266 DR. BEALE, ON THE MICROSCOPE. 
The formed material owes its properties partly to the changes 
occurring in the matter when in the living state, partly to the 
external conditions present when the living matter was undergoing 
change, in fact, at the moment of death; so that I distinguish vital 
from the physical and chemical changes of living beings, and main- 
tain that in all, matter exists in two states; the first being that in 
which the vital changes go on, while the last is the seat of chemical 
and physical alterations. That force of power which compels the 
matter to assume temporarily the peculiar state characteristic of all 
living matter, but of living matter alone, I call vital power. Of its 
real nature we know nothing; but although, in the present state of 
knowledge, we can form no conception of the nature of this wonder- 
ful power, there are, it seems to me, very strong arguments against 
the notion, now very prevalent, that it is a kind of ordinary force, or 
that it corresponds to what we call the peculiar property of each 
different inorganic substance, by virtue of which each exhibits certain 
constant crystalline forms, certain constant behaviour towards other 
substances, Xe. 
“From my observations, I can draw but one inference with regard 
to vital power, namely, that it is not any modification of any known 
ordinary force. It is not another mode of motion. It is only mani- 
fested under certain conditions, but it does not resulé from those 
conditions. That it does not correspond to the properties of ordinary 
inanimate bodies is evident, from the fact that it is a power capable 
of being transferred from complex particle to particle, and not only 
controls the manifestation of ordinary forces, but gives rise to the 
formation of certain compounds and structures, which are only to 
come into use at some distant time. A fully formed organ is not 
first represented by a nricroscopic organ of precisely similar structure, 
but by a mass without structure at all, and the fully formed tissues 
are preceded by the production of several less elaborate structures. 
Hence this ‘vital power’ governs not only the present changes 
which present matter is to undergo, but prepares in advance for 
changes which are to occur at a future time. It prepares, as it were, 
for the formation of structures long before the compounds are 
produced from which those structures are to be made. While 
ordinary force seems for the most part to affect the surface of masses, 
vital power acts from the very centre of the most minute particle— 
new power seems, as it were, to be for ever emanating from the very 
centre of particles of matter already under the influence of this 
power. While ordinary force may change its form, it cannot cease 
or be annihilated; but there is no evidence to show that vital power 
changes its form, while, as far as is known, it may be said to cease— 
since no one has yet proved that, when living matter dies, any kind 
of force is set free; and, although it has been asserted that more 
force is taken up in the formation of a brain-cell of a man than 
in the formation of a vast quantity of vegetable tissue, there is no 
evidence in favour of such an hypothesis but the dictum of specula- 
tive writers.” 
Had we the time and space, we certainly should join issue 
with Dr. Beale on his notion that “ vital force” is not a mo- 
dification of any known force. We have now almost a com- 
plete demonstration that the physical forces are correlated, 
and represent one another, if not absolutely different forms 
