In all growth we have a process essential and peculiar to 

 all life, which is confined exclusively to the living, which does 

 not characterise any form of non-living matter whatever. But 

 growth is but one of several vital phenomena absent in all 

 non-living, present in every kind of living. It has been 

 asserted, and is now ordinarily taught, that crystals grow. 

 Between the so-called growth of a crystal and the actual 

 growth of a particle of living matter there is, however, no 

 true analogy. 



Herbert Spencer, strange as it*may seem, affirms that 

 crystals grow, and that non-crystalline masses of various kinds 

 grow. He declares that the accumulation of carbon on the 

 wick of an unsnuffed candle is an example of growth. On the 

 other hand, he states that the living shoots from a growing 

 potato are not an example of growth. Now I desire to direct 

 your attention to this part of Herbert Spencer's work because 

 he endeavours to convince his readers of " the essential com- 

 munity of nature between organic growth and inorganic 

 growth/' There, will be found some of the very remarkable 

 inferences upon which his system of evolution in part rests, 

 and which may be clearly proved to be erroneous. Indeed, 

 not a few of the assertions he makes may be answered by a 

 direct contradiction, with advantage to the cause of truth. 

 Non-living things do not grow, as he affirms, while all 

 living things and every form of living material does grow, 

 although, he says, with respect to a living plant that its increase 

 is not growth. The case of the potato, which he affirms not to 

 be growth, is really as good an instance of growth as can be 

 obtained in nature. Now, if I can persuade any disciple of 

 Herbert Spencer to explain and defend his utterances in the 

 first two pages of this chapter of part II. on the " Inductions 

 of Biology," I think much advantage would result. A 

 careful examination of this chapter will enable any intelli- 

 gent person to see how the idea of community of nature 

 sought to be established between the living and the non- 

 living is defended by this author. The so-called growth of 

 the non-living masses differs absolutely from the only true 

 growth which is peculiar to the living world, but universal in 

 it. Now vital growth has never been explained to this day, 

 and cannot be explained on chemical or mechanical princi- 

 ples, or imitated in the laboratory. The growth of the 

 most minute particle of living matter is, as I have stated, 

 a vital process, and is due to the operation of a force or 

 power absolutely distinct from ordinary energy and from every 

 form of force of non-living matter. Every kind of aggregation 

 is absolutely distinct from growth, and does not involve the 



