abe 
1872. | 377 [ Price. 
tion of any other. The brain, the commonly supposed seat of all feeling, 
has in itself no feeling. Sir Charles Bell says: ‘‘The brain is as insensi- 
ble as the leather of our shoe ; that the brain may be touched, or a por- 
tion of it cut off, without interrupting the patient in the sentence he is 
uttering.’”? The brain and the sensitively perceiving mind must, therefore, 
be different. The one is cut ay yay ; the other suffers thereby no interrup- 
tion of thought or its expression. One feels; the other does not. One 
commands ; the other obeys. The muscle is moved by the will and exerts 
great power, but through a brain and a nerve without muscle, or physi- 
cal power, so far as is seen. Apparently an immaterial mind says to 
every muscle, do this; and it doeth it, but by the word of command. 
Truly, the body, life and mind, each, is very wonderful, and most won- 
derful is their combination ; a combination of dissimilar things, made to 
act in antagonism, and yet bound to act in harmony, for the welfare of 
all. Awake, the mind is to regulate all for the common good, yet may 
not, without injury, much interfere with the life-process of the bodily 
organization. Asleep, the physical reacts, taking a limited advantage of 
the unwatchful mind that has let drop the rein of discipline. The mind, 
in the semi-consciousness of dreams, ranges through bright scenes and 
beautiful images, if all be well with mind and body ; but if either be un- 
happy or disordered, a dark change comes over the happy dream, and 
then threatened dangers and startling incidents awake the mind to resume 
its discipline; happy then to find its troublous adventures “buta dream.”’ 
Yet, in the sleeping and waking experience, the mind and body have 
acted and reacted, both as united, and often as opposing powers. 
The materialist sometimes ventures even to liken life to a process of 
crystallization or chemistry, or mechanism, and mind as well. Crystal- 
lization follows one law, and, the world over, does one thing, and forms its 
crystals and gems of each kind on the same angle ; her ultimate particles 
of the same kind being of the same shape, and obeying one law of attrac- 
tion, The chemical affinities act under laws as certain, and under the 
same circumstances act always inthe same way. Living things are more 
‘complicate ; and the process of growth is carried on by an apparent choice 
as to the selection of material and in the deposit of different particles, for 
the growth of the several parts, differently from crystallization and chem- 
istry. Life is not molecular, or magnetic, or chemical attraction ; but is 
a vital process that employs various materials ; utilizes them, and dis- 
poses of them differently to perfect the common economy. It employs, it 
is true, chemical processes in breathing, etc.; and inthe heart, eye and ear, 
and in the action of the muscles, mechanical structures and powers ; but 
all is moved by and independent upon the life that has made from matter 
living molecules, and with them constructed the creature. But all this, 
though subservient to, gives no explanation of, the mind ; shows no kin- 
dred to it ; gives no information why we have consciousuess, how we can 
feel and think. No proof is offered, nor can, it is believed, be adduced, 
to show that the mental action consists in but physical changes. The 
A. P. §.—VOL. XII.—2v 
