Chapter 2 - SLEEP.

He giveth His beloved sleep.—Pa, 127: 2.

IN THE PRECEDING CHAPTER we
considered some of the arguments for
the new physiology, which holds that
vital energy is renewed in sleep, and
is not generated by the digestion of
food. Man is not, as we have been
taught to suppose, an engine whose power
comes from the combustion of fuel, or food.
If he were, be would never need rest or sleep; supplied with food he could keep on eating and working indefinitely, as an engine can work indefinitely
if it is supplied with coal; Whereas; no matter how
much or how often he eats, we know that he must
have frequent lapses into the silence and unconsciousness
of sleep in order to recharge his brain with that
mysterious energy by which he lives and works.

We find by observation that the fact that vital
power is received in sleep is universal with all forms
of life. Men, animals, reptiles, fish and insects sleep;
and plants sleep also. You will notice that I speak of
vital power as being received, not ggenerated; if the