Excerpt from On the Physical Basis of Life In order to make the title of this discourse generally intel ligible, I have translated the term Protoplasm, which is the scientific name of the substance of which I am about to speak, by the words the physical basis uppose that, to many, the idea matter, of life 1 of life as a som pendent of it; tter and insepaiably connected, may not be p1epared for the con elusion plainly suggested by the plnase the physical basis 01 matter of life, that there is some one kind of matter which is common towyigg11eipg's, and that their endless diversities are bound togethe1 by a physical, as well as an ideal, unity. In fact, when first apprehended, such a doctrine as this appeais almost shocking to common sense. That, t1uly, can seem to be m01e obviously different from one another in faculty, in form, and in substance, than the various kinds of living beings W'hat com munityof faculty can there be between the brightly-colored lichen, which so nearly resembles a mere mineral incrustation of the bare rock on which it grows, and the painter, to whom it is instinct with beauty, or the botanist, whom it feeds with knowledge? About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.