The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1868-09-14

1nese dlnerences may pc maize 10 uispiay Iutm-
selves in phenomena of color OF great splendor.
the play Of molecular force being SO regulated
rs TO remove certain OF the oolOred constltu'
ents of white and ient, ana to leave others
us pass from what we are accustomed to
regard as a dead mineral to a living grain OF
corn. When IL is examined by polarized light,
chromatic phenomena similar to those noticed
In crystals are oh. erved. And why9 Be-
cause the architecture OF the grain resem-
bles in some degree the architecture
OF the crystal. In the corn the molecules are
also set in definite positions, IRON which they
act upon the light. But what has built together
the molecules OF the corn? have already said
regarding crystalline architecture that you may,
If you please consider the atoms and molecules
to be placed in position by power external TO
themselves. The same hypothesis is open to
you new. But If in the case of crystals you
have rejected this notion OF au external archt-
tect, think you are bound to reject 1t nov,
and 10 conclude that the molecules of the corn
are selfposited by the forces with which they
act upon each other. 1t would be poor philo-
sophy to invoke an external agent in the one
case and to reject it in the other. Instead of
cutting our gram of corn into thin slices
and suSjecliLg it to the action of polsIized
light let us place it in the earth and subject
it TO a certain degree Of warmth In other
words, let the molecules, both OF the corn
ar OF the surrounding earth, be kept in state
of agitation; for warmth, as most of you know,
is, in the eye OF science, tremulous molecular
motion. Under these circumstances, the grain
and the substances which round 1t interact,
this interaction. bud is formed; this bad
reaches the surface, where it is exposed to the
suns rays, which are also to be regarded as o
kind OF vibratory motion. And as the common
motion of heat with which the grain aud the
substances surrounding ii were first endowed,
enabled the grain and these substances to
coalesce, so the specific motion of the SUMS rays
now enables the green bud TO feed upon the car
bonic acid and the aqueous vapor of the air,
appropriatng those constituents of both for
which the blade has an elective attraction, and
permitting the other constituent to resume its
place in the air. Thus, forces are active at the
root, forces are active in the blade, the matter
OF the earth and the matter of the
atmosphere are drawn towards the plant, and
the plant augments In size. We have in
succession the bud, the stalk, the ear, the full
corn in the ear. For the forces here at play act
In cycle, which is completed in the pro1uc-
tion of grains similar TO that with which the
process began. Now, there is nothing in this
process which necessarily eludes the power of
mind as we know It,. An intellect the same in
kind as our own would; if only sufficiently ex-
panded, be able to follow the whole process
from beginning to end. No entirely new intel
lectual faculty would be needed for this pur-
pose. The duly expanded mind would see in
the process and its contamination an instance of
the play of molecular force. 1t would see
every molecule placed in its position by the spe
chic attractions and repulsiOns eXerted between
1t and other molecules Nay, given the grain
and Its environment an intellect the same
in kind as our own, but sufficiently expanded
might trace out prtort every step of the pro-
cess, and by the application of mechanical
principles would be able TO demonstrate that
the cycle OF actions must end, as it is seen to
end, in the reproduction of forms like that with
which the operation began. similar necessity
rules here to that which rules the planets in
their circuits round the sun. You will notice
that am stating my truth strongly as at the
beginning we agreed it should be stated. But 1
must go still further, and affirm that in the eye
OF science the animal body lis just as much the
product of molecular force as the stalk and ear
OF corn, or as the crystal or salt of sugar. Many
OF It's parts are obviously mechanical. Take
the human heart, for example, with its eX-
quislte system of valves, or take the eye or the
hand. Animal heat, moreover, is the same in
kind as the heat OF fire. being produced by the
is as directly derived from the food Of the
animal, as the motion of TrevethicA's walk
ing engine from the fuel in its furnace. AS
regards matter, the animal body creates nothing;
as regards force, II creates nothing. Which of
you by taking thought can add one cubit to his
stature All that has been SAID regarding the
plant may be restated with regard to the ami
NAL. Every particle that enters into the COM
position of muscle, nerve, or a bone, has
been placed in its position by molecular force
And unless the existence OF law in these matters
be denied, and the element of caprice intro.
duced, we must conclude that, given the rela-
tion of any molecue OF the body to its environ
ment its position in the body might be predicted.
Oar difficulty is not with the quality of the
difficulty might be met by the simple expau-
sion of the faculties which man now possesses.
Given this expansion, and given the necessary
molecular data, aud the chick might be deduced
as vigorously and as logically from the eeg as
the existence of Neptune was deduced from the
disturbances OF Uranus, or as concal refraction
was deduced from the undulatory theory of
light. You see am not mincing matters, but
avowng nakedly what many scientific thinkers
more or less distinctively believe. The forma.
ton OF crystal, plant, or an animal is in
their eyes purely mechanical problem, which
differs from the problems of ordinary mechanics
in the smallness of the masses and the COM
plexlty OF the processes involved. Here you
have one-half of our dual truth. Let US now
glance at the other half. Associated with this
wonderful mechanism OF the animal body we
have phenomena no less certain than those of
physics, but between which and the mechanism
we discern no necessary connection. man,
Tor example, can say, feel, think, love; but
how does consciousness infuse itself into the
problem? The human brain is said to be the
organ OF thought and feeling; when we are hurt
the brain feels It, when we ponder it is the brain
that thinks, when our passions or affections are
excited 1t is through the instrumentality of the
brain. Let US endeavor TO be little more pre-
else here. hardly imagine that any profound
scientific thinker, who has reflected upon the
subject, exists who would not admit the extreme
probability Of the hypothesis, that for every
fact OF Consciousness, whether in the domain
of sense, OF thought, or of emotion, certain
definite molecular condition is set up in the
brain; that this relation of physics to conscious.
ness is invariable: so that, given the state of
the brain, the corresponding thought or feeling
might be inferred; or given the thought or teel-
ing, the corresponding state of the brain might
be inferred. But how inferred? 1t is at bottom
not a case of logical inference at all, but OF
empirical association. You may reply that
many OF the lnterences OF science are or this
character; the inference, tor example, that an
electric current of given direction will defect
magnetic needle in q definite way; but the
cases differ in this that the passage from the
current to the needle, If not demonstrable, is