Excerpt from A Systematic Treatise on Comparative Physiology, Vol. 1: Introductory to the Physiology of Man

The object of physiology is to expose the phenomena of life, and the conditions upon which their manifestations depend. To accomplish which it must be first determined what are the phenomena which collectively are denominated life. For this purpose a knowledge of the general properties of organic or living bodies must be acquired and this can only be attained by comparing the phenomena and actions of organic or Having bodies with those exhibited by inorganic or lifeless bodies. Having by such comparative investigation gained a knowledge of the qualities distinguishing living bodies in general the next principal object will be to ascertain the qualities that respectively characterize the two great sections of the animate world. With this view a comparison is instituted between plants and animals relative to their composition, configuration formation, powers, origin, end, and connexion with external influences.

These comparative inquiries lead to the discovery of the qualities which man shares with living bodies in general, or with animals in particular, and to the acquisition of fundamental ideas of life, organization, and the properties of living bodies, as also of the circumstances and conditions under which life is developed.

The next course to be pursued is that of comparing man with other animals, so as to make known the peculiarities of his structure and manifestations of life - to assign him a place in the system of nature, to characterize the races of man, and to follow them in their distribution over the globe.

In researches into the manifestations of activity in man, and the causes on which they depend, the qualities of the body in which these operate are to be considered. These qualities consist in peculiarities of composition, aggregation, texture, and formation. Hence chemistry is employed to detect the matters entering into its solid and liquid parts, to determine their modes of combination, and to indicate and explain the changes occurring therein during life.

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