Anatomists, physiologists, physicians, and all students of what they term the "human organization," have spent more time and effort in their search for "life," than any other problem connected with existence; indeed, in the case of every investigator who has gone beyond the merely superficial, all other investigations have really been tributary to the great question. The amount of investigation expended in more recent years upon the brain, and nervous system and their action,—because the idea has prevailed that they were more intimately connected with "mind" or "life" than any of the other organs,—may be called, without much exaggeration, incalculable. Some of the very best thinkers have believed themselves just on the verge of the discovery of Life; and others have recognized, with all the pain of disappointment, that the absolute limit of investigation in this direction had been reached, and that all further search is fruitless. All started from the material standpoint, and pursued an investigation of the material only; and the wonder is, that they should think for a moment of finding the spiritual by investigating the material. Newton might as well have studied darkness with the expectation of learning the principles of light. It is no wonder that, confined as they are to the purely material, many of them are able to satisfy themselves that there is nothing else but the material; that Life, Mind, Intelligence, are only manifestations of matter in its sublimated forms, and that they begin and end with matter. We can easily imagine that Newton, if he had tried to learn the character of the light by studying the dark only, would have finally arrived at the conclusion that there is no light.
Then let us look at two or three propositions from the dual basis, ordinarily ascribed to man as both material and spiritual, but giving due prominence to the spiritual, which despite the reasonings and conclusions of philosophers and material scientists, every one understands from his own uninstructed consciousness to have at least an equal, if not a primal importance in the human organization, and see what conclusions we shall reach.
All agree that inorganic matter, so called, is without sensation, and also that vegetable organisms are without sensation. The same also is true of matter in the animal organization. The physiologist of to-day says that the eye does of itself see, but that the "recognition of the sensation," the real sight, is in the brain. Now, if the matter of the eye cannot see, neither can the matter of the brain see; and we know that without the intelligence neither eye, nor brain, nor any organized matter, however sublimated it may be, can see. It is the Intelligence, the Mind, the thinking, reasoning part, the Life, that sees; and we know this, also, because we know that this real and immortal sees when there is no longer a belief of its connection with aught material; but the material eye does not see when the immortal has discarded it. The same is true of all the senses. Matter so-called, is without sensation in and of itself; and therefore what we call the body is without sensation; and just as our perception of the sun in its rising, passage over the earth, and setting is an error and not a condition of fact, but the opposite, so is our perception of sensation as existing in the body. Now if we will consider the character of Mind, Intelligence, thought, our intelligent part, as we can learn of it from our experience, the conclusion is irresistible, that because of its very nature, what we call physical pain is absolutely impossible to it. There is, then, no physical pain, and our thoughts or beliefs concerning it are all errors without any foundation in fact.
