The reason why : $b a careful collection of many hundreds of reasons for things which, though generally believed, are imperfectly understood. A book of condensed scientific knowledge for the million
John Stuart Mill · en
We have described man's organisation. What is that organisation
for? _It is to make use of the elements upon which man exists._
The lungs make use of the air; the eye makes use of the light;
the stomach, and the system generally, make use of water; every
part of the body uses heat; and all parts of the system demand
food. The hand feeds as constantly as the mouth. The mouth is the
receptacle of food, by which the body is to be fed; the stomach is
the kitchen in which food is prepared for the use of the body; and
the blood-vessels are the canals through which the food is sent to
those members of the body that are in need of it. When we speak
of man's "organs" or "members," we speak of those parts of the
living machinery by which the elements are used up, or employed,
for man's benefit. And this view of the subject, bearing in mind
that the body is held together as the temple of a living Spirit,
superior to mere flesh and blood, gives us a higher and clearer
perception of the distinction between the body and the soul than
that which we might otherwise entertain. The body is a machine,
working for the spirit, which is its owner. While the machine
works, the spirit directs and influences its actions. But when the
machine stops, the spirit resigns its power over a ruined temple,
quits it, and flies to a region where, as a spirit, it becomes
subject to a new order of existence consistent with its severance
from earthly things and laws, and there it enters upon its eternal
destiny, according to the judgments and appointments of God. It is
no longer dependent upon a relation between spiritual and material
laws.
[Verse: "Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give
glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake."--PSALM CXV.]
Suppose that the air which man breathes, instead of returning
from his lungs clear and imperceptible to sight, were tinged with
colour; we should see, that every time a man breathed, the air
would rush in a stream into his mouth, and then return again;
and the air which returned would, being warm, be lighter than
the outer air, and would rise upward over the man's head, where,
cooling and mingling with the outer air, it would descend again.
We do, in fact, see this action evidenced; when in winter time the
cold condenses the vapour of the breath, we see the little cloud
constantly rising before the breather's face, and dispersing in
the surrounding air.
Is it not a wonderful thing that that clear and elastic substance,
which you cannot feel, though it touches every part of your body,
and which you cannot see, is composed of two distinct bodies,
having very different properties; and that the two bodies can
easily be separated from each other?