OF VITAL AND PHYSICAL FORCE. 73 



sure that he possesses the gift of prophecy, and that 

 his prophetic asseverations will certainly be realised ; but 

 unless he is able to give sufficient grounds for this belief, 

 he might as well save himself the trouble of prophesying and 

 his readers the disappointment of the discovery they are 

 sure to make that they have been studying prophetic mate- 

 rialism instead of science. But it is not impossible that the 

 materialist may succeed in convincing his followers of the 

 existence in him of properties that will enable the material 

 particles to foresee the material changes that are about 

 to be. 



It is well that the reader should, however, bear in mind 

 that the several forms or modes of force known may be 

 manifested irrespective of life. Life may cease in any given 

 case, and the modes of force remain the same or be changed 

 into some other correlate. Life may appear and force may 

 change its mode, but that the life is the force, or intimately 

 related to force, has never been shown. It is much more 

 probable that it is life which controls or directs and governs 

 the forces of matter. But it is obvious that which governs 

 cannot also at the same time be that which is governed, 

 any more than one who works can also be the work that is 

 done by him. The Creator cannot be identical with what 

 he has created, as well maintain that the act is identical 

 with the agent, and that the words, agent, and act, are but 

 different expessions for one and the same thing. 



Correlation is no better solution of the vital mystery 

 than differentiation or the hypothesis of Archeus of old, or 

 the materia vitae diffusa of the early part of the present 

 century. 



Life not a sum of Actions. Not a few have thought to 



