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Excerpt from The Complete Works of Mark Twain
(The Old Man and the Young Man had been conversing. The Old Man had asserted that the human being is merely a machine, and nothing more. The Young Man objected, and asked him to go into particulars and furnish his reasons lot his position.)
Old Man. What are the materials of which a steam-engine is made?
Young Man. Iron, steel, brass, white-metal, and so on.
O. M. Where are these found?
Y. M. In the rocks.
O. M. In a pure state?
Y. M. No - in ores.
O. M. Are the metals suddenly deposited in the ores?
Y. M. No - it is the patient work of countless ages.
O. M. You could make the engine out of the rocks themselves?
Y. M. Yes, a brittle one and not valuable.
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