62 CA TAL YTIC A CTIONS 



of any simple organism, say of a yeast cell. Professor 

 Bennett's view involves spontaneous generation, not only as 

 applied to the lower forms of life, but as regards the origin 

 of all the elementary parts of all the higher animals and 

 man, both in health and in disease. 



Do the changes in living matter depend upon catalytic 

 action ? Much has been said about contact actions or catalysis, 

 and by some, catalytic actions have been considered to be 

 closely allied to, if not of the same nature as fermentations ; 

 but fermentation must be restricted to the changes effected 

 by living organisms alone, and catalysis to the phenomena 

 due to mere contact and surface action. No true fermenta- 

 tion, and, according to Pasteur, no putrefaction can occur 

 without the presence of living particles. Catalytic actions, 

 on the other hand, may be induced by perfectly lifeless 

 matter like platinum. 



The old notion which attributed some of the most im- 

 portant changes occurring even in the organism of man and 

 the higher animals to catalysis, has been recently revived, but 

 so long as it remains completely unsupported by observation 

 and experiment, it is not likely to gain favour among scien- 

 tific men at this time, more especially as many important 

 facts recently ascertained in connection with nutrition 

 render it still more improbable than it appeared when 

 first advanced, if they do not prove it to be altogether 

 untenable. 



A very little consideration will show that there is little 

 analogy between catalysis and the phenomena which occur 

 in connection with living matter. The lifeless catalytic 

 matter never multiplies ; the living always does. The lifeless 

 passes through no definite stages or states of being ; the living 



