524 



THE CAT. 



PCHAP. XV. 



§ 13. It may be said that we even see the fresh starting forth of 

 life itself. In many plants, the ovule (after developing to that extent 

 which is its condition in the fully formed seed) ceases to he active. 

 The seed is shed and dies. But on the occurrence of the requisite con- 

 ditions, it lives again and comes rapidly to manifest a new psychical 

 principle of indi^dduation altogether different from that which informed 

 the same matter when it was a developing seed. It may, perhaps, 

 he objected by some persons that : "if the seed is not actually living 

 during its period of quiescence, the result shows that it has neverthe- 

 less been potentially alive." But it is impossible to understand how 

 anything can be really "alive" M^hon all vital activity is really 

 absent, and no such activity can be affirmed to exist during the long 

 periods * in which dry seeds may be preserved without decomposi- 

 tion. The " vital activity " of a seed is " germination." 



As to " potential life," its existence may be freely conceded ; but 

 X)otential "life" is actual "death." The "potentiality" is not in the 

 seed merely, but in the environing conditions and external stimuli 

 also, yet "life" is not to be predicated of such "conditions " and 

 " stimuli." The dead seed is but a piece of matter so appropriately 

 formeil that if it and other matters are brought together under certain 

 conditions, a new living being results from the conjunction. This is 

 but a case of that genetic activity which all persons who believe that 

 life first arose spontaneously in the world, must admit to have once 

 existed, and if " once," why not " always ? " 



§ 14. But how are all the changes of development in the cat, and 

 in all animals and plants, carried on ? Is it by a number of fortuitous 



cent chrysalis. It may be asked then : 

 How can a now "form " suddenly arise, 

 when the body it informs arises gradu- 

 ally ? But are not a piece of oak, and 

 woodashes, different substances ? Yet 

 does not lire (jraduaUy elTect the trans- 

 formation of the fonuer into the latter ? 



Our organs of sense are indeed so con- 

 structed and so act that they are in- 

 capable of positively seeing any absolute 

 commencement whatever. When we seem 

 to perceive such a tiling (as, cy., in tlie 

 expiosion of gunpowder), the a]iparent 

 absolute suddenness is but due to the fact 

 that the gradual eliangcs which really 

 take place are too minute and too rapid 

 for our sense-organs to follow. There 

 can be no doubt but that if our powers 

 of sense were in these respects greatly 

 augmented, an cx])losion of gunpowder 

 would then be seen by us to be a gradual 

 process. 



But the emergence of a new psychical 

 princi])le of individuation is a tiling 

 which is and must ever remain «,%>«//«//?/ 

 imperceptible to oursenses, however much 

 their powers might be augmented. Each 

 such psychical principle can — as wo 

 know by our own personal experience — 



continue to inform a body while that 

 body undergoes various changes and 

 gradual mollifications within certain 

 limits ; but will cease so to exist wlien 

 once those limits are ])assed. The actual 

 amount of change wliich the body of, a 

 develo])ing animal can.tindergo while 

 informed by any one principle, and the 

 ]iliysical coaiditions which determine tlio 

 lapse into ^lotentiality of that principle 

 and the advent of another, may ever 

 remain a matter of speculation only. 

 There ajipears, however, to be evidence 

 that such changes actually take jilace, 

 and tlic gradual preparation of tlie living 

 matter for tiieir occurrence is a j)lienomc- 

 nonwliieh harmonizes with our experience 

 as to tlie only psychical principle of in- 

 dividuation of wliieh we have any 

 tliorongli knowledge — our own. 



* I\lr. (."arrutliers, F.ll.S., has kindly 

 informed me tliat .seeds of Kelamhium 

 (a beautiful aquatic ])lant belonging to 

 tlie Lotus grouji) liave germinated alter 

 liaving been preserved in the Britisli 

 Aluscum for njiwards of a hundred years. 

 In tliis case it is manifest that all vital 

 activity was for a very long time really 

 absent. 



