78 THE DATA OF BIOLOGY. 



finiteness of combination, and. above all, occur in correspond- 

 ence with external changes. In this case vegetal life is sim- 

 ulated to a considerable extent ; but it is merely simulated. 

 The relation between the phenomena occurring in the storm- 

 glass and in the atmosphere respectively, is really not a cor- 

 respondence at all, in the proper sense of the word. Outside 

 there is a certain change ; inside there is a change of atomic 

 arrangement. Outside there is another certain change ; in- 

 side there is another change of atomic arrangement. But 

 subtle as is the dependence of each internal upon each ex- 

 ternal change, the connexion between them does not, in the 

 abstract, differ from the connexion between the motion of a 

 straw and the motion of the wind that disturbs it. In either 

 case a change produces a change, and there it ends. The 

 alteration wrought by some environing agency on an inani- 

 mate object, does not tend to induce in it a secondary altera- 

 tion, that anticipates some secondary alteration in the en- 

 vironment. But in every living body there is a tendency 

 towards secondary alterations of this nature ; and it is in 

 their production that the correspondence consists. The dif- 

 ference may be best expressed by symbols. Let A be a 

 change in the environment ; and B some resulting change 

 in an inorganic mass. Then A having produced B, the ac- 

 tion ceases. Though the change A in the environment, is 

 followed by some consequent change a in it ; no parallel se- 

 quence in the inorganic mass simultaneously generates in it 

 some change b that has reference to the change a. But if we 

 take a living body of the requisite organization, and let the 

 change A impress on it some change C ; then, while in the 

 environment A is occasioning a, in the living body C will 

 be occasioning c : of which a and c will show a certain con- 

 cord in time, place, or intensity. And while it is in the con- 

 tinuous production of such concords or correspondences that 

 Life consists, it is ~by the continuous production of them that 

 Life is maintained. 



The further criticism that may be expected, concerns cer- 



