THE TORCH OF REASON, SILVERTON, OREGON, JA N l ART 19. 1899.
I v a nam e given to com pound, the belief in the poesi- tricacy, it is evident th a t the prob-
it
is
said,
is
onlv
P ro to p lasm , P ast and P resent. the properties of a a certain definite hilitv of its m anufacture by chem- lem is a difficult one, aud in all
¡cal means was legitim ate enough, probability it lies outside the reach
BY PR O F. H . W . CONN.
chemical compound.
We may
But the significance of proto- But the modern microscope and of hum an ingenuity.
.
was even deeper than this, microscopical m ethods have shown nope to m ake chemical com pounds
The present day student has he
come so fam iliar with the term pro " for it appeared that it should be th a t the substance is not a chem - ad libitum , but we can not hope to
toplasrn th a t he has hardly any possible for chem ists to manufac- ical com pound. It is rath er to he be able to fashion such a m achine.
conception of the im portant part tnre this substance, Chem ists have looked upon as a very complex ma C ertain it is that the scientist is at
which this substance has played in , at their disposal the force of chem- chine, with m any integral parts, all present battled in his search after
the history of biological and philo­ ical affinity, and hv using this force, adapted to each other to act in har- this ignis fatuus which we call life.
sophical science. It is now about they can cause the simple elem ents, nionv. The lim its of this article J u s t as he thought he had alm ost
forty years since the doctrine of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and ni- do not allow any very extended de- reached it by chemical m eans,it has
protoplasm was form ulated and trogen, to unite to form simple com- scription of the protoplasm ic ma- slipped from his grasp and he finds
thirty-five since H uxley devised pounds such as CO,, H.O, NH„ etc. , chine. Such a cell m achine con- th a t it is not a chem ital problem at
the famous phrase, “ Protoplasm , By com bining these com pounds [sists of m any parts. There is a all. W here to turn his atten tio n
the physical baeis of life.’ W ith again they can make more complex network of «tiers, in whose meshes now he hardly knows. But science
the conception of protoplasm was ones, and the more they experim ent is a watery liquid. In tim ately con­ is never satisfied, and we may con­
inaugurated modern biology. At the mure complex become the com- nected with the network are m inute fidently expect th a t his probe will
th at time it was pointed out th at pounds which they succeed in mak- granules, which frequently move to in tim e h e turned in a new direc­
the physical basis of all living mg. By purely chemical means and fro. In the m iddle of the m a­ tion, and who can tell with what
things is always the same. W her­
they find themselves beginning to chine is the so-called cell nucleus, successes and wiiat d isap p o in t­
ever there is life there is present a
climb a ladder of chem ical com­ which is in itself even more com­ m ents?— [P opular Science.
homogeneous jelly like substance,
pounds. At th e bottom of the lad­ plicated. It is surrounded by a
chemically related to album en.
der are the sim ple chemical ele­ m em brane, and contains a n et­
This substance, protoplasm , is in ­
m ents. The various rounds of the work and a liquid, sim ilar to those
Tw o View's.
deed the only living substance, all
in
the
cell
body.
In
addition,
it
ladder are the organic com pounds
parts of the anim al or plants which of increasing perplexity, such as a l­ has an ex trao rd in ary m aterial call-
The C hristian church has for cen­
are not protoplasm having been cohol, starch, sugar, etc. The up­ ed chrom atin, which is sometimes turies tau g h t th a t the New T esta­
made by the protoplasm. Such a
per rounds are &uch substances as in the shape of a network, at other m ent was the record of a divine per­
conception of course greatly sim pli­
album en. Now, the doctrine of times forms a thread or a tube or a son, who actually cam e to earth in
fied the study of living things, since
protoplasm told the chem ists that star. There is still another body a m iraculous m anner, who passel
it definitely pointed out the funda­
at the top of this ladder stood pro­ in the cell, the centrosom e, lying in his life in perform ing m iraculous
m ental living substance to be stud­
toplasm , itself a chemical com­ a clear space, the. centrosphere. works and w ho,after th e sem blance
ied.
pound, greater in perplexity indeed W hen the cell is in action, this cen- of dying, escaped from earth in a
But the real significance of the
T his church
than the others, hut still related trosome sends out rods or fibers. m iraculous way.
new era lay rather in a different
closelv •/ to the rest of the series. These rods sieze the bits of chro­ teaches th at Jesus was not obliged
direction. The fact was th a t the
Life was one of its properties. Now m atin, pull them around into new to he born; that he could have es­
doctrine of protoplasm , as advanc­
since the chem ist found himself positions, separating them from caped birth had he so w illed; th a t
ed by H uxley, gave to the scientist
easily clim bing this ladder, round each other, and som etimes actually he came v o lu n tarily ; th a t it was
a promise of a speedy m anufactureof
by round, he saw nothing in the pushing some of them out of the not the love of his parents which
living m atter by artificial means.
way of the belief th at some day he cell for the purpose of getting rid gave to him ea ith ly existence; th a t
Protoplasm was described as a
would reach the top. If he did of them . The centrosom e acts like it was his ow n love for the w retch­
chemical compound related to a l­
reach the top, and make proto­ an engineer, and seems to be the ed world of man which brought him
bumen and composed of the same
plasm, he would, in accordance with controlling center of the complex into life; th a t he cam e to fulfil
chemical elem ents, carbon, oxygen,
a divine mission and to do a special
the doctrine of protoplasm , h a v e machine.
hydrogen and nitrogen. It was
All of these parts are adjusted to work.
succeeded in creating life. As a re­
said to he a very complex com­
We hold th a t the New T esta­
sult of such ideas, it began to he each other and act in harm ony, and
pound indeed, having m any h u n ­
confidently predicted th at at no dis­ the life activities are the resu ltan t m ent is a dram a and not a history;
dreds of atom s in its molecule; but
tant day the chem ist would climb of the action of the m achine. It is th a t Jesus is a fictitious person in ­
nevertheless it was looked upon as
to the sum m it of the ladder and true that not all types of living m a t­ stead of an actual being; and th a t
a definite com pound, or a sim ple
thus make a real living thing. This ter are quite as com plicated as the for all practical purposes he m ight
m ixture of such com pounds. W ith
one figured, hut in all there is found just as well have descended to earth
this conception, life was simply a prediction was not an unlikely one,
for steadily, year by year, the chem­ in a sim ilar way a complex m a­ from the planet Ju p ite r as to come
name given to the peculiar proper­
in the way th a t the a u th o r of the
ist has continued to clim b the lad­ chine with part adjusted to p art.
ties of the com pound. Hydrogen
It is plain th a t protoplasm can gospel of M atthew pictures his ad-
der of organic compounds. Re-
is a gas with certain properties,
cently he has actually been able to no longer be looked upon as a vent.
and oxygen a second gas with prop­
We hold th a t every individual,
m ake some proteids, which are chem ical com pound, the very es­
erties of its own. If these two gases
among the very highest in the sence of which is homogeneity. It who has been really born into life
are brought together they will
series, and stand close to proto- is equally plain th at chemical fore- on this planet, had nothing to say
unite by chemical affinity and form
plasm. The only question in re- es can no longer be looked upon as about his birth, th a t he had to be
water (H a01. Now, water is very
gard to the fulfilment of the proph- adequate to produce a bit of living born and could not help himself,
different from hydrogen or oxygen.
ecy is w hether, after m ounting to m atter. For this purpose would be th a t he had no choice in the m a t­
It has definite properties of its own,
the top, he will find protoplasm in needed some force which is capable ter, and th at all who have lived on
but no one ever thought of saying
the series. If this substance does of adap tin g p a rt to part to form a this earth cam e into life with
•
th a t it is endowed with a special
stand in the series, then, beyond a harm oniously acting m achine. The no previous knowledge of the
force, “ aquosity.” Albumen is an­
doubt, its artificial m anufacture forces dem anded for this are me- condititions or circum stances of
other compouud with still mure
would be a possibility and indeed a chanical and not chemical, and all those living here.
complex properties, hut no one
attem pts to search after a living
It is tim e to adm it th at the mi-
_ probability.
th in k s of saying th a t these proper
All of this has, however, now substance by chem ical mean3 are raculous Jesus never was born,
ties are due to a special force of
changed. Thechem ist is still climb- doomed to failure.
Not until we never lived, never spoke, never did
“ alb u m ity .” They are doubtless
ing the ladder, and with ever accel- can find the forces which can pro- a single act on earth , and it is tim e
properties of the compound and ex-
Vlained by the properties of the erate<^ » P ^d . His confidence in duce the parts of such a m achine, to be honest in religious m atters.
1
reaching the top is greater than and then u n ite them into a har- There have been too m any false-
chemical elements which make up
the albumen. So,it was said, when , ever. But the studies of the last moniously t acting u nit, can we ex- . hoods told for God’s sake and too
these sam e elements unite to form dfteen years have shown th at he is plain m echanically the origin of little tru th for m an’s 3ake.
, u „' J ;,1 ......r ,.
J..V ..nmnniin, I no more lik e l y to find protoplasm the s im p le s t li v i n g thing.
T h e t.-achings of th e C
< hristian
the
still m ore complex
com pound,
W hether such forces can ever he church about Jesus are not sensible
protoplasm , with even more com­ at the top of the ladder than he is
to
find
a
steam
engine.
discovered, it would l»e hazardous and deserve at the hands of intelli-
plex properties, there is no reason
So
protoplasm
could —
be to conjecture.
for saving it is due to any force of
- long
- » as r-----
c---------------
----1-------- Considering
-- --- ---- o the mi- « gent men only contem pt.—[Investi-
v itality . V itality, in other words, regarded as a definite chem ical1 nuteness of the m achine ami its in -• gator.