6 THE MYSTERY OF LIFE. 



retard investigation, who disbelieves in the cor- 

 relation of the physical forces, and in the esta- 

 blished truths of physics/"" 



Is it possible that belief in a something, a 

 power, force, agency, or, call it what you will, 

 which is beyond the range of physical and 

 chemical investigation, and cannot be rendered 

 evident to the senses, should disqualify a man 

 for scientific investigation, any more than a 

 belief in a God renders it impossible for him to 

 successfully pursue observation and experiment ? 

 It ought not to be necessary to state that the 

 proposition that vital power is distinct from 

 force does not involve a belief in the absurdity 

 that life creates matter or transmutes one ele- 

 ment into another. 



Whatever may be the fate of the inferences 



I have drawn concerning the nature of vital 



* Dr. Tyndall goes even still further. Instead of an- 

 swering arguments, he gives expression to some of the 

 words of his friend, Huxley, and speaks of me as a " micro- 

 scopist, ignorant alike of Philosophy and Biology," and as 

 having been " lately Professor in a London College, famous 

 for its orthodoxy." That I am not a convert to the Philo- 

 sophy and Biology of Tyndall and Huxley is perfectly true ; 

 but that my connection with King's College has in any way 

 influenced my views, is a suggestion as devoid of foundation 

 as the fiery cloud hypothesis of evolution itself. 



