THE BREATH OF LIFE 



for the same thing an attempt to give the mind 

 something to take hold of in dealing with the mys- 

 tery of living things. This imaginary "life-stuff" 

 of the British scientist is entirely beyond the reach 

 of chemical analysis; no man has ever seen it or 

 proved its existence. In fact it is simply an inven- 

 tion of Ray Lankester to fill a break in the sequence 

 of observed phenomena. Something seems to pos- 

 sess the power of starting or kindling that organiz- 

 ing activity in a living body, and it seems to me it 

 matters little whether we call it "plasmogen," or a 

 "life principle," or "biotic energy," or what not; it 

 surely leavens the loaf. Matter takes on new activi- 

 ties under its influence. Ray Lankester thinks that 

 plasmogen came into being in early geologic ages, 

 and that the conditions which led to its formation 

 have probably never recurred. Whether he thinks 

 its formation was merely a chance hit or not, he 

 does not say. 



We see matter- all about us, acted upon by the 

 mechanico-chemical forces, that never takes on any 

 of the distinctive phenomena of living bodies. Yet 

 Verworn is convinced that if we could bring the ele- 

 ments of a living body together as Nature does, in 

 the same order and proportion, and combine them 

 in the selfsame way, or bring about the vital condi- 

 tions, a living being would result. Undoubtedly. 

 It amounts to saying that if we had Nature's power 

 we could do what she does. // we could marry the 

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