174 THE NATURE AND ORIGIN OF LIFE 



sooner or later according to the special characters of the 

 species, a new factor appears either veiling or even annulling 

 its effects. A little reflection is sufficient to show us that 

 this factor is the skeleton ; and by skeleton, of course, is to 

 be understood not only the bones, but also all resistant and 

 not-living parts which encumber the being taken as a 

 whole and become an important factor of its morphological 

 equilibrium. 



From the point of view of possible regeneration, we cannot 

 yet estimate beforehand the value of the skeleton of a given 

 species ; we get our information after the fact from experi- 

 ments in merotomy. In the present state of science, for 

 example, we have no reason to foresee that the frog will re- 

 main truncated while the triton regenerates its leg. It is 

 only after observation that we say human substance cloth- 

 ing a one-armed skeleton will give a one-armed man. But 

 this takes nothing from the value of the morpho-biological 

 theorem when it explains individual development, for the 

 parts fabricating the skeleton first fabricate themselves be- 

 fore they produce the skeleton that fixes their form. 



Morphogenic Function and Importance of the Colloid State 



Let us go back to unicellular beings. For these it has 

 not been difficult to establish the morpho-biological theorem 

 by experiments in merotomy. Regeneration is the rule for 

 fragments provided with nucleus (with the exception of a 

 species of ciliated infusoria Paramaecia which remain 

 truncated just as a man remains one-armed). We conclude 

 that, among the functions into which we can artificially de- 

 compose the total activity of protoplasmic being, there 

 exists a morphogenic function inseparable from the rest. 



This colloid function naturally does not manifest itself 

 outside of the living body by any diastase diffused through 



