THE ORIGIN" OF LIFE. 2/ 



let this occur in any living green plant, and how dif- 

 ferent the result. In some way living matter causes 

 a synthesis to take place. The presence of life in an 

 organism causes certain chemical changes to be set 

 up in it which result in growth. Remembering that 

 none of these changes will take place of their own 

 accord, it is perfectly evident that there is some- 

 thing in the organism beyond simple chemical 

 affinity, some sort of power which directs chemical 

 changes. Whatever it may be, it is the essence of 

 life. In almost every sentence used in the com- 

 parison of animals with machines this factor can be 

 seen. Even Huxley, the foremost in the mechani- 

 cal theory, says, " We touch the spring of the word 

 machine," and the result is speech, and the term 

 " we " implies something not present in machines. 



That there is a difference between organisms and 

 machines at this point may be made more evident by 

 consideration of the difference between living and 

 dead organisms. That the body is a machine, and 

 that like the machine it converts chemical energy 

 into mechanical energy will to-day be everywhere 

 admitted. But a machine cannot die. A machine 

 may stop its motions, but a machine at rest is not 

 comparable with the dead body. In both cases, it is 

 true, there is a cessation of the changes which con- 

 stitute activity, but in the one case the changes may 

 be resumed again, in the other this is impossible. 

 A dead body can never be revivified. It is more 

 strictly to be compared to a machine which has lost 

 its engineer, for with this loss disappears all possi- 

 bility of further action. Its mechanism may be 



