A C TIONS OF LIVING BEINGS. 265 



between the living matter and the formed matter, and that 

 the phenomena occurring in these two kinds of matter 

 respectively are essentially different, and must be considered 

 apart. It is perfectly useless for any one to assert over and 

 over again, that " there are no truly vital actions," and that 

 " there is no life," or to attempt by the display of the 

 utmost ingenuity to put a stop to the further discussion of 

 this very important question. By ignoring altogether well- 

 known facts demonstrated of late years, which can be con- 

 firmed by any one who will be at the pains of making the ob- 

 servations by asserting that all views opposed to their own 

 are unimportant, and that arguments advanced against them 

 are absurd or frivolous by calling people " vitalists," and 

 joking about the fiction of vitality popular exponents of 

 physical doctrines of life seem to think they may succeed 

 for a time in forcing the acceptance of force dogmas upon 

 the public. That it is not possible to convey by words an 

 accurate idea of the power which I suppose to be instrumental 

 in determining the form and arrangement of the ultimate 

 atoms of matter in a tissue or organ I am ready to admit. 

 But, on the other hand, it is impossible to assent to the 

 dogma, that all the facts of external nature known to us, 

 and the facts of our own understanding, are to be explained 

 by any known laws of physics and chemistry. He who will 

 explain all the phenomena of living beings without resorting 

 to the hypothesis of life, and the intervention of life-giving 

 power, must in the first place make up his mind to dis- 

 believe the evidence of his own senses, and determine not 

 to use his reason aright. 



We may now inquire concerning the causation of the 

 phenomena which characterise all kinds of matter that lives, 



