LECTUKE III. 



THE METHOD BY WHICH THE CAUSES OF THE PRES- 

 ENT AND PAST CONDITIONS OF ORGANIC NATURE 

 ARE TO BE DISCOVERED.— THE ORIGINATION OF 

 LIVING BEINGS. 



In the two preceding lectures I have endeavoured 

 to indicate to you the extent of the subject-matter of 

 the inquiry upon which we are engaged; and now, 

 having thus acquired some conception of the Past and 

 Present phenomena of Organic Nature, I must turn, to- 

 night, to that which constitutes the great problem which 

 we have set before ourselves; — I mean, the question 

 of what knowledge we have of the causes of these 

 phenomena of organic nature, and how such knowl- 

 edge is obtainable. 



Here, on the threshold of inquiry, an objection 

 meets us. There are in the world a number of ex- 

 tremely worthy, well-meaning persons, whose judg- 

 ments and opinions are entitled to the utmost respect 

 on account of their sincerity, who are of opinion that 

 Vital Phenomena, and especially all questions relating 

 to the origin of vital phenomena, are questions quite 

 apart from the ordinary run of inquiry, and are, by 

 their very nature, placed out of our reach. They say 



