IO2 Heredity and Social Progress 



not a product of cell activity, there is appar- 

 ently a gulf between the simplicity of the cell 

 and the complexity of higher life with its con- 

 centrated consciousness. Are we then to look 

 for new and foreign elements in the higher 

 life, or have we in some disguise the simple 

 elements we already know ? We may at least 

 consider the possibility in the latter query, 

 even though we may be far from proof. 

 There is an attraction in carrying ideas to 

 their legitimate consequences even though 

 they appear there in a somewhat fanciful 

 form. But when the hypothesis is carefully 

 examined, much of its fanciful character dis- 

 appears. It is not strange that simple ele- 

 ments should produce remarkable effects if 

 they have the time and conditions in which 

 to act, and the theory of evolution leads us 

 to expect that things known in one form 

 might be gradually changed into forms seem- 

 ingly different and strange. 



The facts presented show that the highest 

 form of a cell is the undifferentiated germ cell 

 with which life begins. Greater complexity in 

 the cell and in its relations enables specific 



