THE PROGRESS OF SCIENCE. 



iS- 



His work justified the abandonment 

 of certain narrow dogmas, which left 

 an exhilarating sense of emancipation. 

 There was more truly a Spencerian re- 

 ligion than any resulting from the 

 positivism of Comte. This was partic- 

 ularly the case in America, and The 

 Popular Science Monthly was largely 

 responsible. Spencer opened the first 

 volume in 1872, and contributed in 

 all ninety-one articles. The editorial 

 writings of E. L. and W. J. Youmans 

 were always enthusiastically loyal to 

 the Spencerian iloctrines and the 

 Spencerian religion. No greater ser- 

 vice could at the time have been per- 

 formed for the freedom of thought and 

 the progress of civilization. 



But the great representative of evo- 

 lution, though he may be interpreted 

 as regarding his own doctrines as final, 

 must surely have rejoiced in the fur- 

 ther progress of science and of thought. 

 His works on biologj- and on psychology 

 have been superseded. He clearly rep- 

 resented the conflicting tendencies of 

 his age. He devoted his life to what 

 is perhaps the last great system of 

 synthetic philosophy, when the induct- 

 ive sciences were becoming predomi- 

 nant. He was an ardent individualist, 

 while advocating a theory that subordi- 

 nates the individual to the world pat- 

 tern. He leaves the problems of 

 idealism and materialism face to face. 



It is not necessary to enter here into 

 details in regard to Spencer's life. 

 Very characteristically he has left his 

 autobiography stereotyped and ready 

 for the press. A sketch with his por- 

 trait will be found in the issue of this 

 magazine for March, 1876. We repro- 

 duce as a frontispiece, by the courtesy 

 of Messrs. D. Appleton and Company, 

 an engraving of a bust of Spencer at 

 the age of seventy- six, modeled by Mr. 

 Onslow Ford and presented to him by 

 his admirers. Spencer's life was at 

 once formal and heroic. Burdened by 

 ill-health and comparative poverty, he 

 would dictate to an amanuensis for 

 fifteen minutes at a time, resulting in 

 a productivity of some 300 words a 



day. Without family or intimate 

 friends, he led a lonely life. But he 

 ne\'er faltered in his devotion to his 

 plans and ideals. After eighty-three 

 years he is now dead ; but his work is 

 immortal, not only in the history of 

 thought, but also in 



The choir invisible 

 Whose music is the gladness of the 

 world. 



THE CONVOCATION WEEK MEET- 

 INGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 



Those readers of this journal who 

 are interested in the organization of 

 science will remember that American 

 scientific societies and institutions of 

 learning have set aside the week in 

 which the first day of January falls 

 as a time of convocation for scientific 

 meetings. Until last year the Ameri- 

 can Association for the Advancement 

 of Science and its affiliated societies 

 met in midsummer, while the American 

 Society of Naturalists and a number of 

 societies devoted to the biological sci- 

 ences met in the Christmas holidays. 

 Certain societies, such as the American 

 Chemical Society and the Geological 

 Society of America, held meetings at 

 both times. All these societies met 

 together last year at Washington dur- 

 ing convocation week, making the larg- 

 est and most influential gathering of 

 scientific men that this country has 

 witnessed. 



There will this year be a certain 

 amount of division. The American 

 Association and the Naturalists with 

 twenty affiliated societies will meet at 

 St. Louis. The Zoologists and four 

 other societies concerned with biology 

 will meet at Philadelphia, and the 

 Philosophical Association will meet at 

 Princeton. The Economists and Histor- 

 ians, who have not as yet become affili- 

 ated with the scientific societies, will 

 meet at New Orleans. It seems evident 

 that the American Association must 

 be a national organization and that 

 there should be societies for the differ- 

 ent sciences which are national in scope. 

 Owing to the great area of the country 



