Project Gutenberg 2006-05-07 Public domain in the USA. 412 Burroughs, John 1837 1921 15011713 The Breath of Life The breath of life -- The living wave -- A wonderful world -- The baffling problem -- Scientific vitalism -- A bird of passage -- Life and mind -- Life and science -- The journeying atoms -- The vital order -- The arrival of the fit -- The naturalist's view of life. Produced by Bryan Ness, Jamie Atiga, Leonard Johnson and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net "The Breath of Life" by John Burroughs is a philosophical work exploring the nature and origin of life, written in the early 20th century. The book delves into the relationship between living and non-living things, grappling with concepts of vitality, force, and the underlying mysteries of existence. Burroughs reflects on the philosophical and scientific implications of life, often contrasting idealism and naturalism, aiming to elucidate the processes that govern living beings. The opening of the work establishes Burroughs' meditative tone as he reflects on the persistent mysteries surrounding life as he nears its end. He raises profound questions while contemplating simple observations in nature, such as the resilience of burdocks in his garden. He contrasts mechanical explanations of life with the recognition of an ineffable life force that seems to animate the natural world. Burroughs articulates the challenge of reconciling scientific views with personal and philosophical interpretations of life, setting the stage for a rich exploration of biology, vitality, and existence throughout the subsequent chapters. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 54.0 (10th to 12th grade). Somewhat difficult to read. en Life (Biology) QH Text Browsing: Science - General Browsing: Science - Genetics/Biology/Evolution Category: Science - Biology Category: Nature/Gardening/Animals Category: Philosophy & Ethics 514838 2025-06-08T04:09:09.683617 text/html 505423 2006-05-07T09:25:24 text/html; charset=iso-8859-1 193113 2006-05-07T09:25:24 text/html; charset=iso-8859-1 application/zip 268181 2025-06-08T04:09:19.125562 application/epub+zip 270812 2025-06-08T04:09:12.378617 application/epub+zip 250480 2025-06-08T04:09:10.748595 application/epub+zip 602330 2025-06-08T04:09:24.186526 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 553260 2025-06-08T04:09:17.953549 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 373984 2022-09-08T15:57:25.197552 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 447513 2025-06-08T04:09:08.814607 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 447385 2006-05-07T09:25:24 text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 161191 2006-05-07T09:25:24 text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 application/zip 447407 2006-05-07T09:25:24 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 161122 2006-05-07T09:25:24 text/plain; charset=us-ascii application/zip 20466 2025-06-08T04:09:24.559512 application/rdf+xml 12036 2025-06-08T04:09:11.385594 image/jpeg 3329 2025-06-08T04:09:11.075578 image/jpeg 250019 2025-06-08T04:09:09.730593 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia