23 



tlie phenomena peculiar to living- things. That all this loose, 

 rambling talk concerning questions which can only be deter- 

 mined by observation experiment and- reason, should be 

 listened to by intelligent persons is but evidence of the decay 

 of thought and the general love of submitting to the dictation 

 of a tyrannical, materialistic coterie, which, being at this time 

 very popular, attempts to arrogantly dominate over sense and 

 reason. 



He who studies any living thing in existence at any period 

 of its life, or the smallest portion of any form of living matter, 

 will soon be convinced that it would not be correct to say that 

 it was like anything else in nature, except some other form of 

 living matter. For it will be found that certain phenomena 

 which characterised the particular living particle characterise 

 all living particles of which we have any knowledge or expe- 

 rience. Further investigation will convince an enquirer that 

 vital phenomena are not comparable with any phenomena be- 

 longing to non-living matter. They are, in fact, peculiar to 

 living matter. Between purely vital and purely physical 

 actions not the faintest analogy has been shown to exist. The 

 living world is absolutely distinct from the non-living world 

 and instead of being a necessary outcome of it, is, compared 

 with the antiquity of matter, probably a very recent addition 

 to it not, of course, an addition of mere transformed or 

 modified matter and energy, but of transcendent power 

 conferred on matter, by which both matter and its forces are 

 controlled, regulated, and arranged according, it may be, to 

 laws, but not the laws of inert matter. 



It is not only one or two of the positions assumed by the 

 materialist that are open to doubt or objection. The whole 

 contention is, and has been during the last twenty years, utterly 

 untenable, because facts have been known which completely 

 controvert all materialistic views which have been put forward. 

 Mere popularity, it need scarcely be said, goes for very little, 

 unless the facts and arguments urged in favour of the doctrines 

 can be shown to rest upon evidence. Neither is it a question 

 of much consequence how confident individuals may be who 

 countenance or endorse the hypothesis, That any vital 

 action in nature is due to physical forces only. Nor 

 can concurrence of opinion on the part of even a large 

 society, or a tendency of thought, however marked, be 

 accepted as conclusive. What is required is, that the 

 arguments advanced in favour of this view should bear the 

 test of examination. Instead of this being the case, many 

 of these arguments have been over and over again conclusively 

 shown to be worthless ; and a critical examination more 



