﻿FILTRABLE 
  VIRUSES 
  BOYCOTT 
  331 
  

  

  assemblage 
  of 
  concurring 
  and 
  converging 
  probabilities 
  which 
  encour- 
  

   age 
  one 
  to 
  think 
  it 
  possible 
  that 
  things 
  which 
  are 
  alive 
  and 
  things 
  

   which 
  are 
  not 
  alive 
  constitute 
  in 
  effect 
  one 
  series, 
  beginning 
  with 
  

   hydrogen 
  atoms 
  and 
  reaching 
  up 
  to 
  man, 
  and 
  perhaps 
  on 
  to 
  angels, 
  

   not 
  arranged 
  in 
  a 
  continuous 
  linear 
  succession 
  but 
  on 
  a 
  scheme 
  

   resembling 
  the 
  phylogenetic 
  line 
  of 
  the 
  animal 
  kingdom. 
  The 
  units 
  

   (or 
  "wholes" 
  as 
  Smuts 
  would 
  call 
  them) 
  which 
  make 
  up 
  the 
  series 
  

   are 
  of 
  progressively 
  increasing 
  complexity, 
  structural 
  and 
  functional, 
  

   and 
  must 
  be 
  compared 
  against 
  one 
  another 
  as 
  they 
  stand, 
  irrespec- 
  

   tive 
  of 
  their 
  composition. 
  A 
  hydrogen 
  atom, 
  a 
  molecule 
  of 
  albumin, 
  

   a 
  bacillus, 
  a 
  dog 
  are 
  comparable 
  as 
  such, 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  not 
  necessarily 
  of 
  

   any 
  moment 
  that 
  hydrogen 
  is 
  the 
  basic 
  stuff 
  of 
  all 
  matter, 
  that 
  pro- 
  

   teids 
  are 
  essential 
  constituents 
  of 
  all 
  live 
  organisms, 
  or 
  that 
  a 
  mam- 
  

   mal 
  is 
  made 
  up 
  of 
  many 
  bits, 
  each 
  of 
  which 
  is 
  more 
  or 
  less 
  like 
  a 
  

   unicellular 
  organism; 
  in 
  no 
  case 
  is 
  the 
  behavior 
  of 
  the 
  more 
  complex 
  

   whole 
  simply 
  the 
  sum 
  of 
  the 
  behavior 
  of 
  its 
  constituents. 
  Such 
  a 
  

   view 
  satisfies 
  our 
  natural 
  antipathy 
  to 
  a 
  dualistic 
  explanation 
  of 
  the 
  

   universe 
  and 
  makes 
  the 
  old 
  controversy 
  about 
  vitalism 
  and 
  mecha- 
  

   nism 
  largely 
  unnecessary. 
  It 
  tells 
  us 
  nothing 
  about 
  the 
  nature 
  of 
  

   life; 
  by 
  indicating 
  that 
  organisms 
  are 
  analogous 
  to 
  elements, 
  it 
  en- 
  

   courages 
  us 
  to 
  think 
  of 
  life 
  as 
  being 
  as 
  insoluble 
  as 
  gravitation, 
  to 
  give 
  

   up 
  the 
  attempt 
  to 
  make 
  out 
  what 
  it 
  is 
  and, 
  as 
  Lovatt 
  Evans 
  recom- 
  

   mends, 
  to 
  spend 
  our 
  time 
  more 
  fruitfully 
  in 
  studying 
  its 
  phenomena. 
  

   If 
  you 
  like 
  to 
  be 
  paradoxical, 
  you 
  can 
  say 
  that 
  live 
  things 
  are 
  dead, 
  

   or 
  if 
  you 
  prefer 
  it, 
  that 
  dead 
  things 
  are 
  alive. 
  Both 
  at 
  bottom 
  have 
  

   much 
  the 
  same 
  characters, 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  unlikely 
  that 
  any 
  sharp 
  distinc- 
  

   tion 
  between 
  them 
  can 
  be 
  drawn. 
  

  

  We 
  pose 
  to 
  ourselves 
  the 
  question: 
  Is 
  the 
  bacteriophage 
  (or 
  Gye's 
  

   cancer 
  agent, 
  or 
  the 
  virus 
  of 
  plant 
  mosaic, 
  or 
  any 
  other 
  "virus") 
  

   alive 
  or 
  dead? 
  in 
  the 
  belief 
  that 
  we 
  are 
  asking 
  a 
  crucial 
  question 
  to 
  

   which 
  there 
  is 
  a 
  definite 
  obtainable 
  answer 
  which 
  would 
  solve 
  our 
  

   troubles. 
  In 
  doing 
  so 
  we 
  put 
  up 
  one 
  of 
  those 
  false 
  antitheses 
  which 
  

   so 
  often 
  lead 
  us 
  astray. 
  The 
  difficulty 
  in 
  most 
  scientific 
  work 
  lies 
  

   in 
  framing 
  the 
  questions 
  rather 
  than 
  in 
  finding 
  the 
  answers, 
  and 
  by 
  

   the 
  time 
  we 
  are 
  in 
  a 
  position 
  to 
  know 
  what 
  the 
  crucial 
  question 
  really 
  

   is 
  we 
  have 
  generally 
  pretty 
  well 
  got 
  the 
  answer. 
  In 
  this 
  case 
  "live 
  

   or 
  dead" 
  is 
  a 
  stupid 
  question 
  because 
  it 
  does 
  not 
  exhaust 
  the 
  possi- 
  

   bilities. 
  Our 
  general 
  notion 
  of 
  the 
  structure 
  of 
  the 
  universe 
  leads 
  us 
  

   to 
  expect 
  that 
  we 
  shall 
  meet 
  with 
  things 
  that 
  are 
  not 
  so 
  live 
  as 
  a 
  sun- 
  

   flower 
  and 
  not 
  so 
  dead 
  as 
  a 
  brick, 
  and 
  a 
  consideration 
  of 
  what 
  we 
  

   know 
  about 
  "filtrable 
  viruses" 
  and 
  similar 
  "agents" 
  brings 
  us 
  to 
  the 
  

   conclusion 
  that 
  they 
  represent 
  part 
  of 
  this 
  intermediate 
  group. 
  Let 
  

   us 
  see 
  how 
  far 
  they 
  conform 
  with 
  what 
  are, 
  in 
  ordinary 
  language, 
  

   admittably 
  "live" 
  and 
  "dead." 
  

  

  