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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



out possessing the qualifications neces- 

 sary for giving them any examination 

 deserving of the name. Nor did he 

 make himself responsible for the inert- 

 ness of those who, having examined the 

 views in question and found them un- 

 sound, failed to demonstrate the fact to 

 Mr. Spencer himself or to the public. 

 When thirty valuable years, in which 

 certain (let us assume) erroneous specu- 

 lations might have been combated, have 

 been allowed to slip by unimproved, so 

 far as that object is concerned, it seems 

 late in the day to turn round on the au- 

 thor of the speculations and read him a 

 lesson on the responsibilities of a philoso- 

 pher. The true way in which to have 

 enforced his responsibility was to criti- 

 cise his views with the utmost rigor, 

 misrepresenting nothing, but omitting 

 no argument that may fairly tell against 

 them. It should not be forgotten, how- 

 ever, that Mr. Spencer showed a further 

 sense of responsibility in withdrawing 

 from circulation the book in which his 

 speculations on the land question were 

 contained, as soon as he became con- 

 vinced that the views enunciated by 

 him upon that point and upon one or 

 two others discussed in the same volume 

 needed amendment or qualification, and 

 in giving it to be distinctly understood 

 that he no longer held to his former 

 opinions on these matters. It is hard 

 to understand, therefore, how the prin- 

 ciple of personal responsibility could 

 have been more fully recognized, or the 

 duties flowing therefrom more scrupu- 

 lously performed, than they were in this 

 particular case by the eminent author of 

 the "Synthetic Philosophy." 



More to the purpose would it have 

 been, in our opinion, had Mr. Green- 

 wood dwelt with some force on the 

 responsibility too little recognized 

 which rests upon those who pin their 

 faith to the authority of others. This 

 is a thing which is too often done in a 

 most reckless and irresponsible manner, 

 with the result of rendering public opin- 

 ion far less intelligent than it ought to be 



and might be. A sense of individual re- 

 sponsibility for opinions accepted would 

 lead to a more careful examination of 

 all theories and reasonings; and would, 

 in a multitude of cases, abate the blind 

 confidence with which ill-understood no- 

 tions are now espoused. It is quite true 

 that every one is not able to subject the 

 views of a writer like Mr. Spencer to 

 critical scrutiny ; but those who can not 

 do it should, at least, try to take the 

 right measure of their own powers, and 

 abstain from judgments for which they 

 can not give adequate reasons. Very 

 serious also is the responsibility resting 

 upon those who recognize that an opin- 

 ion which has been given to the world 

 is erroneous. The duty of such persons 

 is to proclaim what they hold to be the 

 truth according to the measure of their 

 opportunities and the urgency of the 

 occasion. Because A has accidentally 

 kindled a conflagration, shall B, who is 

 passing by, and who has water at com- 

 mand, make no effort to arrest the 

 flames? Upon whom, in such a case, 

 does the heavier blame rest upon the 

 man who, without intending it, has set 

 things on fire, or the man who, rather 

 than take a little trouble, lets the fire 

 gain headway? The doctrine of indi- 

 vidual responsibility is the true leaven 

 that will leaven society; for it comes 

 home to each man and summons him 

 to put the question seriously to himself 

 whether he is making the most and the 

 best of his own powers, whether he is 

 really striving to be an efficient unit in 

 the social body. Thousands, nay mill- 

 ions, to-day are waiting for some super- 

 natural or revolutionary moving of the 

 waters, in order that they may, in a 

 moment, be healed of their infirmities. 

 The doctrine of individualism bids them 

 halt no longer by the pool, but go 

 straightway about their business in a 

 new spirit of duty and self-help. 



We are glad to welcome the appear- 

 ance of a book which promises to help 

 in this direction, namely, Mr. Words- 

 worth Donisthorpe's " Individualism, a 



