go THE REIGN OF LAW. 



observe how this endeavour constantly breaks 

 down — how impossible it is in describing physical 

 phenomena to avoid the phraseology which iden- 

 tifies them with the phenomena of Mind, and is 

 moulded on our own conscious Personality and 

 Will. It is impossible to avoid this language 

 simply because no other language conveys the 

 impression which innumerable structures leave 

 upon the mind. Take, for example, the word 

 " contrivance." How could Science do without it ? 

 How could the great subject of Animal Mechanics 

 be dealt with scientifically without continual refer- 

 ence to Law as that by which, and through 

 which, special organs are formed for the doing of 

 special work ? What is the very definition of a 

 machine ? Machines do not increase Force, they 

 only adjust it. The very idea and essence of a 

 machine is that it is a contrivance for the dis- 

 tribution of Force with a view to its bearing on 

 special purposes. A man's arm is a machine in 

 which the law of leverage is supplied to the vital 

 force for the purposes of prehension. We shall 

 see presently that a bird's wing is a machine in 

 which the same law is applied, under the most 



