The Unicell and Immortality, + Notes (pt.3 Triumph of the Immortal Will by Mathilde Ludendorff)

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 Notes from the chapter "The Unicell and Immortality" in Triumph of the Immortal Will by Mathilde Ludendorff (Chapter below):

• Science-Cognisance in its highest form is the knowledge all life came from a single cell called the unicell. 
• Knowledge of physics and electricity removed ancient fears of thunder and the same will happen with fears of "powers of fate".
• Natural science shows god does not intrude but we are protected by the laws of nature, god cannot harm us in any supernatural way. 
• But science did not serve the need for immortality, this through evolution was filled in living on through your children. 
• Cells passed on to offspring in gamates are immortal?  (Is that true?)
• Immortality is working for the best for our children. 
• Christianity replaced love of ancestors and progeny with the will to preserve individual immortal souls (not group soul). 
• But more than social work is needed, more than keeping the best for our descendants. 
• The unicell is immortal since the primordial soup. (Is this true?)
• Cells have souls because they are "things themselves".
• Somatic cells die but germ cells are immortal, immortality is gained through passing on germ cells.

From The Book 
The Triumph of the Immortal Will
By Mathilde Ludendorff

https://archive.org/stream/triumphoftheimmo029665mbp/triumphoftheimmo029665mbp_djvu.txt

The Unicell and Immortality

If ever there was a scientific Cognisance (Erkenntnis) which 

was capacitated to shatter the mind of man and replenish is 

with a new appreciation of its surroundings and the realities of 

life, it certainly was the announcement that all life had once 

evolved from the most primitive of beings, called a unicell. 

When one comes to think of it, it seems almost miraculous that 

within this infinitismally small body, invisible to the human eye 

save when under the microscope, there lay such a power of 

development as to cause, together with the aid it received from 

its surroundings (the impetus danger gave in the struggle-for- 

existence) the multifariousness of plant and animal-life which 

we see before us. One of the most incredible facts in the history 

of culture is this: As soon as this wonder became general good, 

men became swayed in the fallacy they had solved the mystery 

of life! There is no denying of -course that the struggle-for- 

existence endowed the species with the more favourable var- 

iety, and this facilitated reproduction; but does this fact really 

suffice to explain the reason why that sleeping possibility un- 

dertook a transformation as to cause the ascent of man amidst 

struggles which continually increased? 

Now, this has remained a mystery, but because all attempts 

to solve this mystery from the mechanical point-of-view have 

failed and always will fail, the truths gained from the Evol- 

ution-Theory are no longer fated to remain the mere property 

of an important branch of science as men up till now have be- 

lieved; instead, their prerogative, to-day, is to inaugurate the 

foundation to our new world- viewpoint (Weltanschauung) which 

will soon bear conviction that it is a foundation far superior to 

all those contained in any of the myths and religions. But not, 

however, in that sense as has been understood up till now, for 

the continuity of that progress of development to farther stages 

over the line unicell-man we consider to be a creed which is ab- 

solutely untenable. We are also opposed to the other conception 

which hoick that the perpetuity of the species amply replaces 

individual immortality. The religious myths always upheld the 

personal immortality of man, and because this idea was kept 

alive in the imagination of man it acted truly as an impetus to 

all their moral endeavours. Yet we must admit that the preach- 

ing of the immortality of the "species" as a gospel of truth 

found its justification in one way also; namely it was prompted 

by the same natural desire, the individual's immortality, which 

was embodied already in the myth. All men are inspired with 

a great longing for the immortal-state. By now the religious 

myths would have lost all their significance had they not held 

out to men the promise of immortal-life, for their second funct- 

ion has lost all its significance. In earlier times its presence was 

justified; the myth helped to appease the awful fear of men 

when these were confronted with the elements which in those 

earlier times could not be grasped with the human powers of 

comprehension. Gradually, the myth was obliged to give up 

this second function to natural-science which has succeeded in 

a most marvellous way to appease the fear men were wont to 

feel towards the wild powers of Nature. For instance, the fear 

which men used to feel before the God-of Thunder who, in his 

anger, annihilated them with flashes of lightning, has been 

completely banished since men have discovered the principles 

of physics. They know now that when electricity in the air 

explodes it causes thunder and lightning. According to like 

rules men can scare away the fear that takes hold of them when 

158 

confronted with the "powers-of-fate". The brighter the light of 

science shone, the quicker did the fear of demons and the anxiety 

for cult manifestation make its departure: Instead of the Will 

of a personal God intruding itself onto the life of mankind, 

tranquil lawfulness made its appearance. All of us, who have 

gained any insight into nature and her laws, have experienced 

how soothing the possession of clear knowledge is after the 

anxieties felt at that time when we were still under the influence 

of Christian-Thought. We forgot, however, in the first intoxi- 

cation of our joy at this knowledge that this could not make 

up to us for the loss of our belief in the individual-immortality. 

A fervent and invigorating belief in a personal God who watched 

over our welfare and to whom we could pray in times of need 

was nothing compared to the peace of mind which the knowledge 

of nature and her laws imparted. This belief was not able to 

impart a like peace and tranquillity in the circumstances of life 

unless the visible was disdained and even hated in the thought 

that true life first commenced after death. And because of the 

superiority which all those felt who had learned, to understand 

and love nature, it comes natural that scientific cognisance 

(Naturwissensdiaftliche Erkenntnis) became of its own virtue, 

a new religion. Now religion is the consciously willed connection 

with the 'Thing Itself as Kant has termed that something (self) 

which animates all appearances (Erscheinung). As natural-science, 

however, denies the existence of this 'Self, it follows, that it 

is an error to call scientific truths religion. There is a great 

difference between religion and a Godcognisance (Gotterkennt- 

nis), which fully harmonises with science. Although religion 

possesses a conscious desire to be inwardly connected with the 

divine, it lacks the harmony with the standing facts of science 

and responds to the ultimate questions of life quite irrespective 

of the force of real facts; merely the wish-for-happiness or the 

fear-of-pain come in question. 

159 

Thus then, science was most adequate in transforming the 

fear of the demons into a state of tranquillity but it was incap- 

able of satisfying the desire for immortality always burning in 

the heart of man. When the Evolution-Theory revealed the fact 

that the sex-cells bequeathed their heredity-substance to one ge- 

neration after the other; as well as that these cells were potent- 

ially immortal, it was at once assumed that the belief in the 

perpetuity-of-the-species was a full substitute for the belief-in- 

a-hereafter which the religious myths avowed. Even if facts 

had been so hard as to dispel mercilessly any belief in a con- 

scious life hereafter, what did this matter? There remained great 

comfort in the thought that every one could live on in his 

children and children's children through the virtue of that pot- 

ency which lies in the mass of one's own immortal-cells. So it 

was thought to be each one's duty to work for the good of one's 

children, for the sake of these immortal-cells. What did self- 

sacrifice matter if it were for the good of the immortal species 

in which a particle of one's own soul lived on eternally! This 

seemed truth, indeed, which was equal to anything that was 

capable of saving the folks of the earth from that path of des- 

truction they were heading for. Alien religious thought had 

worked enough evil already. It had succeeded in uprooting 

men out of the soil of their own racial inheritance, making them 

careless in their ancestral love and reverence, as well as careless 

in their duties to posterity. But this new wisdom was neither 

of any avail as it was so improperly constructed on the duties 

to race. It remained powerless because it could neither gratify 

man's desire for eternal-life nor could it make men holy. At 

the best it was merely capable of inspiring a desire to do social 

work. The true secret of evolution it had not perceived! 

Inspite of all this the Evolution-History remains the well 

from which, when philosophical-Cognisance (Erkenntnis) and 

soul-living (Erleben der Seele) are coupled to its truths, the true 

1 60 

meaning can be drawn concerning human-life, the obligation 

of death, the inborn human-imperfection, as well as the ful- 

filment of the immortal-will. 

Let us now turn to our oldest ancestor, the "protozoon". 

It is a very insignificant little forefather, infinitesmally small, 

and looks like a sack of jelly. If we observe it closely we shall 

note that it exhibits the same marks of life as the higher orga- 

nised species show: It searches food, digests it chemically, 

evacuates the waste and grows exactly like all the higher kinds 

of living beings do. Although it does not yet possess proper 

organs for this purpose, yet it can stretch its protoplasma body 

into artificial legs called "Pseudopodian" with which it can 

clutch its food and more about with. What impresses us most 

is that it can feel (irritability), that means to say it gives response 

to its surroundings in its own particular way. Notwithstanding 

these powers, however, its construction is very primitive when 

compared to the multicell. The most important pan is its nucleus 

which is inside its tiny protoplasma-body. The nucleus is the 

bearer of that potency which once enabled that grand, almost 

inconceivable, flight of development. As soon as such a prim- 

itive being has attained to certain stage of growth, very com- 

plicated and likewise interesting happenings take place within 

the nucleus, after which it divides into two. Then gradually 

the plasma-body also divides into two, tightening itself up so, 

that two independent daughter-animals arise from out of the 

parent-body, each to live its life separately from now onwards. 

Let us emphasize the word 'live'; for here is revealed the 

greatest wonder which has happened since the existence of the 

world. The more we ponder over the fact that all of us are 

consecrated to death and therefore so used to death, the greater 

this miracle appears. 

It happens like this. The unicell divides and subdivides but 

not to age and die after a certain number of times. On the 

161 

contrary, the melting of the parent-body into daughter animals 

is one continuously unchecked process. Of-course, nearly all these 

primitive cells suffer death accidently, at some time or another! 

The first dies of thirst, the second of hunger, the third dies of 

frost and the fourth is eaten up etc. But not all suffer accidents. 

Under favourable conditions all could live on forever. Old age 

and death in the 'natural' way is not their lot; so that we might 

say the little plasma-cell we are looking at under the microscope 

is indeed an immortal little fellow, so ancient as to count millions 

of years. Theoretically speaking, we might assume, like many 

scientists declare, that once upon a time it was carried with 

the cosmic dust on to our earth, and at the end of the world 

will land in like manner on to another planet with the purpose 

of evolving into higher beings or to divide and subdivide etern- 

ally. Therefore the unicell possesses the power to live forever. 

The scientific discoverer of this fact called it "Potential Immor- 

tality". Practically speaking, of-course, all these potentially 

immortal little beings succumb some time or other to "Accident- 

al Death". On the last day most certainly. 

For the moment it seems almost unimaginable that on this 

earth there is life which is not under the sway of irrevocable 

old age and natural-death. When this scientific discovery was 

made the times were very given to materialism, so that it goes 

without saying that it was attacked in the usual ugly way. This 

was twofold. At first it was ridiculed and then forgotten. 

Evidently when a fact is unpleasant, the only help is to ignore 

and shun it. And so it happened that one of the greatest truths 

which men have ever been priviledged to gain was suffered to 

be treated so ignobly. 

Prof. Weismann, the famous zoologist, who, for his time, 

possessed a rare understanding for philosophy although he 

neglected to let it fructify his research, termed this new wonder 

the "Potential Immortality" of the unicell. This was an excellent 

162 

pronouncement in that it implied that the unicell was immune 

to natural death; that the usual way of aging and dying did not 

form the contents of the last act of its life. In the lectures 4 he 

delivered expounding this fact, Professor Weismann used words 

which, although brief, show how deeply he was concerned in- 

wardly with the importance of this cognisance. The words he 

used were: "With my thesis concerning the 'potential immortal- 

ity* I intend nothing more or less than to bring science to realise 

the fact that between the unicellular and multicellular-organisms 

there lies the introduction of natural, that is normal death". 

Needless to say, from his contempararies he merely harvested 

ridicule. No less an one than Buetschli confronted him with the 

fact that a perpetuum mobile could not exist. This shows clearly 

how far natural science had sunk into the arms of materialism 

if one of its most capable and conscientious researchers could 

compare a living cell to a machine! 

After the ridicule and contradiction had subsided, there follow- 

ed a time of relief when hopes went high that this vexing and 

incomprehensible question (potential immortality) should be 

settled and done away with once and for all. It had been ob- 

served that certain kinds of "Ciliates" (a higher species of one- 

celled being) exhibited periodically, after several generations of 

dividing and subdividing, a certain tendency to lay themselves 

one upon the other, either to copulate, that is, in the union of 

nucleus and cell-body, to melt permanently one into another, 

or to separate again, after having exchanged halves of the 

nucleus germ-substance with each other, This (amphimixis) was 

considered to be the method which the unicell undertook in 

order to rejuvenate and escape natural death. (S. Maupas "Re- 

jeunissement Karyiogamique"). Now, if, really rejuvenation 

was the main object in view, which incidently is not proven, 

* "Discourses on the Theory of Heredity" by August Wcismann. Publishers: Messrs. 

Gustav Fischer, Jena. 

163 

and all the unicelled beings practiced amphimixis, which they 

certainly do not, this fact, nevertheless would not suffice to 

refute the existence of the potential immortality. It is essential 

that the unicell also fulfils certain conditions of life, and the 

amphimixis, no doubt, is a practice belonging to certain kinds 

of unicellular beings. But this fact there is no gainsaying. Every 

living thing which is once subject to the coercive laws of 

natural-death cannot escape it subsequently. To these laws the 

unicell makes expception, and herein lies it potential immor- 

tality. Luckily, Weismann, himself, was able to bring forth 

excellent material in aid of his own theory. Fate priviledged 

him to silence the opposition of his contemporaries. It was 

indeed fortunate for his theory that Weismann experienced 

personally the controversies that went on, for, with the weapons 

of his own knowledge, he overcame all the hostile attacks. But 

since I have revealed to the public what a great philosophical 

truth his scientific discovery signifies to be, and how easy it 

makes it for us to understand the evolution of life, and why 

death had to be, all the errors, long ago refuted, are being brought 

to life again in order to throw dust in the eyes of the secular- 

world; in men's terrible anxiety for the life of Christianity! 

But behold! For a second time this marvellous truth could 

not be refuted. Therefore it was ignored. Let us not be any 

partner in this error, but rather let us look at it in the full light 

of our consciousness. 

Ever since man has been able to comprehend his surroundings 

by means of his intellectual powers, he was aware of the cer- 

tainty of death, and his firm belief was, that all living things 

were subject to death. Indeed, all his conceptions, all his phi- 

losophies, all his creations-of-art are pervaded with the idea 

that all vitality on earth must of a merciless necessity end in 

death; that death, in fact, is linked closely to all life. Even from 

out of the darkest historical times, the truth of this comes 

164 

sounding upon our ears as if it were inexorable wisdom. There 

is Hotar Aevata who sings in the Vedas that all life "is in the 

chains of death, and is its complete slave", and now a truth 

appears which reveals this to be illusion. A once unshakable 

conception, which even the Maya despising Hindu learned to 

respect. It only appeared to be true, but the reason why it could 

dominate the minds of men so long was because the intelligence 

of man had not yet discovered the microscope, which was ne- 

cessary to perceive and observe the life of the potentially 

immortal little beings. What an irony of fate it appears to be, 

that, after thousands of years, when at last the illusion can be 

unveiled, the eye of the researcher has grown so dim; the im- 

portance of the new truth goes unperceived, while one could 

have expected it to shake all the realms of men's conceptions 

indicating as it did that the life-immortal for each individual 

was indeed a reality. 

There is something overwhelming in the thought, that, through- 

out thousands and thousands of years, our earth was unaquainted 

with the fetters of irrevocable death, that, notwithstanding the 

fact that accidental death was always happening, death as a 

must-be never occurred. And we might be forgiven, if, at first 

thought, we claim the higher ascent of death-bef alien-beings to 

be no progress. Is not the agony of death terrible? The believers 

as well as the decriers of a beyond are both alike in despair, 

when confronted with the unimaginable fact that a personality 

through the might of death should be extinguished. When any 

one we love suddenly dies, who has been all to us in life, and 

whose ways and manners are still so fresh in our minds, it seems 

at first quite impossible to believe that death means the cessation 

of all this, that once was ours. Even those, who believe in a life- 

here-after, are shattered, when it is born on them that all of 

that which went to make up the personality of him who has 

just died cannot accompany him into the beyond, but must be 

165 

left behind. It is the "must" attached to the fact which makes 

it so incomprehensible. When we imagine, that long ages ago 

the earth was spared this bitter "Must be", we are tempted to 

think it might have been a better world; to a healthy person more 

enchanting surely, without this bitter compulsion. Has not that 

strong desire for self-preservation, innate in all of us, which 

once was the form-creating-will of all the things visible to us, 

been rendered cruelly and ridiculously hostile in having been 

confronted with the fact of death's inevitability? What made 

it so impossible to preserve that state of potential-immortality 

in the life of the multicelled plant and animal-species? Here we 

might be tempted to answer, that the introduction of compuls- 

ory death through old age and decline, or in short, as science 

has it, normal death, was because the useless multiplying of 

vitality should be put a stop to. This is an error. For in as much 

as the accidents which happen continually in the general-struggle- 

for-life can be the cause of preventing a too rapid increase of 

life, potential immortality would not have stood in the way of 

this regulation by virtue of the accidental death over which it 

has no control. As it is, a limit already exists which nature her- 

self has set to control the growth of vitality. Of all those num- 

bers of death-fated multi-cells, only two, on the average, of 

every original pair are allowed to multiply. Only man was 

allowed to diverge from this rule. His powers of reasoning 

released him from the general rule existing in nature (the un- 

changeability of the numbers). If he wanted to he could repro- 

duce his kind in any number he liked, while for all the other 

multicelled-beings, the number of their kind remained unchange- 

able. Therefore we note, that all those in the fetters of natural 

death, also die accidently in numbers incalculable, before ever 

they reach the stage when they can multiply. Under these 

circumstances the state of potential-immortality could have 

been maintained. Therefore it would have been of no real 

1 66 

moment, if, by the virtue of their potential state of immortality, 

399 998 out of 400 000 ova of one pair of herrings perished 

before arriving to the stage of reproduction, or the 400 000 of 

another pair all perished, or only 4 of another pair survived; 

but what a difference this all would have made in the life on 

our earth. How different would all our hopes and longings be, 

how different the religions and philosophies. What a different 

kind of art would there be, and above all, how differently 

should we think of death. Death would often happen, but in 

this case, it would be robbed of its coercive force. There would 

be not aging, no decline of bodily and spiritual-powers after a 

certain age had been arrived at. Instead, there would be a con- 

tinual rejoicing in eternal youth. In our very midst there would 

exist ancient denizens of the earth; all those who had managed 

to escape accidental death. They would possess wisdom which 

had accumulated within the course of thousands of years, and 

would be radiant still with the beauty of youth. Although the 

probability of death would be always lurking somewhere and 

at some time, there would still be no-one who could predict for 

certain when it would occur. All would have the right to hope 

for eternal life, without however being doomed to a fate like 

the "Flying Dutchman" or "Ahasver" of the legend experienced. 

There would be no compulsion to live either; for the daily 

threatening accidental death could be made voluntary at any 

time. But the realisation of a 1000, nay even a 100 years, would 

be such a rare event, as to make it a good fortune which was 

well worth looking forward to. Not until we can fully com- 

prehend the bliss which such a kingly freedom over life and 

death would bring, shall we be capacitated to grasp, in all the 

fullness of its pain, the agonising alternative: So accustomed 

are we to be fettered to old age and death. As fate, in this way, 

so mercilessly trampled down the Will-to-selfpreservation, men 

naturally were caused, since they had created for themselves 

167 

a consolation creed of immortality, to succumb to the appalling 

assumption, that the immortal life after death made up for 

obligatory death. That to live eternally could be just as fetter- 

ing and tormenting, and the much-lauded heavenly bliss was 

nothing else than the fate of Ahasver of the legend did not 

enter the mind of men. Anyhow it consoled man. He became 

reconciled to the thought of normal-death. 

Now, there is still another question which is also liable to 

torment us. Why could not that sublime bliss (the state of 

potential-immortality) be maintained in the manycelled beings 

since man, in being able to understand it, lent it its significance? 

Now, was it altogether impossible, or was it really the fault of 

the conditions which vitality was subject to on our earth? Let 

us still ponder on for we are nearing the holy mystery. 

All life which once has made its appearance (Erscheinung), 

on the visible scene (Welt der Erscheinung), is possessed of the 

ardent desire (the will) to remain visible. That an Immortal- 

Will (Unsterblichkeitswille) pervades all life, even the crassest 

materialist cannot deny, although he thinks it fitter to give it 

another name, more becoming and less foreboding to his own 

viewpoint (Weltanschauung). He calls it the "Preservation- 

Instinct". From this will spring all deeds, or, when we speak 

materialistically, it "responds to its environment". The single- 

celled- being sees this will fulfilled through its potential immort- 

ality. (Let us stop for a moment to recall the protozoan to our 

minds). Besides the anxiety to escape accidental death, philo- 

sophically speaking, there exists no other impetus at all to cause 

this will to change its form and also accordingly its life-condit- 

ions. Eventually, the single reason for it to do so would be, 

when its potential immortality was threatened through acci- 

dental death overwhelming. 

Now, is this circumstance plausible enough to justify, philo- 

sophically speaking, the great change which took place in the 

1 68 

potentially- immortal one-celled kingdom? In face of the trem- 

endous reproduction of the unicelled species, it became a necess- 

ity*. Death became more and more frequent, through a twofold 

cause. First of all the struggle-for-life became gradually keener 

and keener, and then the want for food. Prior to this, the self- 

preservation-will, unalarmed, could well be satisfied with the 

visible form it possessed; But when danger began to lurk every- 

where, a gradually increasing instinct compelled it to improve 

its weapons-of-defence. They were projected into visibility 

(Erscheinung).This means to say, in other words: the self -preserv- 

ation-will was compelled to achieve the form of a higher or- 

ganised species. The "Varieties" were the means. In this deve- 

lopment, natural selection (Darwin's doctrine) aided, in that 

the single individual which had really achieved the more dist- 

inctly higher form maintained, as a consequence, its life. That 

the minutest differenciation, however, was continually acce- 

lerated through selection and bequeathment is hardly conceiv- 

able, and we must reject this idea from our philosophical 

thought, and leave it to the Darwinians. The first beginning 

making for the higher organisation, which, by the way, the 

unicell, in general, could make little use of in its tremendous 

struggle, was put forth by the self-preservation-will in numbers 

and numbers of individuals, so that naturally in the ones that 

survived the general struggle and multiplied, it was also to be 

found, but a certain stage of a noticeably more pronounced 

achievement in the weapons of defence had to be attained before 

it can be said that selection, for its part, could aid mechanically 

the best-equipped in the process of reproduction. The more we 

emphasize the fact that it was the self-preservation-will which 

was the main factor in the creation of form in the higher species, 

and not natural-selection, which played only a secondary, or 

* The observations which have been made of bacteria show how trencndous the 

continual natural increase of the unicellular organisms are, so that famine and destruction 

through the increase of other kinds of unccellular organisms is almost inevitable. 

169 

"passive" part, the more will our argument seem to stand in 

contradiction to the prevailing scientific conception concerning 

the bequeathment of aquired characteristics. Not until the 

whole edifice of our view-point has been completely erected 

will it be possible to obtain a proper view of the facts concern- 

ing the bequeathment of aquired characteristics, which to the 

materialists seems such an impenetrable and contradictory field 

of science. In passing, however, we may state that this part- 

icular question of heredity does not stand in the way of the 

argument we have just being giving. 

Through the force of innumerable facts, the most important 

of which we shall refer to later, it stands as proven, that the 

self-preservation-will was the cause of the "variety" from which 

the higher organism originated and the development which 

afterwards steadily took place. It was not selection; for this 

was of minor importance from the simple fact that the applied 

organs were useless in the struggle-of-life going on at that time. 

Hence, it was a form-creating-will which strove, albeit uncon- 

sciously, towards an aim; the completion of an organ. Let us try 

to understand this properly first, in order to be able to under- 

stand afterwards how all the different species were brought 

about. 

The first transformation which the self-preservation-will 

undertook was the better equipment of the unicell in the great 

time of danger. We term this achievement the higher species. The 

unicell was able to achieve within its own cell-body, in the most 

primitive fashion, so much, what later, the multicell could only 

achieve through the application of complete organs and the di- 

vision of labour. It is remarkable to note how the division of 

labour sets in within the body of the simple little cell. The 

nucleus maintains the most important and vital function. While 

it is dividing into two it differenciates into the great-nucleus and 

the small-nucleus. The first takes on the function associated with 

170 

nourishment and the second for reproduction. In the process of 

dividing and subdividing, only the micronucleus maintains and 

bequeathes the heredity-substance, which goes into equal parts 

into the daughter cells and by the amphimixis melts into the 

other cells. Furthermore, we can perceive something like a blister 

which rhythmically expands and contracts as if 'breathing were 

its function, a structure which we can compare to our lungs. 

Within the interior of the cell itself there is another suchlike 

structure, a contractile vacuole, which acts like a simple kidney, 

exactly like the kidney acts in the higher species. The cell-jelly 

or protoplasm divides into a hard enclosing wall and an interior; 

delicate protoplasmic-hairs or ciliar, whose rhythmical beating 

drives the organism from place to place, protrude from the out- 

ward wall. They are also organs of perceptibility. Many of the 

unicells have also a mouth or gullet and farther an excretory 

organ. Thus equipped, the unicell, of-course, is better facilitated 

to move about quicker, and being robuster through the ectoplasm 

it is far better protected against its enemies. Digestion does not 

appear to occupy all the cell-parts; a circumstance which also 

renders escape much easier. 

But there is something particular going on which makes us 

attentive. The great-kernel, or macronucleus, which was solely 

concerned with the work of digestion, perishes after its work of 

division is done, whereas, the small kernel, or micronucleus 

remains. After dividing into two equal daughter-cells, a new 

great kernel liberates afresh. Observe now, how the uncanny 

spectre, called natural death has crept, almost unnoticed and 

without much ado, into the kingdom of the living immortals. 

Here the insatiable one behaves gently and humbly, demanding 

but a small sacrifice from the precious immortal good of life; the 

macronucleus. 

The amphimixis impulse, which also makes itself felt in the 

higher types of these simple cells, is responsible for the rapid 

'7* 

increase of the multitudinous variety of unicell forms. In the 

intimate mixture of the heredity substance, the rise was given to 

all the manifold possibilities. It was in this process that the 

slightest varieties were intimately mixed and transmitted to 

succeeding generations. As each of these new kind of organisms 

met with hostility on the part of all the others, the danger grew 

in the same degree as the more manifold and better equipped 

they had become. Therefore it is not difficult to imagine, that, 

notwithstanding all the benefits which had been gained for the 

struggle-for-life in general, through the so-called division of 

labour taken on by the single cells-parts, the Immortal-Will 

(Unsterblichkeitswille), nevertheless, fell a prey to danger, 

through the overwhelming power of accidental death. In order 

to escape this, (life is essential for the realisation of immortality) 

the self-preservation-will or the Immortal-Will suffered once 

again the might of a still greater impetus which drove it to seek 

new ways by the help of the transformation of its visible appear- 

ance. (Erscheimmg). 

If we equip ourselves with the necessary means and patience 

to observe the life of these single-cells, we shall get the chance 

of seeing how many of these little animals, sometimes over 50 

in number, lay their cell-bodies one upon the other. They 

remain in this close connection quite a long period of their lives, 

without however, as in the case of the amphimixis, exchanging 

any part of the nucleus, or melting one into the other before 

parting again. Roux (scientist) interpreted this habit, calling it 

mutual-attraction. As this peculiar habit is not always and not 

everywhere happening, (for if it were, we should hardly meet 

a single cell alone) but happens only occasionally between cert- 

ain beings of the same kind, we presume that it is the mani- 

festation of the first beginnings of the feeling we call affection 

or pleasure at being in one another's company. I forgot to say 

that science gave it the name of "cytotropism". May be, too, in 

17* 

times of danger, the self -preservation-will enhanced this in- 

stinct in certain unicells. Be it as it may, the daughter cells do 

not divide as they did at first to lead an independent life, but 

the division-products remain) attached, and through further 

division and tightening-up and remaining attached, they form 

a little colony of cells which hang together. Among the algae 

which colour the river reeds brown and the ponds green, forms 

of these simplest cell-colonies can be found which consist of 16 

cells. One of these oldest multicells is called the "Pandorina". 

In one sense it is a kind of between-form. Still it greatly resembl- 

es the unicells, so that the individual cell could be taken to be 

protozoa which were held together through the power of cyto- 

tropism. Each cell resembles exatly the other, consisting each of 

cytroplasm, nucleus, contractile vacuoles, flagella, eyespot and 

chlorophyllmass, and each cell fulfils its life-duty in the manner 

of the unicell. It partakes of food, moves about by means of 

flagella and reproduces its kind through division as every uni- 

cell does into two separate daughter-cells. These spontaneously 

divide and subdivide, but hang still together, and when 16 cells 

have been gained, the new multicell has appeared and flows forth 

as an independant pandorina. Because these higher types behave 

like all the unicells do, we might be tempted to think the cell- 

colonies are still potentially immortal. But at the next step a 

change has taken place. Notwithstanding its apparent insigni- 

ficance and immateriality in the struggle-for-life, this little 

change decides the fate of all plant and animal-life! "Natural 

death", which means death from old age and is inevitable, once 

so powerless over the unicells, makes its appearance now per- 

emptorily and demands its sacrifice. Exactly as it was sung in 

the Vedas, "death completely befell" all those multicellular- 

beings which belonged to a higher developed stage than the 

pandorina. 

A species of the algae-family which is closely related to the 

pandorina is called "Volvox". It is the first kind of multicells 

which consist of two different kinds of cells. The first is smaller 

and grouped closely together in larger numbers and form the 

body wall. They are all equipped with flagella, which, in whipp- 

ing rhythmically, enable the tiny animal globe to move about 

the water. They minister to its wants in feeding and removing 

waste matter. In short, their function is the division of labour 

in the struggle-for-life, and do not serve at all as reproductive 

elements. 

This novel circumstance which appears here for the first time 

in the process of development is of tremendous importance. 

While these cells have by no means given up the potency to 

reproduce by division, yet their divided cells begin to develop 

into cells which strictly desire to be akin, that means to say, they 

bequeath the functions which have solely to do with the maint- 

enance of existence and nothing at all with reproduction. 

On the inner wall of this hollow cell-sphere a few large cells 

protrude into the watery fluid of the hollow interior. These cells 

are the second kind. For their part, they have lost the 

potency of forming any flagella wherewith to move about. 

Neither are they capable of gathering food, but instead allow 

the other cells to minister to their wants and protect them from 

enemy attacks. Well-cared for, (being altogether the greatest 

treasure of the cell-state) they lie doing "sweet nothing", until 

one day, each one divides and reproduces, developing then into 

a completely new globular cell-colony, called volvox. Then, 

with the rupture of the parent-wall, they escape together with 

all the like constructed youth, to start the same life all over 

again. 

What happens to the collapsed globular cell which has been 

left behind? In losing its form, it sinks to earth and dies, but not 

through any mishap, or want of food or attack of enemies, but 

simply because it cannot live on any longer. Inevitable, natural 

death, as the final change in life, has swayed its scepter for the 

very first time! 

From now onwards, its prey is never once allowed to escape 

out of its hands. All the animals and plants descending from 

that globe-like algae called volvox are submitted to him, for 

they are all comprised of different cells. All of these undergo 

such marvellous changes within the course of development, that 

in the end hardly any resemblance of the prime cell is left. The 

germ-cells make the exception. They remain always the same 

except for a few slight changes undertaken for the sake of prac- 

ticability. The former cells range themselves in groups of 

similar tissue for the purpose of building up organs. These organs 

then function for the state, for they have lost altogether the 

potency to be able to construct germ-cells. Therefore they are 

incapacitated forever to reproduce beings of their own kind. 

In fact, as is the case of many higher kinds of animal species, 

many indeed have throughly lost the capacity of building up a 

newer kind of tissue *, and instead there is produced a lower 

kind of tissue. Like volvox these cells also are subject to old age 

and death, although, unlike volvox, the higher types of cell- 

colonies do not necessarily die after having once fulfilled the 

office of reproduction. 

Before dedicating ourselves to a nearer study of the effects 

which were caused by "Celldifferenciation", let us try first to 

conceive a completely clear conception of the "Somacells". 

These cells work in cooperation, and form the "body" of the 

multicellular individual. Thus then, according to the historical 

sense of the evolution history, as well as according to the ex- 

planations which will follow here, the cell-state of the animal 

is made up in this way. All the cells give the animal its appear- 

ance and are called "Soma" or body-cells except for a few 

* For instance, in this way there arise connective tissue cells in place of higher 

organised liver-cells. 

175 

cells which are in the service of reproduction only. In order to 

gain a clear and distinct idea of what is meant by "body", it 

is essential to be able to discriminate from the usual way of 

thinking. In general, body and germ-cell are thrown together 

quite promiscuously. When the word 'body' (Erscheinung) is used, 

it is generally understood to mean that visible something as 

standing in opposition to the invisible inner life (unsichtbaren 

inneren Leben) which exists in all the cells, the "Soul" as it is 

called, or the "Thing Itself" as Kant has termed it. 

Granted that these customary terms were but used in the 

endeavour to discriminate the mortal part from the immortal, 

it still remains to be stated that in the history of evolution 

endeavours to do the same are also apparent. The insurmount- 

able gap which the appearance of natural death has caused lies 

yawning between the body-cell and the germ-cells. The body- 

cells, because of their mortal character, are death-befallen, while 

the germ-cells are 'potentially* immortal. The immortal life 

is realised, in that, a part of the germ-cells, through the act of 

reproduction, is handed down to posterity. In the case of the 

unicells there exists the actual potency to realise immortality. 

What has been gained through this huge sacrifice? 

Where the algae, or volvox is concerned, nothing at all has 

been gained. In the general struggle-for-life, which they are 

constantly exposed to, they are neither better protected, nor 

can they multiply in greater numbers than the pandorina. But 

the process of development and exfoliation of newer species 

yields another aspect, and seen from this aspect, it is obvious 

that very much indeed has been gained. 

In having given up the capacity of reproduction, the body- 

cells diminished in importance. As soon as the daughter-colonies 

could be liberated, their fate turned into tragedy. They were 

compelled to age and die, for 'merely living', for sheer exist- 

176 

ence sake, was not their lot. Yet, vitality, when thought of as 

a whole, had gained tremendous possibilities of development. 

What a startling potency must that have been which gave those 

cells, sacrificed to death, a power so mighty, as to make them 

transform themselves and rise to the level of a higher developed 

stage. To the eternal germ-cells, self-satisfied in the fullness 

of their wishes, such a power was never granted and never will 

be granted. Let us stay a moment to think of the ascent made 

from volvox to man, and compare this lengthy way to the course 

of development, so uneventful of any change, which was made 

from the first unicell towards volvox. It will be seen then, that 

the sacrifice, which the body or "somata" made at that time to 

death, was not too great. What did it matter if only a few 

plants and animals escaped accidental death after such a short 

time of youth? At the sight now of animal, plant and human- 

life our hearts expand with reverence, for they are the product 

of a power-of-transformation most beautiful and a development 

most grand. Nor can we forget how the cells 'differentiated', 

gaining weapons of a more excellent type, at becoming in the 

end a higher kind of species! Also, that, inspite of all the improve- 

ments which followed in the equipment, the danger of death 

still existed in the world. The greater the perfection of the 

multicells grew, the more dangerous the enemy grew, for all 

"Life's Strugglers" were equally well equipped, danger kept 

apace with every new improvement. Therefore how justified 

it is to say that the various multicells, in order to achieve the 

level of a higher organisation, drove each other to perfection 

in their mutual endeavours! 

Moreover the fact, that 'accidental death* still exists in the 

world inspite of everything accomplished to escape it, is not 

so saddening in face of all the loveliness effected by the cell- 

differentiation. It is pleasing to know that both animal and plant 

are absolutely unconscious of the fate that awaits them, that, 

while struggling, suffering and enjoying, they live their lives 

as if neither the accidental nor natural death awaited them! 

One truth has left an indelible imprint on our souls: As we 

lingered at the side of the oldest denizen of the earth, we be- 

came aware of the fact, that natural death, that is; age, decline 

and death is not the last inevitable change which all life must 

experience. The soma-cells only are 'completely death befallen*. 

This knowledge makes us turn with reverence to the old relig- 

ious myths once again, for inspite of all their fallacies this 

very same truth they also contained. Reason has confirmed to us 

a twofold fact, that all the primitive living beings belonging to 

our earth possess a state of immortality, which, in a later generat- 

ion, was lost forever. The voice of wisdom has always preached 

this; the folks of the earth were always inclined to listen! Has 

not a paradise lost and a lost bliss 'where death was not* been 

sung in every form and shape in legend and religious-myth, as 

if a memory or "Mneme" of our oldest ancestors, slumbering 

in the subconscious-soul of man, had been awakened in the 

poets of the myths?