AN ESSA Y ON LONGEVITY. 43 



as the bulk. We may regard this germinal matter 

 as a sort of stock-in-trade with which the losing game 

 of increasing profit or accumulation, but more rapidly 

 increasing expenditure, has to be played. ' The rate 

 at which a man's wealth accumulates is measured 

 by the surplus of income over expenditure, and this, 

 save in exceptionally favourable cases, is determined 

 by the capital with which he begins business.' In the 

 transactions of an organism we trace the same three 

 elements. ' There is the expenditure required for the 

 obtainment and digestion of food, there is the gross 

 return in the shape of nutriment assimilated or fit for 

 assimilation, and there is the difi"erence between this 

 gross return of nutriment and the nutriment that was 

 used up in the labour of securing it.' As long as this 

 is in excess, we have an increase of living matter and 

 an increase of structure, and clearly the larger the 

 capacity of the animal to take in food, &c., on com- 

 mencing life (individual life), the larger and the 

 longer'^ will be the accumulation of germinal matter 

 by the increase of bulk (profit). Say that each year 

 the profit doubles, whilst the expenditure trebles, 

 with a capital at starting of 6 units, whilst the ex- 

 penditure is a third of the capital, and the profit 

 cent, 'per cent., or equal to the capital at starting. 

 In the fourth year, with these figures, we shall find 

 that the capital commences to diminish, the figures 



1 Mr. Spencer does not discuss time at all. 



