THE BREATH OF LIFE 



matter as revealed by a flash of lightning, the mys- 

 teries of chemical affinity, of magnetism, of radio- 

 activity, all point to deep beneath deep in matter 

 itself. It is little wonder that men who dwell habit- 

 ually upon these things and are saturated with the 

 spirit and traditions of laboratory investigation, should 

 believe that in some way matter itself holds the mys- 

 tery of the origin of life. On the other hand, a differ- 

 ent type of mind, the more imaginative, artistic, and 

 religious type, recoils from the materialistic view. 



The sun is the source of all terrestrial energy, but 

 the different forms that energy takes — in the plant, 

 in the animal, in the brain of man — this type of 

 mind is bound to ask questions about that. Gravity 

 pulls matter down; life lifts it up; chemical forces 

 pull it to pieces; vital forces draw it together and 

 organize it; the winds and the waters dissolve and 

 scatter it; vegetation recaptures and integrates it 

 and gives it new qualities. At every turn, minds like 

 that of Sir Oliver Lodge are compelled to think of 

 life as a principle or force doing something with 

 matter. The physico-chemical forces will not do in 

 the hands of man what they do in the hands of 

 Nature. Such minds, therefore, feel justified in 

 thinking that something which we call "the hands 

 of Nature," plays a part — some principle or force 

 which the hands of man do not hold. 



