Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-09-12

In his much-criticised address before
the British Association forthe Advance
ment of Science, its President, Prof.
Tyndall said:
Trace the line of life backward, and
see IL approaching more and more to
what we call the purely physical
condition. We reach at length those
organisms which [ have compared to
drops of oil suspended m a mixture of
alcohol and water. We reach the pro-
togeRes of Haeekel, In which we have "a
type distinguishable from a fragment
of albumen only by its finely granular
character Can We pause here? We
break a magnet and find two poles m
each of its fragments. We continue
the process of breaking, but however
small the parts, each carries with it,
though enfeebled, the polarity of the
whole. And when we can break no
longer, we prolong the intellectual VII
sion to the polar molecules. Are we
not urged to do something similar In
the case of life? Is there not a
temptation to close to some extent
with Lucretius, when he afirms that
nature is seen TO do all things spon-
~taneously of herself without the med
ding of the gods?' OF with Bruno,
when he declares that matter is not
that mere empty capacity which phi
losophers have pictured her to be, but
the universal mother who brings forth
all things as the fruit of her own
womb The questions here raised are
inevitable. They are approaching us
with accelerated speed, and it is not a
matter of Indifference whether they are
introduced with reverence or with IT.
reverence. Abandoning all disguise,
the confession that l feel bound to
make before you is, that / prJlong the
vision backward across the boundary of
the experimental evidence, and discern
IN that matter, which We in our igno-
rance, and Notwithstanding our rever-
ence for its Creator, have hitherto COW
cred with opprobrium, the promise and
potency of every form and quality Of
life.
Those acquainted with the very
high standing of Professor Tyndall in
the scientific world, one who has dealt
with light and other imponderables
most skillfully and successfully, can
appreciate the effect of the above IN
nouncement on the thought of the age
in which we live. After giving to the
two fundamental doctrines of the indie
struetibility of matter and the indie
structibility of force equal authority,
and treating them as incontrovertibly
true, the London Times adds: ma
ture always works according to the law
of least effort and the survival of the
fttest;' means only the victory of that
organization which attains the maxi
mum result at the smallest expendi-
ture of cost. If with these is also con-
ceded the hereditary tradition of
the differentiating circumstances of
excellence, Professor Tyadall's ar
gument is nearly complete. The
illogical teaching is turned back
ward upon itself. The organisms
we observe have not been framed IN or
der TO produce the consequences flow
ing from their existence, but have
fought their way to the front because
among countless competitors they were
best fitted to produce these conse-
quences."
According to the above exposition Of
science, tie battle of life, with man
leading the great armies, has its origin
in the constitution of matter. 1t has
from the beginning, and is likely to
have forever, not only volume and
gravity, but an ever-expanding vitality,
or happily putting off mortality and
puttingon~ Immortality, as a feature Of
the universe. This idea seems to spir-
itualise matter, and in some degree
materialise spirit. They must have
some properties in common before
either can act ON the other; and if life
in its best estate viii not serve as a
bond of union between the two, what
viii: A law Of the universe and
of the matter in general, is not
materialism. There can be no science
without law, and no law without a law
maker. Who made the laws which
send our earth round the sun once ev-
cry year: Do we say theyare eternal?
If so, why was not the whole course of
Darwin's and S~pencer's evolution COM
pleted a million years ago? Sound
philosophy may make all matter preg-
nant with the promise and potency of
every formlandquality of life" but it is
legitimate to enquire what Supreme
Power impregnated the womb of Ma
ture? 1t is quite unnatural and IN
satisfactory to assert that from all eter-
nifty it has been in that condition. A
work still incomplete, had a beginning,
and a Beginner. Who was He?
Science does not solve the riddle of the
universe. 1t is itself an infant in the
cradle. The living soul is growing; let
us wait.
THE New York Erening Post, an au-
thority on cotton, as well as on other