GERMS. 23 



soon there would not be a living thing to inhabit the 

 earth. 



The so called germs may be subjected to great ex- 

 tremes of heat and cold, and afterwards will grow vig- 

 orously in favorable surroundings. So also a seed is 

 capable of resisting great extremes of dry heat and 

 cold, and will afterwards grow vigorously in favorable 

 surroundings, for nature had designed that both shall 

 live. Moist heat, as boiling water, will destroy germs; 

 it will also destroy a seed, but nature does not furnish 

 boiling water or any other form of moist heat. Germs 

 are not active and do not multiply when exposed to 

 great extremes of heat and cold; a seed is not active 

 and will not grow under these conditions. 



Where did germs come from? They are the pri- 

 mary forms of all living matter, hence we may inquire 

 where matter came from. 



How do germs produce fermentation ? They furnish 

 an enzym or ferment which has the power of separa- 

 ting the elements of dead tissue ; i. e., the power of pro- 

 ducing fermentation, the same as the yeast cells in 

 bread baking. The attraction which naturally exists 

 between all forms of matter is strongest in the living, 

 hence the power of living germs to absorb nourishment 

 by attracting the elements of dead germs or dead mat- 

 ter. This is called "vital force," and it is by reason 

 of such forces, attraction and repulsion, that such a 

 torrent of ceaseless changes is made possible. These 

 changes support the living by liberating the elements 

 of the dead. It is by this plan, and through the me- 

 dium of these little germs, that the Divine Intelli- 



