CHEMISTRY OF A HEN'S EGG. 29 



a marvel ! The chemist may place together in a 

 body, in a warm place, just such elements or sub- 

 stances ; he may carefully weigh the water, the al- 

 bumen, the phosphatic compounds, the sulphur, the 

 iron, soda, etc., and construct a very accurate egg 

 mixture, but out of it all there will never come a 

 living chick. In this we obtain some idea how little 

 we actually know about life, how dark is the region 

 where the life principle begins, or where the vital 

 forces originate. The indefatigable man of science 

 has pushed his inquiries close up to the boundary 

 between the inanimate and th.e animate, but he has 

 never been able to obtain the least glimpse of any- 

 thing upon the life side of the line. However 

 great may be our curiosity, our skill, or knowledge 

 in this state of existence, there is not the least 

 probability that we shall ever be able to endow mat- 

 ter with life, or know much more than we do at 

 present of its origin or nature. 



