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life its deep and intense interest, and links it on to a world of 
being, no part of which is subject to either the microscope 
or the telescope, or to any other instrument that deals with 
purely material things, small or great. What an interest to 
the “ histologist ” is there in a vibrio that only “ wriggles ” ! 
And all just because it is not “ wriggled,” but “ wriggles ” ! 
What an interest in the fungus that grows and dies, and leaves 
its spores that grow and die and leave spores again ! Why 
such an interest even in the plant ? Because it is a thing of 
life that does its own upbuilding, and cannot have that up- 
building done for it by any creature skill. It is seen even in 
molecules that do their own work, and cannot be helped in 
doing it by any agency of human kind. It is not wonderful 
that men are more interested in this life than in any other 
tiling in nature. From the self-moving will within a man 
himself, down through all wills, to that of the molecule (that 
seems to have one also), there is perceived to be something of 
kinship of an irresistibly interesting character. We call it 
life. It is not God, but it is something even in the molecule 
that moves of itself (if molecules do), that tells us of Him as 
no inanimate thing tells us. It is something which no skill of 
man can imitate, except in the most clumsy of counterfeits. 
The automaton of human workmanship does mathematically 
what its mover causes it to do. It does not move an atom of 
itself. The most humble of living things does a certain amount 
of work of its own. You rightly trace the motions of a man 
to their ultimate source in his own will; so do you rightly 
trace the motions of a ciliated animalcule, or even the 
wrigglings of a vibrio. 
20. It is the perception of this which makes us impatient of 
that worship of “ phenomena ” by which men are so fond of 
chaining themselves down to the miserable materialism which 
believes in nothing but what it sees. We cannot see true life. 
We can see the phenomena of life, but that is not the life of 
which these are the phenomena. We can see magnetism, for 
magnetism is itself nothing but a certain motion in that which 
is affected magnetically. A magnetic current is, 1 believe, 
just like a gravitating current, such as that of water, and both 
may be seen. Even in the case of the motion in water caused 
by the cilia of an animalcule, you can see the motion of the 
water and the motion of the cilia, but you see the motion of 
the water caused by that of the cilia, and you perceive the 
motion of the cilia caused by something which you cannot 
see. Reason will go beyond the seen in such phenomena as 
this. It is no use talking of “antecedents and consequents” 
when we have come to a consequent which has either no ante- 
vol. v. N 
