7rcTIX1xP

The Second Lesson: Omnipresent Life.721
used; to distinguish the proper material; to mould it into shape, and cement
it. The scientist reported that a creature always gathered just exactly enough
sand for its purpose—never too little, and never an excess. And this in a
creature that is little more than a tiny drop of glue!
We may consider the life actions of the Moneron a little further, for it
is the lowest form of so-called “living matter”—the point at which living
forms pass off into non-living forms (so-called). This tiny speck of glue—an
organism without organs—is endowed with the faculty called sensation. It
draws away from that which is likely to injure it, and toward that which it
desires—all in response to an elementary sensation. It has the instinct of
self-preservation and self-protection. It seeks and finds its prey, and then
eats, digests and assimilates it. It is able to move about by “false-feet,” or
bits of its body which it pushes forth at will from any part of its substance. It
reproduces itself, as we have seen, by separation and self-division.
The life of the bacteria and germs—the yeasty forms of life—are familiar
to many of us. And yet there are forms of life still below these. The line
between living forms and non-living forms is being set back further and
further by science. Living creatures are now known that resemble the nonliving
so closely that the line cannot be definitely drawn.
Living creatures are known that are capable of being dried and laid away
for several years, and then may be revived by the application of moisture.
They resemble dust, but are full of life and function. Certain forms of bacilli
are known to Science that have been subjected to degrees of heat and cold
that are but terms to any but the scientific mind.
Low forms of life called Diatoms or “living crystals” are known. They are tiny
geometrical forms. They are composed of a tiny drop of plasm, resembling
glue, covered by a thin shell of siliceous or sandy material. They are visible
only through the microscope, and are so small that thousands of them might
be gathered together on the head of a pin. They are so like chemical crystals
that it requires a shrewd and careful observer to distinguish them. And yet
they are alive, and perform all the functions of life.