Matter Life Mind Their Essence Moor

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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS.i^tpm*w *t*

Shelf.jlMJl6UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

OCT


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Digitized by the Internet Archivein 2011 with funding fromThe Library of Congress

http://www.archive.org/details/matterlifemindth01moor


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MATTER, LIFE, MIND:

ESSENCE, PHENOMENA, AND RELATIONS,EXAMINED WITH

REFERENCE TO THE NATURE OF MAN,

THE PROBLEM OF HIS DESTINY.

BY H. H. MOORE, D.D.

2. c> ^U- *NEW YORK:PHILLIPS & HUNT.CINCINNATI:CRANSTON & ST OW E.

1886.


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Copyright, 1886, byPHILLIPS & HUNT,

New York.

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J

DEDICATEDTO

THE REV. DANIEL CURRY, D.D., LL.D.AS I MEDITATED, TRUTHS AROSE IN MY MIND WHICH I THOUGHT

SHOULD BE SPOKEN;I WAITED FIVE YEARS IN VAIN FOR SOME ONE TO UTTER THEM ;

AND NOW I RESPECTFULLY ADDRESS THEM TO YOU AS AN EXPRESSIONOF MY HIGH RKGARD FOR YOUR CHARACTER

AND ABILITY.THE AUTHOR.


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PRE FACETHIS treatise is given to the public with the hope

that it may serve, to some extent, as a check tothe advancing tide of Materialism, and define, withsome precision, the ground Vitalists should occupy inthis great debate. Believing that the things andfacts of nature are their own best interpreters, wehave labored to shun the metaphysical aspects of thesubject, and allow them to speak for themselves andfor truth.

If the " new philosophy " is a true solution of theproblems presented by the universe, then in matteritself, and in matter alone, should be found an ex-planation of the cause and origin of all phenomena,especially of such as are vital and intellectual in theircharacter. Having doubts on this subject, we havemade a special examination of all the kinds of matterwhich enter organic bodies and tested their proper-ties, for the purpose of detecting in them the presenceof a vital force or any capacity to work themselvesinto living organisms ; and the conclusion reached is,that matter is not, never was, and never can be, tillthe constitution of nature is changed, the cause ofvital phenomena. It follows that, as vitality does notoriginate in matter, its marvelous forces must haveeither an independent existence, which logically isinconceivable, or an antithetic cause in a vital sub-


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6 Preface.stance. Having thus placed matter and vitality inthe field side by side, on the same plane of observa-tion, we have compared and contrasted the forces ofthe one with the phenomena of the other, and drawnthe line which separates the two kingdoms.*

Materialists have been quick to see that the uni-form connection which subsists between matter andall manifestations of vitality was their stronghold, andthey have made the most of it; but here we haye metthem, and, as we believe, found it possible to identifyclearly life and mind as entities, distinct from eachother, and from their associated organisms. On theprinciple that substance contains within itself the bestproofs of its existence, we have compelled the mindto speak out, and proclaim, in its own appropriateway, its individuality and transcendent powers. Ifsuch proof shall fail to convince the doubter, we havenothing further to offer.

Materialists dwell largely and minutely upon thesupposed influence which the body, and especially thebrain, have upon the mind, much of which is true,and a still greater portion a mere fancy ; but we havenot neglected this point, but have shown, at consider-able length, that mind, as one substance, has a stillgreater influence over the body as another substance.We now submit to the candor of the reader what hasbeen to us, though severe, a labor of love.

Chautauqua, N. Y., Jan. 12, 1885.* The locality of a very few things in reference to this line it may

be difficult to determine; but we leave them with the satisfaction ofthinking that they belong somewhere, aiW that their exact place willyet be found.


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CONTENTS.CHAPTER I.

THE MATTER OR STUFF WROUGHT INTO ORGANIC BODIES.SEC. PAGE

1. The constitution of Matter 252. Our ignorance of the origin and essence of Matter 283. The kinds of Matter which compose Organic Bodies 334. The sway of Oxygen over other kinds of Matter 425. A Non-vital Globe, or the reign of mere Matter 456. The Sway of Life on Earth 467. The Achievements of Matter 488. The Forces and Scope of Matter Limited 529. Misgivings of Materialists 56

10. Materialism builds only upon Matter 5811. Matter yields no signs of Vitality 591 2. Confession of Materialists 60

CHAPTER II.THE VARIETY OF VITAL ELEMENTS AS THE BASIS OF

ORGANISMS.1. Life Defined 632. Life a Reality, and not a Force 653. Facts Materialism fails to Explain 704. Different Grades of Life 735. The Permanency of Vital Elements 776. Mr. Darwin's Theism 847. The profound Secret of Life 878. A Created Vital World 89

CHAPTER III.VITAL PHENOMENA CONTRASTED WITH FORCES OF MATTER.1. Matter and its Forces Unchangeable 922. Organic and Inorganic Matter the same 953. Matter cannot Exert Vital Force 984. Matter the Product of Infinite Wisdom 995. The Life of an Organism 1006. The Mystery of Existence '

.

1037. Vital Phenomena Contrasted with the Forces of Matter. ... 108


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8 Contents.SEO. PAGE8. The End for which Matter was Created HI9. Mind not the Life of the Body 114.

10. The Law of Generation Limited to the Vital World 11611. The Conservative Power of Life 119CHAPTER IV.

THE MIND, AS THE MAN, IDENTIFIED IN THE ORGANISM.1. The Significance of Persistent Terms 1262. Mind fully in the field of Observation 1283. The Reality of Substance 1314. The Correlates of our Sense-organs 1325. The Authority of Consciousness 1356. Vicious Method of Study 1407. The Fallacy of the Materialistic Argument 1478. Further False Reasoning 1519. To Know Man, the Mind itself must be Studied 154

10. The Sufficiency of our Argument 158CHAPTER V.

MIND SELF-REVEALED IN ITS FACULTIES AND POWERS.1. Mind a self-centered Substance, and the Cause of MentalPhenomena 1612. Mind an Intelligence 1673. Sensation a Means of Knowledge 1704. Province of Reason 1725. Relation of Sense and Reason 1766. Triumphs of Intellect 1787. Unconscious Mental Action 1818. The Will 1889. Emotion as a Part of the Mind 191

CHAPTER VI.INTERACTION OF MIND AND BODY.

1. Mind and Body Two Substances 1972. Unity and Harmony 1983. Different Tendencies of Mind and Body 2014. Demonstrative Facts 2035. Miscellaneous Illustrations 207

CHAPTER VII.THE ATTEMPTS MADE TO FRAME A DEFINITION OF LIFE.1. The Boldness of modern Philosophic Thought 2232. The Stronghold of Materialism 2263. Materialists not Content with their Argument 229


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Contents. 98EO. PAGE4. Vital Writers have Failed to Help their Cause 2325. Materialistic Attempts to frame a Definition of Life 2356. Attempts of Vitalists to Define Life 2457. Life Precedes Structure 2508. Cavild of George H. Lewes 253

CHAPTER VIII.THE CONCEPTION OF MAN AS A PHYSICAL UNIT.

1. Relation of Mind and Body 2552. The Existence of Mind really Denied 2563. Absurd Reasoning 2584. Matter and Mental Force 2595. Prof. Bain's Argument 2606. The Fallacy of Bain's Argument Exposed 2647. Miscellaneous Considerations 273

CHAPTER IX.MATERIALISTIC PROCESS OF ELIMINATING MIND FROM BODY.1. The Wrestling of Materialists with their Problem 2802. The Strategy of the Argument 2823. The Issue Joined 2834. Consciousness the Ground of Judgment 2855. The Disposition made of the Will 2876. The Intellect as viewed by Materialists 2917. How Brain Substance is Transformed into Ideas 3018. The Argument Confessedly Insufficient 305

CHAPTER X.HYPOTHESIS OF THE PHYSICAL BASIS OF LIFE AND MIND.1. Huxley's error in regard to the Matter of Protoplasm 3102. Mr. Lewes comes to the support of Mr. Huxley 3163. Mr. Lewes's Argument Dissected 3204. A new Pllement in the Materialist argument 3225. Mr. Lewes's Objection that no one has ever seen a Spirit. .

.

3266. The Universe Primarily Vital 3297. Relation of Body and Mind 332

CHAPTER XLTHE SHORTCOMINGS AND ABSURDITIES OF MATERIALISM.

1. The Subjective and Objective in Thought 3372. The Process of Making a Unit of Body and Mind 3443. Materialists confessedly use a False Terminology 347


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10 Contents.BEO. PAGE4. Materialism finds an Antagonist in the Inflexibility of Lan-

guage 3515. Prof. Tyndall Wrestling with the Constitution of Matter 3546. Herbert Spencer's Terminology 3557. Inorganic Matter pressed into service as Organic 3568. Materialism Draws Conclusions from Unresolved Factors. . . 3599. It is pure Fiction that, Vitality and Thought are CerebralPhenomena 361

CHAPTER XII.MONISTIC PHILOSOPHY.

1. Idealistic Monism 3642. Idealists Permitted to Explain their Doctrine 3653. Idealism Actualized , 3714. The Basis of Idealism 3735. Idealism Abolishes all forms of Vitality 3756. Idealistic Arguments , 3767. Idealism is a fancy Structure, having no Internal Reality for

its Support 3788. Idealism Dependent upon Realism for Existence 3799. What is Implied in the Consciousness of Existence 380

10. Summary of the Argument. 38411. The Idea of Substance 38612. The Verdict . 387

CHAPTER XIII.THE POWER OP CONSCIENCE.

1. Method of Argumentation 3882. Conscience as a Psychological Element 3903. Functions of Conscience 3934. Practical Illustrations of the Strength and Nature of Con-

science 3965. Laws of Conscience 409

CHAPTER XIV.SENSATION, REASON, FAITH.

1. Sensation Analyzed 4142. The Sense-organs Defined 4163. Relation of the Senses to the Mind 4214. The Sphere of the Action of Reason 4245. The Moral Element in Man must be provided for 4256. The Narrowness of Materialism 4297. Faith and Spiritual Life 431

Conclusion 435


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INTRODUCTORY.AS preliminary steps to the study of any philo-sophical question, we assume that man is anintelligence; that he has a knowing capacity speciallycorrelated to truth ; that the scope and limits ofmental action can be correctly determined ; that inthe aggregate of truth a part may be known andlogically used, though much remains unknown ; and,in short, that a knowledge of one's capacity andan ability correctly to use it in the acquisition ofknowledge, and to distinguish between the know-able and unknowable, cover the entire field ofphilosophy.

In accordance with these principles, Descartes, inconsultation with his own consciousness, and feel-ing assured that he uttered what was true, said, " Co-gito "I thinkthat is to say, I am. The " I am "he regarded as substance, a self-centered something,known to itself by its own self-consciousness. Herewas being, an agent, an actor, and thought was oneof its modes of activity. The conclusion he reached,in his short argument in regard to himself, embraced


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12 Introductory.the human race. This basal truth, learned by con-sciousness, has stood the test of centuries of criticism,and still holds its place in philosophy. It has,however, often unfortunately fallen into unskillfulhands, and been greatly obscured by extraneousmatters and blind metaphysical considerations. Seenas Prof. Huxley would have us regard it, it amountsto nothing.

Locke starts with the assumption that mind exists

;

then institutes a long and laborious inquiry into theorigin of ideas. Whether he clearly perceived theground he occupied is doubtful, but it is certain that,even if he did, no one else has been so fortunate.Had he said, in three lines, that ideas are the resultsof thought, and that it is the essential nature of mindto think and frame ideas, he would have expressedthe truth in the case, and been understood. Kant's" Critique of Pure Reason" is a far greater and pro-founder work in the same line, resulting, however,because of the radical errors it contains, in greaterobscurity.

But, begin the investigation of any philosophicalquestion as we may, it is impossible to proceed atany length in any channel of thought without beingcompelled to distinguish between substance and phe-nomenacause and effect. In the conscious act ofthe being, implied in the expression I think, the ego,the substantive thinker, stands forth attended by the


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Introductory. 13phenomenon thought. Here is cause and effect. Inregard to the facts in this casefacts both of be-ing and phenomenonthere can be no mistake ; todoubt is to call in question man's capacity to know,to deny is to deny that man is an intelligence.Here we have found a clearly-defined and trust-

worthy starting-place, available in all philosophicalinvestigations. But the inquiry will be made inregard to the essence or nature of this ego, this sub-stance which thinks, What is it ? And in reply, onceand forever, we confess that we know nothing aboutit. Whatever it may be, it is at present placed be-yond the reach of human scrutiny. The veil whichthe Creator has thrown around himself, as an infinitespirit-substance, he has cast over all the substanceswhich he has made. We know no more of the essenceof an atom of carbon than we do of the essence ofthe mind or of God. We can from reason, a priori,discriminate no more the differences between an atomof carbon and an atom of nitrogen than between anangelic and a human spirit. We are familiar withmysteries, but there are none denser than that whichovershadows the nature of being of every kind andevery order.

But, does the admission that the essence of sub-stance is unknown tend, in the least degree, to discreditthe fact, or hypothesis, if you please, of its existence?If so, then all supposed existences, material, human,


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14 Introductory.and divine, are called in question. We may knowthat something is, and this knowledge may be of vastimportance, though we may not be able to determinewhat it is. The propositions are two, and we maypositively affirm the truth of the one and confessignorance in regard to the other. In his crucible thechemist often unexpectedly discovers the presence ofan unknown disturbing element; he is unable, as aconsequence, to work out results as formerly he hasdone ; he searches for the cause, and finds in thecrucible a substance of about the same specific gravityas iron, of a bluish color, very brittle, but not hard,and he gives it a name gnidliub, or somethingelse. On examination he finds he has an unchange-able and indestructible substance, possessing proper-ties and forces unlike those of any other knownsubstance, but of the essence, whose nature finds ex-pression in these properties, he knows nothing. Hisconviction that he has a thinga somethingwouldnot be increased if he knew exactly what it was andhad handled it a thousand times. His experiencewould be, in the same situation, necessarily the expe-rience of every other intelligence.

This view of the reality of substance of unknownessence harmonizes fully with all the laws of logic.Mind grasps the ideas of the properties and forcesof the substance, for they come within the range ofits powers ; it clearly grasps the fact of the exist-


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Introductory. 15ence of a something whose nature finds expressionin these properties ; and between the mind and itsunknown essence there is no collision, no contradic-tion, for the mind has no conception, not even theslightest conjecture, in regard to it.One of the fatal mistakes which Prof. B. P. Bowne

makes,* in his theory of Metaphysics, is, that our knowl-edge in regard to the nature of things is a limit tothe things themselves, so far as we are concerned

;

and as we know nothing of the nature of substance,in regard to matter he denies its existence. We maybe able to comprehend all there is in the propositionthat two and two make four, but in the proposition,Mind thinks, there is but little we can comprehendbeyondthe naked fact. Of the nature and structureof the mind we know nothing ; how it can frame athought, we have no conception ; and yet, notwith-standing these basal mysteries, we know that mindthinks. The little we are conscious of in the factcompels us to hold for true, that much more than weknow exists.Our thoughts simply define the limits of our

knowledge in regard to things, but can have nobearing upon the much or little of the things them-selves. My inability to know the essence of any sub-stance is not, therefore, any proof of its non-existence,or that it exists out of relation to my thought.

* "Metaphysics," p. 7.


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16 Introductory.If a man were sure that his mind was commen-

surate with the nature of all substance, material,ethereal, vital, mental, spiritual, angelic, and divine,he might regard his thoughts as the limits of thingsand being. But what human thought may be apriori about things is no test of their intrinsic nat-ure, of their properties, forces, or of any thing inregard to them. In this field of study every hypoth-esis, every conjecture, must be verified by experi-mental demonstration to be of any value. That agroup of uniform phenomena, continuing from ageto age, must have a basis and a cause in unchangeablesubstance, though in essence unknown, the laws ofclear thinking require us to believe.The time was, we presume, when the Creator, as

the thinking subject, conceived the idea of a universeof being ; and the things which now exist, with theirproperties and forces, may be regarded as an expres-sion of the thought which was then in the divinemind. Were man infinite in wisdom he would beable, a priori, to grasp this idea ; but, as he is finite,with a weak and sluggish capacity to know, he iscompelled to study his Creator's works, and after allis learned which a human being can understand, it isprobable that not half the letters of the alphabet ofthat divine idea are known. The human mind doesnot create nor give order to things; rather, the thingsinstruct, direct, and give order to our thoughts. The


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Introductory. 17fabric of thought can have no foundation for its sup-port but the pre-existing and permanent fabric ofnature. Should we witness " the wreck of matterand the crash, of worlds," all that we accept as itsphilosophy would go down with it. The phantasycalled Idealism would not last an hour.

Prof. Bowne says, in his Preface : " Physics isfounded upon Metaphysics/' A broader statement,and one further from truth, has seldom been made.The idea is, that things must be brought into har-mony with our thoughts without experience in regardto them. But bow little there is which strikes allminds alike ; and in the myriads of cases of differ-ence, to wbose mode of thinking must nature con-form ? If physics is to take shape and bring itselfinto harmony with all the minds which think of it, itmust be Protean indeed. But away from physics,and never having heard of such a science, what con-ception could we form of the constitution of matter ?Simply airy nothingness. We had supposed thatideas symbolized in words, in some cases represent-ed things, as that the word watch symbolizes theidea we have of a time-marking machine ; but Prof.Bowne teaches us that the idea is the basal realthetrue thingand that the watch is not substantive, butan appearance emanating from this idea ; also, thatphysical appearances have no substantial basis, butthat they emanate from the idea we have of them.


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18 Introductory.Among the least of the difficulties of this theory isthe fact, that idea and appearance do not always har-monize. We all have the idea that the sun is about800,000 miles in diameter ; but to some it is, in ap-pearance, the size of a half-bushel, to others the sizeof a cart-wheel. If possible, let us simplify andmake clear this corner-stone of Idealism. The ideaexpressed by the word gold is all the real, true goldthere is ; the yellow phantom which passes as moneyis not substance, but simply an appearance of a phys-ical expression "founded" upon a metaphysical idea.But let us inquire, Which existed first, the gold

or the idea we have of it ? Did the idea bring thegold into existence and invest it with its properties ?or did the gold, existing now as it existed beforeman was made, give form, color, and precision to ourthoughts concerning it ? Would we have had theidea had gold never existed ? How long would theidea of gold last, how much would its symbol signi-fy, and how much would it be worth in the marketsof the world, should this apparition be dissolved ?Quite as much as the philosophy which teaches suchnonsense. Take away the substantive real, and theideal vanishes like the fabric of a dream. Idealism,in ignoring the known, and in setting aside all theverdicts of common sense, conducts us into the realmof pure fancy, where we can neither positively affirmnor deny any thing ; and then, though its arguments,


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Introductory. 19as Hume says, cannot be refuted, they produce noconviction. Pure Idealism is a perfect vacuum.The phenomenal world is divided into distinct,vast, and complicated classes or groups ; these neveressentially change, nor cross the lines which separatethem from each other. A stone was never known toblossom as a rose ; a rose was never known to join inthe songs of the birds ; and a bird was never knownto reason and worship like a man. To account forthe existence of these distinct groups of phenomenawe are compelled, by the laws of logic, to postulateseparate and different substances as the base andcause of each. Each basal substance has its own dis-tinguishing properties, for it is only nonentity whichis without qualities of any kind. The properties ofany substance indicate its only possible mode of exist-ence. Substance cannot be conceived of as existingseparate from its properties and forces. It is amatter of necessity that each different substance man-ifest its own properties, put forth its own energies,and none others. Whatever of properties, forces,and energies are in matter can be brought out of it,and there its development ends. Gold cannot bebrought out of iron, for the reason that there is nonein it. In short, each substance in existence mustproduce its own phenomena, and it can produce noneother.Each substance itself is unchangeable in essence,


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20 Introductory.but as every substance is related to other substances,their forces, as the result of contact and union, aresubject to endless modifications and the developmentof vast power. Such is the origin of earthquakes,cyclones, and of all the energies and activities of thephysical world. Every substance is a self-centeredsource of energy. As substance is unchangeable, itsproperties, per se, must ever remain the same. Themodifications they experience by contact with theproperties of other things are only temporary, endingwhen the contact ceases. Oxygen, when united withhydrogen, gives us water ; united with sulphur, itgives us sulphuric acid ; then, separated from both,it appears as pure oxygen. Neither in its essencenor properties did it at any time, per se, experienceany change. Ages of such experience would leaveeach atom as they found it."We can proceed but a little way in the study of

philosophy without coming into contact with thegreat problems of life and mind ; and it was theirclaim to consideration, especially in this materialisticage, which brought the following treatise into exist-ence. The new positive philosophy has, during thepast half-century, put forth a supreme effort to provethat the matter of the chemist is the source of thevital and intellectual worlds. A vast amount oflabor has been performed in this field with no posi-tive results, and for the reason that the method of


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Introductory. 21investigation has been vicious and absurd. In thestudy of the endowment of matter arguments anddeductions are of no value whatever ; all such ques-tions can be settled only by experiment. Who byargument could have demonstrated, a priori, that ox-ygen and sulphur, by union, would produce the kingof acids ? Or that water is composed of the two kindsof matter known as oxygen and hydrogen ? All theknown facts of physics have been ascertained, not byreasoning and logic, but by repeated tests and trials.Along this line of thought proud Reason can boast ofnot a single triumph. The question, then, is : Havewe, or has the chemist, by actual, palpable experi-ment, demonstrated that life and mind are the out-come of matter ? As this has not been done, all thathas been written on the subject as argument, analogy,deduction, and inference is of no value. The ques-tion still remains one of palpable demonstration, tobe effected by experiments with the matter of thechemist.

If by experiment mental and vital results have notbeen brought out of matter, and if we have not thecourage to look in that direction for them, we shallfind ourselves compelled to regard these classes ofphenomena as having each a substantive basis of itsown. But it is very difficult for us, educated as wehave been, to think of life and mind as substances.We have so long and so uniformly associated the


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22 Introductory.idea of substance with rocks, trees, the ground, andother forms of matter, that it is hard to make theterm stand for any thing but such things as are solidand tangible. But the difficulty is not intrinsic andnecessaryit is altogether the result of habit and.custom. When we become familiar with the factthat we know no more of the substance, or of anentity of matter, than we know of ether, life, orspirit ; and that we know nothing of any kind ofbeing except as the fact of its existence is madeknown in its phenomena, we shall be as free to pos-tulate substance as the base of one order of phenom-ena as of another. The phenomena of any substanceis the snbstance present, revealed as a reality, puttingforth its energies and activities as expressions of itshidden nature. Thought, will, and feeling imply amind present and in action ; a heaving breast and abeating heart are at their base vital energies. As thefailure to prove that life and mind are the outcomeof the matter of the chemist is absolute and final, weknow of no solution of these problems which is leftto science, except the assumption that each class ofphenomena has a substantive basis of its own.

Believing, then, that man exists as a beingthathe is an intelligence, and that nature is an open vol-ume full of truth relating to him and his destinywe propose to consult its pages and wait in silencewherein its voice may be heard. A labor of love,


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Introductory. 23not a pastime of idle speculations, is before us.Themes of vast practical importance to the natureand destiny of man will come up for consideration.Though we use in the frame-work of our argumentvery common and well-known material, we shall nottread a familiar path. If the principles and laws wefind in nature we also meet again on the high planeof practical Christianity, realizing in that realm aspecial development and application, having a stillfurther onward and upward look, the supposed gulfbetween science and religion will disappear, and theunity of truth be made manifest.

If our reading of nature be correct, it will be validfor all time to come, for its laws will not change.The following presentation of our line of thoughtmay be as rough and crude as the gold-bearing quartzquarried from the mountain, and it may be necessaryfor others of far better qualifications to take it upand separate the precious metal from the dross ; buteven in that case we shall feel that we brought thegold to light, and have not written in vain.The ground over which we propose to conduct the

reader we have thus briefly indicated. We shall aimespecially to leave Materialism a wreck and a ruinbehind us, and make conspicuous the truth that this,primarily, is a vital world. We shall touch Idealismonly as it intrusively crosses our pathway. Specu-lative philosophymostly a mere waking dreamwe


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24 Introductory.shall strive to shun, and if at all we enter the realmof metaphysics, it will be to bring it down withinreach of common sense, and chain it more closely tothe palpable facts of nature. Our argument we sub-mit to the critic, nor care how savagely he handlesit, providing only he uses his knife in the interestsof truth. Our purpose in writing we commend tosuch as are thoughtful, perplexed, and despondentin regard to the nature and destiny of man.


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MATTER, LIFE, AND MIND.CHAPTEE I.

THE MATTER OR STUFF WROUGHT INTO ORGANICBODIES.

" If we look at matter as pictured by Democritus, and as definedfor generations in our scientific text-books, the notion of consciouslife coming out of it cannot be formed by the human mind." Prop.John Tyndall. v

1. The constitution of Matter.E enter upon the study of Matter, not for thepurpose of understanding its constitution for ;

its own sake, but to ascertain if Life, as Materialismassumes, is one of its properties.We conceive Matter, as we know it, to be anaggregation of reals, the product of infinite Wisdom,absolutely good in itself, and perfectly adapted tothe ends of its existence. As much by the wealthof its properties as by the depth of its mysteries, itcarries us to the borders of the infinite unknown onwhich it laps, and any words of opprobrium castupon it we regard as reflections upon its Maker. Inthe phenomenal world there is such an unfolding ofits properties, so much is known and so much con-


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26 Matter, Life, and Mind.cealed, that the constitution of Matter must everremain a problem of thrilling interest.By the use of the atomic theory and the principle

of classification, it will not be difficult to form a cor-rect idea of all the known Matter of this globe ; andthen it will be short work to select from the massand characterize the kinds which nature uses in thestructure of organic bodies.

"We adopt the Atomic Theory of Matter as insome form rigorously true, and as affording the onlylogical conception we can form of its constitution ;but whether true or not, it is the only theory onwhich a scientific statement of the material universecan be made.-At present chemical analyses yields sixty-five differ-

ent kinds of elemental atoms, and it is probable thatfuture discoveries will increase the number, but notlargely, as we are quite as likely to find new orbs inspace as to discover new kinds of matter in the globe.An atom of oxygen represents fully one half of all

known Matter; an atom of silicon, one fourth; anatom of aluminium, magnesium, and calcium, oneeighth ; an atom of potassium, sodium, iron, and car-bon, one twentieth ; an atom of sulphur, hydrogen,chlorine, and nitrogen, one fortieth ; and the remain-ing elements, fifty-four in number, compose aboutone twentieth part of the Matter of the globe.Thus all known Matter is epitomized by some sixty-

five elemental atoms, billions of which brought to-


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The Matter of Organic Bodies. 27gether form a mass less in size than a pincli ofsnuff.

Persistent efforts have been made to demonstratethat all Matter is composed of one substance, hydro-gen, but such attempts to accomplish the absurdmust be regarded simply as freaks of the scientist,or as a spurious figment of a restless human brain.A disposition to simplify and make easy the prob-lems of Nature may have inspired these speculations

;

but the hypothesis has not a fact for its support

;

rather all the facts connected with the constitution ofmatter look in the opposite direction.

In its meditations upon Matter, the mindeven themind of the idealistcan find no resting-place ex-cept in an intellectual discernment of its primaryatoms, or in imaginary points, which it substitutesfor them. With our present knowledge all parties andcreeds find that in the study of physics the practicaladoption of the atomic theory is a matter of necessity.The present arrangement of the elements in chem-

istry into monads, dyads, triads, tetrads, pentrads, andhexads, is based upon the reality and unchangeable-ness of the atoms.Although vast strides have been made during the

past quarter of a century in the study of physics, everystep, every revolution, has strengthened the atomictheory. It is, in fact, the key to the constitution ofMatter.An elemental atom may be defined as a simple,


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28 Matter, Life, and Mind.utimate, indivisible, unchangeable, self-centered, in-destructible substance, subject to the law of affinityand gravitation, and only one of which can occupythe same space at the same time.The ultimate atoms are so small that they remain

invisible, even when magnified two thousand diam-eters. Prof. Huxley thinks that an atom, if it could bemeasured, is less than the millionth part of an inch indiameter. The mind may be incapable of forming adefinite conception of any thing so small, neverthe-less, it has no trouble in grasping the fact, as it graspsother incomprehensible facts.We have seen above that the universe is known to

contain sixty-five different kinds of elemental atoms,and that they represent sixty-five kinds of Matter, orall the known Matter of the globe. Each kind ofMatter is wholly unlike all other kinds. Each atomin essence is the same as all others of that kind. Noone atom can be changed or transmuted into another,for that process would imply both the destructibilityand creation of Matter.

2. Our ignorance of the origin and essence of Matter.Of the nature or essence of substance we know

absolutely nothing ; the fact of its existence, not-withstanding the mysteries of its being, the mind is,however, compelled to admit. The Idealist substi-tutes for atoms mathematical points, which are un-substantial, and holds that the solid, extended, and


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The Matter of Organic Bodies. 29ponderable mass is an illusion ; a nothing derivedfrom nothing ; an appearance where nothing appears.The vulgar believe that when the burning wood inthe stove is consumed it is destroyed, annihilated,gone to nothing ; the idealists hold that it came fromnothing and is nothing. The two parties are not farapart, and we will allow them to settle their littledifference between themselves.

It is possible that the spectroscope may yet beso improved, or an instrument devised, as to enableour coarse senses to detect the presence of singleatoms. This power we are anxious to see displayed,and possibly it may be lodged in a sunbeam. As thecase now stands the presence of an atom can beknown only as it forms in part a molecule or a mass.So attenuated is Matter in its primal state that aglobe of atoms isolated by intense heat would be in-visible to the eye, and perhaps insensuous to thetouch.

It is probable that our globe began its history, longages ago, as an immense cloud, composed mostly ofoxygen and hydrogen, thrown off from the sun.Similar nebulous substances of all magnitudessomeof immense sizemay be seen any cloudless night indifferent parts of the sky. Space is not the infinitevacuum it was once supposed to be. Every Augustand November the earth passes through a river ofmeteoric substances which sweep around the sun

;

and every day and every night in the year it draws to


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30 Matter, Life, and Mind.itself more or less of the loose floating Matter, dis-persed throughout space.As this primal oxygenous cloud, occupying im-

mense space between the orbits of Venus and Mars,swept around the Sun, its attractive force drew to itsfirm embrace every atom of every element it foundin its pathway, the atoms it encountered being, likeitself, in an elemental condition. At first the oxygenunited with silicon, and a white sand was formed, andthen the rocks ; it united with hydrogen, and a hotvapor appeared ; it united with iron, and the accumu-lation of this metal commenced; and thus, in thecourse of great cycles of time, the oxygen cloud grewinto the consistency of the earth, as we see it to-day.Nor are our planetary heavens yet swept entirely

clean of loose fragmentary Matter. Meteorites aredrawn under the earth's influence all along; its path-way around the Sun, and many of them which strikethe earth, and thus add to its magnitude, weighthousands of pounds. The matter of sundered andlost comets is scattered and moving in space, no mancan tell whither.But the foreign substances brought to the earth

have added, during the past thousand years, iron,sulphur, nickel, oxygen, and such other Matter as italready possesses, having the same properties andobeying the same laws, but not a new element hasbeen produced. The Matter of our chemists appearsto be the Matter of the universe.


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The Matter of Organic Bodies. 31It then may be accepted as an undoubted fact, that

all the Matter now composing this globe was once ina gaseous state, and that in the form of an immenseelongated cloud, or in the form of Thompson's " vor-tex rings " of fire-mist, it swept around the Sun.Each atom then possessed the full complement ofproperties and forces received in creation, andthrough all the ages which have since passed away,the innumerable changes of combination they haveexperienced have not wrought the slightest change intheir essence or properties.The properties of Matter are the natural and nec-

essary expression of the forces which inhere in itsnature, and change or destruction of propertieswould imply the annihilation of the essence itself,which is unthinkable. Too great emphasis cannot beplaced upon the fixity of Matter, the stability of itsproperties, and the uniformity of its action ; as a lia-bility to change would render a knowledge of Matterimpossible.The least change in the oxygen, silicon, nitrogen,

hydrogen, carbon, or any one of the abundant ele-ments, would change the constitution of the globeitself, and render it unfit to be the place of man'shabitation.

It is probable that other elemental substances mayyet be found, or that some substance, now regardedas elementary, may be broken up into simpler ele-ments, but such discovery would not aifect the


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32 Ma.ttek, Life, and Mind.questions under discussion. The properties of Mat-ter are the same whether the elementary substancesare sixty-five, or any other number. Or should rea-sons ever be found for rejecting the Atomic Theoryof Matter, our estimate of its properties and forceswould not in any manner be affected thereby.The Atomic Theory of Matter is made a practicalnecessity in the study of Physics, fully recognized by

all classes of investigators, because,1. No kind of Matter is known except such as

elemental atoms represent.2. All masses of Matter are composed of discrete

parts, space intervening between the atoms.*3. Chemistry has demonstrated that the atoms of

different elements are of determinate specificweight.

4. It is susceptible of proof that the atom is a cen-ter of force.

5. The Atomic Theory gives us stable things andreal entities as facts to start with in the study of theproperties and forces of Matter. It enables us toknow at every step in the investigation exactly whatwe are dealing with and what to depend upon.

6. Discard the Atomic Theory, and Matter is asubject which defies both definition and intelligentinvestigation. Chemistry deals with atoms, theirproperties, forces, and relations, as Astronomy does

* In the expansion of a body the space between the atoms is in-creased, in contraction it is lessened ; atoms, per se, do not change.


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The Matter of Organic Bodies. 33with heavenly bodies and the laws by which they aregoverned.

7. The theory harmonizes and sums up the discov-eries made by Dalton, Kichter, Gay-Lussac, Avogardo,Ampere, Sir William Thompson, and Clerk Maxwellin regard to the constitution of Matter.

8. Since the time of Dalton it has served allclasses of investigators as an unerring guide in thestudy of Matter, and in no instance has it led themastray.

9. Discard the Atomic Theory, and there is noth-ing left us but the mathematical points of the Idealist,and then we have nothing. The existence of Matteras substance is denied, and the word nihilism shouldbe substituted for knowledge. 3. T/ie kinds ofMatter which compose Organic Bodies.The Matter principally used in the structure of

organisms, both vegetable and animal, are oxygen,hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, sulphur, and phosphor-us. In some cases Nature appropriates the followingelements, but more sparingly, namely : chlorine, bro-mine, iodine, iron, potassium, sodium, calcium, mag-nesium, silicon, zinc, copper, mercury, and arsenic.

Let us carefully examine these substances, each byitself, and detect, if possible, any property or forcethey may contain, vital or otherwise, which will causethem to assume the form of organic bodies, eitheranimal or vegetable.


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34 Matter, Life, and Mind.Let it be borne in mind that, whatever changes

may result from mixing or compounding the atoms.no change can be wrought in the essence or natureof the elements themselves. The union of differentelements may modify endlessly their forces, but in nocase can the substance itself be changed or its proper-ties altered. Every atom of Matter is now what itever has been through all the ages of the past, andmust ever remain the same, or cease to be.

Oxygen, a colorless gas, constitutes, as we haveseen, one half the Matter of the globe. It seems tobe equally abundant in the sun, stars, and planets.Mixed with nitrogen, it gives us the air we breathe

;

united with water, eight parts of oxygen to one ofhydrogen, it gives us the waters of the globe.Neither air nor water seem to possess a trace of thenature of the elements of which they are composed.The forces of the individual elements seem, for thetime being, to be destroyed by the modifying effectswhich the one element has upon the other. Oxygenis incombustible, yet necessary to combustion. With-out it animal life cannot exist. It possesses an ener-getic tendency to unite, when the conditions aresuitable, with all other elements except fluorine.United with carbon it forms a gas, and in this con-dition immense quantities float in the air and serve asfood for the vegetable world. In the formation ofcoal, the atmosphere was comparatively impoverishedby the removal of its carbon ; but by this means


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The Matter of Organic Bodies. 35earth was fitted to be the place of man's habitation.Yegetation appropriates the carbon and rejects theoxygen. Oxygen slowly unites with iron, formingrust ; it unites with carbon and hydrogen, formingalcohol ; with sulphur it forms sulphurous acid ; withsulphur and hydrogen it forms the oil of vitriol ; andwith chlorine forms chlorotic aeid. With silicon itunites, forming a white sand and quartz ; and really itis the mightiest and most generally pervading ma-terial force of the globe.* Its abundance, and thescope of its endowments, make it a king in the realmof Matter; and its presence, far more than all theother elements combined, causes the earth, the rocks,the air, and the waters of the globe to be as we findthem.Hydrogen is an abundant, colorless, transparent,

and odorless gas. Its atoms are the smallest andlightest of known substances. In attempts to liquefyit by heavy pressure, it has found ite way throughiron cylinders four inches in thickness. If breathedmore than a moment or so, it destroys animal life,md yet, as an element, it enters largely into the com-position of all bodies, animal and vegetable. It formsa ninth of the waters of the globe ; is about a tenthpart of the substance of the human body ; and entersother animal organisms. Before coal oil was manu-

* When we come to speak particularly of the structure of organismsthe peculiarities of this element will be called up for further consid-eration,


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36 Matter, Life, and Mind.factured balloons were filled with this gas, it beingmore than fourteen times lighter than the air. Itsprincipal compound is water, though it unites reluct-antly with nitrogen, forming ammonia, and with someother substances. In the processes and changes causedby evaporation, it becomes freely mixed at a low tem-perature with oxygen to no effect. This condition ofthings may continue indefinitely, and not a drop ofwater be formed. It is often that many square milesof space in the heavens are thus occupied by thesegases. But when penetrated by a flash of lightningfrom a passing cloud a union of the atoms instantlytakes place, the molecules aggregate into drops, andthe deluging rain falls upon the earth. The concen-trated gases tend to create an immense vacuum inthe heavens, and the inrushing of the atmosphere tofill the space makes upon the ear the impression ofdetonating thunder.Hydrogen unites with carbon, forming a great

variety of oleaginous compounds, and is largely usedin the structure of all organic bodies.

Nitrogen, in appearance, cannot be distinguishedfrom oxygen, yet its properties are the direct oppo-site. What there is in the essense of the one elementto cause it to differ so radically from the other, nomortal mind can even conjecture. Nitrogen destroyscombustion, and is fatal to animal life ; yet, mixedwith oxygen, it constitutes three fifths of the air webreathe. The reluctance with which this gas unites


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The Matter of Organic Bodies. 37with other substances gives to gun-powder, nitro-glycerine,- gun-cotton, and some other substancestheir explosive power. On the least provocationnitrogen lets go its slight hold upon the other ele-ments, and then, in an instant, they demand as gasesperhaps a hundred thousand times the room theyneeded as solids or liquids. The disintegrating forcesof Nature are mostly found in nitrogen. In thegrowth of organic bodies, animal life, far morefreely than vegetable, makes use of this substance.

Carbon takes rank as one of the abundant substancesof the material world. In a pure state it is neverfound only as a solid. If kept away from oxygen,the most intense heat yet applied makes no sensibleimpression upon it. Carbon assumes many forms.It is the coal of wood, after the other substances havebeen burned away ; it is the sooty substance whichaccumulates on the wick of an unsnuffed candle ; it isplumbago, or black-lead, the substance our pencilsare made of ; the deposits of coal found in all parts ofthe earth, when pure, are the carbon of ruined forestsof vegetation ; and the precious diamond is nothingbut carbon crystallized. Both the vegetable and an-imal worlds are largely indebted to this substance forthe Matter of their organisms. Carbon readily uniteswith oxygen, forming carbonic acid, a gas of extremeimportance in the organic world. "Without it neithervegetable nor animal structures could be formed.It has been estimated by Prof. Mivart that every


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38 Matter, Life, and Mind.square mile of the earth's surface contains as much asthree hundred and seventy-one thousand four hundredand seventy-five tons of carbon in a gaseous state.The four elements now characterized constitute

mostly the substance of protoplasm./Silicon, next to oxygen, is the most abundant of the

elements, constituting about one fourth the matter ofthe globe. It is never found perfectly pure, butalways in alliance with oxygen, for which it has astrong affinity. This compound is called silica, ofwhich white sand, white pebbles, quartz, and flint aregood specimens. Silicon has an affinity for carbon,calcium, and many other substances. It is the rock-builder of the globe ; and were not its power, to a largeextent, neutralized by the disintegrating force of nitro-gen, the globe would long since have been solid rock.

/Sulphur, in Iceland, Sicily, and other volcaniccountries, is often found in its pure elemental state.In other localities it occurs in combination with car-bon, zinc, coal, copper, and other metals. Sulphur isa well-known yellow solid, and possesses many pecul-iarities. At a certain temperature it is always in acrystalline condition. Its weight is just double thatof oxygen, and it is the base of the strongest acidknown to Nature. It is used only sparingly in thestructure of organic bodies.

Chlorine is one of the abundant, energetic, and use-ful elements. It is never found pure, and yet it issomewhat careful of the company it keeps. It is a


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The Matter of Organic Bodies. 39greenish-yellow gas of an irritating and disagreeableodor. It is a heavy substance, and has an energeticaffinity for some of the metals. It is the powerfulbleaching agent of civilization, but is more univers-ally known as one of the components of commonsalt ; salt being the chloride of sodium.Iron is an element so well-known that it requires

no description in this place. In animal structures itconstitutes an important portion of the blood. 'Magnesium may be found in immense quantities in

sea-water, and in combination with lime and carbonicacid. United with oxygen it forms the magnesia ofcommerce and medicine.Aluminium is an abundant element, and may be

found in clay and slate ; it combines with siliconand potassium in the formation of feldspar, andis an essential ingredient of granite, gneiss, and por-phyry. The ruby, one of the most valuable of theprecious stones, is a crystallization of aluminium andoxygen.

Potassium is a metal which constitutes an impor-tant part of quartz rocks, and is the base of all sodasand baking preparations. It is the potash or alkaliof Nature. Man has no means of extracting thismetal in large quantities from the azoic rocks, wherefor ages it has been locked up. Vegetation, however,will draw the treasure forth, and we obtain it fromthe ashes of burned wood. This element gives to allalkalies their peculiar properties. In both the vege-


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40 Matter, Life, and Mind.table and animal kingdoms it plays an importantpart.Sodium, a component part of common salt, is foundin all parts of the earth. Its presence gives characterto the great Salt Lake of Utah. Immense beds ofrock-salt are found in different parts of the earth.The most remarkable are in Poland, Bohemia, andSpain. The bed in Poland is five hundred miles long,twenty miles broad, and twelve hundred feet deep.The bed at Cordova, Spain, is a mountain of salt, fivehundred feet high, and the salt is of the purestquality. Where these saline deposits now are, therewere once deep depressions in the earth contiguousto a salt sea, and at high tides they were floodedwith salt-water. During long ages, as the waterevaporated the salt was precipitated to the bottom,till it filled the depressions.

Calcium is a light, yellow metal, which quicklyoxidizes in the air. Common lime is the oxide ofcalcium. The marble, chalk, and limestone forma-tions of the globe are largely composed of this sub-stance. It enters into the structure of animal organ-isms as bones, and the shells of mollusks are mostlycomposed of it.Arsenic is a non-metallic substance of a steel-gray

color, and, when free from tarnish, is of a brilliantluster. It is sometimes found pure, but oftenercombined with silver, iron, nickel, cobalt, antimony,and sulphur. It is a very brittle substance, and may


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The Matter of Organic Bodies. 41easily be vaporized. Taken into the stomach in suf-ficient quantity it destroys animal life. It is spar-ingly used in the structure of organic bodies.

Iodine is obtained from the ashes of sea-weed, andusually occurs in crystals and scales. It is a bluish-black solid, and has a metallic luster. It has an acridodor and taste, and though a deadly poison, it is madeavailable as a medicine. In its pure state the smallestquantity colors starch blue. At a moderate heatiodine is vaporized. Chemistry has never detected itspresence in animal organisms. In sea-weeds it isabundant.Phosphorus is a yellowish, semi-transparent solid,

resembling wax. In its native state it is found dif-fused throughout the older rocks. As by the actionof the elements these rocks are disintegrated, it goesto the formation of soil, and its presence adds greatlyto its fertility. Thus it becomes available for thestructure of vegetable organisms. From the vegeta-ble it is transferred to animal bodies, and we obtain itmostly from seeds and bones. It is never found pure,but combined with oxygen and calcium. So great isits affinity for oxygen, that the friction of an icicle orthe elevation of the temperature a little above themelting point will cause it to take fire, and then itburns with great energy. Without phosphorus or-ganic bodies would experience but a slow anddwarfed development.We have now noticed and characterized with sufll-


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42 Matter, Lite, and Mind.cient clearness, we hope, all the kinds of Matter whichNature uses in the structure of both vegetable and ani-mal bodies. Thirteen of the elements noticed composeat least thirty-nine fortieths of the Matter of the globe,and the first four of the number not less than ninetenths of the Matter of all organic bodies. Gold, sil-ver, copper, tin, and the other elements not mentioned,have no place in vital structures. Thus it appearsthat Matter has no peculiar mysteries, contains no se-cret power, and that the most active and energetickinds of Matter are those which are the most com-mon and abundant. The ground, the stones by theway-side, the air, and the running brook, we may say,constitute Nature's inner sanctuary, if it have any.

4. Tlte sway of Oxygen over other kinds of Matter.Oxygen is found every-where. There is scarcely a

metal, mineral, or gas with which it is not combined.In granite and in all the older rocks immense quanti-ties of it have remained tixed for ages. It is asabundant thousands of feet down in the bowels of theearth as on the surface ; and the tops of the highestmountains, in the form of snow and ice and air, areburdened by its weight. As an energetic and ever-active element, whatever it has power to do, it accom-plishes openly before our eyes.

In its universal diffusion, does oxygen display anability, or the least tendency, to generate either veg-etal or animal life ? Many facts clearly indicate that,


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The Matter of Organic Bodies. 43in the inconceivably remote past, all the Matter ofthis globe was in a state of igneous fusion : also,that at a period still more remote, it was in its ele-mental statewhen, as a gaseous globe, its diameterwas some thousands of times greater than now,in this atomic fire-mist a war of elements raged,which, in force and fury, were what we see on asmall scale in the cyclones of flame which now fre-quently take place in the Sun. Such is the nature ofoxygen, that in the laboratory, at a certain tempera-ture, it will devour steel and the diamond as if theywere but paper. The burning of a city, amid a tor-nado of wind and name, is but the unrestrained actionof oxygen upon the buildings. Its affinity for someelements is much stronger than for others ; and thisnecessitates the breaking up of old alliances and theformation of new ones. The stronger alliances werefirst formed in the structure of the granite rocks.At the same time immense quantities of oxygen andhydrogen united, amid the play of lightnings aadthunders that shook the earth's mass, and enshroudedthe globe with burning vapor ; other quantitiesunited with carbon, forming a gas which constituteda large part of the lower atmosphere ; and still otherportions sought alliances with calcium, magnesium,and all the other elements, except fluorine.

It was under such a condition of things that theglobe became impregnated with oxygen ; and can theacutest observer detect the slightest tendency on its


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44 Matter, Life, and Mind.part to generate life, or to work Matter into organicbodies ? In the primitive action of Matter, the nearestapproach its forces could make to the generation oflife would be effected by the fury of warring flames.Under the sway of the unvarying laws of its being,

each part of Nature accomplishes the purpose theCreator intended. In the formation of water by theunion of oxygen and hydrogen we witness the obe-dience of these elements to a divine command. Theoxygen now in the atmosphere is not the accident-al remainder, the mere surplusage which was left,after every thing else was supplied. Nitrogen, hav-ing but the slightest affinity for any thing, was al-lowed to float freely anywhere, and as a result ouratmosphere is composed mostly of a mixture of oxy-gen and nitrogen. Apparently we have the nitrogenbecause nothing else will have it ; we have the oxy-gen because every thing else has a full supply, andthere is an abundance left for us. This even bal-ancing of forces is the result of many complications,and the thousands of daily changes which occur donot disturb their equilibrium, indicating that a pre-siding will exists somewhere.

Professor Miller makes the following estimate ofthe elements of the atmosphere :Oxygen 1,233,010 billions of tons.Nitrogen 3,994,593 " "Carbonic acid 5,287 " ""Watery vapor 54,460 " "


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The Matter of Organic Bodies. 45

5. A Non-vital Globe, or the reign of mere Matter.Let us now divest our minds of all conceptions of

Life and organic structures, and look upon the globeas a mass of mere Matter. Let mid-ocean and ice-locked islands, and deserts of sand and rock, every-where prevail. The idea is not new, for astronomersteach us that the moon is such a rocky, cheerless orb.Were it not for the presence of Life earth would pre-sent a barren, desolate waste, in which an imaginaryspectator might witness the play of earthquakes, vol-canoes, hurricanes, and storms ; rivers might run andbillows roll ; there might be bleak mountains anddesolate valleys ; but such a world would be without aflower, without a bird, and without a living thing.We have been too long familiar with the varietiesand beauties of organic bodies to be astonished attheir presence, or to be able to realize the desolationsof their absence. If the Mind, however, could bewholly occupied with mere Matter and its forces, theappearance of a spire of grass or of a flower wouldstrike it as the marvel of marvels. Were our eyesfamiliar only with the desert, how would the appear-ance of the fleet-footed antelope, or the swoop of aneagle, or the song of the nightingale, or the marchingof an army of men, impress us ? The wonder wouldbe, what had put together and into shape such massesof Matter ; the still higher wonder would be, their ac-tivity, A tree standing in such a waste, or a rose


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46 Matter, Life, and Mind.blooming there, would be regarded as a miraculousphenomenon.The idea that the waters, the rocks, the dirt, or the

sand had worked themselves up into the flower, orthe eagle, or the tree, could not be embraced as a truthby the human Mind. An angel brought out of ablock of marble, as a sample of skill, is not to becompared to the structure of a flower or of the hum-blest worm.

6. The Sway of Life on Earth.Whence, then, came this organic world, composed

of vegetable and animal structures, with which we areso familiar? The organic bodies which have existedin the past, and which now exist, in number and va-riety surpass human comprehension. A considerableportion of the earth's surface is formed of the remainsof the dead, and still earth, air, and the waters swarmwith living existences. Many islands of the sea, andthousands of miles of sea-coast and promontory, arebut the remains of the coral and shell-fish. Much ofthe Matter of the globe has been incorporated in dif-ferent organisms scores, and probably thousands, oftimes; and the intercourse and commerce which isgoing on between the organic and the inorganicworld has been immense and long continued.

It has been estimated by Prof. Faraday that, to meetthe demands of the vital or organic world, not lessthan a million billion tons of inorganic Matter are


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The Matter of Organic Bodies. 47annually consumed ; that is, wrought into organicbodies, and probably half that amount is given backto the inorganic world again. The commerce betweeninorganic and organic nature, exceeding by far theexchanges of all nations, prevents the equilibrium ofthe elements, fixity, and death. Take Life away fromthe earth, and the forces remaining, such as heat, af-finity, winds, waves, electricity, and earthquakes,would not be sufficient to save it from the reign ofuniversal inertia.What, then, we again demand, is the cause of this

organic world ? Bishop Randolph S. Foster writescarelessly when he says : " A grain of sand and adrop of water are organic bodies." The fact is, anorganism is a structure that lives ; it is either animalor vegetal, and possesses at least the organ of assimi-lation. Man's body is the most complicated of or-ganic bodies, counting his nerve-centers, veins, arter-ies, and all other distinct parts, his body is composedof millions of distinct organs ; and it is easier to ex-plore a continent as is generally done by travelersthan thoroughly examine the human body. A perfectknowledge of the organic world 'implies the masteryof botany, chemistry, anatomy, physiology, and nat-ural history; and a life-time is not long enough forany man to acquire this wisdom. Study a world ofmere Matter, study it long and well, till the Mind isfilled with it and the conception clear ; then enter theworld of Mind and Life and organic bodies, and the


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48 Mattek, Life, and Mind.conviction will press home with overwhelming forcethat something more than Matter has come withinthe range of vision.

7. The Achievements of Matter.But let us give to Matter a fair show ; let us look

closely into its endowments, and, if possible, detectvitality there as one of its forces. The mode of Be-ing peculiar to Matter is that of manifestation, andnot concealment. If Matter is vital, we shall be gladto see it demonstrate the fact by working itself intoan organic body, or in some way submitting to ourobservation vital phenomena. The motions we wit-ness of suns, stars, and planetsthe shrinkage andsettling of the earth's crust, beautifying its surfacewith mountains and valleysthe shock of earth-quakes and the heaving of volcanoesthe rush oftornadoes and the flash of lightnings, falling torrentsand rushing riversthe forces of light, heat, andelectricitythe attractions and repulsions of atoms,are proofs that in this world of Matter there are forcesat work whose greatness and delicacy are inconceiv-able except by the Infinite Mind.

Prof. Faraday estimates that eight thousand mill-ion pounds of oxygen are required daily for the useof men and animals, and for the purposes of combus-tion, fermentation, and decay. Other kinds of Matterin their sphere are equally active when the conditionsare suitable. We are free to admit that the forces of


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The Matter of Organic Bodies. 49material nature, in number, variety, and strength, arepractically infinite. The forces of attraction and re-pulsion, of friction and resistance, are ever at workamong- the free elements, and between masses ofMatter extending to all the orbs in space, assumingunder different circumstances the aspects of light,heat, electricity, magnetism, galvanism ; and not un-frequently the war of elements is terrible, shakingheaven and earth. The forces of the atoms inmasses of Matter, here and there, may so perfectlybalance each other that they will be passive or inert,but it is folly to ascribe to Matter as a whole, inert-ness as a quality. The changes and commotions ofthe Matter of the globe result from the action andcollision of contrary forces, and should these forcesfind rest in a state of equilibrium, Nature, figurativelyspeaking, would be dead.But do the forces of Matter ever manifest the least

tendency to build up organic structures, or in anyway manifest vitality as a property? These arequestions of fact, not argument, and the Materialist,to hold his ground, must exhibit the self-organizingpower of Matter.

Silicon is ever at work to reduce every thing ittouches to solid rock, and nitrogen is just as busy todissolve and reduce every thing it touches to theirelemental condition. Neither element, however, mani-fests any tendency to work itself or any other substanceinto an organic body. Oxygen readily unites with all


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50 Matter, Life, and Mind.substances which enter into vegetal and animal bodies ;but with nitrogen it gives us only the air ; with hydro-gen, water ; with carbon, an acid ; with iron, rust

;

with iron and hydrogen, a jelly-like substance, the per-oxide of iron ; and this is its highest achievement.

Elements, when compounded, develop peculiarproperties. We cannot use oxygen and hydrogenas a substitute for water, nor chlorine and sodiumfor salt. The compounds, water, carbonic acid, anda variety of other substances into which enter eitheriron, calcium, or silicon, as component parts, arephysical provisions demanded by the necessities ofboth the animal and vegetal world ; but these com-pounds are no nearer organic structures than were theelemental atoms.The atoms of carbon may be so united as to form

in one case charcoal, in another black-lead, in anotherlamp-black, in another the diamond ; but in no casean organism, nor any approach to it.

Stranger still, hydrogen and carbon, in exactly thesame percentage, may be so united that the new com-posite will possess the properties of the essential oilsof roses, of bergamot, orange, lemon, lavender, tur-pentine, rosemary, nutmeg, myrtle, and peppermint

;

but in all this strange development of force by adifferent arrangement of the atoms of the same ele-ments, not the least approach is made to an organism.

Let us glance at the action and reaction of morecomplicated compounds, and see if organic structures


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The Matter of Organic Bodies. 51are not still within the reach of Matter. Nitrogenwill unite with silver and oxygen, forming nitrate ofsilver; hydrogen will unite with chlorine, forminghydro-chloric acid ; now we have five elements andtwo compounds ; let us put the compounds togetherand see if an organism of some kinda " cell " or a" calf "will not be the product of the forces of Mat-ter. We find that the chlorine of the hydro-chloric aciddivorces itself from the hydrogen and unites with thesilver, which, severing its connection with the nitro-gen, produces chloride of silver; and the hydrogenof the hydro-chloric acid unites with the discardednitrogen and with the oxygen of the nitrate of silverand forms nitric acid. Our original compounds havemutually destroyed each other, and two new oneshave taken their place ; but we are as far from theliving cell, or from any organism, as when we com-menced.The above-described action and interaction of dif-

ferent kinds of Matter may be taken as samples ofthe innumerable combinations and recombinationswhich for ages have been going on in Nature's vastlaboratory ; the forces of light, heat, electricity, af-finity, and repulsion have been developed ; but in noinstance has been produced any kind of a livingthing.Does not the study of the different kinds of Matter

suggest the idea that it was not made for itselfthatthere must be something else somewhere to which it


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52 Matter, Life, and Mind.is correlated ? What object of moment can pureMatter itself accomplish ? Can the ruby present anyvalue or beauty to the diamond ? "What part ofmaterial Nature is benefited by the coal and oil de-posits found in the earth ? Are they correlated tothe beds and mountains of salt found in differentplaces ? Does gold exist for the sake of iron ? or forthe benefit of any other kind of Matter ? Is the airmade for the water or the water for the air ? Whyare circuits given to the winds? that they may smitethe sea, and lash it into foam and billows? Is itfor the sake of rocks and sands that the dews andrains fall ? Is winter a revenge on the warmth ofsummer? If this is a world of mere Matter, andMatter exists solely for itself, who is wise enough toread the unlettered and voiceless volume and point outits meaning, as a whole or in correlated parts ?

8. The Forces and Scope of Matter Limited.The study of Matter simply as Matter, and the

relation of one element to another, can have nothingfor its aim and end but physical relations and phys-ical force ; and in such a line of thought vitalityshould not be thought of. The sum of the new phi-losophy is embraced in what may be known of Matterand its forces. Prof. Emil Dubois Raymond con-fesses as much. I quote his words :

"Natural science is a reduction of the changes inthe material world to motions of atoms caused by cen-


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The Matter of Organic Bodies. 53tral forces independent of time, or a resolution of thephenomenon of Nature into Atomic Mechanics. Theresolution of all changes in the material world intomotions of atoms, caused by their constant centralforces, would be the completion of natural science."Raymond is as bold as he is honest. "Atomic

Mechanics " embraces the entire circle of naturalscience, according to this high authority. When,therefore, Materialists approach the organic world,their tirst business should be to demonstrate, by ex-periment, that vitality is the outcome of "Atomic Me-chanics ; " and until this is done they have no rightto touch the sciences of Biology or Psychology. Theyfirst limit natural science to Matterto the "motionsof the central forces of the atoms "a field of observa-tion in which no trace of life has ever appeared, andwith such elements as their only data they discuss thehighest problems of Life, Mind, and DestinyNow, if vitality is a property of Matter, the palpable

fact is capable of unquestionable demonstration ; andthis is the starting-point in the argument, and wedemand it of the Materialist, or, if he is incapableof furnishing the sensible proof, we enjoin silenceupon him. Yolume has followed volume developingand illustrating the philosophy of Mr. Spencer, whichis built upon the hypothesis that Matter, pure andsimple, has worked itself into the organic and intel-lectual worlds. Of this vast display of Matter spring-ing into Life, it is our right to witness some little


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54 Matter. Life, and Mind.part. Let it be clone in the presence of a competentjury, and thus end the controversy. A few lines fromMr. Spencer, instructing us in the art of spinning ahair or constructing a mustard-seed, would be worthmore than all the volumes he has written. Value isattached to a mine when the quartz-rock yields goldin paying quantities, but till then it will be folly tothrow its stock upon the market, for it will find nopurchasers. Tested by the same principle, Mate-rialistic Science, as the case now stands, is worth-lessyes, it is a sham and a fraudin so far as ittouches the question of Life, Mind, and the OrganicWorld. It is a mine from which no thought, or fact,or truth has ever been extracted which forms anelement in the vital world, Materialists themselvesbeing judges.We, therefore, repeat with emphasis, that until the

Materialist can palpably demonstrate that all kindsof Life, and the highest form of Intellectuality, are thesure outcome of pure Matter, he is not entitled to beheard on any question connected with the Organic orRational World. In these departments of truth he isan interloper an officious intermeddler. His hy-pothesis is a universe of Matter, and by its demon-strable properties and forcesby the " mechanism ofits atoms"let him abide.The question before us does not relate to any form

of Speculative Philosophy; it is a question of palpablefact, recognized, as such, by every attempt made to


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The Matter of Organic Bodies. 55produce spontaneous generation. Vitality is, or it isnot, one of the properties of Matter. Matter can, orit cannot, work itself into an organic body, plant oranimal. These are the crucial facts of the case,and the testimony of all Nature, through all knowntime, is against Materialism, and its champions arecompelled to confess it.As the essence of Matter is unchangeable, it is but

a weak and convenient dodge to say, that though Lifeand Matter are now separated in Nature by an impass-able gulf, such was not always the case, nor will itforever continue. Not a fact nor an analogy inNature can be brought forward in proof of such anassertion. Our argument and demand are now be-fore the Materialist, and both can be met at the sametime and in the same way. No words of speculation,nor even the prophecies of the Materialist, will meetthe case; as a question of fact, it must have fact forits support.

It as much accords with observation and experiencethat icebergs, from their summits, should spout flamesof fire, or that a circle should also possess the figureof a triangle, as that any kind of Matter shouldgive forth vital phenomena. The chemist can bringtogether the matter of a grain of wheat, or of bio-plasm, and can even build up something which willresemble a "cell," but can he make any of thesethings live % It is not claimed by Materialists thatsuch a feat was ever accomplished. Prof. Tyndall


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56 Matter, Life, and Mind.assures us, " that after eight months of incessant la-bor" to prove that Matter could be made to generateLife, " he was forced, by overwhelming evidence, tothe conclusion that Life can come only from ante-cedent Life."When the Materialist will take us into his labora-

tory and permit us to see Matter grow into a hair, ora mustard-seed, we will concede vitality to it. Posi-tive Philosophy, or "Modern Science," means simplythe " mechanism of atoms." It recognizes no otherfoundation, uses no other material, enters no otherfield of labor. Matterthe Matter of the chemist,the only Matter known to usis the only real it con-siders, and its forces embrace the sum total of theforces of the universe. This Positive Philosophytakes its stand outside the Organic "World ; for anorganism to be examined must first be subjected tochemical analysis, and then it is an organism no more.An organism, as stick, is excluded from its methodof inquiry, and its futile efforts to produce an organ-ism by virtue of the forces inherent in Matter revealits insufficiency.

9. Misgivings of Materialists.But Materialists feel that they stand upon narrow

ground, and that they are wrestling with problemswhich transcend immeasurably the limits of theirdata. Prof. Tyndall, the philosopher of sentiment,proposes the following method of escape from these


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The Matter of Organic Bodies. 57difficulties : " Either let us open our eyes freely to theconception of creative acts, or, abandoning them, letns radically change our notions of Matter." Again :" Believing, as I do, in the continuity of Nature, I can-not stop abruptly where the microscope ceases to beof use. Here the vision of the Mind authoritativelysupplements the vision of the eye. By an intellectualnecessity I cross the boundary of the experimentalevidence." That is, on the basis of the Matter weknow Mr. Tyndall ceases to be a Materialist ; hepasses, by a poetic flight, beyond the boundaries of allwe know or can knowT of Matter, and in an unknownfigment of his fancy postulates the cause of vital phe-nomena. He knows that a something we call " Con-scious Life" exists; the "notion" that it can comefrom Matter, as we know it, "cannot be formed by theMind ; " it must come from some source, therefore letus have a new "definition of Matter"such a defi-nition as will invest it with Life and consciousness.Is not Mr. Tyndall, except in name, a Yitalist? Intel-lectually he discerns a something, unknown and un-picturable, which he recognizes as the cause of vitaleffects ; he gives it no name, we call it Life. No newMatter has been discovered, nor has a discovery beenmade of a new property in the Matter we have, norhas the least trace of vital force been found in Matter.Matter is supposed to manifest, not conceal, its prop-erties, and the presence of the 000,000.5 part of agrain of sodic compound is easily detected by the


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58 Matter, Life, and Mind.spectroscope ; of lithium, the 000,000.16 part of agrain can be detected. If Life is there, why notbring it into action ?

1 0. Materialism builds only upon Matter.Materialism accepts the Matter we know as the

basis of its Philosophy, and we are not required tofollow any of its erratic advocates into the vacuumor into the unknown realm beyond. To leave theMatter of the chemist, and postulate an argumentupon the supposed but unknown ether, or to call fora new and extended definition of Matter as groundfor argument, is, if not to surrender, to hoist thewhite flag and fly to another field. Two theories ofLife are before us. Mr. Tyndall's is this : By an" intellectual necessity " he passes beyond all that isknown of Matter, and yet postulates Life upon thatchimera as one of its properties; on the other side,Vitalists recognize Life as non-material in essence,property, and phenomena. Is it not possible thatwhen Mr. Tyndall passes beyond all that we knowof Matter that he enters the realm of Vitality % Attimes he seems to have such a consciousness. Hesays : " Was life implicated in the nebulaeas part,it may be, of a vaster and unfathomable Life?"Evidently in this profound remark he had more thana glimpse of the vital universe for which we plead.But what business have Materialists with unknownMatter, or with the unknown properties of known


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The Mattek op Organic Bodies. 59Matter ? In either case the basal factor in their Logicis an unknown element, and, of course, in their con-clusion there is nothing reliable.

Such are the properties of Matter that it is notpossible for it to exist and escape the scrutiny of thelaboratory, the microscope, and the spectroscope

;

especially in quantities sufficient to give existence tothe Organic World. Its affinities give it such a tend-ency to aggregation that, sooner or later, it must, inmasses, become visible. In every organic body wefind an agent or a power at work which, in an imma-terial way, rules both Matter and its forcesa powernever present in an inorganic body ; and we are com-pelled, by a logical necessity, to conclude that thatpower is a something not Matter, especially so if wecan prove that it is not any kind of known Matter.

11. Matter yields no sign of Vitality.We are not required to carry this discussion into

the region of the hypothetical ether, since Material-ists deal only with the Matter of the chemist. Wemay, then, inquire: Is vitality a property of the atoms?and of all the atoms of every kind of Matter ? Canan atom loose any one of its properties? If so, itmay loose all, and that would imply the destructionof Matter. If not all, which of the elements generateLife as a resultant? Is it possible that Matter canpossess, and at the same time persistently conceal, theproperties which cause vital phenomena? Can Matter


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60 Matter, Life, and Mind.possess these properties as forces inhering in them-selves at one timesay when supposed to be aliveand be divested of them at another time, at death ?Are Life and Death a mere shifting of the propertiesof Matter ? View the subject as we may to find Life,we must go beyond all we know or can conceive ofMatter, and in so doing we cross the gulf and enterthe world of Vitality.Does it give the logical Mind a severer wrench to

accept the hypothesis that Life, Mind, and Spirit ex-ist as substances, than to build upon the chimera ofunknown Matter, or to attempt to fly to a new andfanciful definition of Matter, framed as a necessity,to meet a case of distress ?

Vainly has Matter been subjected to all the torturesof the laboratory to compel it to reveal the supposedsecret of its vitality, but not the least structural con-nection between Matter and Life, or Thought, hasbeen discovered.

12. Confessions of Materialists.A few Materialists rashly boast that they have car-

ried the day, and that the great debate is ended ; butProf. Tyndall nervously distrusts the ground onwhich he stands. Wisely he says : " There ought tobe a clear distinction made between Science in thestate of hypothesis and Science in the state of fact

;

and inasmuch as it is still in its hypothetical stage,the ban of exclusion ought to fall upon the theory


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The Matter of Organic Bodies. Glof Evolution." " Those who hold to the doctrine ofEvolution are by no means ignorant of the uncer-tainty of their data ; and they yield to it only a pro-visional assent. In reply to your question, they willfrankly admit their inability to point to any satisfac-tory experimental proof that life can be developedsave from demonstrable antecedent life." " I shareYirchow's opinion, that the theory of Evolution, in itscomplete form, involves the assumption that at someperiod or other of the earth's history there occurredwhat would now be called Spontaneous Generation. Iagree with him, that the proofs of it are still wanting.I hold, with Virchow, that the failures have been lam-entable, that the doctrine is utterly discredited."

Mr. Tyndall's disclaimers, doubts, and concessionsaccord exactly with our reading of a world of Matter.Materialistic Science has not only not advanced astep, but it has no foothold. We repeat, that by itsavowed Materialism, its field of operation is limitedto "the mechanism of atoms," and from these it mustevolve Life and Mind, or it is self-excluded from theorganic and psychological worlds. Tyndall lamentsthat this cannot be done ; and says that all such profes-sions are "utterly discredited." "We all confess," hesays, " that organic matter is mere matter ; and the Ma-terialist has not yet established the right to say more."When we contemplate the vastness of the uni-

verse, the great variety of known material substancescreated, each an essence peculiar to itself, the exhaust-


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62 Matter, Life, and Mind.less wealth and variety of powers and forces thereindisplayed, we see no reason why we should stalerat the hypothesis, that underlying Matter, its forcesand properties, we meet the faint and feeble outcrop-ping of other orders of substances which constitute avast vital universe. The vital and material worldsare connected, because the forces of a few kinds ofmatter are correlated to the forces of life. The exist-ence of a living God granted, a vital universe is thenecessary corollary.To most minds the word Substance suggests the idea

of the matter of the chemist, and nothing more. Intheology the term is applied to each of the Persons orDistinctions revealed in the Godhead, and the inter-ests of clear thinking and sound philosophy demandthat it be freely admitted into the terminology ofPsychology and Vitality. We have as good reasonfor regarding Mind and Life as Beingas Substanceas either Matter or Deity. It may be that the Mat-ter of the chemistembracing many distinct kindsincludes but a small portion of the substances of theuniverse. In the realm of Life, Mind, and Spirit, thekinds and orders of Being may, in number and variety,equal their greatness as compared to Matter. In thespace between Matter and the humblest order of Life,not only the ether of speculation, but many other sub-stances, may exist, embracing electricity, and possiblylight and gravitation. Whatever is a self-centeredsource of energy is substance.


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Vital Elements as Basis of Organisms. 63

CHAPTER II.THE VARIETY OF VITAL ELEMENTS AS THE BASIS OF

ORGANISMS." Living beings do exist in a mighty chain from the moss to the

man; but that chain, far from founding, is founded in the idea, andis not the result of any mere natural growth of this into that. Onevery ledge of nature, from the lowest to the highest, there is a lifethat is itsa creature to represent it, to reflect it."J. H. Stirling.

1. Life Defined.THE term Vitality may be defined as signifyingSubstance, embracing all the specific kinds of

Life, which so co-operate with the forces of certainkinds of Matter, as to work this world-stuff into or-ganic bodies, vegetable and animal.

Mind, being more than a Life though living, is ex-cluded from this definition. Vitality constitutes theunvarying mark of distinction between the inorganicand the organic world. As the abstract and independ-ent existence of vital force is unthinkable, and as itnever proceeds from Matter as its cause, we are com-pelled, by a logical necessity, to postulate for it, as itscause, an antithetic Vital Substance.Of the essence, nature, form, or content of Vital

Substances we can form no intelligent conception ;but in this particular we are no more helpless than


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64 Matter, Life, and Mind.when we undertake to comprehe

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Matter Life Mind Their Essence Moor