The Message of Science. 13 



minds, it must on reflection come to be regarded as a 

 glorious heritage of liberty the liberty of .the universe. 



As nearly as can be estimated there is on the surface of 

 the earth, at present, " protoplasm " (meaning matter tem- 

 porarily in that condition of reciprocal activity which we 

 term "living matter ") to the amount of 5,500,460,500,000 

 tons. 



Temporarily in the living condition, we say. For a 

 significant almost startling phase of it is, that this vast 

 quantity of matter is constantly passing out of the living 

 into the non-living condition. As often as once in six 

 hours, probably, once in twelve certainly on an average, 

 the entire five or six trillions of tons of protoplasmic mat- 

 ter falls out of the living into the non-living condition ; 

 and pari passu an equally vast weight of non-living mat- 

 ter is raised up to the living condition. It is believed 

 that all, or the most part, of the matter which makes up 

 the outer strata of the earth to the depth of many miles, 

 has at some time or other been in the living state, and not 

 once or twice only, but many times. 



We may, indeed, go much farther and not exceed 

 what is probable in supposing that in the great past 

 history of the universe a history of successive series 

 of solar and planetary formations matter has lived in 

 an infinite number of forms and types of life from 

 eternity, intermittently and alternately. 



