THE BEGINNINGS OF LIFE. 



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251 



a distinct and independent living 



condition of mere not-living organic matter 



cessation only of the combined action which constitutes 

 the life of the entire organism, though its constituent 

 parts continue to live for a time, and gradually^ at 

 different intervals, lapse into the condition of mere 

 dead matter. It is unimportant, therefore, in order that 

 heterogeny may occur, whether a certain portion of 

 the matter of an organism becomes individualised into 



thing during the 

 life of such organism, or after its death, so long as its 

 individual parts continue to live 1. When death has 

 once fallen upon these — when they have lapsed into the 



no further 

 organizing changes are, for a time, possible. The matter 



must undergo solution, and must give up its solid form ; 



^ M. Milne-Edwards, in his ' Le9ons de la Physiologie et de TAnatomie 

 Comparee' (186S, t. 8^^ p. 251), thinks this difference one of more 

 importance, apparently; for, though he does not believe in the occur- 

 rence of either, he proposes that the first process should bespoken of as 

 nccrogG?iie, and the second as zenogefiie. What we term Arcbehiosis, 

 he spoke of as ' agemtique mode d'origine ' of organisms. We have 

 endeavoured to show that this process has only very rarely been 

 included under the word ' Heterogenie '—which has almost invariably 

 been used to signify what M. Milne-Edwards needlessly includes under 

 the two words zenogmie and necrogenie. His statement, therefore, that 

 in place of the word zenogmie, he should have preferred ' le nom 

 ^'heterogenie si ce nom n'avait deja reyu une acceptation differente et 

 beaucoup plus etendue,' refers only to its having been used, as he 

 supposes, as an equivalent to all the processes which have been spoken 

 of under the head of ' spontaneous generation/ This, however, is an 

 erroneous supposition. The surrender of the word ' Heterogenie ' is, 

 therefore, no more necessary than desirable ; and it is fortunate that 

 this is the case, because the word is already so deeply stamped into the 



literature of this and other countries that any change would cause much 

 confusion. 



