THE PRINCIPLES OF BIOLOGY. 
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THE PRINCIPLES OF BIOLOGY. 
BY HERBERT SPENCER. 
Part II. — “ The Inductions of Biology." 
EXPOSITION OF CHAPTER III.-F UNCTION. 
BY, C. H. ALLISON. 
Function may be defined as “ tlie totality of* all vital 
actions.” It originates structure, for tlie vital activity of* 
every germ obviously precedes the development of* its 
structures ; the lowest Rhizopods exhibit, says Professor 
Huxley, “ Life without Organization,” i.e., Function without 
Structure. 
Function is divided into various kinds, commencing with 
the simplest. It is Statical and Dynamical according to the 
distributions of force which an organism opposes to the 
forces brought to bear upon it. Again, Function is divisible 
into the Accumulation of Force—latent in food; the 
Expenditure of Force—latent in the tissues and certain 
matters absorbed by them; and the Transfer of Force—latent 
in the blood. 
But these admit of subdivision : Accumulation of Force, 
including Alimentation and Aeration, of which the former 
consists of the Prehension of* Food and its Transformation 
into blood; Transfer of Force, including the Circulation 
(vascular and lymphatic); and the Expenditure of Force, 
including Nervous and Muscular Actions. There are also 
the subsidiary Functions, Excretion and Exhalation; to 
which add, that the general physiologist considers Functions, 
as correlatives of tissues, and that Concrete Physiology 
considers special Functions as ends of special organs. The 
first induction is that complexity of Function is the correlative 
of* complexity of Structure ; organisms having distribution 
of parts have a concomitant distribution of actions. The 
second generalization is that Functions, like Structures, arise 
by progressive differentiations ; the first differentiation is 
between Endodenn and Ectoderm, and progresses with 
higher forms of life. 
Similar progressive differentiations take place in the 
developing Embryo. This progress is from general, indefinite, 
and simple, to special, definite, and complex, termed by 
Milne-Edwards the Physiological division of labour. 
The progress towards specialization of Functions is 
accompanied by their becoming more mutually dependent, 
