THE VIVISECTION QUESTION. 615 



has come to embody this knowledge is now known as biology. It 

 falls naturally into two great divisions : the study of the form and 

 structure of organs and organisms anatomy or morphology and 

 the study of the functions, of the actions, which the organs per- 

 form. This is physiology. Dividing further, physiology falls 

 into the sciences of healthy action, physiology proper, and dis- 

 eased action, pathology, from 7ra#os, a suffering. It is evident 

 that for the study of form alone the dead body is in general suffi- 

 cient. But for the investigation of the activities of health and 

 disease it is as evident that the physiologist and pathologist re- 

 quire vital action as much as the chemist requires chemical action 

 or the physicist requires motion. It is continually being urged 

 that the dead body is sufficient for every scientific purpose. As 

 well say that the dead body is as good as a live man. It would 

 be precisely as reasonable to agitate against driving live horses, 

 contending that dead ones will go just as fast, as to oppose the 

 use of live animals for physiological or pathological research. 

 And those who make this claim prove conclusively that they have 

 no conception of what the word physiology means. 



Of all physical Nature nothing is of greater importance or 

 touches man more closely than just this thing, life. The study of 

 form, anatomy, is little more than a dead stepping-stone to this 

 science of the processes of life, physiology. Young as it is, no sci- 

 ence has attained results of greater value and none gives brighter 

 promise for the future. In a word, the faith, hope, and charity 

 which inspire this science are to learn enough about the laws and 

 possibilities of living Nature, to do away with all disease and 

 premature death, and to make all life as full and perfect as these 

 laws will permit. This is the inspiration of biology. Is it base 

 or unworthy ? And it is not Utopian. It is possible. The end 

 may not be attained for a hundred years or a thousand. That 

 depends upon how much faith men have in it and upon how much 

 effort they are willing to devote to it. But it will come as surely 

 as the world moves. 



Take for a moment a broad view of our situation in this re- 

 spect. Nearly one half of our people are dying before the age 

 of forty-one, almost all of disease, curable or preventable, did we 

 but know how. This goes on with our standing army of physi- 

 cians, over one hundred thousand strong, on duty day and night. 

 It looks discouraging, and an eminent physician has himself said 

 that a doctor is like a man blindfolded, striking about with a 

 club, almost as likely to hit his patient as the disease. Our only 

 hope, therefore, must lie in more knowledge of the laws which 

 govern living Nature. Without this, as well attempt to stay the 

 storm and tides of the ocean with straw as the currents of disease 

 and the course of Nature with doctors. If we could get before un- 



