopt with advantage
the melo-dramatic effects produced by a vulgar mystery. In his
pictures of the Roman populace, and in those of the Roman nobles
of the fourteenth century—pictures full at all times of an enthralling
interest—Mr. B. professes to have followed literally the descriptions
left to us.
Miss Mitford's Rienzi will of course be remembered in reading that of
Bulwer. There is however but one point of coincidence—a love-
intrigue between a relative of the hero and one of the party of the
nobles. This, it will be recollected, forms the basis of the plot of Miss
M. In the Rienzi of Bulwer, it is an Episode not affecting in any
manner either the story itself, or the destinies of the Tribune.
It is by no means our intention to give an analysis of the volume

before us. Every person who reads at all will read Rienzi, and indeed
the book is already in the hands of many millions of people. Any
thing, therefore, like our usual custom of a digest of the narrative
would be superfluous. The principal characters who figure in the
novel are Rienzi himself—his brother, whose slaughter by a noble at
the commencement of the story, is the immediate cause of Rienzi's
change of temper and consequent exaltation—Adrian di Castello, a
young noble of the family of Colonna but attached to the cause of the
people—Martino di Porto the chief of the house of the Orsini—
Stephen Colonna, the chief of the house of the Colonna—Walter de
Montreal, a gentleman of Provence, a knight of St. John, and one of
the formidable freebooters who at the head of large "Companies"
invaded states and pillaged towns at the period of Rienzi's
Revolution—Pandulfo di Guido a student, whom, under the
appellation of Pandolficcio di Guido, Gibbon styles "the most virtuous
citizen of Rome"—Cecco del Vecchio a smith—Giles D'Albornoz of
the royal race of Arragon—Petrarch the poet, and the friend of Rienzi
—Angelo Villani—Irene, the sister of the Tribune and betrothed to
Adrian di Castello—Nina, Rienzi's wife—and Adeline, the mistress of
Walter de Montreal.
But as was said before, we should err radically if we regard Rienzi

altogether in the light of Romance. Undoubtedly as such—as a
fiction, and coming under the title of a novel, it is a glorious, a
wonderful conception, and not the less wonderfully and gloriously
carried out. What else could we say of a book over which the mind
so delightedly lingers in perusal? In its delineations of passion and
character—in the fine blending and contrasting of its incidents—in
the rich and brilliant tints of its feudal paintings—in a pervading air of
chivalry, and grace, and sentiment—in all that can throw a charm
over the pages of Romance, the last novel of Bulwer is equal, if not
superior, to any of his former productions. Still we should look at the
work in a different point of view. It is History. We hesitate not to say
that it is History in its truest—in its only true, proper, and
philosophical garb. Sismondi's works—were not. There is no greater
error than dignifying with the name of History a tissue of dates and
details, though the dates be ordinarily correct, and the details
indisputably true. Not even with the aid of acute comment will such a
tissue satisfy our individual notions of History. To the effect let us
look—to the impression rather than to the seal. And how very
seldom is any definite impression left upon the mind of the historical
reader! How few bear away—even from the pages of Gibbon—
Rome and the Romans. Vastly different was the genius of Niebuhr—
than whom no man possessed a more discriminative understanding
of the uses and the purposes of the pen of the historiographer. But
we digress. Bearing in mind that "to contemplate"—ιςορειν1—should
and must be allowed a more noble and a more expansive
acceptation than has been usually given it, we shall often discover in
Fiction the essential spirit and vitality of Historic Truth—while Truth
itself, in many a dull and lumbering Archive, shall be found guilty of
all the inefficiency of Fiction.
1 History, from ιςορειν, to contemplate, seems, among the Greeks, to have embraced
not only the knowledge of past events, but also Mythology, Esopian, and Milesian
fables, Romance, Tragedy and Comedy. But our business is with things, not words.
Rienzi, then, is History. But there are other aspects in which it may
be regarded with advantage. Let us survey it as a profound and lucid
exposition of the morale of Government—of the Philosophies of Rule
and Misrule—of the absolute incompatibility of Freedom and
Ignorance—Tyranny in the few and Virtue in the many. Let us
consider it as something akin to direct evidence that a people is not
a mob, nor a mob a people, nor a mob's idol the idol of a people—
that in a nation's self is the only security for a nation—and that it is
absolutely necessary to model upon the character of the governed,
the machinery, whether simple or complex, of the governmental
legislation.
It is proper—we are persuaded—that Rienzi should be held up in

these many different points of view, if we desire fully to appreciate its
own merits and the talents of Mr. Bulwer. But regard it as we will, it is
an extraordinary work—and one which leaves nothing farther to
accomplish in its own particular region. It is vastly superior to the
"Last Days of Pompeii"—more rich—more glowing, and more
vigorous. With all and more than all the distinguishing merits of its
noble predecessor, it has none of its chilliness—none of that
platitude which (it would not be difficult to say why) is the inevitable
result of every attempt at infusing warmth among the marble
wildernesses, and vitality into the statue-like existences, of the too-
distantly antique.
We will conclude our notice of Rienzi with an Extract. We choose it

not with any view of commending it above others—for the book has
many equally good and some better—but to give our readers—such
of them as have not yet seen the novel, an opportunity of comparing
the passage with some similar things in Boccaccio. We may as well
say that in all which constitutes good writing the Englishman is
infinitely the superior. What we select is Chapter V, of the sixth Book.
Irene, the betrothed of the noble Roman Adrian di Castello, being in
Florence during the time of the Great Plague, is sought by her lover
at the peril of his life. Overpowered by a fever he meets with Irene—
but his delirium prevents a recognition. She conveys him to one of
the deserted mansions, and officiates as his nurse. Having thrown
aside her mantle, under the impression that it retained the infection
of the Pestilence, it is found and worn by another.
THE ERROR.
For three days, the three fatal days, did Adrian remain bereft of
strength and sense. But he was not smitten by the scourge
which his devoted and generous nurse had anticipated. It was a
fierce and dangerous fever, brought on by the great fatigue,
restlessness, and terrible agitation he had undergone.
No professional mediciner could be found to attend him but a
good friar, better perhaps skilled in the healing art than many
who claimed its monopoly, visited him daily. And in the long and
frequent absences to which his other and numerous duties
compelled the monk, there was one ever at hand to smooth the
pillow, to wipe the brow, to listen to the moan, to watch the
sleep. And even in that dismal office, when, in the frenzy of the
sufferer, her name, coupled with terms of passionate
endearment, broke from his lips, a thrill of strange pleasure
crossed the heart of the betrothed, which she chid as if it were a
crime. But even the most unearthly love is selfish in the rapture
of being loved! Words cannot tell, heart cannot divine, the
mingled emotions that broke over her when, in some of those
incoherent ravings, she dimly understood that for her the city
had been sought, the death dared, the danger incurred. And as
then bending passionately to kiss that burning brow, her tears
fell fast over the idol of her youth, the fountains from which they
gushed were those, fathomless and countless, which a life could
not weep away. Not an impulse of the human and the woman
heart that was not stirred; the adoring gratitude, the meek
wonder thus to be loved, while deeming it so simple a merit thus
to love;—as if all sacrifice in her were a thing of course,—to her,
a virtue nature could not paragon, worlds could not repay! And
there he lay, the victim to his own fearless faith, helpless—
dependent upon her—a thing between life and death, to thank,
to serve—to be proud of, yet to protect—to compassionate, yet
revere—the saver, to be saved! Never seemed one object to
demand at once from a single heart so many and so profound
emotions; the romantic enthusiasm of the girl!—the fond idolatry
of the bride—the watchful providence of the mother over her
child.
And strange to say, with all the excitement of that lonely watch,
scarcely stirring from his side, taking food only that her strength
might not fail her,—unable to close her eyes—though, from the
same cause, she would fain have taken rest, when slumber fell
upon her charge—with all such wear and tear of frame and
heart, she seemed wonderfully supported. And the holy man
marvelled, in each visit, to see the cheek of the nurse still fresh,
and her eye still bright. In her own superstition she thought and
felt that Heaven gifted her with a preternatural power to be true
to so sacred a charge: and in this fancy she did not wholly err;—
for Heaven did gift her with that diviner power, when it planted in
so soft a heart the enduring might and energy of Affection! The
friar had visited the sick man, late on the third night, and
administered to him a strong sedative—"This night," said he to
Irene, "will be the crisis—should he awaken, as I trust he may,
with a returning consciousness, and a calm pulse, he will live—if
not, young daughter, prepare for the worst. But should you note
any turn in the disease, that may excite alarm, or require my
attendance, this scroll will inform you where I am if God spare
me still, at each hour of the night and morning."
The monk retired and Irene resumed her watch.
The sleep of Adrian was at first broken and interrupted—his

features, his exclamations, his gestures, all evinced great agony
whether mental or bodily—it seemed, as perhaps it was, a fierce
and doubtful struggle between life and death for the conquest of
the sleeper. Patient, silent, breathing but by long-drawn gasps,
Irene sate at the bed-head. The lamp was removed to the
further end of the chamber, and its ray, shaded by the draperies,
did not suffice to give to her gaze more than the outline of the
countenance she watched. In that awful suspense, all the
thoughts that hitherto had stirred her mind lay hushed and mute.
She was only sensible to that unutterable fear which few of us
have been happy enough not to know. That crushing weight
under which we can scarcely breathe or move, the avalanche
over us, freezing and suspended, which we cannot escape from,
with which, every moment, we may be buried and overwhelmed.
The whole destiny of life was in the chances of that single night!
It was just as Adrian at last seemed to glide into a deeper and
serener slumber, that the bells of the death-cart broke with their
boding knell the palpable silence of the streets. Now hushed,
now revived, as the cart stopped for its gloomy passengers, and
coming nearer and nearer after every pause. At length she
heard the heavy wheels stop under the very casement, and a
voice deep and muffled calling aloud "Bring out the dead!" She
rose, and with a noiseless step, passed to secure the door,
when the dull lamp gleamed upon the dark and shrouded forms
of the Becchini.
"You have not marked the door, nor set out the body," said one
gruffly, "but this is the third night! He is ready for us!"
"Hush, he sleeps—away, quick, it is not the Plague that seized

him."
"Not the Plague," growled the Becchino in a disappointed tone,

"I thought no other illness dared encroach upon the rights of the
gavocciolo!"
"Go, here's money, leave us."
And the grisly carrier sullenly withdrew. The cart moved on, the
bell renewed its summons, till slowly and faintly the dreadful
larum died in the distance.
Shading the lamp with her hand, Irene stole to the bed-side,
fearful that the sound and the intrusion had disturbed the
slumberer. But his face was still locked, as in a vice, with that
iron sleep. He stirred not—his breath scarcely passed his lips—
she felt his pulse, as the wand lay on the coverlid—there was a
slight heat—she was contented—removed the light, and, retiring
to a corner of the room, placed the little cross suspended round
her neck upon the table, and prayed—in her intense suffering—
to Him who had known death, and who—Son of Heaven though
he was, and Sovereign of the Seraphim—had also prayed, in his
earthly travail, that the cup might pass away.
The morning broke, not, as in the north, slowly and through

shadow, but with the sudden glory with which in those climates
Day leaps upon earth—like a giant from his sleep. A sudden
smile—a burnished glow—and night had vanished. Adrian still
slept; not a muscle seemed to have stirred; the sleep was even
heavier than before; the silence became a burthen upon the air.
Now, in that exceeding torpor so like unto death, the solitary
watcher became alarmed and terrified. Time passed—morning
glided to noon—still not a sound nor motion. The sun was mid-
way in heaven—the friar came not. And now again touching
Adrian's pulse, she felt no flutter—she gazed on him, appalled
and confounded; surely nought living could be so still and pale.
"Was it indeed sleep, might it not be ——." She turned away,
sick and frozen; her tongue clove to her lips. Why did the father
tarry—she would go to him—she would learn the worst—she
could forbear no longer. She glanced over the scroll the monk
had left her: "From sunrise," it said, "I shall be at the Convent of
the Dominicans. Death has stricken many of the brethren." The
Convent was at some distance, but she knew the spot, and fear
would wing her steps. She gave one wistful look at the sleeper,
and rushed from the house. "I shall see thee again presently,"
she murmured. Alas! what hope can calculate beyond the
moment. And who shall claim the tenure of "The Again!"
It was not many minutes after Irene had left the room, ere, with
a long sigh, Adrian opened his eyes—an altered and another
man; the fever was gone, the reviving pulse beat low indeed, but
calm. His mind was once more master of his body, and, though
weak and feeble, the danger was past, and life and intellect
regained.
"I have slept long," he muttered—"and oh such dreams—and

methought I saw Irene, but could not speak to her; and while I
attempted to grasp her, her face changed, her form dilated, and
I was in the clutch of the foul grave-digger. It is late—the sun is
high—I must be up and stirring. Irene is in Lombardy. No, no;
that was a lie, a wicked lie—she is at Florence—I must renew
my search."
As this duty came to his remembrance, he rose from the bed—
he was amazed at his own debility; at first he could not stand
without support from the wall—by degrees, however, he so far
regained the mastery of his limbs, as to walk, though with effort
and pain. A ravening hunger preyed upon him; he found some
scanty and light food in the chamber, which he devoured
eagerly. And with scarce less eagerness laved his enfeebled
form and haggard face with the water that stood at hand. He
now felt refreshed and invigorated, and began to indue his
garments, which he found thrown on a heap beside the bed. He
gazed with surprise and a kind of self-compassion upon his
emaciated hands and shrunken limbs, and began now to
comprehend that he must have had some severe but
unconscious illness. "Alone too," thought he, "no one near to
tend me! Nature my only nurse! But alas! alas! how long a time
may thus have been wasted, and my adored Irene——quick,
quick, not a moment more will I lose."
He soon found himself in the open street; the air revived him;
and that morning, the first known for weeks, had sprung up the
blessed breeze. He wandered on very slowly and feebly till he
came to a broad square, from which, in the vista, might be seen
one of the principal gates of Florence, and the fig-trees and
olive-groves beyond. It was then that a pilgrim of tall stature
approached towards him as from the gate; his hood was thrown
back, and gave to view a countenance of great but sad
command; a face, in whose high features, massive brow, and
proud, unshrinking gaze, shaded by an expression of
melancholy more stern than soft, Nature seemed to have written
majesty, and Fate disaster. As in that silent and dreary place,
these two, the only tenants of the street, now encountered,
Adrian stopped abruptly, and said in a startled and doubting
voice: "Do I dream still, or do I behold Rienzi?"
The pilgrim paused also, as he heard the name, and gazing long
on the attenuated features of the young lord, said: "I am he that
was Rienzi! and you, pale shadow, is it in this grave of Italy that I
meet with the gay and high Colonna? Alas, young friend," he
added in a more relaxed and kindly voice, "hath the Plague not
spared the flower of the Roman nobles? Come, I, the cruel and
the harsh tribune, I will be thy nurse: he who might have been
my brother, shall yet claim from me a brother's care."
With these words, he wound his arm tenderly round Adrian; and
the young noble, touched by his compassion, and agitated by
the surprize, leant upon Rienzi's breast in silence.
"Poor youth," resumed the Tribune, for so since rather fallen

than deposed he may yet be called, "I ever loved the young; (my
brother died young!) and you more than most. What fatality
brought thee hither?"
"Irene!" replied Adrian falteringly.
"Is it so, really? Art thou a Colonna, and yet prize the fallen?
The same duty has brought me also to the City of Death. From
the farthest south—over the mountains of the robber—through
the fastnesses of my foes—through towns in which the herald
proclaimed in my ear the price of my head—I have passed
hither, on foot and alone, safe under the wings of the Almighty
One. Young man, thou shouldst have left this task to one who
bears a wizard's life, and whom Heaven and Earth yet reserve
for an appointed end!"
The Tribune said this in a deep and inward voice; and in his
raised eye and solemn brow might be seen how much his
reverses had deepened his fanaticism, and added even to the
sanguineness of his hopes.
"But," asked Adrian, withdrawing gently from Rienzi's arm, "thou

knowest, then, where Irene is to be found, let us go together.
Lose not a moment in this talk—time is of inestimable value, and
a moment in this city is often but the border to eternity."
"Right," said Rienzi, awakening to his object. "But fear not; I
have dreamt that I shall save her, the gem and darling of my
house. Fear not—I have no fear."
"Know you where to seek," said Adrian, impatiently; "the

convent holds far other guests."
"Ha! so said my dream!"
"Talk not now of dreams," said the lover, "but if you have no
other guide, let us part at once in quest of her; I will take yonder
street, you take the opposite, and at sunset let us meet in the
same spot."
"Rash man," said the Tribune, with great solemnity, "scoff not at
the visions which Heaven makes a parable to its Chosen. Thou
seekest counsel of thy human wisdom; I, less presumptuous,
follow the hand of the mysterious Providence, moving even now
before my gaze as a pillar of light, through the wilderness of
dread. Ay, meet we here at sunset, and prove whose guide is
the most unerring. If my dream tell me true, I shall see my sister
living, ere the sun reach yonder hill, and by a church dedicated
to St. Mark."
The grave earnestness with which Rienzi spoke, impressed

Adrian with a hope his reason would not acknowledge. He saw
him depart with that proud and stately step to which his
sweeping garments gave a yet more imposing dignity, and then
passed up the street to the right hand. He had not got half way
when he felt himself pulled by the mantle. He turned and saw
the shapeless mask of a Becchino.
"I feared you were sped, and that another had cheated me of
my office," said the grave-digger, "seeing that you returned not
to the old prince's palace. You don't know me from the rest of
us, I see, but I am the one you told to seek——"
"Irene!"
"Yes, Irene di Gabrini, you promised ample reward."
"You shall have it."
"Follow me."
The Becchino strode on, and soon arrived at a mansion. He

knocked twice at the porter's entrance; an old woman cautiously
opened the door. "Fear not, good aunt," said the grave-digger,
"this is the young lord I spoke to thee of. Thou sayest thou hadst
two ladies in the palace, who alone survived of all the lodgers,
and their names were Bianca di Medici, and—what was the
other?"
"Irene di Gabrini, a Roman lady. But I told thee this was the
fourth day they left the house, terrified by the deaths within it."
"Thou didst so—and was there any thing remarkable in the

dress of the Signora di Gabrini?"
"Yes, I have told thee, a blue mantle, such as I have rarely seen,
wrought with silver."
"Was the broidery that of stars, silver stars," exclaimed Adrian,

"with a sun in the centre."
"It was!"
"Alas! alas! the arms of the Tribune's family! I remember how I

praised the mantle the first day she wore it—the day on which
we were betrothed!" And the lover at once conjectured the
secret sentiment which had induced Irene to retain so carefully a
robe so endeared by association.
"You know no more of your lodgers?"
"Nothing."
"And is this all you have learnt, knave?" cried Adrian.

"Patience. I must bring you from proof to proof, and link to link,
in order to win my reward. Follow, Signor."
The Becchino then passing through the several lanes and

streets, arrived at another house of less magnificent size and
architecture. Again he tapped thrice at the parlor door, and this
time came forth a man withered, old, and palsied, whom death
seemed to disdain to strike.
"Signor Astuccio," said the Becchino, "pardon me; but I told thee
I might trouble thee again. This is the gentleman who wants to
know, what is often best unknown—but that's not my affair. Did a
lady—young and beautiful—with dark hair, and of a slender
form, enter this house, stricken with the first symptom of the
plague, three days since?"
"Ay, thou knowest that well enough—and thou knowest still

better—that she has departed these two days; it was quick work
with her, quicker than with most!"
"Did she wear any thing remarkable?"
"Yes, troublesome man, a blue cloak with stars of silver."
"Couldst thou guess aught of her previous circumstances?"
"No, save that she raved much about the nunnery of Santa
Maria dei Pazza, and bravos, and sacrilege."
"Are you satisfied, Signor?" asked the grave-digger, with an air

of triumph, turning to Adrian. "But no, I will satisfy thee better, if
thou hast courage. Wilt thou follow?"
"I comprehend thee; lead on. Courage! what is there on earth

now to fear?"
Muttering to himself—"Ay, leave me alone. I have a head worth

something; I ask no gentleman to go by my word; I will make his
own eyes the judge of what my trouble is worth." The grave-
digger now led the way through one of the gates a little out of
the city. And here under a shed sat six of his ghastly and ill-
omened brethren, with spades and pick-axes at their feet.
His guide now turned round to Adrian, whose face was set and
resolute in despair.
"Fair Signor," said he, with some touch of lingering compassion,

"wouldst thou really convince thine own eyes and heart; the
sight may appal, the contagion may destroy thee,—if, indeed, as
it seems to me, Death has not already written 'mine' upon thee."
"Raven of bode and woe," answered Adrian, "seest thou not that
all I shrink from is thy voice and aspect? Show me her I seek,
living or dead."
"I will show her to you, then," said the Becchino, sullenly, "such
as two nights since she was committed to my charge. Line and
lineament may already be swept away, for the Plague hath a
rapid besom; but I have left that upon her by which you will
know the Becchino is no liar. Bring hither the torches, comrades,
and lift the door. Never stare; it's the gentleman's whim, and he'll
pay it well."
Turning to the right, while Adrian mechanically followed his

conductors,—a spectacle whose dire philosophy crushes as
with a wheel all the pride of mortal man—the spectacle of that
vault in which earth hides all that on earth flourished, rejoiced,
exulted—awaited his eye!
The Becchino lifted a ponderous grate, lowered their torches

(scarcely needed, for through the aperture rushed, with a
hideous glare, the light of the burning sun,) and motioned to
Adrian to advance. He stood upon the summit of the abyss and
gazed below.
* * * * *
* * * * *
It was a large, deep and circular space, like the bottom of an

exhausted well. In niches cut into the walls of earth around, lay,
duly confined, those who had been the earliest victims of the
plague, when the Becchino's market was not yet glutted, and
priest followed, and friend mourned, the dead. But on the floor
below, there was the loathsome horror! Huddled and matted
together,—some naked, some in shrouds already black and
rotten,—lay the later guests, the unshriven and unblest! The
torches, the sun, streamed broad and red over corruption in all
its stages, from the pale blue tint and swollen shape, to the
moistened undistinguishable mass, or the riddled bones, where
yet clung, in strips and tatters, the black and mangled flesh. In
many the face remained almost perfect, while the rest of the
body was but bone; the long hair, the human face, surmounting
the grisly skeleton. There, was the infant, still on the mother's
breast; there, was the lover stretched across the dainty limbs of
his adored! The rats (for they clustered in numbers to that feast,)
disturbed, not scared, sate up from their horrid meal as the light
glimmered over them, and thousands of them lay round, stark
and dead, poisoned by that they fed on! There, too, the wild
satire of the grave-diggers had cast, though stripped of their
gold and jewels, the emblems that spoke of departed rank;—the
broken wand of the Councillor; the General's baton; the Priestly
Mitre! The foul and livid exhalations gathered like flesh itself,
fungous and putrid, upon the walls, and the——
* * * * *
* * * * *
But who shall detail the ineffable and unimaginable horrors that
reigned over the Palace where the Great King received the
prisoners whom the sword of the Pestilence had subdued.
But through all that crowded court—crowded with beauty and

with birth, with the strength of the young and the honors of the
old, and the valor of the brave, and the wisdom of the learned,
and the wit of the scorner, and the piety of the faithful—one only
figure attracted Adrian's eye. Apart from the rest, a late comer—
the long locks streaming far and dark over arm and breast—lay
a female, the face turned partially aside, the little seen not
recognisable even by the mother of the dead,—but wrapped
round in that fatal mantle, on which, though blackened and
tarnished, was yet visible the starry heraldry assumed by those
who claimed the name of the proud Tribune of Rome. Adrian
saw no more—he fell back in the arms of the grave diggers:
when he recovered, he was still without the gates of Florence—
reclined upon a green mound—his guide stood beside him—
holding his steed by the bridle as it grazed patiently on the
neglected grass. The other brethren of the axe had resumed
their seat under the shed.
"So you have revived; ah! I thought it was only the effluvia; few
stand it as we do. And so, as your search is over, deeming you
would not be quitting Florence if you have any sense left to you,
I went for your good horse. I have fed him since your departure
from the palace. Indeed I fancied he would be my perquisite, but
there are plenty as good. Come, young Sir, mount. I feel a pity
for you, I know not why, except that you are the only one I have
met for weeks who seem to care for another more than for
yourself. I hope you are satisfied now that I showed some
brains, eh! in your service, and as I have kept my promise, you'll
keep yours."
"Friend," said Adrian, "here is gold enough to make thee rich;

here too is a jewel that merchants will tell thee princes might vie
to purchase. Thou seemest honest, despite thy calling, or thou
mightest have robbed and murdered me long since. Do me one
favor more."
"By my poor mother's soul, yes."
"Take yon—yon clay from that fearful place. Inter it in some quiet
and remote spot—apart—alone! You promise me—you swear it
—it is well. And now help me on my horse."
"Farewell Italy, and if I die not with this stroke, may I die as befits
at once honor and despair—with trumpet and banner round me
—in a well-fought field against a worthy foe!—save a knightly
death nothing is left to live for!"
Here, in many incidents of extraordinary force—in the call of the

Becchini on the third night—in the most agonizing circumstance of
Irene's abandonment of Adrian—in the bodily weakness and mental
prostration of that young nobleman—in the desolation of the streets
—in the meeting with Rienzi—in the colossal dignity of the words, "I
am he that was Rienzi!"—in the affectionate attention of the fallen
hero—and lastly, in the appalling horror of the vault and its details—
may be seen and will be felt much, but not all, of the exceeding
power of the "Last of the Tribunes."
ROGET'S PHYSIOLOGY.
Animal and Vegetable Physiology, considered with reference to

Natural Theology. By Peter Mark Roget, M.D. Secretary to the Royal
Society, &c. &c. 2 vols, large octavo. Philadelphia: Republished by
Carey, Lea, and Blanchard.
As we have no doubt that the great majority of our readers are

acquainted with the circumstances attending the publication of the
Bridgewater Treatises, we shall content ourselves with a very brief
statement of those circumstances, by way of introduction to some
few observations respecting this, the fifth of the Series.
Francis Henry, Earl of Bridgewater, who died some time in the

beginning of the year 1829, directed certain Trustees mentioned in
his Will, to invest eight thousand pounds sterling in the public funds,
which eight thousand pounds, with the interest accruing, was to be
under the control of the President, for the time being, of the Royal
Society of London. The money thus invested, was to be paid by the
President to such person or persons as he, the President, should
appoint to "write, print and publish, one thousand copies of a work,
On the Power, Wisdom, and Goodness of God, as manifested in the
Creation; illustrating such work by all reasonable arguments, as, for
instance, the variety and formation of God's creatures, in the animal,
vegetable, and mineral kingdoms; the effect of digestion, and
thereby of conversion; the construction of the hand of man, and an
infinite variety of other arguments; as also by discoveries ancient
and modern, in arts, sciences, and the whole extent of literature."
The profits of the works were to be paid to the authors.
Davies Gilbert, Esq. being President of the Royal Society, advised

with the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Bishop of London, and "a
nobleman immediately connected with the deceased," in regard to
the best mode of carrying into effect the design of the testator. It was
finally resolved to divide the eight thousand pounds among eight
gentlemen, who were to compose eight Treatises as follows.
Thomas Chalmers, D.D. Professor of Divinity in the University of
Edinburgh, was to write on "The Power, Wisdom, and Goodness of
God, as manifested in the Adaptation of External Nature to the Moral
and Intellectual Constitution of Man,"—John Kidd, M.D. F. R. S.
Regius Professor of Medicine in the University of Oxford, on "The
Adaptation of External Nature to the Physical Condition of Man,"—
William Whewell, M.A. F. R. S. Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge,
on "Astronomy and General Physics considered with reference to
Natural Theology,"—Sir Charles Bell, K. G. H. F. R. S. L. and E. on
"The Hand: its Mechanism and Vital Endowments as Evincing
Design,"—Peter Mark Roget, M.D. Fellow of and Secretary to the
Royal Society, on "Animal and Vegetable Physiology,"—William
Buckland, D.D. F. R. S. Professor of Geology in the University of
Oxford, on "Geology and Mineralogy,"—William Kirby, M.A. F. R. S.,
on "The History, Habits, and Instincts of Animals"—and William
Prout, M.D. F. R. S., on "Chemistry, Meteorology, and the Function of
Digestion, considered with Reference to Natural Theology."
However excellent and praiseworthy the intention of the Earl of

Bridgewater, and however liberal the sum bequeathed, there can be
little doubt that in the wording of his bequest, in the encumbering of
the work so nobly proposed with a specification of the arguments to
be employed in its execution, he has offered a very serious
impediment to the fulfilment of the spirit of his design. It is perhaps,
too, a matter of regret, that the introduction of the words "person or
persons" in the paragraph touching the contemplated publication,
should have left it optional with the President of the Royal Society to
divide the eight thousand pounds among so many. We are sorry that
the eight treatises were determined upon for several reasons. First,
we do not believe any such arrangement to have been contemplated
by the testator—his words "write, print, and publish one thousand
copies of a work," &c., inducing the opinion that one single book or
treatise was intended: and we the rather hold to this belief, as it
might easily be proved (we will speak farther of this hereafter,) that
the whole argument set forth in the words of the Testament, and
indeed the whole arguments of the whole eight Treatises now
published, might have been readily discussed in one connected work
of no greater bulk than the Physiology whose title forms the heading
of this article. In the second place—the bequest of the eight
thousand pounds, which en masse, is magnificent, and which might
thus have operated as a sufficient inducement for some one
competent person to devote a sufficiency of time to the steady and
gradual completion of a noble and extraordinary work—this bequest,
we say, is somewhat of a common-place affair when we regard it in
its subdivision. Thirdly, one thousand pounds is but little for the labor
necessary in a work like any one of the Treatises, and we are
mistaken if the "profits of the sales" meet in any degree either the
merits or the expectations of the respective authors. If they do,
however, it is a matter altogether foreign to and apart from the
liberality of the testator—a liberality whose proper development
should have been scrupulously borne in view by the Trustee.
Fourthly—the result of the combination of a number of intellects is
seldom in any case—never in a case like the present—equal to the
sum of the results of the same intellects laboring individually—the
difference, generally, being in precise ratio with the number of the
intellects engaged. It follows that each writer of a Bridgewater
Treatise has been employed at a disadvantage. Lastly—an accurate

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International Standard Book Number-13: 978-1-4665-0942-9 (Hardback)

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To God, my family, all my past, present, and next students, and

Chapter 1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................1

Chapter 2 Reversibility or Irreversibility? That Is the Question! ............................................... 21

Chapter 3 Out-of-Equilibrium Thermodynamics ....................................................................... 41

3.3 Non-equilibrium Thermodynamics in Linear Regime ................................. 50

Chapter 4 An Amazing Scientific Voyage: From Equilibrium up to Self-Organization

Chapter 5 The Emergence of Temporal Order in the Ecosystems............................................ 117

Chapter 6 The Emergence of Temporal Order in the Economy ............................................... 147

7.8 Key Words ................................................................................................... 192

Chapter 8 The Emergence of Temporal Order in a Chemical Laboratory ............................... 197

Chapter 9 The Emergence of Order in Space ........................................................................... 241

9.7 “Chemical” Waves in Biology ..................................................................... 275

Chapter 10 The Emergence of Chaos in Time ............................................................................ 317

10.9 Mastering Chaos........................................................................................ 352

Chapter 11 Chaos in Space: The Fractals ................................................................................... 379

Chapter 12 Complex Systems ..................................................................................................... 415

12.5 Key Questions ...........................................................................................446

Chapter 13 How to Untangle Complex Systems? ....................................................................... 457

Appendix A: Numerical Solutions of Differential Equations .................................................. 503

ADVICE AND NOTES FOR STUDENTS AND INSTRUCTORS

LIMITATIONS AND APOLOGIES

The MathWorks, Inc.

A life without research is not worthy of being lived.

1.1 THE NEVER-ENDING JOURNEY TO DISCOVERING

FIGURE 1.1 Three examples of natural wonders.

Epistemic Will of improving

1.1.1 The “PracTical Period”

As Rienzi is the last, so it is the best novel of Bulwer. In the Preface

Generally, the true chronology of Rienzi's life is preserved. In regard

It is by no means our intention to give an analysis of the volume

But as was said before, we should err radically if we regard Rienzi

It is proper—we are persuaded—that Rienzi should be held up in

We will conclude our notice of Rienzi with an Extract. We choose it

The monk retired and Irene resumed her watch.

The sleep of Adrian was at first broken and interrupted—his

"Hush, he sleeps—away, quick, it is not the Plague that seized

"Not the Plague," growled the Becchino in a disappointed tone,

"Go, here's money, leave us."

The morning broke, not, as in the north, slowly and through

"I have slept long," he muttered—"and oh such dreams—and

"Poor youth," resumed the Tribune, for so since rather fallen

"Irene!" replied Adrian falteringly.

"But," asked Adrian, withdrawing gently from Rienzi's arm, "thou