THE MYSTERY OF LIFE. 



into an examination of the grounds of my 

 theory, Dr. Gull simply accepts, supports, and 

 advocates the views of those who hold that 

 " life " is a form or mode of ordinary force, and 

 attacks the position that life is a power distinct 

 and apart from the forces of the non-living 

 world ; but he does not reply to the objections 

 which have been advanced against the theory 

 he so warmly advocates, nor does he overthrow 

 the arguments adduced in support of the doc- 

 trine he desires to controvert. 



My view, which has been assailed by Dr. 

 Gull, is this : that " life is a power entirely 

 different from and in no way correlated with 

 matter and its ordinary forces." The words 

 have been taken from the second sentence of 

 my work on Protoplasm, which, however, runs 

 thus in the original : " Life is a power, force, or 

 property of a special and peculiar kind, tem- 

 porarily influencing matter and its ordinary 

 forces, but entirely different from, and in no way 

 correlated with, any of these"' 



Strange as it may appear in these days, the 

 orator commences his oration by implying that 

 there exists in some minds a doubt " whether 

 man is altogether an object of scientific study 



