42 WHAT IS LIFE 



may not be accepted or rejected because of philo- 

 sophical considerations. Philosophical considerations 

 may not enter. 



The present effort is a definitely limited one, and 

 expressly concerned merely with a theory — not with 

 philosophy. 



On presenting an invention or discovery to be 

 patented, it is obligatory upon the inventor specifically 

 to enumerate the points for which he claims original- 

 ity, and to state the uses which his discovery or 

 invention serves. Obviously, such enumeration re- 

 duces the labor of investigating the merits of an 

 alleged discovery. 



This consideration of expediency has prompted me 

 briefly to enumerate what I conceive to be the ele- 

 ments of originality contained in my theory of life, 

 and its uses as a tool. (Chapter Six.) I have 

 found it easy to do this quite frankly, since I have 

 studied these subjects long enough to be able to 

 take a detached and impersonal view of my work. 

 Besides, there is the overwhelming sense of the im- 

 mensity of the subject and of the pitiful smallness 

 of an individual investigator's capacity for achieve- 

 ment. And in gathering knowledge, I have felt 

 like a child picking up pebbles on a shore strewn 

 with pebbles, remembering — as a comforting (?) 

 thought — that even the immortal Newton felt that 



