Note 91 — AN INQUIRY INTO THE CAUSE OF ANIMAL LIFE. IN THREE LECTURES, DELIVERED IN THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA.

It is probable, the first impulse of life was imparted to the body of Adam by the decomposition of air in his lungs. I infer this from the account given by Moses of his creation, in Genesis, chap. ii. v. 7. “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life,” in consequence of which, the verse adds, he became “a living soul.” This explanation of the origin of life in the father of the human race, appears to accord more with reason, as well as the order of the words which describe it, than the common opinion of his having been animated by the infusion of a living soul into his body.