4 FORMER VIEWS ON THE CAUSE 
force,” a view that was adopted by Berzelius in 1827 in Vol. Ill 
p. i. 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 z) . Similar declarations were made by Treviranus, who 
believed that the vital principle passes off into the air with 
the death of an organism 1 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 Reil , 4) 5 6 7 : 
“ 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.”— Erlemneycr , 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- 
Besancz (1874) : “ All the physical and chemical laws known to 
1) Lehrbuch der Chemie, 5th Edition, Vol. 4, p. 5. 
2) Physiologie der Gewächse 1835. Vol. I, p. 12. 
3) Compare “ Science ” of March 1893. 
4) Reil'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. 
