4 THE GRAMMAR OF SCIENCE 



long-established methods — characteristics which mark for 

 him a decadence of social unity, a collapse of the time- 

 honoured principles which he conceives to be the sole 

 possible guides of conduct. A second man with a different 

 temperament pictures for us a golden age in the near 

 future, when the new knowledge shall be diffused through 

 the people, and when those modern notions of human 

 relations, which he finds everywhere taking root, shall 

 finally have supplanted worn-out customs. 



One teacher propounds what is flatly contradicted by 

 a second. " We want more piety," cries one ; " We must 

 have less," retorts another. " State interference in the 

 hours of labour is absolutely needful," declares a third ; 

 " It will destroy all individual initiation and self-depend- 

 ence," rejoins a fourth. " The salvation of the country 

 depends upon the technical education of its workpeople," 

 is the shout of one party ; " Technical education is merely 

 a trick by which the employer of labour thrusts upon the 

 nation the expense of providing himself with better human 

 machines," is the prompt answer of its opponents. " We 

 need more private charity," say some ; " All private charity 

 is an anomaly, a waste of the nation's resources and a 

 pauperising of its members," reply others. " Endow 

 scientific research and we shall know the truth, when and 

 where is it possible to ascertain it"; but the counterblast 

 is at hand : " To endow research is merely to encourage 

 the research for endowment ; the true man of science will 

 not be held back by poverty, and if science is of use to 

 us, it will pay for itself" Such are but a few samples of 

 the conflict of opinion which we find raging around us. 

 The prick of conscience and the spur of highly wrought 

 sympathy have succeeded in arousing a wonderful restless- 

 ness in our generation — and this at a time when the 

 advance of positive knowledge has called in question 

 many old customs and old authorities. It is true that 

 there are but few remedies which have not a fair chance 

 to-day of being put upon their trial. Vast sums of money 

 are raised for every sort of charitable scheme, for popular 

 entertainment, for technical instruction, and even for 



