Animal Causes. 209 



bed the water must often coagulate with millions of 

 vegetal and animal cells. 



It will be unnecessary for us to describe the 

 probable mode of the automatic evolution of animal 

 cells, for the process must be similar to that already 

 described for vegetal cells. We thus pass on to the 

 evolution of the unicellular animal. 



The simplest unicellular protozoon, though ap- 

 parently a homogeneous mass of jelly, is a complex 

 chemical compound. The first endeavour of the 

 aggregated cell molecules (automatic, of course, and 

 resulting from the fact that these cell constituents are 

 themselves magnets) is to form a magnetic battery in 

 which chemical action may have free scope. But in 

 these low forms the body is all stomach or all battery, 

 a living magnetic battery which absorbs all over its 

 surface, and digests all through its substance. These 

 living batteries grow by absorbing or feeding upon 

 (practically attracting) like material to themselves, 

 either organic or inorganic, probably both, like- 

 material-attraction assisting. The food then dis- 

 solves by chemical action in the battery, and the 

 disengaged material is distributed through the organ- 

 ism. The energy resulting from this chemical action 

 further thrills all through the animal's body, as mag- 

 netism or electricity, endows it with what we call its 

 life, and automatically directs all its life actions. 



In seizing and devouring other animals near it, the 

 action is probably caused by irritation of its sense of 

 touch, felt on its surface and induced through the 



