, 1877-12-15
Human Life.
SOME OF ITS PHENOMENA AS DESCRIBED
BY PROFESSOR TYNDALL.


Prof. Tyndal has recently delivered
before the Midland Institute at Birming-
ham, England, one OF those characteristic
addresses OF his which seems to us likely
TO excite discussion as widespread as that
aroused by his famous prayer'gague
proposal and the great Belfast speech
The idea that there is no necessity for
invoking the supernatural to account for
the ordinary phenomena of human lite
has already been repeatedly foreshadowed
IN Professor Tyndalls writings. Nor has
he been ut all alone in that view, as 1t is
virtually the same as is held by the ma
iority OF scientific reasoners OF the present
time. But in this late address he crys-
talizes so to speak, that opinion and the
argument on which it rests into com
pact mass OF logical reasoning. With all
that clearness, precision and beauty OF
language which has rendered him almost
without peer as public lecturer, he
places before us chain Of argument. or
rather causes bis hearers to forget the
links Themselves, lac only acting asguide
and thus enables them to reach for them
selves logical conclusion.
Just as in the opening OF amusical
work, a suggestion is given ofthe themes
,.fterward to he wrought out, so in his
Introductory sentences, by which the
audience is placed in good humor with
themselves and the lecturer, Professor
Tyndall manages to shadow forth an in
stance OF absence Of free will. Half
humorolsly he deplores the hard fate Of
modern scientific men, who, like himself,
are drawn from their quiet laboratories
and forced into publicity which Is not
conducive to the exercise of their best
powers. Unlike Joule and Darwin, who
are not dragged from their seclusion and
made Presidents of Associations, he him-
self is special sufferer, hut social duties
are paramount to his will. With this
much preamble he launches into splen'
did account OF that great theory of mod
ern science, the doctrine of the conserva-
ton of energy. There is nothing gra-
tuitous in physical NATURE" he says, 'no
expenditure without equivalent gain, no
gain without equivalent expenditure
With inexorabe constanCy the one
accompanies the other. leaving no nook
or crevice between them for spontaneity
10 mingle with the pure and necessary
play of natural force. Has this uniform
ity of nature ever been broken The
reply is, Not TO the knowledge of natual
science" Then follows wealth Of
illustration 70 show the universal appli.
cation of the great law, and through this
step by step, the hearer is LED to the
question Of the energy of the human
machine. Joule's statemement is quoted,
that unless we abandon the physiological
axiom that ''the animal body cannot
create heat out Of nothing, We are driven
to the conclusion chat it is the total heat
within and without that ought to be
regarded as the real caleric effect Of the
oxidation within the body" A man
weighing 150 pounds consumes, we are
told. by lifting his own body to height
ofeight ieet, the heatof . grain Of carbon.
Jumping from this height, the heat is
restored. The muscles OF laborey
whose weight is $50 pounds weigh sixty
tour pounds. When dried shsy are
reduced to fifteen pounds' Were the
oxidation corresponding to q day laborer's
ordinary work exerted ON the muscles
alone, they would be wholly consumed
insighty days. It's but a step further
cn 10 ask what enables the production Of
bodily motions, and TO inquire whether
il is tho actionot the will The answer
is that the will is mediate, not direct
The nerves controlled by the BRAN pull,
asis were, the trigger, but the gunpow-
dss which they ignite is storea
up in the muscles. : We all know the
cffscs produced on Snervous orgsnisahon
by slight sound which causes alright.
An aerial wave, the energy Of which
wsuld not reach the minute fraction Of
that necessary to raise shoasasdsA Of
a gram through the tbousand,h Of an
inch, can throw the whole human frame
into powerful mechanical spasua, follow.
ed by violent Precipitation and plpiia-
tim"
Thus far, We have given bot the bassst