754 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



them. Now there have been skeptics in all ages and upon all 

 matters, some giving reasons and some not. Everybody is a phi- 

 losopher, whether he knows it or not, and consciously or uncon- 

 sciously makes every new fact or experience fit into his theory of 

 things ; it must be explained in accordance with the principles 

 recognized by him and supposed to be known. Experience of 

 mankind and the tricks of jugglers have made it easy to believe 

 that all phenomena may be explained by personal agency of some 

 sort, and to most persons that water should run down hill is no 

 more of a surprise or mystery than that a juggler should be able 

 to take four dozen eggs out of a borrowed hat, while to the physi- 

 cist the first is an unaccountable phenomenon. It is this easy 

 philosophy that gives so great a following to spiritualism. It is 

 so much easier to understand than physical laws and movements, 

 and is in such complete accordance with human experience of the 

 lowest grade, that it is easier to imagine an immaterial person- 

 ality that can be summoned to tip tables and rap on the floor, 

 than it is to understand how the laws of energy must be recog- 

 nized and can not be infracted. 



Educational institutions as well as all others were founded upon 

 a philosophy of things that presumed that the human mind was 

 not necessarily related to anything in the world ; that therefore 

 its training could be best provided for by supplying ideal 

 standards of excellence in those matters considered of most 

 importance ; these were studied chiefly for their gymnastic effects, 

 and therefore best fitting a man for any career, but more espe- 

 cially a professor, a minister, a lawyer, or a doctor. It was true 

 that many men attained to the highest eminence without the 

 slightest aid from such institutions and without any of the gym- 

 nastic culture, but the argument was that they would have been 

 better and have done more if they had had it, that it would have 

 saved them valuable time. Inasmuch as the evidence goes to show 

 that those who achieve success without such aids in this way do 

 as much as an equal number educated the other way, it is plain 

 that there is something wrong in the premises. 



The world has been often surprised within the past two or 

 three hundred years, but it generally takes a generation or two 

 to discover the occasion of the surprise. The world is now aware 

 of its surprise at the geological theory of the earth, of its surprise 

 at the nebular theory, and at the Copernican theory. 



The year 1859 was the year for another surprise, and it is just 

 beginning to be perceived how great was the occasion for surprise. 

 To be sure, the announcement of the theory of natural selection and 

 that of the survival of the fittest aroused instant hostility, and 

 bitter attacks were made upon it for a long time all without the 

 slightest effect in staying the acceptance of it. The surprise con- 



