THE PRACTICAL OUTCOME OF SCIENCE. 479 



terrific force of a boomerang. Society would necessarily divide 

 at once into two general classes : on the one hand the decent, the 

 industrious, and the patriotic, those who had not seared their 

 souls with sin, and who preferred good to evil; on the other, 

 those who were unable to abandon their evil ways even under 

 the penalty of publicity, and who would be left to herd by them- 

 selves and prey upon one another. Thus would heaven and hell 

 be set up already on the earth. For the world is what man 

 makes it. 



And herein is seen the solution of that great mystery of the 

 union of soul and body, apparently so incongruous, so hurtful. 

 In no other way could the soul be forced to make choice between 

 good and evil, and at the same time be left free and independent 

 in its choice behind an impenetrable mask two essentials for the 

 formation of character. What shall be the shame and anguish 

 of that soul which has abused this great opportunity, which has 

 chosen to debase itself, in that great day when hypocrisy shall 

 naught avail, when we shall see as we are seen and know as 

 we are known ! Now, wheat and tares grow together, and tares 

 imagine themselves as good as wheat; for falleth not the 'rain on 

 the just and on the unjust ? But in the great winnowing-day 

 tares shall learn that they are tares and trash. The remorse of 

 the inebriate or opium fiend is the punishment of him who has 

 wrecked his body merely ; what shall be the remorse of him who 

 discovers too late that he has wrecked his soul, and forever ! 

 That will be eternal punishment. 



-*- 



THE PRACTICAL OUTCOME OF SCIENCE. 



By W. H. SMITH, M. D., Ph. D. 



THE present is an age of scientific research, and in this is 

 found the characteristic feature of the existing civilization. 

 The ancients were our equals, if not superiors, in literature, but 

 no nation of antiquity could for one moment compare with us in 

 scientific achievements. In this respect ours differs from all the 

 ages of the past. The laws of Nature have been investigated, dis- 

 coveries made, and in a multiplicity of ways her forces employed 

 to do the bidding of man. 



Passing by the more familiar results of such researches applied 

 in the form of inventions on every hand to some not so patent, it 

 may be remarked that science has accomplished and is accom- 

 plishing the difficult task of prolonging the period of human life. 

 This comes through the study of physiology, sanitation, and medi- 

 cine, the result of which has been, as shown by Dr. Jarvis, in a 



