Weismannism up to date (1893). 151 



the unicellular organisms, Weismann is merely re- 

 stating his fundamental postulate. Hence, also, he 

 is but denying, in a somewhat round-about way, the 

 occurrence of spontaneous generation. 



I conclude, therefore, that his sole remaining 

 distinction between the unicellular and the multi- 

 cellular organisms is but illusory, or unreal. And, 

 with regard to the great change which he has thus 

 effected in his system by expressly abolishing all the 

 other distinctions, I have only to say that in my 

 opinion he has thereby greatly improved his system. 

 For he has thus relieved it of all the formidable 

 difficulties which he had needlessly created for him- 

 self, and which I have already enumerated in the 

 foregoing pages (88-89). In his ever-shifting drama 

 of evolution the unicellular organisms have left the 

 stage en masse ^ and, so far as they are concerned, 

 we are all as we were before the curtain rose. 



But of even more importance than this funda- 

 mental change of view with regard to the unicellular 

 organisms, is a further and no less fundamental 

 change with regard to the multicellular. That such 

 is the case will immediately become apparent by 

 a simple statement of the fact, that Weismann has 

 now expressly surrendered his postulate of the abso- 

 lute stability of germ-plasm ! 



We have already seen that, even in the first volume 

 of his Essays^ there were some passages which gave 

 an uncertain sound with regard to this matter. But 

 as they seemed attributable to mere carelessness on 

 the part of their author, after quoting a sample 

 of them, I showed it was necessary to ignore such 



