On the sense of touch, or Physiology and philosophy opposed to materialism and atheism / by J. Augustine Smith.

  • Smith, John Augustine, 1782-1865.
Date:
1837
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On the sense of touch, or Physiology and philosophy opposed to materialism and atheism / by J. Augustine Smith. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library at Columbia University and Columbia University Libraries/Information Services, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the the Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library at Columbia University and Columbia University.

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    as no chemical changes occurred, there could be no chemi- cal laws. These laws consequently did not then exist. They have necessarily, therefore, originated in time, and as they could neither create themselves, nor be created by matter, they must have been impressed upon matter by some external and superior power, which was to be prov- ed. Again. In every case of chemical action, the stronger affinities overcome the weaker. The tendency, therefore, always is to the firmest unions, and to those ultimately, which are absolutely indissoluble. But few, perhaps none of these have as yet taken place. Now the only element which can be wanting for that purpose—the only one which is not already present is time. There has not, con- sequently, hitherto been time enough to effect at any rate, all of these irrefragable combinations. The processes necessary, therefore, for their completion, have not been in regular progression from all eternity, since in eternity time must have perfected whatever time can accomplish, &c. &c. &c. But as the foregoing argument is a very general one, a particular illustration of it may not be superfluous. It is quite clear that oxygen, for example, has a greater* attraction for some one element than any for other which exists in nature. However the fact may be, we will call that element carbon. With carbon then oxygen will unite in preference to any other substance, whenever it has an op- portunity of so doing. Its tendency to form such a union being incessant, as has already been shown, and the com- * It would answer the purposes of my argument equally well, to sup- pose the affinity of oxygen for carbon to be as great, as for any other sub- stance.