, 1877-12-08
III NAN LIFE.

ham. England, one of those charac'eri''!c
addresses of his which seem to us hkeiy
10 excite discussion as widespread as tiia'
aroused by his famous prayer gauge pro
nosaI ana the great Belfast speech Inc
idea that there is no necessity tor iliVoA-
ing the supernatural to account ior ,Ae
ordinary phenomena OF human lie mas
already been repeatedly forshadcwed IN
Professor Tyndall' $ writings. Nor mas ne
been at ali alone in that view, as II Is
virtually the same as Is held by the
majority Of the scientific reasoners OF the
present time. But in this late address ne
crystalizes, so to speak, that opinion and
the arguments on which 1t rests INTO "a
compact mass Of logical reasoning, WIN
all that clearness, precision and beauty ol
languace which have rendered him almost
without a peer as a public lecturer, lie
places before us chain of argument, or
rather causes his hearers to forge the
links themselves, he only acting as g. ide,
and tins enables them to reach for them
selves logical conclusion.
Just as in the opening OF musical
work, suggestion is g iven OF the themes
afterwards to be wrought out, 50 III ms
Introductory sentences, by which the
audience is placed IN good humor with
themselves ard the lecturer, Professor
TvndaIl manages to shadow torth an IN
stance of absence of free Will. Hal
humourously he deplores the hard tate OF
modern scientific men, who, Ike hinseif,
are drawn from their quiet laboratories
and forced into publicity which Is not
conducive to the exercise OF their best
mowers. Unlike Jouie and Darwin, who
are not dragged from their secluslons anu
made presidents of associations, he him-
self is special sufferer, but social duties
are pararnount to his Will. With this
much preamble he launches into splen'
did account of that great tthcoryof modern
science, the doctrine of the conservation
of energy. "TheTe is nothing gratuitons
in physical nature, he says, . no eSPen-
ditnre without equivalent gan, 10 sili
without equivalent expenditure. With III
exorable constancy the one accompanies
the other, leaving no nook or cTevice be
tween them for spontaneity to mlnSl'
with the pure and neccy yssary play o
natural force. Has this uniformity o
nature even been broken! The reply Is
Not to the knowledge of natrIaral SCI
ence." Then follows a wealth of lliustra
ton to show the universal application o
the great law, and throu III this, step by
step, the hearer is led to the question o
the energy Of the human machine. Joule'
statement is quoted, that unless we ahan
don the physiological axiom that " ia
animal body cannot create heat out o
nothing, We are driven to the conclusion
that it is the total heat within and with
out that ought to be regarded as the rea
caloric effect cf the oxidation within tn
body" \ man weighing 100 pounds con
.sumes, We are told, by lifting his owl
body to height Of eight feet, the ho;at :,
gain of carbon. jumping from thi
height, the heat is restored. The muscle
of laborer whose weight is 80 pound
weigh sixty-fuur pounds. When drie,
they are reduced to fifteen pounds Wcr
the oxidation corresponding to a ia,
laborers ordinary work cxcrted on tn
muscles alone, they would be wholly con
sumed in eight days 1t is but stel
further on IL ask what enables the pro
duction Of bodily motions, and to enquire
whether ii is the action of the will Th
answer is that the will is mediate, no
direct. The nerves controlled by tn
brain pull, as it were, the trigger, but til,
gunpowder which they ignite Is stored III
III the muscles "We all know the e.iec
produced on Il nervous organization by
slight sound which causes alright. Al
aerial wave, the energy Of which woui,
not reach The minute fraction Of tha
necessary to raSe the thousand.h of
grain through the thoSandth of an inch
can throw the whole human frame into
powerful mechanical spasm, followed b,
violent respiration and palpitation."
Thus far, and We have given but fb
barcst outline of the argument, n0thin
has been advanced which rises TO an,
other level than that Of PLAIN scientiii
truths which noone can heSitateto accent
But now comes the question: Via
causes the nerves to act and libarate TIN
gigantic power Who OF what is it tha
sends and receives messages throuoh I'll,
bodily organism The query is answere,
thus /: :" You picture the muscles 4.
hearkenlng To the commands sent throual
the motor nerves You picture the sensal
nerves as the vehicles of incoming intelIi
gence; are You not forced by your owl
exposition into the hypothesis of fre.
human soul L Henceforward the whol,
drift If the address changes -persuaso,
and abstract argument replace scientif,
deduction but the speaker has proved
us necessltarlans by necessity, and then
lest the dilemma atiict us, goes on I,
show that the belief is by no means sucl
dreadful one.
Are the brain, and the moral and ;rtaI.
iectuai processes Known tn be associated
with the brain, subject to the laws We tint
paramount III physical nature This i.
the tlnai problem Science has led us in.
to the domain of metaphysics, and We
have been prepared for the affirmative re-
sponse. The phenomena of hereditv. Of
how much We owe 10 the transmitted in
nuence OF the past, how closely We are
bound up III cham of events-eyolution
whence We can not escape-all are ad-
ducei to prove that We are not masters Of
the circumstances in which our motives
and wishes originate, and " if finally our
motives and wishes determine our actions
be sad to be the result of free will ,
There Is, says Prof. Tyndall. in his
closing sentences, :" on all hands crow
ing repugnance 10 invoke the supernatur-
al IN accounting for the phenomena Of
human lie (; and thoughtful minds, find
ing no trace Of evidence in favor of anv
other orlSn, are driven to seek in the in.
teractlOn OF social fn,,, i