644 DEFINITIONS OF LIFE. 



In a recent course of lectures published in the 

 Lancet of 1840, by Mr. Ancell, the author main- 

 tains that animal heat results from " the molecu- 

 lar vital actions continually going on between the 

 red particles and the liquor sanguinis." We are 

 also told by Dr. Dickson, in a late work termed 

 " Fallacies of the Faculty," that " animal heat 

 results from the constant mutation and motion of 

 all the organs" which is only another mode of 

 expressing the opinion of Sir H. Davy, and of 

 Bichat, who represents it as " a product of all the 

 vital functions" with this difference, that Dr. 

 Dickson refers the mutation and motion of all 

 the organs to electricity ; but without explaining 

 the modus operandi of this mysterious agent. Alas ! 

 it is much easier to expose, than to reform, the 

 errors of the faculty. Nor is it any definition of 

 life to say with Sir H. Davy, that " it consists 

 in a series of corpuscular changes" and with 

 Dr. Roget, that " it consists in a series of actions 

 and reactions," without explaining the cause of 

 these corpuscular changes, actions, and reactions. 



In regard to all the above hypotheses, I an- 

 swer, we might as well suppose that the tem- 

 perature and power of steam are owing to the 

 movements of the engine, as that animal heat 

 depends on the action of the heart, friction, &c. 

 that the temperature of boiling water, and its 

 conversion into the elastic or gaseous state, re- 

 sults from the vibratory or rotary motions of its 



