150 An Examination of Weismannism. 



cell, when the life of both will be preserved. For 

 my own part, however, I cannot see that in either 

 case the cell^ as distinguished from its contained germ- 

 plasm, is thus shown to be potentially immortal. On 

 the contrary, it appears to me a mere accident of 

 the case that in a unicellular organism the immortal 

 substance (germ-plasm) is contained in a single cell, 

 which is at the same time a free cell, and, as such, is 

 denominated an '"'organism." We might just as well 

 call a germ-cell an " organism." w T hether as an ovum 

 it happens to be embedded in a mass of somatic-cells, 

 or as a locomotive spermatozoon it happens to be 

 free. In fact Weismann himself appears to recognize 

 this. But. if so, it is surely a distinction without 

 a difference to say that unicellular organisms are 

 immortal, while multicellular are mortal. For in 

 neither case is the organism immortal, while in both 

 cases it is the germ-plasm (i.e., the substance of heredity) 

 that is so. Where the cell containing the germ-plasm 

 happens to be a free cell, it is called an " organism " ; 

 but wmether it be a germ-cell or a protozoan, it alike 

 ceases to be a cell when it has given origin to a 

 multitude of other cells, whether these happen to be 

 other germ- cells (plus somatic-cells) or other proto- 

 zoan cells. In short, qua cell, all cells are mortal : 

 it is only the substance of heredity which some cells 

 contain that can be said, in any sense of the term, to 

 be immortal. For the immortality in question does 

 not belong to unicellular organisms as such, but to the 

 germ-plasm which they contain. And from this it 

 follows that, as the immortality of germ-plasm is 

 one and the same thing as the continuity of germ- 

 plasm, by alleging an immortality as belonging to 



