THE NATDKE OF LIFE. 355 



portion of the infinite, and stick to the question of tJie living 

 matter universal in all living, from the first moment of life to 

 death. This clear and structureless matter having much water — 

 from which all future structure is derived, and all structure 

 " evolved " by " evolutional power," if you please. 



I believe that every word that I am speaking depends on 

 changes in the Bioplasm of certain of my brain "cells " and the 

 bioplasts concerned in vocalisation. All the wonderful changes 

 determining the phenomena begin in, and must start from, the 

 minute particles of living matter, which are in all the tissues, parts, 

 and organs concerned, and I hope these bioplasts will be for a 

 short time longer in a healthy state, and retain yet a little of 

 their necessarily waning activity. 



Two or three gentlemen alluded to the medical or medico- 

 hygienic part of the question, and if I may be allowed to say a 

 few more words, I should like to i-emark briefly on the universal 

 pi'esence of an enormous proportion of water in all Bioplasm or 

 living matter. The relation between the quantity of food 

 taken and the quantity of water required to dissolve its products 

 seems to be seldom adequately considered. Many of us take far 

 too little water, and many a poor child suffers torture in hot 

 weather from being allowed too little. We have lately become 

 more and more prejudiced against water. There are so many of 

 those dreaded bacterial creatures found in it, that people have 

 been led to associate horrors with these, and though the majority 

 are harmless, many persons seem to think that bactci'ia of some 

 kind are the usual and most potent cause of disease and death. 

 For myself I have no objection even to filtered Thames water, 

 and am not much afraid of its bacterial millions. A distinguished 

 chemist once remarked that although they had been hunting for 

 typhoid germs in the Thames for years, perhaps not a dozen had 

 ever been foimd. 



With regard to healthy human Bioplasm there is a great deal 

 more to be considered of the greatest importance with reference 

 to keeping alive the millions and millions of Bioplasts in our 

 bodies, not only for a time, in health, but in a continuing healthy 

 state, so that we may not only be healthy and vigorous in youth, 

 but be able to look forward to a healthy old age. To live long in 

 health is a great pleasure, and according to the experience of many, 

 quite as great as in boyhood. I can easily imagine it to be a 

 greater pleasure than many a small boy actually enjoyed, 

 especially in his early boyhood, who meets with compensation 



