OKENS THEORIES. 97 



I^ow, we need only change the expression ''original slime" 

 (Urschleim) into Protojplasmi, or cell-suhstance, in order to 

 arrive at one of the grandest results which we owe to 

 microscopic investigations during the last ten years, more 

 especially to those of Max Schultze. By these investigations 

 it has been shown that in all living^ bodies, without ex- 

 ception, there exists a certain quantity of mucilaginous albu- 

 minous matter, in a semi-fluid condition; and that this 

 nitrogen-holding carbon-compound is exclusively the ori- 

 ginal seat and agent of all the phenomena of life, and of 

 all production of organic forms. All other substances which 

 appear in the organism, besides these, are either formed by 

 this active matter of life, or have been introduced from with- 

 out. The organic egg, the original cell out of which every 

 animal and plant is first developed, consists essentially only 

 of one round little lump of such albuminous matter. Even 

 the yolk of an egg is nothing but albumen, mixed with 

 granules of fat. Oken was therefore right when, more 

 divining than knowing, he made the assertion — "Every 

 organic thing has arisen out of slime, and is nothing but 

 slime in different forms. This primitive slime originated 

 in the sea, from inorganic matter in the course of planetary- 

 evolution." 



Another equally grand idea of the same philosopher is 

 closely connected with his theory of primitive slime, which 

 coincides with the extremely important Protoplasm theoru 

 Eor Oken, as early as 1809, asserted that the primitive 

 slime produced in the sea by spontaneous generation, at 

 once assumed the form of microscopically small bladders, 

 which he called " Mile'' or " Infusoria!' " Organic nature 

 has for its basis an infinity of such vesicles." These little 



