85 



of tlie niutnal sliaring of genes in phenomenal appaaranc? in individnals is 

 <?all3tl the tlieory of tlie mntual shariug of the gene. 



Should these th^ories be acceptad, Goethe's idea in liig " Metamorphose 

 der Pflanzen " would fiud a better interpretation than in the case at present. 

 According to these views, all vegebxble organs are one and the same in their 

 real entitr. Tliat there are so many different organs, such as leaf, sepal, petal, 

 stamen and others is due to the fact that the genes contained in the organs 

 present suitable temporary phenomenal appearances, in agreement with the 

 couditions of the past, present and futiu*e, that is to say the conditions wliich 

 foUow necessarily through the causal nexus. It is uot, however, iutended that 

 this assei^tiou should be understood in the sense that all organs are the same 

 at the commencement of their development, and merely present diiferent shap^s 

 after full growth, according to the diiferent cDnditions which come later on. 

 But it should be understood that foliage leaves and sepals are diiferent even 

 in their very beginning, though they then look very much the same. Tlie very 

 ])egiuning of a leaf was, is and will be, so conditioned as to be a foliage leaf 

 affcer its development ; as the very beginning of a sepal is to be a sapal after 

 attaining its full growth. In this sense, the beginning of a foHage leaf is 

 diifei-ent from that of a sej)al. Yet, different as they are, they are different 

 only in conditious ; they are all the same in their real entity. As the conditions 

 are different, so the combinations of the apparent genes and the proportions 

 of appareut and latent genes differ ; so in consequence their phenomenal 

 appaaranc^ wiU differ. The same is true as to adult as well as to nascent 

 organs. Thus much having been said, let us consider Goethe^s original work 

 section by sectiou. 



§ 1. Ein jeder, der clos "Wachsthum der Pflanzen niir einigermaEen beobaxjhtet, 

 wird leichi bemerken, da"? gewisse aiiBere Theile derselben sich manchmal verwandeln 

 nnd in die Grestalt der niichsthegendftn Theile bald ganz, bald mehr oder weniger 

 iibei^ehen. 



§3 wir lernen die Gesetze der Umwandlung kennen, nach welchen sie 



(Natur) einen Theil diirch den andern hervorbringt, «nd die verschietlensten gestnltcn 

 duich Modification eines einzigen Organs darstellt. 



In the alx)ve quotations § 3, we come upon tlie expi-ession " einziges Organ " 



wliich is certainly wliat is c^illed Goethe's Blait by liis readers. Tlie most 



suitable way to intorpret his lUati is to regard ifc as a real entity which 



