268 



POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



ence. This is the contribution of 

 Science to the theory of human life. 

 But because Science stops here she 

 does not lay any veto on thought, 

 desire, or hope. She lays a founda- 

 tion; it is for us to build thereon 

 " gold, silver, precious stones, wood, 

 hay, stubble," each of us according 

 to our own impulse and upon our 

 own responsibility. The fire of ex- 

 perience will " try every man's work 

 of what sort it is." But not only 

 may we build, we must build; no 

 one can live upon another man's phi- 

 losophy. We may adopt this creed 

 or that, but it means nothing to us 

 till we have worked it over in our 

 own mind and made it our own — 

 with modifications. 



There is nothing whatever in sci- 

 ence that conflicts with the ideal. 

 Strictly speaking, science brings us 

 to the threshold of the ideal, and 

 leaves us there. " These are the 

 facts of life," it says ; " such has 

 been the course of human history. 

 The human race has risen from 

 humble origins to its present com- 

 manding position in the world; and 

 to-day the standards of human con- 

 duct and the conditions of human 

 happiness are very different from 

 what they were in the distant past. 

 Social ties have multiplied and 

 strengthened. Domestic affections 

 have grown in depth and tenderness, 

 and individual happiness is now 

 bound up to a very large extent in 

 the happiness of other individuals. 

 The cruel superstitions of the past 

 have given way in many minds to a 

 reverent regard for a power which is 

 felt to rule in the universe. Of such 

 a power Science can not render any 

 exact account; but before all the 

 ultimate questions of existence Sci- 

 ence is dumb; nor can it attempt 

 to reconcile the antinomies which 

 assert themselves in all phenomena. 

 It is for you, the individual, enter- 

 ing upon life, to make your choice 

 of the course you shall hold and the 

 principles by which you shall be 



governed. The senses are the guides 

 to immediate pleasure, but the ex- 

 perience of the ages has settled with 

 considerable approach to certainty 

 the conditions on which enduring 

 happiness is to be won. 



" ' Choose well ; your choice is 

 Brief and yet endless.' " 



To the man who insists on being 

 knocked down with a club before he 

 will yield to persuasion there is noth- 

 ing in such a mode of address that 

 will be convincing. This is a case 

 in which, as Pascal says, " there is 

 enough light for those who desire to 

 see, and enough obscurity for those 

 who want a pretext for not seeing. 

 . . . Perfect clearness might help 

 the understanding, but it would in- 

 jure the will." There is, therefore, 

 room on the scientific foundation 

 for the idealism of Dr. Crozier, and 

 for many other forms of idealism. 

 It is for each one of us to construct 

 his own ideal, and, having con- 

 structed it, to live by it. " If any 

 man's work abide he shall receive a 

 reward." 



RACIAL GEOGRAPHY. 



The interesting papers contrib- 

 uted to this magazine by Prof. Wil- 

 liam Z. Ripley, which, we are glad 

 to say, Avill soon be published in a 

 more permanent form, indicate very 

 clearly the remarkable progress that 

 has been made of late years in the 

 scientific study of human origins. 

 Formerly legend and tradition were 

 the only sources of light upon pre- 

 historic times; and the sagacious 

 Thucydides dismissed all specula- 

 tion respecting those ages with the 

 curt remark that he did not think 

 the people who lived then amounted 

 to much, any way. No doubt he was 

 nearer right in this opinion than 

 were those who peopled antiquity 

 with demigods and heroes; still 

 there was much of interest to be 

 gleaned respecting the prehistoric 



