Organisms and Their Origin 97 



cut into twelve pieces, twelve complete worms may 

 be obtained. We must also recall that the po- 

 tentiality of the whole life lies in a microscopic 

 germ-cell, and may be unrealized for years. A 

 complete inheritance, rich in initiatives, endowed 

 with the gains of past ages, may be condensed in 

 a microscopic egg-shell and in a sperm-cell 100,000 

 times smaller. Moreover, the experimental em- 

 bryologists have shown us that, unity as the germ- 

 cell is, a part may be as good as the whole. One 

 egg may give rise to twins, or triplets, or quadru- 

 plets, or even to many perfect embryos. From 

 one-thirty-seventh of the egg of a sea-urchin Prof. 

 Yves Delage reared an embryo — able to live for 

 some time. All this, and much more, must be 

 borne in mind when we think of the character- 

 istics of livingness. 



Although no one is wise enough to tell com- 

 pletely what is meant by the simple word alive, 

 there may be utility in trying to state some of the 

 characteristic features of living organisms. 



From the Chemist's Point of View. — Looking at 

 organisms from the chemist's point of view, we see 

 that the physical basis of life invariably includes 

 those carbon-compounds known as proteids, 

 which are among the most complex kinds of mat- 

 ter in the world. The component elements of 

 living creatures are just the common elements 

 found in their surroundings, but the make-up of 



