THE 
VETERINARIAN. 
VOL. XIII, No. 153.] SEPTEMBER 1840. [New Series, No. 93. 
MR. W. C. SPOONER’S REPLY TO MR. KARKEEK 
ON THE IMMORTALITY OF ANIMALS. 
]My dear Sir,—IT is not my present intention to write a very 
lengthy reply to your letter addressed to me in last month’s 
Veterinarian; for while I agree with you, that animal metaphy¬ 
sics is not an improper subject for our periodical, yet I think we 
are scarcely warranted, injustice to more practical matters, in occu¬ 
pying very much space with our theories, however interesting 
they may be to ourselves. It was with these feelings, whether 
right or wrong, that I condensed, as much as possible, my two last 
letters on the subject; and might, therefore, have appeared to 
have neglected some matters of importance, and to have imperfectly 
treated of others. However, in your letter you address to me some 
queries, to answer which affords me a sufficient cause for writing 
the present reply. I am quite sure that neither you nor myself 
have any other objects in view but the elicitation of truth; and I am 
quite ready to concede to you—what I am quite sure you will not 
deny to me—that we argue for truth and not for victory. The sub¬ 
ject of metaphysics abounds with so many ramifications and sinu¬ 
osities that, unless we carefully avoid those paths not immediately 
essential to our subject, there is much clanger of losing our way, 
or, at any rate, misleading our readers. This was my reason for 
refraining from making any observations respecting the materialitv 
of the mind. And even now, although I have read the arguments 
of divines and others, as to whether the soul and the mind are the 
same, or distinct from each other, 1 must confess that neither side 
have proved convincing, but that I am almost as much in the dark 
as ever. I arn, however, inclined to consider that they are dis¬ 
tinct; because this is most accordant with the theory, that both 
man and animals have minds; but nuin alone possesses an immortal 
soul. There has been, ere now, much argument wasted on the sub¬ 
ject, as to what precise time the soul enters the body,—whether at 
conception, or (piickening, or at birth ; but for my own part, on 
VOL. XIII. 4 G 
