WHAT IS PHYSICAL LIFE 



interests engendered by circumstances, 

 such as birthplace, inheritance, historical 

 influences, party, or sect. One would not 

 expect that a native of New England and 

 a native of China would have many 

 opinions in common. And so the great 

 conflicts of history have not been decided 

 by reasoning. One such conflict lately oc- 

 curred in America, in which two branches 

 of the same race, the one as well equipped 

 with reasoning powers as the other, enter- 

 tained such opposite opinions according 

 to the side on which they happened to be 

 born, of Mason and Dixon's geographical 

 line, that finally their opinions were set- 

 tled, not by arguments, but only by pow- 

 der and ball. 



Now it happens that on no subject in 

 the world will opinions be found to be so 

 determined ultimately by preference, as 

 on this subject of the nature of physical 

 life. Here likes and dislikes, and not evi- 

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