Life and Energy 135 



before we can grasp the deepest things by 

 their aid ; but this matter of " vitality " is 

 probably not hopelessly beyond us ; and it 

 does not follow, because we have no theory 

 of life or death now, that we shall be equally 

 ignorant a century hence. 



My chief objection to Professor Haeckel's 

 literary work is that he is dogmatic on such 

 points as these, and would have people be- 

 lieve, what doubtless he believes himself, 

 that he already knows the answer to a 

 number of questions in the realms of physi- 

 cal nature and of philosophy. He writes in 

 so forcible and positive and determined a 

 fashion, from the vantage ground of scien- 

 tific knowledge, that he exerts an undue 

 influence on the uncultured among his 

 readers, and causes them to fancy that only 

 benighted fools or credulous dupes can really 

 disagree with the historical criticisms, the 

 speculative opinions, and philosophical, or 

 perhaps unphilosophical, conjectures, thus 

 powerfully set forth. 



