XLiii.J CLASSIFICATION OF THE SCIENCES. 205 



involving real existence ; and here the first distinction is Sciences of 

 into the sciences of matter and those of life — or, to speak of lifg. 

 with more precision, into the sciences of the properties of 

 unvitalized matter and the sciences whereof the subjects 

 involve life. It is obvious that the sciences of life in our Those of 

 series come after those of matter, both because the facts ^^g'^gj-gt 

 of life are more complex and less general than those of 

 matter, and because the laws of life presuppose those of 

 matter. The sciences of matter, again, are divided into Dynamical 

 the dynamical group and the chemical — dynamics being gj^gmigj^i 

 the science of force and energy, and chemistry being the sciences. 

 science of the transformations of matter. At the head of 

 the dynamical group stands abstract or general dynamics, General 

 which consists of the theory of force and energy in so gecondaiy 

 far as it is applicable to all cases whatever ; and after this dynamical 

 the secondary dynamical sciences (to use Dr. Whewell's 

 expression) of sound, radiance, heat, electricity, and mag- 

 netism, each of which consists in a special set of applica- 

 tions of dynamical theory. 



The dynamical sciences come in our series before the The 

 chemical. This is partly because their subject is simpler. conie™°'^ 

 Energy is one, though capable of appearing under various before the 

 forms, of which the principal are motion, heat, electricity, 

 and radiance. Matter is also capable of assuming various 

 forms, solid, liquid, and gaseous ; and moreover it is not 

 one, like energy, but consists of many distinct elements, 

 which are not capable of mutual transformation. And 

 besides, though matter and energy are functions one of the 

 other, yet, as every one is aware who is at all conversant 

 with this class of subjects, there are far more dynamical 

 facts presupposed in chemical science than chemical facts 

 presupposed in the dynamical sciences. 



The chemical group of sciences may be enumerated as Molecular 

 molecular physics, chemistry, and crystallography. The chJmistW 

 names of the two latter need no explanation. Molecular and 

 physics has till now been usually regarded as a part of giaphy. 

 chemistry, and has been treated of in the introductory 

 chapters of works on that subject ; but I think it is now 

 time to raise it to the rank of a distinct science. It may 



