Confederations on animal Life. 255 
be broken or torn afunder; may they not 
poftibly be reftored to Life again, by the 
fame Means, even after twenty, forty, an 
hundred, or any other Number of Years, 
provided their Organs are preferved intire ? 
This Queftion future Experiments alone can 
anfwer. 
/ 
Some late Difcoveries fe.rve to fhew our 
Ignorance concerning the real Effence and 
Properties of what we term Life ; and, if 
modeftly considered, may contribute fome- 
what towards improving and enlarging our 
Ideas of it. Thefe Anguillce, the Wheel Ani¬ 
mal,- and I doubt not many other Kinds 
hitherto unobferved, are able to inftrud: us, 
that fife, or the living Power , may be fuim¬ 
pended or ceale to ad: fora Length of Time, 
and yet afterwards may be redared to its 
former Vigour. The cutting of the Polype 
and Star-Fifh into Pieces, the Continuance 
of Life in thofe Pieces, and their reproduc¬ 
ing all the Parts neceftary to make each of 
them a perfect Polype or Star-Fijh , prove 
beyond all Contradiction, I will not fay that 
Life itfelf may be divided, (left I ihould give 
Offence,) but that an Animal poffejfed of Life 
may be cut afunder, and the Parts thereof 
live afterwards, quite feparate from and ab- 
folutely independent of one another; that all 
the Members wanting to each Part may be 
reproduced; that, in Time, each Part may 
become as large an Animal, and as perfedt 
to 
