^4 THE DATA OF BIOLOGY. 



Grouping together the cases first named, in which a parti- 

 cular change in the circumstances of an organism is followed 

 by a particular change in it, and the cases last named, in 

 which the constant actions occurring within an organism im- 

 ply some constant actions occurring without it ; we see that 

 in both, the changes or processes displayed by a living body 

 are specially related to the changes or processes in its en- 

 vironment. And here we have the needful supplement to 

 our conception of Life. Adding this all-important charac- 

 teristic, our conception of Life becomes — The definite com- 

 bination of heterogeneous changes, both simultaneous and 

 successive, in correspondence tvith external co-existences and, 

 sequences. That the full significance of this addition may be 

 seen, it will be necessary to glance at the correspondence 

 under some of its leading aspects.* 



§ 28. Neglecting minor requirements, the actions going 



* Speaking of " the general idea of fe/c," M. Comte says : " Cette id^e sup- 

 pose, en effet, non-seulcment celle d'un dtre organist de maniere ^ comporter 

 I'etat vital, mais aussi celle, non moins indispensable, d'un certain ensemble 

 d'influences ext^rieure propres A son accomplissement. Une telle harmonie entre 

 I'etre vivant et le milieu correspondant, caract^rise evldemment la condition fon- 

 damentale de la vie." Commenting on de Blainville's definition of life, which he 

 adopts, he says : — " Cette lumineuse definition ne me paralt laisser rien d'impor- 

 tant i d6sirer, si ce n'est une indication plus directe et plus explicite de ces deux 

 conditions fondamentalesco-relatives,n^cessairementinseparablesdel'6tat vivant, 

 un organisme detcrminiS et un milieu eonvenable." It is strange that M. Comte 

 should have thus recognized the necessity of a harmony between an organism and 

 its environment, as a condition essential to life, and should not have seen that the 

 continuous maintenance of such inner actions as will counterbalance outer actions, 

 constitutes life. It is the more strange that he should have been so near this 

 truth and yet missed it, since, besides his wide range of thought, M. Comte is 

 often remarkable for his clear intuitions. Lest by saying this, I should deepen a 

 misconception into which some have fallen, let me take the opportunity of stating, 

 tlHit though I believe some of M. Comte's minor generalizations to be true and 

 though I recognize the profundity of many incidental observations he makes, I 

 by no means accept his system. Those general doctrines in which I agree with 

 him, are those which he holds in common with sundry other thinkers. With all 

 those general doctrines which are distinctive of his philosophy, I disagree — with 

 all those at least that I have definite knowledge of ; for beyond the first half of 

 his " Course of Positive Philosophy," I know his opinions only by hearsay. 



