Note 16 — Chapter I · INTRODUCTORY

This general principle was clearly grasped by Dr George Rainey (a learned physician of St Bartholomew’s) many years ago, and expressed in such words as the following: “......it is illogical to suppose that in the case of vital organisms a distinct force exists to produce results perfectly within the reach of physical agencies, especially as in many instances no end could be attained were that the case, but that of opposing one force by another capable of effecting exactly the same purpose.” (On Artificial Calculi, Q.J.M.S. (Trans. Microsc. Soc.), VI, p. 49, 1858.) Cf. also Helmholtz, infra cit., p. 9.