192 COSMIC PHILOSOPHY. \n.\ 



not-living and "by living bodies ; whereas the more special 

 and complex phenomena of life are manifested, of course, 

 only by the latter. Therefore the science of inorganic pheno- 

 mena must precede the other. We can study thermal radia- 

 tions and chemical reactions without taking vital forces into 

 the account ; but we cannot study living organisms without 

 appealing to physics and chemistry at every step. 



In the science of inorganic phenomena a somewhat less 

 obvious principle of division next presents itself. Inorganic 

 physics may be divided into celestial and terrestrial physics ; 

 of which the first treats only of gravitative force as mani- 

 fested in the relatively simple phenomena of the mutual 

 attractions of the heavenly bodies ; while the second treats 

 not only of gravitative force as manifested throughout rela- 

 tively complex terrestrial phenomena, but also of the mole- 

 cular forces, cohesion and chemism, and of the modes of 

 undulatory motion called sound, heat, light, magnetism, and 

 electricity. This second division may be again subdivided 

 into physics proper and chemistry. The first treats of those 

 changes in which the relative positions of the molecules of 

 matter are altered homogeneously, resulting in increase or 

 decrease of volume, or other change of physical state ; while 

 the second treats of those changes in which the relative 

 positions of molecules are altered heterogeneously, resulting 

 in the production of new compounds and new affinities. Of 

 these two sciences, manifestly physics should be first studied. 

 We can to a certain extent generalize the laws of reflection 

 and refraction, condensation and rarefaction, without help 

 from chemistry ; but we cannot proceed a step in chemistry 

 without appealing to physics. 



Turning now to organic phenomena, we perceive that 

 living beings may be studied either individually or col- 

 lectively. In the first case we generalize the laws of nutri- 

 tion and reproduction, of muscular contractility and nervous 

 sensibility. This is the province of biology, a science which 



