504 BIOLOGICAL PHYSICS 



individual units of the human race, but, generally 

 speaking, it may be said to vary between a sixth and 

 a third or more of the twenty-four hours, or complete 

 day ; throughout the rest of animated nature its length 

 and intensity both vary indefinitely according to the " law 

 of necessity." Sleep may be called the counterfeit of 

 death, and daily illustrates the occurrence of discontinuity 

 between the higher materio-dynamic and neuro-intellectual 

 elements of the body corporate, and shows their powers of 

 separate or independent existence and of re-amalgamation. 

 Inasmuch as the existence of the ego is not realised during 

 sleep, and its necessary continuance or existence is unde- 

 niable, we are, moreover, entitled to maintain that it is 

 capable of a separate or independent existence, and that 

 the doctrine of immortality is warranted by psychologico- 

 physiological science, based both on observation and 

 experiment, so universally assented to, that a denial of 

 its authenticity becomes possible only to those who refuse 

 to accept evidence, and prefer to see nothing but annihila- 

 tion as " the solution of the whole matter." 



Law, whether physical, dynamical, or metaphysical, 

 being absolute in its sway and inexorable in its incidence, 

 and because so far as science has yet pronounced she has 

 refused to accept of the doctrine of annihilation, she must 

 necessarily, sooner or later, pronounce herself in all 

 spontaneity in favour of that of immortality, and what a 

 change will then come over " the spirit of her dream " ? 

 and the outlook on human life and destiny ? 



