1866. | On Cell Life. 239 
or an infusorium to be an animated being. Of course no reasonable 
man will overlook the enormous difference in the degree of anima- 
tion in different animals. No one will suppose for a moment that 
any infusorium can form a clear idea of the objects in the world 
around it. To this faculty belong certam complex apparatuses, 
which the infusoria do not possess. The clearness of their con- 
sciousness certainly does not even nearly attain to the clearness of 
our consciousness when in the deepest sleep; but as there is a 
regular and gradual transition between sleepmg and waking, so is 
there between the degrees of animation in different creatures. The 
comprehension of spiritual matters, the amount of consciousness, 
the lucidity of the ideas produced by objects in the external world, 
vary interminably ; but the essence of the thing remains the same, 
even in the very lowest grades of the organic kingdom. There is, 
in every case, a feeling of self-separateness or individuality, distinct 
from the outside world; the active influence of that world is felt, 
and upon it the subject desires to direct its influence. 
There is no doubt that this proposition is clear enough to all 
who rank themselves as disciples of Darwin as regards the origin of 
species. Tor this philosopher surrounds, as did the ancient reli- 
gion of the Indians, the whole organic world with the bands of 
brotherhood, I have, however, purposely avoided grounding my 
argument on the doctrine of that teacher, because it cannot yet be 
held as a proved scientific truth. So, then, if it be once admitted 
that animation extends downwards into the lowest forms of the 
animal kingdom, then it is also admitted that there exist single cells, 
which are to be reckoned individually as animated beings ; for 
there are numberless animals belonging to the order infusoria 
which consist of a single cell. Such an animal, for instance, is an 
Amceba, a minute, microscopic, protoplasmic mass, with nucleus and 
nucleolus. If its actions are observed under the microscope, one 
can see how it alters the form of its body at will; how it sends 
forward prolongations here and there, draws out the mass of its 
body, and so changes its place. On outward irritation, it generally 
rolls itself up into a bullet-shaped lump, and rapidly draws in again 
all the prolongations lately stretched forward. Often one may 
observe it engulf smaller bodies in its substance, where they are 
changed—one may say, digested—and half disappear, the undi- 
gested leavyings being again ejected. The little animal grows, 
and goes on propagating itself by division. 
A cell which belongs to the tissues of one of the higher animals 
behaves exactly in the same manner as a single-celled infusorium. 
For example, in the blood we have cells; the so-called white blood 
corpuscles, which are exactly like certain infusoria. Thus they stretch 
out prolongations of their substance subject to their will, and upon 
irritation and the like they show thewell-known reactions. The cells 
