282 PROFESSOR LIONEL S. BEALE, r.R.C.P._, F.R.S., ON THE 



world ; and is it not certain that further minute investigation 

 and discussion on life, development and growth, will gradually 

 bring the living human intellect nearer to Him ? 



General conchtsions concervAiig the life of our world. — Evidence 

 which I regard as conclusive, has compelled me to teach during 

 the last half century certain definite principles as regards the 

 nature of life and growth, and of all things living, and things 

 that have lived in time past. 



The conclusions referred to are as follows : — 



(1) That, the distinction of every kind of life and growtli, 

 and the foruiation of tissue, in all things living — from every 

 kind of non-life— is absolute. 



(2) That, there is no evidence in support of the view that 

 any kind of life has proceeded, or has in any way been obtained, 

 from non-life. 



(3) That, while it is certain our world must have been 

 formed ages before the appearance of one living particle, there 

 is no evidence justifying the idea of the gradual production of 

 a livhig organism, from any matter, or combinations of non- 

 living substances. 



(4) In several papers published in our Transactions during 

 the past twenty years, and in other works, I have traced the 

 formation of the wonderful structures characteristic of widely 

 different living organisms, from structureless colourless living 

 matter containnig invariably a large proportion of water ; and 

 have shown that the facts demonstrated lead up to certain 

 general conclusions of great interest to all who desire to under- 

 stand the nature and progress of developmental j^henomena, 

 and the mode of growth of living things in general, as well 

 as of man. The nature of those differences by which the state 

 of life is marked off from every kind of lifeless condition — 

 from inorganic matter — and from the state of death, which 

 occurs only in matter that has lived, has been referred to. 



(5) Many arguments have been advanced in support of my 

 contention of the intiuence of Vitality, Vital power, throughout 

 the whole of the life-world known to us, the only life-world of 

 the existence of which we have proof, and, as far as has been 

 proved to exist at this time, the only life- world in the infinite 

 universe, tlie only life-world yet shown to have been created, 

 governed and sustained by the Almighty. The infinite 

 designing, directing, sustaining power of the eternal living God,, 

 as it seems to me, looking from the science side only, must be 

 acknowledged in every kind of living matter and at every 

 period of life. 



