4 



FORMER VIEWS ON THE CAUSE 



force," a view that was adopted by Berzclius in 1827 in Vol. Ill 

 p. 1. of his textbook of chemistry. But even in the year 1847 

 this prominent chemist declared that life is something mysterious 

 and inscrutable; "once connected with matter it produces de- 

 velopment and growth, but how this proceeds is an insoluble 

 mystery 1 ). Similar declarations were made by Treviranus, who 

 believed that the vital principle passes off into the air with 

 the death of an organism 2) . The view that " life was not in any 

 way related to the physical forces and had nothing in common 

 with any material forces, powers, or properties," was even defend- 

 ed quite recently by some learned professors of the Victoria 

 Institute, London 3) . " Different views however were entertained 

 nearly a hundred years ago by the German physiologist Rettf : 

 " the socalled vital force has fooled us long enough, and has led 

 us into sterile deserts. Matter itself and not a specific new force 

 is the cause of vital phenomena." Such was essentially also the 

 conviction of Oken and of De Candolle, while Mulder 5) declared: 

 " the vital force is a specific force connected with the 4 elements : 

 carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen." — Erlenmeyer, well known 

 for his numerous investigations in the domain of theoretical or- 

 ganic chemistry declared 6 ) : "all our knowledge of chemistry 

 and physics has been set in motion to solve the mystery of life, 

 and we have made a great step forward ; but if a physiologist 

 like C. Ludwig identifies the progress of physiology with the pro- 

 gress of chemistry, then the chemists must feel anew instigated 

 to devote themselves to physiological problems." " The vitalistic 

 school had more power in former times, chemistry and physics 

 having been too imperfectly developed." To similar opinions 

 inclined the physiologist Lehmann (1853) : " if many vital phe- 

 nomena are inexplicable up to the present day, we still do not 

 feel the necessity of nominating such a governor as vital force. 7 ) " 

 Quite differently expressed himself another physiologist, Gorup- 

 Besanez (1874) : " All the physical and chemical laws known to 



1) Lehrbuch der Chemie, 5th Edition, Vol. 4, p. 5. 



2) Physiologie der Gewachse 1835. Vol. I, p. 12. 



3) Compare "Science" of March 1893. 



4) Rett's Archiv III, 424 (1798). 



5) Versuch einer allg. physiol. Chem. p. 92 (1843). 



6) Zeitschrift f. Chem. 1859. 



7) Lehrbuch d. physiol. Chem. II, Ed. Vol. Ill, p. 154. 



