VII. 

 ON THE PHYSICAL BASIS OF LIFE. 1 



IN order to make the title of this discourse generally 

 intelligible, I have translated the term &quot; Protoplasm,&quot; which 

 is the scientific name of the substance of which I am 

 about to speak, by the words &quot;the physical basis of life.&quot; 

 I suppose that, to many, the idea that there is such a 

 thing as a physical basis, or matter, of life may be novel 

 so widely spread is the conception of life as a something 

 which works through matter, but is independent of it ; and 

 even those who are aware that matter and life are insepar 

 ably connected, may not be prepared for the conclusion plainly 

 suggested by the phrase, &quot; the physical basis or matter of 

 life,&quot; that there is some one kind of matter which is common 

 to all living beings, and that their endless diversities are 

 bound together by a physical, as well as an ideal, unity. In 



1 The substance of this paper was contained in a discourse which was 

 delivered in Edinburgh on the evening of Sunday, the 8th of November, 

 1868 being the first of a series of Sunday evening addresses upon non- 

 theological topics, instituted by the Rev. J. Cranbrook. Some phrases, 

 which could possess only a transitory and local interest have been omitted ; 

 instead of the newspaper report of the Archbishop of York s address, his 

 Grace s subsequently published pamphlet &quot; On the Limits of Philosophical 



which have appeared. But in substance, and, so far as my recollection 

 serves, in form, what is here written corresponds with what was there said. 



