Mind obeys the First law of Motion. 109 



But scientific knowledge corrects the uncertain testi- 

 mony of consciousness ; whilst we see coal burn and 

 be apparently destroyed, science proves to us that the 

 elements composing it remain undiminished. We 

 observe also that the heat of the fire dissipates and is 

 apparently lost for ever ; but science again proves 

 that it is either stored up in the latent state, ready to 

 be again liberated at a future time, or else converted 

 into other forms of energy. A given atom of matter 

 or a portion of energy, therefore, to the best of our 

 knowledge, continues and persists for ever. As we 

 cannot either create or destroy matter so also can we 

 not create or annihilate energy, and this truth 

 probably holds good with regard to mental as well as 

 to physical and chemical power. Great changes of 

 state in bodies (as in the combustion of wood &c.) have 

 led us to erroneously think that the substances are 

 destroyed; and great apparent differences of property, 

 such as those of diamond and charcoal, have led us 

 similarly to conclude that they are entirely distinct 

 and independent of each other when they are not. 



As the cerebrum of man is composed of matter, 

 and during excitement, its parts are active, we might 

 confidently predict that its particles obey the First law 

 of Motion, viz. : that a body in a state of rest or 

 motion will continue in that state of rest or motion 

 until some cause arise to prevent it. So it has been 

 found that the action of the vital and mental forces 

 have a degree of persistence, like the physical ones, 

 It has been experimentally found that portions of 



