178 TRIANGLES AND SEGMENTS. 



growth, to the bills and feathers of -birds, to the 

 tortoise back and gorilla skull — possibly the 



" Eye of newt and toe of frog, 

 "Wool of bat and tongue of dog," 



as all were meet ingredients in his cauldron of in- 

 quisition. 



Tubes like the aorta were demonstrable by seg- 

 ments of triangles. Even in the cancelli and foramina 

 of bones, and the capillary network of vessels, he saw 

 the angular element prevailing. As instances of his 

 theory in the primitive structures, he cited the spindle- 

 shaped cell — as consisting of two triangles united 

 base to base; and he supposed that the blood-discs 

 might break up into three angles like the lens of the 

 eye, and possibly, if vision was sufficiently microscopic, 

 the same tripartition might be seen in the organic 

 granules or molecules. 



Afraid of inaccuracy creeping into his calculations 

 when startling results came forth, he was wont to 

 exclaim — " Now, Mr. Stirling, let us have God's truth 

 in the measurements. God's truth in everything! I 

 live for that." As he believed that every cell had a 

 parent cell or " a mother," so he argued there was an 

 umbilicus or centre in everything in nature, and two 

 sides, a right and a left. These sides he viewed as 

 having opposite obliquities with reference to each 

 other. Thus, in the limbs the different segments when 

 flexed on each other presented alternate obliquities, 

 and when the arms were folded over the chest so that 

 the hands rested on opposite shoulders, an oblique 



