166 SCIENCE AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE ORGANISM 



nothing more about it, except that it must exist in some 

 form though not in any form known from the Inorganic ; 

 but nothing would be established about its role in the 

 processes of life. 



Certain Facts 



Before going on in our analysis, let us appeal to certain 

 facts regarding the actual relation between the inorganic 

 forms of energy and vitality. The latest researches, carried 

 out most carefully, especially by Eubner and Atwater, have 

 shown that there is no difference at all between the sums 

 of energy leaving and entering the organism, as far as the 

 adult organism is considered, in which metabolism is almost 

 completely functional and not morphogenetic. Considering 

 the heat of combustion of the food, and comparing it with 

 the heat of combustion of all excreta, added to the thermo- 

 dynamical equivalent of the actual work performed, the two 

 values are found to be equal within the limits of error. 1 

 Such a result greatly simplifies the problem of energy : 

 subsidiary energies are unnecessary for understanding 

 functioning energetically. The results would be different, 

 probably, if in the place of the adult the developing 

 organism were the subject of study : but it seems to me 

 that even in this case a real equation between the energy 

 taken in and the energy given out might be gained, if all 

 substances which are chemically stored during ontogeny, or 

 rather, which are stored as chemical ones, were considered 



1 A good summary is given by Zwaardemakcr, Ergebnisse d. Pliysiol. 5, 

 1906. 



