CHAPTER VIII 

 ARTIFICIAL ANALYSIS AS IN THE PHYSICAL SCIENCES 



IN the present state of science we are able to define exactly 

 neither the chemical structure nor the colloidal state pecu- 

 liar to living substances and yet this, doubtless, would 

 be sufficient to characterize life. Hence we are obliged to 

 look elsewhere. Naturally we think first of the cellular 

 structure which was the first descriptive character that 

 seemed common to all living beings. Indeed, such cellular 

 structure is of considerable importance. 



A character that seems quite as general as cellular struc- 

 ture is the presence in the living substance of each cell of 

 two distinct colloid masses one central, called the nucleus ; 

 the other peripheral, called cytoplasm. The general exist- 

 ence of these two distinct masses, behaving differently in 

 presence of one of the reagents used by us (basic aniline 

 colours), makes us think of a mechanism in which the coexist- 

 ence of two distinct agents, like copper and zinc in the 

 Voltaic pile, would be necessary to realize the phenomenon 

 of life. 



Moreover, experiments which we shall have to describe 

 later (merotomy) confirm our idea that the phenomenon of 

 life does not take place when one of these agents is removed. 

 So it is evident that we have here something fundamental ; 

 the diagram (Fig. 2) is applicable to all living elements or to 

 nearly all. 



Unfortunately, here too we are stopped by a penury of 



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