The San Francisco call., 1896-11-22
THE PHENOMENON OF LIFE
What Of Dreams, in Which Jime and Place
Pass for Naught

1t is the enunciated doctrine of our
:schools that life is best defined as "a pc
'culiar.mode OF activity, the life of the COM
plex organism called man being the ag-
gregate of the vital activity of all its com
ponent parts; that each of these com po-
nent parts possesses an independent ca
pacity for development and maintenance;
The harmonious unity of action OF all
forming the normal life-beaItk" Such is
the explanation of the phenomenon OF lie
given by the schools.
1t is further taught that ''the his
tory OF this comp plex organism is one of
r incessant change. The man of to-day is
/ net the man OF yesterday, nor will he be
the man of tom orrow. Physical and chem
ical agencies are at work creating and de-
stroying-there is no rest"
An incident occurring during my col
lege days did much toward stimulating
inquiry into the phenomenon of life.
Saturdays were often spent in the search
for objects of natural history among the
hills and woods. In one OF these expedi-
tions during an early spring day my COM
pauior and myself found a cave. The
opening was hidden among the BRAN bles.
half way up a rocky hill. The cave was
not an extensive one; simply crevice in
the loose rock formed by the Interpreting
soil having been washed out by the perco-
lating water OF rains.
There were no stalactites or other cave
formations, and we had soon explored the
small cavity. We were about leaving
when George, my companion, found a
dark object, like a bundle, in a remote
corner Of the cavern. The object proved
Ito be a small female bear in a state of tor
por: We secured her bearship with a cord
and carried our trophy home suspended
from pole carried on our shoulders. The
bear. lived for several years, being adopted
as the pet of the college,
The incident gave rise to much reading
upon the subject OF Information. The
curious phenomenon was made the sub
ject of lecture by one of the college pro-
fessors, who explained it as being "a sus-
pension of certain of the animal func.
tions."
The explanation may have proved sat
lsfactory to some of the students; to me
the. matter was one for the deepest
thought. What was it? Why was it that
/. human being could not undergo a like
condition? The bear is a warm blooded
animal; so is the man. How were seer
tain of the physical functions nssuspended" 2
If the bear. why not the man? The study
of the evolution of the higher types of
organization, both animal and vegetable,
discloses the fact that both are governed
by the same "mode of activity" The
primordial cell multiplies itself by du-
;plicate subdivision into aggregations OF
cells, each one the repetition of the
other, until, shaped by some power
(not defined in the teachings of
any of the schools). limit is
reached, beyond which a structural dif-
Organization occurs that, growing more de-
cided with development, gives distinction
to the type. AS between the animal and
the vegetable, orthodox science is silent
rega riding the similarity or dissmiarity
of their vital force-both have life.
In the museum at Sutro Park is a vase
which contains seeds taken from an Egyp-
tian mummy's case. It was the custom
Of the Egyptians to place some wheat in
the mummy case, so that the tenant of the
casket might not want for food. From
'one OF these mummy cases some wheat
was taken, and placed in the hands of the
chfef gardener at the Royal Gardens at
Kew, in England, who planted the kernels
and succeeded in raising from them a crop
OF strange wheat. What was that con-
dition of the seed during the long GEN.
tqrIes OF its repose within the coffin of the |
&gyptIan? Was it life? OF a certainty !
W was not performing any vital function. |
sher was it dead, for disintegration had
nostaken place. Its capacity for living
was not impaired, for although it had
slum pered during period marking 1000 I
seed times, vet its vital force dwelt in it;
ana under the skillful nursing of an Eng
ilsh gardener the grain of wheat harvested
ny Fharaoh blossomed and bore fruit of
Its kind for Victoria. What was the shape
and form OF the vitality2 The answer re-
ouires keener perception of the subtle