CHAPTER IX 



USEFUL RESULT OF SUCH ANALYSIS IN GIVING LIFE 

 ITS PLACE AMONG OTHER NATURAL PHENOMENA 



THE artificial analysis, which we have just tried by the 

 method of approximate laws, is manifestly powerless with 

 regard to certain problems which we shall soon resolve by 

 a more rational method. But, at least, it has the advantage 

 of bringing unity into language and enabling us to speak 

 of biological facts in terms of chemistry. We have limited 

 ourselves to verifying results without trying to find out 

 how the results are got at. We could not do more in the 

 course of our analysis, because we have not yet once occupied 

 ourselves with the colloid state and morphological structure 

 of living beings. We have only considered quantities in 

 living substance, and we have only verified a result that 

 concerns such quantities ; that is, we have kept aloof 

 from the particulars of the facts. 



The same remark has to be made in every order of science ; 

 the more general the language, the less adapted it is to the 

 complete analysis of a specialized group of phenomena. 



To our vital phenomena we have applied language adapted 

 to the description of all chemical phenomena ; and the fact 

 that such language is sufficient to characterize life goes 

 to prove that the particular essence of life is of chemical 

 order. It gives life its place in chemistry ; and this is 

 already an important result. But it is also evident that 



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