OXIDATION 39 



life continues through all the changes of the body, 

 although not a single particle of the original body may 

 remain. The body is but the house in which life resides. 

 The original source of life itself has never been found. 

 The Bible gives the only known origin of life : 



"And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the 

 herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after 

 his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth : and it 

 was so. 



" And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding 

 seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose 

 seed was in itself, after his kind : and God saw that it was 

 good." Gen. 1:11-12. 



SUMMARY 



1. Oxygen unites with carbon and hydrogen, and pro- 



duces heat. The process is called burning or oxida- 

 tion. A steam engine transforms heat into work. 



2. Oxygen from the air is continually entering the body. 



3. Within the body it is continually uniting with the 



albumin, fat, and sugar, and producing heat, some of 

 which is transformed into work. This is the essential 

 process of life. 



4. By oxidation, the albumin, fat, and sugar become car- 



bonic acid gas, water, and urea, and are given off 

 from the body. 



5. The green coloring matter of plants forms the machine, 



by means of which the sun's heat tears the oxygen 

 away from the carbonic acid gas and water and 

 forms organic substances again. 



6. Plants prepare food for animals, and animals prepare 



food for plants. 



