HISTORY OF SCIENCE 33 



But the historian's mind is not satisfied with the study of the 

 interactions between the different sciences. He wishes to study- 

 also the interactions between the different sciences, on one hand, 

 and all the other intellectual or economic phenomena, on the 

 other. As a matter of fact, he has to give a great deal of attention 

 to these reciprocal influences, but of course he does not forget 

 that the aim of his work is essentially to establish the connecting 

 links between scientific ideas. 



In short, the purpose of the history of science, as 7 understand 

 it, is to establish the genesis and the development of scientific 

 facts and ideas, taking into account all intellectual exchanges and 

 all influences brought into play by the very progress of civiliza- 

 tion. It is indeed a history of human civilization, considered from 

 its highest point of view. Ihe center of interest is the evolution 

 of science, but general history remains always in the background. 



It follows from this definition that the only rational way to sub- 

 divide this history is not at all to cut it up according to countries 

 or to sciences, but only according to time. For each period of time, 

 we have to consider at once the whole of its scientific and intellec- 

 tual development. 



Of course, to make this general synthesis possible, it will often 

 be expedient, even necessary, to write monographs or partial 

 syntheses of different kinds. For instance, the study of the archives 

 of a definite place leads naturally to the drawing up of an essay 

 on the history of science in that place. On the other hand, a spe- 

 cialized scientist will be tempted to look up the genealogy of an 

 idea in which he is particularly interested, or to write the biog- 

 raphy of a forerunner whose work and genius he can better ap- 

 preciate than anyone else. But all this research is necessarily 

 incomplete and does not acquire its proper significance so long 

 as it cannot be inserted properly into a history of the sciences of 

 the same age. It may be worth while to add that all monographs 

 are not equally useful; some are so clumsy and absurd that they 

 obscure, mislead and delay the next synthesis. 



To elaborate our historical work we have, of course, to use the 



