1 84 THE IMMORTALITY OF ANIMALS 



shaped pulpy substance found in the brain, was 

 formerly considered the seat of the soul by Des- 

 cartes and others, but as it is found in lower 

 animals as well as man, the hypothesis has been re- 

 jected for that reason. 



Chemists have analyzed the brains of men and 

 lower animals and have found that they are com- 

 posed of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, etc. 



Now can these chemical compounds compose the 

 splendid dreams of Shakespeare or the epic poems 

 of Milton or the Iliad of Homer ? Can a number 

 of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen atoms 

 produce the various intellectual acts of a horse, 

 a monkey, or a dog ? Can such a chemical com- 

 pound associate articulate sounds so as to under- 

 stand language, obey commands, move at will, act 

 from an impulse of love or hate, and possess the 

 sensitive faculties of touch, taste, smell, hearing 

 and seeing? 



It cannot be conceived that a combination of 

 material atoms can produce immaterial actions and 

 thoughts. It is plain that there is some agent 

 prior and extraneous to the brain, which acts upon 

 the mind, or soul, and thereby tells upon the 

 physical system of animals. While the brain may 



