FITNESS 31 



though it is probably far beyond our present 

 power to make a complete study of the prob- 

 lem, I feel sure that a brief analysis will 

 justify certain very definite conclusions. Life 

 as we know it is a physico-chemical mechan- 

 ism, and it is probably inconceivable that it 

 should be otherwise. 1 As such, it possesses, 

 and, we may well conclude, must ever pos- 

 sess, a high degree of complexity, — physi- 

 cally, chemically, and physiologically; that is 

 to say, structurally and functionally. We 

 cannot imagine life which is no more complex 

 than a sphere, or salt, or the fall of rain, and, 

 as we know it, it is in fact a very great deal 

 more complex than such simple things. Next, 

 living things, still more the community of 

 living things, are durable. But complexity 

 and durability of mechanism are only pos- 

 sible if internal and external conditions are 

 stable. Hence, automatic regulations of the 

 environment and the possibility of regulation 

 of conditions within the organism are essen- 

 tial to life. It is not possible to specify a 

 large number of conditions which must be 

 regulated, but certain it is from our present 

 experience that at least rough regulation of 



1 I mean, of course, for the purposes of physical and chem- 

 ical study. With such qualifications the statement is prob- 

 ably no longer open to objection from any quarter. 



