1G4 LAY SERMONS, ADDRESSES, AND REVIEWS. [viil 



walls ; and Philosophers gird themselves for battle 

 upon the last and greatest of all speculative problems — 

 Does human nature possess any free, volitional, or truly 

 anthropomorphic element, or is it only the cuuningest 

 of all Nature's clocks ? Some, among whom I count 

 myself, think that the battle will for ever remain a 

 drawn one, and that, for all practical purposes, this result 

 is as good as anthropomorphism winning the clay. 



The classification of the sciences, which, in the eyes 

 of M. Comte's adherents, constitutes his second great 

 claim to the dignity of a scientific philosopher, appears 

 to me to be open to just the same objections as the 

 law of the three states. It is inconsistent in itself, and 

 it is inconsistent with fact. Let us consider the main 

 points of this classification successively : — 



" II faut distinguer par rapport a tons les ordres des phenomenes, 

 deux genres de sciences naturelles ; les nnes abstraites, generales, ont 

 pour objet la decouverte des lois qui regissent les diverses classes de 

 phenomenes, en considerant tous les cas qu'on pout concevoir; les 

 autres concretes, particulieres, descriptives, et qu'on designe quelquefois 

 sous le nom des sciences naturelles proprement dites, consistent dans 

 l'application de ces lois a l'histoire effective des differents etres 

 existants." l 



The " abstract" sciences are subsequently said to be 

 mathematics, astronomy, physics, chemistry, physiology, 

 and social physics — the titles of the two latter being 

 subsequently changed to biology and sociology. M. 

 Comte exemplifies the distinction between his abstract 

 and his concrete sciences as follows : — 



" On pourra d'abord l'apercevoir tres-nettement en comparant, d'une 

 part, la physiologie generale, et d'une autre part la zoologie et la 

 botanique proprement dites. Ce sont evidemment, en effet, deux 

 travaux d'un caractere fort distinct, que d'etudier, en general, les lois 

 de la vie, ou de determiner le mode d'existence de chaque corps vivant, 

 en particulier. Cette secov.de etude, en outre, est necessairement fondet 

 sur la premiere." — P. 57. 



1 " Philosophie Positive," i. p. 56 



