ON MATTER AND FORCE. 81 



as modes of motion of the particles of matter 

 in the different parts where they act. These 

 modes of motion, by their correlations with the 

 motions of oxidation and nutrition which are 

 going on in the affected part, determine whether 

 more motion or less motion of matter should 

 result. 



The medicines which are taken into the 

 body have the same incapability as food to 

 create or annihilate force; but they possess 

 chemical energies by which, wherever they go, 

 they take part in the motions of oxidation and 

 nutrition which are going on there ; and, 

 according to their chemical properties, they 

 add to the motions, or increase the resistance 

 to the motions, that constitute disease. 



The questions, then, which must be answered 

 before we can obtain clear ideas of the actions 

 of medicines in the body are: 1. What are 

 the different motions which occur in the body ? 

 and how are these different motions related to 

 one another ? and 2. How do different agents 

 or medicines increase or diminish these different 

 motions which occur in the different organs 

 and textures ? 



Assuming that any energy which shows itself 



G 



