102 WHAT IS LIFE ? 



two forces takes the direction of their resultant. But 

 living bodies may be regarded as nothing but extremely 

 complex bundles of forces held in a mass of matter, as 

 the complex forces of a magnet are held in the steel by 

 its coercive force ; and, since the differences of sex are 

 comparatively slight, or, in other words, the sum of the 

 forces in each has a very similar tendency, their re- 

 sultant, the offspring, may reasonably be expected to 

 deviate but little from a course parallel to either, or to 

 both." l 



Xow having traced the growing organism in the 

 womb, let us go farther. 



A new departure takes place the child is born, and 

 it is a very imperfect creature. The mother looks at 

 it with endearment, loves it, and pities its weakness. 

 She regards it as blood of her blood, and flesh of her 

 flesh. It would appear this is not wholly the case. 

 It is a living atom, as it were by accident, entering 

 into the body of the mother, aggregating to itself hosts 

 of atoms in the form of molecules from the maternal 

 blood, 2 departmentizing these molecules to build up the 

 organism, living on the blood of the mother in exactly 

 the same way as the seed appropriates to itself the 

 nourishment from the earth. If the seed is a parasite 

 to the earth, so is the germ a parasite to the mother. 3 



1 ''Lay Sermons, Addresses, and Reviews," T. H. Huxley. LL.D.. 

 F.R.S., 1893, pp. 226-228. 



2 " Though no drop of blood ever passes from mother to offspring, 

 a very intimate osmotic transfusion is effected." (' ; The Evolution 

 of Sex," Prof. Geddes and J. A. Thomson, 1889, p. 249.) 



3 " The egg of vivipara, left in condition of complete activity, engrafts 

 itself upon the maternal womb like a parasitic plant." (' Meta- 

 morphoses of Man and the Lower Animals," Prof. A. de Quatrefages, 

 1864, p. 11.) " The young mammal is thus enabled to become what 



