THE EXPERIMENTS. 215 



they belong ; for their union could not be ac- 

 compliihed but by the intervention of an inter- 

 nal mould, which is the efficient caufe of the 

 figure of the animal or vegetable, and in which 

 the eflence, the unity, and the continuation of 

 the fpecles confifts, and will invariably continue 

 till the end of time. 



But, before drawing general conclufions from 

 the fyftem I have eflabliihed, fome objections 

 muft be removed, w^hich will contribute ftill 

 farther to illuftrate the fubjed:. 



It will be demanded of me, v^hy I deny thefe 

 moving bodies to be animals, after they have 

 uniformly been recognized as fuch by every man 

 who has examined them ? It may likewife be 

 afked, How is it poffible to conceive the nature 

 of living organic particles, unlefs we allow them 

 •to be real animals ? And to fuppofe an animal 

 to be compofed of lefTer animals, is nearly the 

 fame idea, as when we fay that an organized 

 body is compofed of organic living particles. 

 To thefe queftions I fhall endeavour to give fa- 

 tisfa<flory anfwers. 



It is true, that almofi: all obfervers agree in 

 regarding the moving bodies in the femlnal fluid 

 as real animals. But it is equally certain, both 

 from my experiments, and ihofc of Mr Need- 

 ham upon the fcmcn of the calmar, that thefe 

 moving bodies are beings more fimplc, and lefs 

 organized than animals. 



The 



