ORDINARY MEETING, 21st February, 1870. 
The Rey. Dr. Robinson Thornton, Vice-President, in the 
Chair. 
The Minutes of the last Meeting were read and confirmed. 
The Secretary announced that Mr. Herbert Janies, H.M.C.S., had been 
elected a member of the Institute. 
Professor Kirk then read the following paper : 
ON SPONTANEOUS GENERATION; or, THE PROBLEM 
OF LIFE. By the Bev. John Kirk, Professor of Practical 
Theology in the Evangelical Union Academy, Glasgow; 
M.V.I. 
mHE idea which one forms of that which is called Life will 
jL be essentially varied according to the surroundin 0 ideas 
in the midst of which it is formed. If these surrounding ideas 
represent strictly material objects and their affections, the idea 
of Rfe wdl be essentially different from that whmh is formed 
when surrounding ideas represent immaterial objects and thmr 
affections. Where all substances are excluded from the thoughts 
but such as can be seen, or in some other way directly per- 
ceived through the senses, the idea of life will ^ong .> 
where those substances which exist, and which .wake ' the 
existence perfectly manifest to reason though they cannot be 
seen, are fully taken into view, the idea of life will be a very 
diffeientJ)houg^ preliminary rema rk, because my definition 
of life must be one thing if I speak of it m strict ^^tccm-dine 
and it must be a totally different thing if I speak of it according 
to the full truth and reason of the case. Life, as it is seen , 
a movement, and nothing more. It is nothing but a — 
to any of the five senses. Every movement is not Me, bu 
every instance of life may be resolved into movement only -f 
we go no further than the senses enable us to gc > m o 
thoughts of living objects. But there is something about th 
movement which we call “life” which is accessible to the 
