ON THE VITALISTIC VIEW OF NATURE. 



373 



ination, insomuch as the different behaviour of different 

 parts of the cellular body towards organic staining 

 solutions reveals to the observer differences of structure 

 otherwise indistinguishable. Yet Professor Pfeffer, 1 who 

 has studied the absorbing powers of cellular substances 

 with much care, states that these cannot in the least 

 be foretold, but can only be determined empirically ; 

 nor is the fact that cells require some substances for 

 their life, while others are harmful, sufficient to 

 enable us to predict that either will be absorbed or 

 rejected. Again, hybridisation has been much studied 

 by gardeners and breeders, and also, since the time of 

 Darwin, by naturalists ; nevertheless, the result of cross - 

 fertilisation of individuals belonging " to different families 

 or species, or even only to different varieties," cannot be 

 theoretically foretold, but " can only be discovered by 

 means of experiment." 2 



This ignorance in which we are still placed as to the 

 forms as well as functions of living matter, has been a 

 subject of much comment by biologists all through the 



1 See W. Pfefier, ' Ueber Auf- 

 nahme von Anilinfarben in lebende 

 Zellen.' Untersuchungen aus dem 

 b'otanischen Institut zu Tubingen. 

 Quoted by Hertwig, 'The Cell,' p. 

 136. 



2 Hertwig, 'The Cell,' p. 310. 

 Another point, strongly urged by 

 Claude Bernard, is, that a knowledge 

 of structure in living beings i.e., 

 anatomical knowledge in no wise 

 suffices to explain the functions, does 

 not lead to physiological knowledge. 

 See ' La Science ExpeYimentale, p. 

 105, " L'impuissancede 1'anatomie a 

 nous apprendre les fonctions organ - 

 iques devient surtout Evident* dans 

 les cas particuliers oil elle est 



r^duite a elle - meme. Pour les 

 organes sur les usages desquels 

 la physiologic experimentale n'a 

 encore rien dit, 1'anatomie reste 

 absolument nmette. C'est ce qui 

 a lieu par exemple pour la rate, 

 les capsules surre'nales, le corps 

 thyroide, &c., tous organes dont 

 nous connaissons parfaitement la 

 texture anatomique, inais dont 

 nous ignorons completement les 

 fonctions. De meme, quand sur 

 un animal on ddcouvre un tissu 

 nouveau et sans analogue dans 

 d'autres organismes, 1'anatomie est 

 incapable d'eu devoiler les pro- 

 vitales." 



