LECTURE I. 11 



the subject they pretend to explain ; under 

 which circumstances it is allowable to main- 

 tain them as good, until others more satis- 

 factory be discovered. No man who thus 

 theorizes need feel shame in this employ- 

 ment of his intellectual powers ; no man 

 can feel arrogance, for it is acknowledged 

 that his theory is but a probable and ra- 

 tional conjecture. Besides, we never can 

 be sure that the series of facts belonging 

 to any subject is full or complete; new 

 ones may be discovered, that would over- 

 turn our best established theories. 



Upon the foregoing terms alone do I 

 wish to uphold Mr. Hunter's theory of life; 

 and I do so on the present occasion, be- 

 cause it seems highly probable, it was his 

 thinking in the manner he was known to do, 

 that caused him to survey all the facts con- 

 nected with the subject of life in general 

 with so much accuracy, as well as to note 

 its disordered states and sympathies in a 

 manner which has so greatly contributed to 

 increase our practical knowledge. It is 

 highly probable that it was his hypothesis 



