PROF, LIONEL 8. BEALE, F.R.C.P., F.R.S,, ON VITALITY. 67 
Dr. Scuorre,p.—Perhaps I might ask a question of Professor 
Beale, viz., Whether he considers the nucleus of the cell to be 
living matter, and if so whether he considers it to be absolutely 
structureless P 
Professor Brate.—Yes, the nucleus, at any rate at first, is 
structureless, and some of the many changes depicted and described 
as occurring in the nucleus I think take place in consequence of 
some particles of the living matter ceasing to live. You may have 
bioplasm—living matter—without any nucleus at all, and under 
certain circumstances living matter may give rise to very many 
nuclei which appear in its substance. 
The nucleus seems to me to be a new living centre which is 
evolved in the very substance of already existing living 
matter. 
In reply to a question by a member of the audience regarding 
the distinction between certain actions of matter and of living 
organisms, the lecturer added :—My idea is that living vital power 
is distinct from all forces and energies. With regard to motion, it 
must be borne in mind that motion in living matter is one thing, 
and that other forms or modes of motion irrespective of life are 
altogether distinct. The motion of living matter has been called 
spontaneous —you cannot explain it. Then there is another point 
in which vital movement differs from every other kind of move- 
ment known. It is this, that in all living things the movement of 
the living matter is independent of gravitation. You might ask me 
to prove that. For instance, are not the particles of which a tree 
is composed lifted up one above the other often to a great height ? 
It seems to me that this can never be explained by physical law. 
Newton, it has been said, made the great discovery of gravitation 
when contemplating the fall of an apple; but we microscopical 
people naturally ask, how was the scaffold raised—formed “ bit by 
bit ”’—from which that apple fell? (Applause.) 
The Cuairman.—It was the result of the death of the stem that 
made the apple fall. 
Professor LioneL Beate.—Yes, it was the weight of the dead 
matter of the apple that caused it to fall; but the living germ 
(bioplasm) wonderfully protected in the “seed” may, after having 
been some time in the damp earth, grow and form roots that grow 
downwards, and a stem that grows upwards, with leaves and 
branches, and at length flowers, followed by fruit containing year 
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