186' NATURAL THEOLOGY. 



parts having distinct endowments, and exhibiting 

 complex mechanical relations. The mechanical 

 contrivances which are so obvious in man, for in- 

 stance, are the provisions for the agency and do- 

 minion of an intellectual power over the materials 

 around him. 



We mark this early, because there are authors 

 who, looking upon this complexity of mechanism, 

 confound it with the presence of life itself, and 

 think it a necessary adjunct — nay, even that life 

 proceeds from it : whereas the mechanism which 

 we have to examine in the animal body is formed 

 with reference to the necessity of acting upon, or 

 receiving impressions from, things external to the 

 body — a necessary condition of our state of exist- 

 ence in a material world. 



Many have expressed their opinion very boldly 

 on the necessary relation between organization 

 and life, who have never extended their views to 

 the system of nature. To place man, an intelli- 

 gent and active being, in this world of matter, he 

 must have properties bearing relation to that mat- 

 ter. The existence of matter implies an agency 

 of certain forces ; — the particles of bodies must 

 suffer attraction and repulsion ; and the bodies 

 formed by the balance of these influences upon 

 their atoms or particles must have weight or gra- 

 vity, and possess mechanical properties. So must 

 the living body, independently of its peculiar en- 

 dowments, have similar composition and qualities, 

 and have certain relations to the solids, fluids. 



