162 HEEEDITY. 



Doubtless, life depends upon a twofold movement 

 of decomposition and renovation, simultaneous and 

 continuous; but this movement produces itself in 

 the midst of substances having a physical state, and 

 most frequently a morphological state, quite peculiar 

 to them. Finally, this movement brings into play 

 diverse functions in relation with this morphological 

 state of the living tissues, habitually composed of 

 cells and fibres, endowed with special properties. 



" Let us say, then, that life is a twofold movement 

 of simultaneous and continual composition and de- 

 composition, in the midst of plasmatic substances, 

 or of figurate anatomical elements, which, under the 

 influence of this indwelling movement, perform their 

 functions in conformity to their structure." (Page 

 34.) 



I consider this late definition an important piece 

 of philosophical news ; and it is my business here, as 

 an outlook committee, to put before you all such 

 intelligence on which I can lay hands. This French 

 materialistic writer gives a definition of life very 

 much nearer the one which has been defended here 

 than any in Darwin or Spencer. He calls life, sub- 

 stantially, an internal movement in bioplasm. 



Letourneau's definition is too long, and has not the 

 usual French grace of expression; but three things 

 are very noticeable in it. First, life is defined as a 

 movement occurring at its earliest stage, "in the 

 midst of plasmatic substances," by which he means 

 bioplasm. Thus he confines life, at its outset, to 

 germinal matter. Spencer's definition does not thus 



