LETTERS TO BROTHER JOHN. 81 



and yet be wholly destitute of musicality, and there- 

 fore entirely unable to emit sound ; so organized 

 matter may exist, and yet, for want of vitality, be 

 wholly unable to lire. I know a man who is the 

 sole and undisputed proprietor of an extremely fine 

 wen, situated on the back of his head. If this wen 

 were shaven off, it would still, for a time, remain 

 perfectly organized but it could no longer live. 

 Why ? Because it would have lost its vitality that 

 condition necessary to life, which, in this instance, 

 would be an endowment derived from its connexion 

 with the rest of the man's body. 



And again : as organism may exist without vita- 

 lity, so may vitality without life. Seeds are an 

 example of this. A grain of mustard-seed does not 

 live : in it there is neither motion nor fluid ; and 

 it is utterly impossible for a moment to conceive 

 the existence of life without both these. But it 

 possesses the aptitude the ability to live that is, 

 vitality ; and if you plant it in a proper soil, it ac- 

 tually will live, and become possessed both of fluid 

 and motion. A grain of sand, on the contrary, 

 possessing neither organism nor vitality, will remain 

 a grain of sand for ever plant it in whatever soil 

 you please : at least, it cannot undergo any changes 



but such as are purely chemical or mechanical. 

 E 3 



