Excerpt from The Philosophy of Vital Motion Has seemed to be absolute, for on proceeding onwards it is seen to be impossible to separate form from force, and to regard the one as a mere lifeless image, or the other as a mere naked essence But it may be objected that all these ideas are mere philosophical abstractions, and that this unity of nature is not a practical truth to be realized in the problems of every-day physiology. If there be this oneness of which you speak, it may be asked, how is it that the body is obedient to a law which is totally different to anything we find in inorganic nature? Will it explain the hitherto inexplicable capillary movements of the blood? - will it solve the oft perplexed, and still unread riddle of muscular action? -will it tell us why the heart continues its mysterious beatings -will it give the clue to a hundred acts and movements which are distinctive of life, and which we are obliged to refer to an incomprehensible and potent essence which is shut up in every living body -for, except it will help to do these things, the doctrine is of no practical value. An objection like this is just and right, for no one can be expected to receive an opinion which is based merely on transcendental facts. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.