THE WORK OF THE PHYSIOLOGICAL STATIOX AT PAEIS.^ 



By E. J. Marey, 



Member of the Institute of France. 



Pliysiology has for its domain all organized natnre. It seeks to pene- 

 trate the secret of life in all beings. It is the guide of natural history, 

 which ought not only to describe tlie forms of animals and of plants, 

 but also to ascertain the kind of life and the functions peculiar to each 

 species. 



The older naturalists understood that their science liad this scope; 

 the zoologists, for example, when they described the species of anim;ils, 

 noted at the same time the habitat, method of locomotion, kind of food, 

 and manner of reproduction of each. 



This way of studying and teaching the natural sciences was kei)t up 

 so long as people w^ere content to observe the exterior of aniiiials and 

 the external manifestations of their life; but, in proportion as the 

 anatomy of living l)eings was more profoundly studied, the naturalist's 

 task became harder; for a knowledge of the conformation of the differ- 

 ent organs awakened a desire to understand the functions of each. 

 From this moment a division of labor became necessary. Those who 

 applied themselves more especially to the anatomical description of 

 organized beings were called naturalists and those who specially 

 studied the functions of life physiologists. 



If such a separation were permanent, if the two parallel sciences 

 were not united at certain points, both would suffer. Zoology Avould 

 then be only a dry catalogue of animal forms w^hose meaning- would be 

 unexphiined, while physiology, confined to laboratories and reduced to 

 experimentation upon mutilated animals, would teach us less how^ these 

 animals live than how to make them die. 



Is it not possible to combine these natural sciences without hindering 

 the development necessary for each? I wish to show you that this can 

 sometimes be done and that it affords us the highest intellectual satis- 

 faction, that of comprehending the marvelous harmonies of living 



'A lecture delivered at the College of France. Translated from Eevne Scien- 

 tifique, December 29, 1894, and January 8, 1895; fourth series, Vol. II, pages 802-808, 

 and Vol. Ill, pages 2-12. 



391 



