NOMOS. 3 



lefinite action in ordinary matter, an action which 

 is found to be obedient to the ordinary laws of che- 

 mistry. 



The inquiries which have led to these conclusions 

 have also led to the discovery of certain movements, 

 which are themselves of great importance, and which 

 furnish the interpretation to other movements of 

 greater importance still. 



It is evident, in short, that the most fundamental 

 changes are necessary in these subjects ; and, so far, 

 the whole burden of evidence appears to point to 

 some general law of which light, heat, electricity, 

 magnetism, chemical power, and some kinds of mo- 

 tion, are only so many effects. So far, the whole 

 burden of evidence appears to point to some central 

 law as underlying these so-called agents. 



But if great changes are demanded in these mat- 

 ters, great changes are also demanded in other and 

 still more important departments of philosophy. It 

 is not easy, indeed, to draw a distinct line of demar- 

 cation between artificial and natural light ; and it is 

 equally difficult to separate the phenomena which 

 are correlative of artificial light, from the phenomena 

 which are correlative of natural light. Out of the la- 

 boratory, light, heat, electricity, magnetism, chemical 

 power, and certain kinds of motion, appear to be 

 associated in the same manner as in the laboratory. 

 Light, heat, and chemical power attend upon the 

 force of gravity in the solar ray, and render it diffi- 

 cult to regard this force as an isolated and independent 

 agent ; and it is not easy to suppose that magnetism 



B 2 



