6 2 Life and Matter [chap. iv. 



any of these is not likely to be readily 

 expressible in any form of words, or to be 

 thoroughly conceivable by any human mind. 



It may be well to remember that Sir 

 Isaac Newton was a Theist of the most pro- 

 nounced and thorough conviction, although 

 he had a great deal to do with the reduction 

 of the major Cosmos to mechanics, i.e. with 

 its explanation by the elaborated machinery 

 of simple forces ; and he conceived it 

 possible that, in the progress of science, 

 this process of reduction to mechanics 

 would continue till it embraced nearly all 

 phenomena. (See extract below.) That, 

 indeed, has been the effort of science ever 

 since, and therein lies the legitimate basis 

 for materialistic statements, though not for 

 a materialistic philosophy. 



The following sound remarks concerning 

 Newton are taken from Huxley's Hume, 

 p. 246 : 



" Newton demonstrated all the host of heaven 

 to be but the elements of a vast mechanism, 

 regulated by the same laws as those which express 



