333 



fails from defect of its constituents, which should be furnished by 

 the material. 



4. According to this account, life exists first informally in'food 

 and in air; food is converted by the preparatory organs into blood, 

 which receives from the lungs the addition of air; still life exists in 

 blood, as in the earth and air, informally, though it is in this state 

 prepared for the operation of another agent : this agent is life; so 

 that life exists in blood informally, its elements are then united by 

 life, and then it becomes informal again. Our present question is, 

 what becomes of it? 



5. It is obvious that, in reply to this question, we cannot cite 

 proofs. We have said that life no sooner is, than it becomes infor- 

 mal: we must suppose either that it becomes informal, or that it 

 escapes from its sphere in every seat, and, preserving its form, exists 

 as life in the atmosphere; if it retains its sphere in the textures, then 

 it is necessary that its form must be changed, it would otherwise 

 continue to produce its phenomena, and would not require the means 

 of renovation. That life may escape from the body and preserve 

 its form, is a proposition which cannot be refuted ; at the same time, 

 we are not obliged to refute it, because no argument can be cited 

 for its support. The grossest absurdities which imagination can 

 suggest frequently do not .admit of refutation; we scarcely think 

 ourselves bound to prove them false: we are excused the attempt 

 at refutation in every case in which the proposition is supported 

 neither by experience nor by analogy. But if the life of an animal 

 should preserve its form after escaping from the body, it is of very 

 little use ; at least, we can have no idea of its use or agency, for it is 

 not capable of the phenomena of life which are distinguished or 

 identified only by their relation with the body ; and, therefore, in 

 regard to the phenomena of the living state, it may as well be in- 

 formal. The properties of small-pox may exist in the atmosphere 

 without being allied with matter, and preserve their animal form. 

 If the properties of the spirit of a man did the same, they would 

 neither cf them be capable of their characteristic phenomena, which 

 are relative: the former, with animals disposed for their operation ; 

 the latter, with substances also necessary to the effects by which 

 alone their existence can be inferred. If it be said that an organic 

 spirit, or any spiritual form, may perpetuate its influence by alliance 

 with new animal textures, by a sort of metempsychosis; it may be 

 answered, it is not likely that it should either form structures for 

 itself from elementary materials, or ally itself with structures pre- 

 viously formed, seeing that its palpable tendency was to separate 

 from the organized fabric with which it was actually allied, and in 

 connexion with which it was assimilated. That life, during the 

 living state, which is the same in this respect as the dead, passes 

 away from the body still preserving its form, appears to be a pro- 

 position without proof, and consequently is not to be considered; 

 and that life, becoming informal, then escapes from the textures, is 

 equally without proof. There remains, then, only one other alterna- 



