THE COSMICAL RELATIONS OF LIVING MATTER 19 



earth solid and cool upon the surface, and its moon prob- 

 ably cold throughout. It is during the cooling and 

 integration of such heavenly bodies that the differen- 

 tiation of the component matter takes place. As this 

 progresses, a multitude of combinations appear for a 

 time, transform to new combinations, and so continue 

 through an indefinite series of transformations, eventu- 

 ating in things constituted as we now know them. 



During these transformations certain substances appear 

 whose stability constitutes the foundations of chemistry. 

 Some of these occur in the elementary form, i.e., incapable 

 of analysis into simpler forms, but more frequently they 

 occur in combinations from which they can be liberated 

 by artificial means and thus reduced to the elementary 

 form. Some elementary forms combine with one another 

 easily, others with difficulty. Some of the combinations 

 are so unstable as to tend to break apart rather than to 

 persist. Thus, among the chemical components of our 

 planet we find a certain number, combined to form the 

 rocks and soil, subject to little change, and to that only 

 under peculiar circumstances, while upon the surface of 

 the earth we find a small quantity of matter composed 

 of elements entering into loose combinations and tend- 

 ing to perpetual change. The substances we call living, 

 are included among these ever-changing combinations. 



The most evanescent of these compounds comprise a 

 group known as " colloids," many of which have a molec- 

 ular composition, ascending in complexity until among 

 the proteins we find "protoplasm" with a composition 

 not yet definitely determined, but embracing O, H, C, N, 

 S, and in some cases P. 



This substance, protoplasm, constitutes the basis of 

 living matter. 



