24 LECTURE I. 



times, and yet continue to exist and flourish? 

 Again, if animal identity consists in consciousness, 

 and if every living creature is sensible of pleasure 

 and pain, or in other words, has a consciousness, 

 which is generally thought a reasonable suppo- 

 sition; when the Polype is divided into several 

 parts, which all become perfect Polypes, where 

 shall we find the identity of the original animal ? 



A letter dated from the University of Cam- 

 bridge, inserted in the Philosophical Transactions, 

 reasons thus on the subject. 



The last news from Paris gives us something 

 very surprising; viz. that an animal called the 

 Polypus is of such a nature, that life is preserved 

 in it after it has been cut into several pieces ; so 

 that one animal seems by section to be immediate- 

 ly divided into two, or three, or more complete 

 animals, each separately enjoying life, and con- 

 tinuing to perform all the usual operations of its 

 species. Such an account would have been less; 

 regarded, had we not been informed that letters 

 avouching the reality of the fact had lately been, 

 communicated to the Royal Society, and that its 

 reality had also been confirmed by some of our 

 best observers. 



Some of our friends, who are firmly attache^ 



