| 释义 |
vital force, n.
Brit. |vʌɪtl ˈfɔːs|, U.S. |ˈˌvaɪdl ˈfɔ(ə)rs|
[‹ vital adj. + force n.1, probably after classical Latin vīs vītālis (Cicero).]
1. An immaterial force or principle viewed as present in and animating living things and sustaining their life; (Biol.) such a force or energy regarded as distinct from ordinary chemical and physical forces; = life force n. at life n. Compounds 3, vis vitae at vis n.2 2d. In extended use: vitality, vigour, energy.
As the 19th cent. progressed, and the chemical and physical nature of biological phenomena became apparent, the idea of a vital force lost currency as a scientific concept. Cf. also élan vital n.a. In sing.
1702R. Steele Funeral v. 72, I am seiz'd by Nature—How shall I View A Breathless lump of Clay—Him whose high Veins Convey'd to me this Vital Force, and Motion. 1760J. Langhorne Job i. 9 The Vision struck, The vital Force my shudd'ring Limbs forsook. 1811W. Mason Argentile & Curan i. ii. 219 Ed. Think'st thou it possible He should live long? Pri... If he should, his vital force so spent, It were a miracle. 1843C. Scudamore Med. Visit Gräfenberg 92 The higher importance and still greater influence of vital force and nervous energy, as compared with simple chemical action. 1860R. W. Emerson Fate in Conduct of Life 10 In certain men, digestion and sex absorb the vital force. 1884Pall Mall Gaz. 7 Apr. 3/1 The most robust-lunged must find the stifling atmosphere a severe drain on their vital force. 1916in W. S. Churchill & C. S. Churchill Speaking for Themselves (1999) viii. 187 Across the troubled waters one can only steer by compass—not to do anything that is not honourable & manly, & subject to that to use my vital force to the utmost effect to win the war. 1955B. C. L. Kemp Elem. Org. Chem. (ed. 2) i. 2 There gradually grew up the tacit assumption that organic chemistry was a wholly separate branch of chemical science, largely governed by the workings of a mysterious agency called vital force. 1994Nat. Health Nov.–Dec. 64/2 A dog with kennel bronchitis moving to pneumonia may need to start with Chinese herbs and antibiotics..if its vital force is extremely low.
b. In pl.
1822N. Amer. Rev. July 152 Gradually and step by step the vital forces desert the different organs. 1835Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 125311 In man and most of the vertebrated animals there is a gradual action of the vital forces in different organs till they are fitted for reproduction. 1857A. Henfrey Elem. Course Bot. §782 The vital forces appear to be of more than one kind. 1870Nature 24 Feb. 425/1 There is no evidence whatever to show that the molecular forces of this living matter (‘vital forces’ of most modern writers) are..localised in any one part. 1889N.E.D. Climacteric, applied to that period of life (usually between the ages of 45 and 60) at which the vital forces begin to decline. 1910Jrnl. Polit. Econ. 18 725 The reproductive vital forces of nature. 1930Sci. Monthly 30 543/2 Wohler (1800–82) dealt ‘vital forces’ a blow by artificially preparing urea. 1990A. Stevens On Jung iii. 48 Hippocrates identified health as a state of harmony existing between man, his vital forces and his environment.
2. fig. A person or thing that exhibits or provides vitality and strength; a significant active factor or element.
1886Jrnl. Statist. Soc. 49 768 In England, Holland, and Belgium..the question of ports is directly identified with the vital forces of the country. 1900Polit. Sci. Q. 15 62 The state board of health has brought into existence hundreds of local boards, and has made them..vital forces in their respective communities. 1920Amer. Jrnl. Sociol. 25 629 The school should be a vital force in the community life. 1931Amer. Hist. Rev. 36 440 His confessions should furnish the key to the vital forces of modern history. 1994W. Klempa Burning Bush & Few Acres of Snow 102 The Calvinist system..has continued to be a vital force within Anglican, Baptist, Congregational, Presbyterian and Reformed churches. |