go LECTURE I. 



your attention to his opinions respecting 

 life, which the progress of science seems 

 to me to have most perfectly confirmed. 

 The probability of his opinions on this 

 subject is to be inferred from analogy ; 

 their rationality from their adequateness to 

 account for all the vital phaenomena. As 

 Sir H. Davy's experiments fully prove 

 that electricity may be superadded to, and 

 that it enters into the composition of all 

 those substances we call matter ; I felt 

 satisfied with this establishment of the 

 philosophy of Mr. Hunter's views, nor 

 thought it necessary to proceed further, 

 but merely added, " It is not meant to be 

 affirmed that electricity is life. I only mean 

 to argue in favor of Mr. Hunter's theory, 

 by shewing that a subtile substance of a 

 quickly and powerfully mobile nature, 

 seems to pervade every thing, and appears 

 to be the life of the world, and that there- 

 fore it is probable a similar substance per- 

 vades organized bodies, and is the life of 

 these bodies." I am concerned, yet obliged 

 to detain you by this recapitulation, because 

 my meaning has been either misunderstood 

 or misrepresented. 



