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place, that of a third who occupied the same Presidential chair 
in 1869, namely Professor Stokes. At the close of his address, 
speaking of organic structures, or of life, he says, “ Let us fear- 
lessly trace the dependence of link on link, as far as it may be 
given us to trace it, but let us take heed that in thus studying 
second causes, we forget not the First Cause, nor shut our eyes 
to the wonderful proofs of design which, in the study of 
organized beings especially, meet us at every step 
“ When from the phenomena of life we pass on to those 
of mind, we enter a region still more profoundly mysterious. 
We can readily imagine that we may here be dealing with 
phenonema altogether transcending those of mere life, in some 
such way as those of life transcend, as I have endeavoured to 
infer, those of chemistry and molecular attractions, or as the 
laws of chemical affinity in their turn transcend those of mere 
mechanics ; Science can be expected to do but little to aid us 
here, since the instrument of research is itself the object of 
investigation. It can but enlighten us as to the depth of our 
ignorance, and lead us to look to a higher aid for that which 
most nearly concerns our well-being.” 
Let us now proceed to devote a few minutes to the study of 
atomism as understood by the ancients, with the express pur- 
pose of offering a few criticisms on the Belfast Address. This 
would be scarcely necessary if that celebrated Address had 
been compiled from original sources ; but of this I will speak 
afterwards. 
The principle, as expounded, with a large amount of detail 
and illustration, in the poem of Lucretius, is taken immediately 
from Epicurus ; but he had it, as is commonly believed, from 
Democritus, who enlarged and improved the doctrine which 
he had received from his contemporary and teacher Leucippus. 
It is doubted even whether Democritus did not get it, or a 
portion of it, from a still earlier source, namely Moschus, a 
Phoenician, in the course of his long travels in Asia and Egypt. 
This, however, is of little importance. Its ancestry, as regards 
essentials, is rapidly traced from Leucippus aud Democritus 
to Epicurus, and from Epicurus to Lucretius. Democritus 
flourished about 450 B.C. ; Epicurus 305, and Lucretius about 
70; and it is useful to bear in mind that Cicero and Lucretius 
were contemporaries. 
The works necessary for a study of the philosophy as given 
by Democritus, are Diogenes Laertius; several treatises of 
Aristotle (including his Do Generation# et Gorruptione, the 
Metaphysics, and the treatises Physica and Do Animd ) ; to these 
must be added Sextus Empiricus, Adv. Math., Plutarch dr 
