LIFE AND HABIT 109 



of Butler's " convertibility of food and genius," we get, more 

 soberly and more consistently with the hypothesis of evolution, 

 and even with pan-psychism itself, co-operation between animal 

 and plant and mutual elevation by work food being an important 

 medium of mutual stimulation. Instead of making the relatively 

 katabolic organism, the animal, perform the chief endowing of the 

 food, Butler should have made the relatively anabolic organism, 

 the plant, responsible for the chief endowment of the food. 



It is quite evident, particularly from the last sentences in 

 Butler's suggestive passage, that there had to be a deadlock in 

 his mnemic theory, as indeed in any other theory of evolution, 

 pending the elucidation of the problem of " digestive transforma- 

 tion," than which there is scarcely one more important. The 

 difference of point of view between the one adopted by Butler 

 and that which I commend, is all-important. It is as one between 

 Nihilism on the one hand, and " Co-operation and Government " 

 on the other. 



The whole matter is so important that a digression on the 

 subject will not be out of place. Butler, in common with other 

 writers, shows himself a " Nihilist " in so far as he assumes that 

 " devouring " and complete " assimilation " of one organism by 

 another produces the good effects, which are really due to 

 Symbiosis. The animal, according to the " nihilistic " view, 

 has a genius peculiar to itself, and, in devouring the plant, or the 

 corn, " dislodges " and " annihilates " the plant genius, " con- 

 verting," or " assimilating " it at the same time. But the case 

 does not stand quite so nihilistically, and there is far more 

 co-equality of genius and also of service between plant and 

 animal than we are led by him to suppose. The contribution 

 of the plant to animal endowment, which is of course very con- 

 siderable, is by no means a one-sided and arbitrary business, 

 based, as it is commonly thought, upon depredation. It is rather 

 one of mutual penetration the best balance being struck when 

 " corn " becomes as much " hen " as " hen " becomes " corn " ; 

 the resulting mutual " understanding " being essential to, and 

 collectively benefiting, the welfare of plant and animal kingdoms. 



We have quite recently obtained some light as regards the 

 mechanism of " digestive transformation " characteristic of animal 

 life. In the main what information has been gained, tends 

 to confirm my generalisation concerning the superiority of cross- 

 over in-feeding and to corroborate my contention concerning the 



