7 definitions
The Body (n.) is a garment the germ-cell wears and replaces — a new soma for each generation.
The Body (n.) is nothing but the bearer of the germ: a mortal vehicle carrying an unbroken line from generation to generation.
Death (n.) is a matter of expediency: once cells split into body and germ, an unlimited individual life would be a pointless luxury.
Fertilization (n.) is no rejuvenation at all, merely an arrangement for intermingling two different hereditary tendencies.
The Individual (n.) is a passing accident in the line of descent, with no real density of its own.
Reproduction (n.) is older than death: a primal characteristic of living matter, grown out of growth, by which life has been continuous since its first beginning.
The Soma (n.) is the mortal part — the body in the narrower sense, which alone is subject to natural death; the germ-cells are potentially immortal, able to surround themselves with a new soma.