THE LIVING SUBSTANCE. iji 



pel certain relations of the mass or organism with the opportuni- 

 ties of external environment. It need no longer be regarded 

 as meaning mental states, or as due to mental processes, for 

 these, if present, are but part of the chain of interactions of 

 substance organs. Apart from their incidental form as re- 

 sults of secondary substance function and vesicular organiza- 

 tion, — instincts are peculiarly grouped as those interrelations 

 of substance habit that result in space-bridging and ti^ne-bridg- 

 ing relations of the mass or animal with its external opportuni- 

 ties. They involve always intensification areas of ectosarcal 

 organization, — indeed, but for these, I think instincts as such 

 would be wholly unknown to us, remaining indistinguishable 

 amongst other substance habits within the mass, where doubt- 

 less there are now hidden many kindred phenomena, having 

 relation to the internal environment of the mass. For like all 

 interrelations of the organism's parts, or of the mass with its 

 external environment, instinct merely repeats in grosser terms 

 radical powers and habits of the substance as such, expressed 

 upon a secondary functional machinery. 



Conclusion. 



[151] To sum up; — the facts seem to warrant present belief 

 that the living substance of all organisms is one physiolbgi- 

 cally continuous, living, plasma, homogeneous throughout in 

 its intrinsic powers and properties, but having varied local and 

 temporary habits of self-expression, which are largely, and 

 inextricably correlated with physical and chemical condition- 

 ings of its form and composition as complex emulsive 

 foam — yet not to be wholly identified with, nor wholly ex- 

 plained by, these. The organism as we have known it, is 

 secondary, incidental, to the life-history of the protoplastic con- 

 tinuous substance of the living being: is result rather than 

 cause of substance habit. Visible form and structure express 

 only secondary truths. The part played in this state of things 

 by purely physical and chemical conditions is doubtless enor- 

 mous, but the wonder is not thereby lessened. If these re- 

 sults, or the physical terms in which they are presented, have 



