THE EMBRYOLOGY OF THE SOUL. 141 



five years, is supremely important ; its vast signifi- 

 cance has hitherto been very far from appreciated. 

 We shall condense the main conclusions of research 

 in the following five theses : — 



I. — Each human individual, like every other higher 

 animal, is a single simple cell at the commencement 

 of his existence. 



II. — This "stem-cell" (cytula) is formed in the 

 same manner in all cases — that is, by the blending 

 or copulation of two separate cells of diverse origin, 

 the female ovum and the male spermatozoon. 



III. — Each of these sexual cells has its own " cell- 

 soul " — that is, each is distinguished by a peculiar 

 form of sensation and movement. 



IV. — At the moment of conception or impregnation, 

 not only the protoplasm and the nuclei of the two 

 sexual cells coalesce, but also their "cell-souls"; in 

 other words, the potential energies which are latent 

 in both, and inseparable from the matter of the 

 protoplasm, unite for the formation of a new potential 

 energy, the " germ- soul " of the newly-constructed 

 stem-cell. 



V. — Consequently each personality owes his bodily 

 and spiritual qualities to both parents; by heredity 

 the nucleus of the ovum contributes a portion of the 

 maternal features, while the nucleus of the sperma- 

 tozoon brings a part of the father's characteristics. 



By these empirical facts of conception, moreover, 

 the further fact of extreme importance is established, 

 that every man, like every other animal, has a begin- 

 ning of existence ; the complete copulation of the two 

 sexual cell-nuclei marks the precise moment when 

 not only the body, but also the " soul," of the new 

 stem-cell makes its appearance. This fact suffices 



