No. XII.] APPENDIX. 199 



No. XII. 



ANALYSIS OF ALFRED SMEE'S SECOND BOOK, 'THE 

 SOURCES OF PHYSICAL SCIENCE; on, AN INTRODUCTION TO 

 THE STUDY OF PHYSIOLOGY THROUGH PHYSICS, COMPRISING THE 

 CONNECTION OF THE SEVERAL DEPARTMENTS OF PHYSICAL SCIENCE, 

 THEIR DEPENDENCIES ON THE SAME LAWS,' &c. From a Review. 

 Together with the two concluding chapters of 'The Sources of 

 Physical Science,' which treat of the " Relation of the Material to 

 the Immaterial." 



MR. SMEE tells us in his preface that it had long been " a favourite 

 subject with him to endeavour to investigate the physical structure of man, 

 and to endeavour to unravel the mysterious means by which all physical 

 forces, when acting on the human frame, are converted into nervous 

 impressions. To conduct such an inquiry, it became necessary to examine 

 the sources from which the several departments of research, constituting 

 physical science, have their origin." 



For this purpose he intended to draw up a sketch of physical science, 

 which might be prefixed to his physiological inquiries, in the form of an 

 introductory chapter; but the length to which this chapter extended 

 induced him to publish it as a separate volume. 



The work, then, contains a condensed view of the physical sciences, 

 exhibiting the nature and mutual relations of the various divisions of 

 those sciences, and attempting to show the real nature of those forces, 

 such as electricity, magnetism, &c., by which matter is commonly said to 

 be acted upon, and which have often been treated as so many independent 

 existences by various philosophers. 



The first chapter treats of matter, number, and attraction ; and first, 

 what is matter ? how is it comprehended ? 



" Man," says Mr. Smee, " being composed of the material and the 

 immaterial, of body and soul, can have no distinct idea of anything not 

 partaking of his own constitution. He can form no conception of matter 

 without that which gives it properties, nor can he understand that which 



gives it properties without the matter That which men call 



matter is known by its properties ; so that the term matter is given to 



anything which exerts these peculiar properties All the properties 



or influences of matter are dependent on an ultimate property, which 

 confers a power whereby two particles or portions of matter are drawn 

 towards each other by a force exerted in a particular direction." 



But it may be said that it is necessary to prove that matter really 

 exists that what we call the effects and properties of matter are something 

 more than the results of a visionary dynamis. 



"Ingenious persons," says our author, "speculating upon the pro- 

 perties of matter independently of the thing itself, have persuaded them- 

 selves, with some show of reason, that matter has no existence. Their 

 minds have, however, been led astray by their mode of arriving at their 

 conclusions. They have not commenced with a, sound definition of what 

 we designate matter. Defining matter to be that which attracts, and allowing 

 attraction to be its test, obviates all difficulty." P. 3. 



