IN MODERN SCIENCE. 



59 



have no proof that it can be produced in 

 any other way. Again, what particle of evi- 

 dence have we that the atoms or the energy of 

 an incandescent fire-mist have in them any- 

 thing of the power or potency of Hfe ? We 

 must grant the monist all these postulates as 

 pure matters of faith, before he can begin his 

 demonstration ; and, as none of them are 

 axiomatic truths, it is evident that so far he is 

 simply a believer in the dogmas of a philo- 

 sophic creed, and in this respect weak as other 

 men whom he affects to despise. 



We may here place over against his authority 

 that of another eminent physiologist, of more 

 philosophic mind. Dr. Carpenter, who has re- 

 cently said : "As a physiologist I must fully rec- 

 ognize the fact that the physical force exerted 

 by the body of man is not generated de novo by 

 his will, but is derived directly from the oxida- 

 tion of the constituents of his food. But, hold- 

 ing it as equally certain — because the fact is 

 capable of verification by every one as often as 

 he chooses to make tht experiment — that in 

 the performance of every volitional movement 

 physical force is put in action, directed, and 

 controlled by the individual personality or egOy 

 I deem it as absurd and illogical to affirm that 



