ON THE VITALISTIC VIEW OF NATURE. 417 



of intensity the living processes common to all. Just 

 so a state or human society is made up of a large 

 number of individuals, all having the same human 

 nature, who carry on the different functions peculiar 

 to each with varying degrees of efficiency. The concep- so. 

 tion of the cell as the unit or type of all living theor y- 

 matter, and the further discovery that there exist uni- 

 cellular beings which are not essentially different from 

 the constituent living elements of the most complicated 

 organisms, has brought physiological research to a focus. 

 The difficulties in the study of biological phenomena 

 have vanished as those of the organic chemist did on 

 the introduction of the conception of valency, of the 

 saturating powers of chemical substances. Accordingly, 

 if we compare a text-book of these subjects written in 

 the middle of the century with one belonging to the 

 latter part of it, we find an enormous difference of 

 treatment. It is instructive to contrast the introduction 

 given in Johannes Miiller's ' Elements of Physiology ' 

 and that of Professor Michael Foster's ' Text-book.' The 

 former represents the most advanced knowledge obtain- 

 able at the end of the thirties the latter that of a 

 generation later. The former contains a lengthy intro- 

 duction on general physiology the latter a short one 

 on the physiological properties of a living amoaba, 1 a 



1 Already, in 1835, K. E. von 

 Baer pointed out how the study 

 of one small animal can revolution- 

 ise our entire reasoning. " Ninety 

 years ago a naturalist discovers 

 the hydropolyp, an insignificant 

 slimy animal, not larger than a 

 peppercorn, and how, without 

 head, sense-organs, muscles, nerves, 

 blood, and sexual organs it never- 



theless is nourished, grows, feels, 

 moves, and multiplies, how it can 

 even be divided, each part form- 

 ing a whole : he observes it with 

 much wonder for nine years with 

 untiring perseverance. At that 

 time many would, no doubt, con- 

 sider such an occupation childish 

 and unworthy, yet these diligent 

 observations have slowly but ma- 



VOL. II. 2 D 



