These wonderful manifestations of electricity are used by these pantheists to bolster up their theory of these being manifestations of intelligence in nature. And so they are, but they should remember that nature is the art of God, not God himself and God's art is wise and perfect. We have a new definition of life given us which shows wonderful intelligence in the various parts of man's body. It is by Prof. Justus Gaule of Zurich. In the American Journal of Psychology, January, 1903. He says: "The whole organism resembles a chemical laboratory with as many apartments as there are organs or glands." As all chemical changes are electric changes, a chemical laboratory is the same as an electric laboratory. He continues: "The substances produced in each apartment are those needed in others either for their construction or for their work." According to him life consists partly in a continual process of interchange and reconstruction, at times sufficiently violent to tear muscles, mutilate nerves and cause stoppage of blood—a process that goes on "in the interior of the organism without external excitement." Herbert Spencer defines life as "the continuous adjustment of internal relations to external relations," but Gaule's definition of life lays stress on the vital interplay between the parts of the organism, which makes it a machine transforming external energy. He asserts that the living organism is more than a machine, because it does not create energy directly from combustible materials, but only after building up its own tissues.
He says a machine does work, but it does not create and repair itself like living organisms. He would therefore modify the prevailing definition of organic life, and make it not only a machine, but more than a machine, and emphasize the fact that life is as much an interaction between various parts of the organism as between the organism and the world of exterior matter. He says one organ of the body may lose in bulk, in order that others may increase. This he has studied experimentally in the frog, and finds that at one time the organs of sex grow at the expense of the muscles and liver, and at another time the reverse is true, and he insists that "life is a continuous process of reconstruction within the vital organism." This is an important addition to the definition of life and tends to support the electric theory, for every function of the body is adapted to generate the electric energy needed for itself and other parts of its organism.
It is true that solid metals, wood and stones are in a constant state of molecular motion. According to Sir Norman Lockyer, "the stones of which St. Paul's Cathedral is built consist of millions of millions of small particles called molecules, and although the structure seems absolutely at rest, as if it would last forever; yet, when you get down into the intimate structure of each stone and every part of the fabric, you get nothing but a multitudinous ocean of motion." Now, Mr. Titus says, "there is some inner hidden power which marshals and controls the innumerable host of molecules in all matter and keeps them whirling with tireless energy." This is true, and I fully agree with him. But he thinks it is the world-God in the atoms; and I think it is electric energy—working under the intelligent laws of the world-God, the sun-God and the God of the universe.
All these pantheistic scientists have never considered the wonderful powers and utilities of electric currents and electric energy which permeates all matter, from atoms to worlds. When they do so, they will see in electricity an intelligent and powerful causality which will satisfy their minds and lead them away from pantheism and its follies.
They are great believers in evolution, and so am I, and what they require in evolution is, "the inherent power of the evolving entity to respond to external influences." This being the requisite, they have all they ask in the magnetic currents and electric energy pervading all nature. It is a fact that the human body contains millions of microscopic organisms working under the dominion of one human life, and, in other words, man is in his body a vast colony of microbes or protozoans supposed to be endowed with consciousness and volition.
A battle in germland is described by Dr. Donald Ross in investigating the microbes of malaria. This was a fight between a malaria microbe, and three phagocytes which are said to protect the purity of the blood. He says: "While observing a malaria germ I saw a phagocyte make its way to the malaria germ with the intent of devouring it. Ordinarily this would be easy, but the germ, instead of allowing itself to be attacked, attacked the phagocyte in a battle royal that lasted over fifteen minutes. Finally the germ drew off, and hurried to where another phagocyte was wandering aimlessly.
"It hurled itself on the second phagocyte, pushing hard against it with its arms, while the phagocyte tried to rear up and get around and envelope the germ, but finally gave up and flattened itself against an air bubble, while the germ still kept on pummeling it. After fifteen minutes another phagocyte appeared coming rapidly across the field. The germ then left its fallen foe and attacked the newcomer. The third phagocyte got enough of it in about one minute and turned squarely around, fleeing across the whole field, the germ hanging on like a snake on a dog. After five minutes the germ let go and the phagocyte slunk away. The malaria germ had by this time reached the limits of its endurance in the rapidly weakening blood and finally attached itself to the glass of the slide and died."
Few people can believe that such scenes as these may take place in the life-giving blood currents of their own bodies. Yet, if we believe those who have studied the millions of microscopic life forms which live in our bodies, such scenes may occur there. According to biologists, billions of microbes are generated in our bodies too infinitesimal to be observed by a microscope. And they say their fermentation in countless numbers produces a poison which creates irritation, the decrepitude of age and finally death. They say visible microbes show intelligence.
Engleman seems to hold that such facts as these and those connected with molecular organisms, "point to the presence of some psychic powers in the protoplasm." But I do not think so. They only show the wonderful and diversified powers of electric energy under divine law to evolve myriads of microscopic life that acts under intelligent electric impulses, which in its matured form we call animal instinct.
Thus we have traced conscious life from the dust out of which man's body was formed up through all the intervening kingdoms of nature until we reach man himself, who is the only creature that possesses a spiritual nature, a psychic soul, and an immortal destiny.