THE CELL AND PROTOPLASM. 79 



ods. Now when protoplasm had been discovered 

 as the "physical basis of life," and, when it was 

 further conceived that this substance is a pro- 

 teid related to albumens, it was inevitable that a 

 theory should arise which found the explanation 

 of life in accordance with simple chemical laws. 



If, as chemists and biologists then believe, 

 protoplasm is a compound which stands at the 

 head of the organic series, and if, as is the fact, 

 chemists are each year succeeding in making 

 higher and higher members of the series, it is an 

 easy assumption that some day they will be able 

 to make the highest member of the series. Fur- 

 ther, it is a well-known fact that simple chemical 

 compounds have simple physical properties, while 

 the higher ones have more varied properties. 

 Water has the property of being liquid at certain 

 temperatures and solid at others, and of dividing 

 into small particles (i. e., dissolving) certain bodies 

 brought in contact w 7 ith it. The higher com- 

 pound albumen has, however, a great number of 

 properties and possibilities of combination far be- 

 yond those of water. Now if the properties in- 

 crease in complexity with the complexity of the 

 compound, it is again an easy assumption that 

 when we reach a compound as complex as pro- 

 toplasm, it will have properties as complex as 

 those of the simple life substance. Nor was this 

 such a very wild hypothesis. After all, the fun- 

 damental life activities may all be traced to the 

 simple oxidation of food, for this results in move- 

 ment, assimilation, and growth, and the result of 

 growth is reproduction. It was therefore only 

 necessary for our biological chemists to suppose 

 that their chemical compound protoplasm pos- 

 sessed the power of causing certain kinds of oxi- 



