Georges Louis Leclerc, Comte de BuffonThinkers

The Archetype (n.) can ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠stand behind you, as in a chain, or ahead of you, as in a tree; Buffon's network lets it be both at once.

The Individual (n.) is ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠nature's answer to a problem it set itself: how to do three things at once, feed, reproduce and grow, with the least compromise.

Nature (n.) does ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠not climb a ladder; it spreads, and each step it takes goes in all directions at once.