m 
observation, it is not requisite that I should notice, unles s ™ ? 
briefly, the works of others who have treated of the same sub- 
jects. It will, however, be expedient that I should in the 
first place, acknowledge my obligations to an author from 
whom I shall take the liberty of quoting ; and in so doing 
claim not merely as an ally, but as one who has already 
overcome his opponents in a well-fought field of argument 
These antagonists do not seem to be exactly such as one would 
choose to encounter; for he says that as soon as they enter on 
the vital question, “ they assume the tone of the advocate, of 
the proselytizer, of the zealot, and to such energy everything 
must yield— unproven and unprovable assertions have been 
advanced over and over again, until it becomes tiresome to 
3. This is alarming, but I must hope to fare better than my 
predecessor, as these opponents will have learned moderation 
by experience of their present want of success. 
Dr. Beale. 
4. “ The theory of vitality ” has been so admirably dis- 
cussed by this author, the eminent physician ^ ad ml rable 
microscopist, Lionel S. Beale, M.B., I’.R.S., F.R.M.S that. I 
need onlv say I rejoice that his (as yet unanswered) works are m 
possession of the Institute, so that the Fellows can verify any 
allusions I may make, and judge for themselves whether the 
highest commendation I can bestow transcends their merit, it 
will therefore be understood that, in pursuing my own argument, 
I am not at all insensible to the claims of that which has been 
thus incontrovertibly adduced on the right side of the question 
Dr. Beale has fully proved that “ creative force is as far removed 
as ever from non-constructing force ; and the great life-mystery, 
in spite of the efforts and consummate skill of physicists and 
chemists, remains a mystery as great as when in childhood the 
longing first arose to inquire into the why and how. 
Dr. Huxley. 
5 It is necessary that I should also say a few words as to the 
views which Professor Huxley expounds in his “Lay Sermons. 
I trust that, in appealing specially to the statements which 1 
there find, I shall not be thought to be unfairly reviving ex- 
ploded dogmas. I claim to be one of “ the few writers who 
have taken the trouble to understand the subject, and whose 
