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"If the above be sound, it follows that the regularity with which machinery acts is in itself no proof of the absence of vitality, or at least of germs which may be developed into a new phase of life. At first sight, it would indeed appear that a vapour-engine cannot help going when set upon a line of rails with the steam up and the machinery in full play; whereas the man whose business it is to drive it can help doing so at any moment that he pleases; so that the first has no spontaneity and is not possessed of any sort of free will, while the second has and is. This is true up to a certain point; the driver can stop the engine at any moment that he pleases, but he can only please to do so at certain points which have been fixed for him by others, or in the case of unexpected obstructions which force him to please to do so. His pleasure is not spontaneous; there is an unseen choir of influences which have cast their spells around him, and which make it impossible for him to act in any other way than one. It is known beforehand how much strength must be given to these influences, just as it is known beforehand how much coal and water are necessary for the vapour-engine itself; and curiously enough it will be found that the influences brought to bear upon the driver are of the same kind as those brought to bear upon the engine—that is to say, food and warmth. The driver is obedient to his masters, because he gets food and warmth from them, and if these were withheld or given in insufficient quantities he would cease to drive; in like manner the engine would cease to work if it were insufficiently fed. The only difference is, that the man is conscious about his wants, and the engine, beyond refusing to