2 The Unity of the Organism 



standpoints or theories, a short designation for each is 

 desirable. Historically viewed they might be spoken of as 

 the Aristotelian and the Lucretian. But far more satisfac- 

 tory because descriptive in a luminous way, are the terms 

 "organismal theory," or if one may be permitted to coin a 

 word, "organismalism," for the Aristotelian ; and "elemental 

 theory," or "elementalism" for the Lucretian. 



The essence of the idea is set forth with admirable clear- 

 ness in the early pages of that protogenal book on zoology, 

 On the Parts of Animals, by Aristotle. "But if man and 

 animals and their several parts are natural phenomena, 

 then the natural philosopher must take into consideration 

 not merely the ultimate substances of which they are made, 

 but also flesh, bone, blood, and all other homogeneous parts ; 

 not only these, but also the heterogeneous parts, such as 

 face, hand, foot, and so on. For to say what are the ulti- 

 mate substances out of which an animal is formed ... is 

 no more sufficient than would be a similar account in the 

 case of a couch or the like. For we should not be con- 

 tent with saying that the couch was made of bronze or wood 

 or whatever it might be, but should try to describe its de- 

 sign or mode of composition in preference to the material. 

 . . . For a couch is such and such a form embodied in this 

 or that matter, or such and such a matter with this or 

 that form. ... It is plain, then, that the teaching of the 

 old physiologists is inadequate, and that the true method 

 is to state what are the definitive characters that distin- 

 guish the animal as a whole; to explain what it is, both in 

 substance and in form, and to deal after the same fashion 

 with its several organs." 



Not only is the idea itself piquantly stated, but as no one 

 will fail to notice, the antithetic idea with which it has had 

 to contend perpetually from that day to this is also unmis- 

 takably indicated. Another cardinal point will not be 

 missed: not only does Aristotle sketch these two antithetic 



