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POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



vklual sustains to it, as shall at least 

 tend to give a right purpose and di- 

 rection to the individual life. " The 

 world is very evil," is a pious utter- 

 ance ; but it is equally pious for each 

 of us to ask how much of evil is lurk- 

 ing in ourselves. We conceive of a 

 scientific education in the full sense 

 as one which, while it imparts true 

 ideas in regard to the physical his- 

 tory of the globe and the chemical 

 elements that compose it, aims no less 

 at unfolding the true constitution of 

 society, the springs of human action, 

 the strength and weakness of human 

 character, the possibilities of good 

 and evil that reside in every indi- 

 vidual, the misery that waits on 

 wrongdoing, and the happiness that 

 flows from just and pure deeds. 

 There is a way, we are persuaded, of 

 presenting the world of humanity 

 to the minds of the young which 

 would tend to create in most— in the 

 vast majority — a strong desire to 

 take a helpful part in the work of 

 their age and generation, and not to 

 concentrate all their efforts on the 

 business of self-advancement. It is 

 merely a question of seeing the facts 

 in a broadly human, which is after 

 all the only true, light- 

 Let us have in education litera- 

 ture and analytical studies and sci- 

 ence with its grand constructions 

 and sanifying discipline— all the 

 useful elements — but let the true 

 goal of education be kept ever in 

 view, which is, not to enable this in- 

 dividual or that to shoot to a pi*e- 

 eminence over his fellows, but to 

 place the individual in right rela- 

 tions with his fellows, to give to 

 each a career of useful activity, and 

 to prevent that dreary disappoint- 

 ment with life and all its works 

 which overtakes so many in their 

 declining years. Life has its bur- 

 dens, but it is not vanity ; and the 

 normal action of human beings on 

 one another should be to give to 



each separate existence a higher 

 value and deeper sources of happi- 

 ness. 



A DOUBTFUL APPENDIX TO SCIENCE. 



It was perhaps to be expected 

 that Sir William Crookes, as presi- 

 dent of the British Association, would, 

 whatever else he touched upon in his 

 presidential address, say something 

 in regard to the special views which 

 have now for many years been asso- 

 ciated with his name. In point of 

 fact he did do so. Beginning with 

 a survey of the world's resources in 

 the matter of wheat production, and 

 an inquiry as to how the fertility of 

 the soil may in future be kept up, he 

 passed to the constitution of matter 

 and molecular action as illustrated 

 by the phenomena of Rontgen rays, 

 and finally referred to "experiments 

 tending to show that, outside our 

 scientific knowledge, there exists a 

 force exercised by intelligence dif- 

 fering from the ordinary intelli- 

 gence common to mortals." These 

 experiments were made, we are told, 

 more than thirty years ago. It does 

 not appear that any substantial or 

 indubitable addition has been made 

 to the evidence which these experi- 

 ments afforded, or were supposed 

 to afford ; but Professor Crookes 

 "thinks" he can "see a little further 

 now." "I have glimpses," he says, 

 "of something like coherence among 

 the strange, elusive phenomena." 

 That undoubtedly is a good thing to 

 get glimpses of; but Uaere is perhaps 

 room for question whether the ex- 

 treme interest of the professor in the 

 " strange elusive phenomena " has 

 not led him to make a little more 

 of the " glimpses " than strict scien- 

 tific method would warrant. 



It is really only necessary to read 

 the concluding portion of Professor 

 Crookes's address to see that he is 

 dealing not with science but with 

 crude imaginations. He says that 



