hemselves and lead an independent existence.

These considerations then introduce much difficulty into our conception
of the idea of an Individual.

ANIMAL IMMORTALITY

But, further than this, we are confronted by by another problem. If we
regard a mass of coral as an individual because it arises by continuous
growth from a single egg, then it follows that some corals must be
thousands of years old.

Some of the lower animals may be cut into pieces, and each piece will
develop into an entire organism. In fact the realisation of the idea of
an individual gradually becomes more and more difficult, and the
continuity of existence, even among the highest animals, gradually
forces itself upon us. I believe that as we become more rational, as we
realise more fully the conditions of existence, this consideration is
likely to have important moral results.

It is generally considered that death is the common lot of all living
beings. But is this necessarily so? Infusoria and other unicellular
animals multiply by division. That is to say, if we watch one for a
certain time, we shall observe, as already mentioned, that a
constriction takes place, which grows gradually deeper and deeper, until
at last the two halves become quite detached, and each swims away
independently. The process is repeated over and over again, and in this
manner the species is propagated. Here obviously there is no birth and
no death. Such creatures may be killed, but they have no natural term of
life. They are, in fact, theoretically immortal. Those which lived
millions of years ago may have gone on dividing and subdividing, and in
this sense multitudes of the lower animals are millions of years old.

FOOTNOTES:

[15] Address to Microscopical Society, 1890.

[16] _Ants, Bees, and Wasps_, and _The Senses of Animals_.

[17] Prof. Drummond (_Tropical Africa_) dwells with great force on the
manner in which the soil of Central Africa is worked up by the White
Ants.

[18] Lankester, _Comparative Longevity_. See also Weismann, _Duration of
Life_.

CHAPTER IV

ON PLANT LIFE

Flower in the crannied wall,
I pluck you out of the crannies,
I hold you here, root and all, in my hand,
Little flower--but _if_ I could understand
What you are, root and all, and all in all,
I should know what God and man is.

TENNYSON.

CHAPTER IV

ON PLANT LIFE

We are told that in old days the Fa