v.] EL U CATION AL VAL UE OF NATURAL HISTORY SCIENCES. 7 7 



not more than two or three steps in the Euglcna, is 

 as clearly manifested in the multitudinous stages through 

 which the germ of an oak or c€ a man passes. What- 

 ever forms the Living Being may take on, whether 

 simple or complex, production, growth, reproduction, 

 are the phenomena which distinguish it from that 

 which does not live. 



If this be true, it is clear that the student, in passing 

 from the physico-chemical to the physiological sciences, 

 enters upon a totally new order of facts ; and it will 

 next be for us to consider how far these new facts 

 involve new methods, or require a modification of those 

 with which he is already acquainted. Now a great 

 deal is said about the peculiarity of the scientific method 

 in general, and of the different methods which are 

 pursued in the different sciences. The Mathematics 

 are said to have one special method; Physics another, 

 Biology a third, and so forth. For my own part, I 

 must confess that I do not understand this phraseology. 



So far as I can arrive at any clear comprehension 

 of the matter, Science is not, as many would seem to 

 suppose, a modification of the black art, suited to the 

 tastes of the nineteenth century, and flourishing mainly 

 in consequence of the decay of the Inquisition. 



Science is, I believe, nothing but trained and orga- 

 nized common sense, differing from the latter only as 

 a veteran may differ from a raw recruit : and its methods 

 differ from those of common sense only so far as the 

 guardsman's cut and thrust differ from the manner 

 in which a savage wields his club. The primary power 

 is the same in each case, and perhaps the untutored 

 savage has the more brawny arm of the two. The 

 real advantage lies in the point and polish of the 

 swordsman's weapon ; in the trained eye quick to spy 

 out the weakness of the adversary ; in the ready hand 



