It absorbs something of his intelligence and purpose--more of them in proportion to the complexity of the resulting machine and that of its work.
What I want you to observe is that in Herbert Spencer's definition of 'life' the activity of a machine is included--there is nothing in the definition that is not applicable to it.
(The Psychologist, to show that he was not unhinged, helped himself to a cigar and tried to light it uncut.) `What is more, I have a big machine nearly finished in there'--he indicated the laboratory--`and when that is put together I mean to have a journey on my own account.'
`You mean to say that that machine has travelled into the future?' said Filby.
Here, in this atmosphere of bohemianism, I could not but contrast the scene with my scene of the day before, sitting at my
machine, in the stifling, shut-in air, repeating, endlessly repeating, at top speed, my series of mechanical motions.
"This model (which, through want of time, we have necessarily described in an imperfect manner,) was put in action at the Adelaide Gallery, where it accomplished a velocity of five miles per hour; although, strange to say, it excited very little interest in comparison with the previous complex
machine of Mr.
"You always forget," observed his companion, "that the reliable
machine always has to be worked by an unreliable
machine."
"And now," continued the
machine, "I must stop talk-ing and be-gin think-ing a-gain of a way to es-cape from this rock." So he turned half way around, in order to think without being disturbed.
"Oh, no, why so?" said Anna with a smile that betrayed that she knew there was something charming in her disquisitions upon the
machine that had been noticed by Sviazhsky.
"It is held by blacks; but the
machine guns out in front are manned by whites.
"War Departments; that's more like it." He threw his match aside, and walked to his
machine. "I tell you, sir," he said, "there isn't a big Power in Europe, OR Asia, OR America, OR Africa, that hasn't got at least one or two flying
machines hidden up its sleeve at the present time.
We will break the
machines. And what are you going to do about it?"
