182 BIOLOGY. 



The planet is not itself an organism, because it is not 

 individual or galvanic in every point. 



883. The self-excitation of the individualized elements, 

 is called life. 



884. Galvanism is the principle of life. There is no 

 other vital force than the galvanic polarity. The hetero- 

 geneity of the three terrestrial elements in a circum- 

 scribed individual body is the vital force. The galvanic 

 process is one with the vital process. 



885. Organism is galvanism residing in a thoroughly 

 homogeneous mass. The galvanic column is no organism, 

 because it only admits the galvanic process just as the 

 planet does, in individual places. A body only, which 

 is zinc-pole, silver-pole and moist pulp at every conceiv- 

 able point, is an organism. A galvanic pile, pounded 

 into atoms must become alive. In this manner nature 

 brings forth organic bodies. 



886. Electrism has a basis ; it is the air. Magnetism 

 has a basis ; it is the metal. Chemism has a basis ; it is 

 the salt. So has galvanism a basis ; it is the organic mass. 



887. Accordingly, what would be organic, must be 

 galvanic ; what would be alive, must be galvanic. Life 

 is not different from organism, nor also from galvanism. 

 For life is verily the vital process. But the vital process 

 is an organic, galvanic process. Galvanism lies at the 

 basis of all the processes of the organic world. They are 

 either modifications of it, or only its combinations with 

 other and still higher actions. A living thing, which is 

 not galvanic, is a nonentity. 



888. With galvanism consequently the first step has 

 been made out of the inorganic into the organic king- 

 dom. Every aught of nature, which has hitherto origi- 

 nated, is inorganic. These, however, were mere indi- 

 vidualities. The character of the Inorganic consists 

 consequently in something being a Singular, a moiety, 

 or a metatype of a Singular ; the character of the Organic 

 in its being the metatype of a whole or round number. 

 Organic things are internal self-exciting numbers ; the 

 inorganic things are fractions. 



