88 Life and Matter [chap. v. 



hoves the man of science to put his hand 

 upon his mouth, lest in his efforts to be true, 

 in the absence of knowledge, he find himself 

 uttering, in his ignorance, words of lament- 

 able folly or blasphemy. 



Man and Nature. 



Consider our own position it is 

 surely worth considering. We are a part 

 of this planet ; on one side certainly and 

 distinctly a part of this material world, a 

 part which has become self-conscious. At 

 first we were a part which had become 

 alive ; a tremendous step that introducing 

 a number of powers and privileges which 

 previously had been impossible, but that step 

 introduced no responsibility ; we were no 

 longer, indeed, urged by mere pressure from 

 behind, we were guided by our instincts and 

 appetites, but we still obeyed the strongest 

 external motive, almost like electro-magnetic 

 automata. Now, however, we have become 

 conscious, able to look before and after, to 



