EDITOR'S TABLE. 



701 



mere business, for the modern languages 

 have literatures as well as the ancient. 

 There exists a French literature which 

 comprises books of poetry, devotion, 

 philosophy, science, history, politics — a 

 literature not less but more extensive 

 and various than Greek and Roman lit- 

 eratures themselves. This literature in- 

 disputably excites the same sort of emo- 

 tions and exerts the same influence as 

 classical literature. It elevates the mind, 

 stimulates the imagination, and forms 

 the taste ; in short, there is absolutely 

 no good effect produced by the classical 

 literature which is not also in some de- 

 gree produced by this literature." 



THE COyTRADIUTlONS OF SCIENCE. 



Much ado is often made by persons 

 hostile to science or — which is the same 

 thing — having a partisan interest in 

 opinions which they wish to maintain 

 in spite of science, about the contradic- 

 tions that mark the development of 

 scientific theory. Because the theories 

 which served a good purpose a year 

 ago, or twenty-five years ago, or a 

 century ago, have been put aside in fa- 

 vor of others that more nearly meet the 

 facts as they are known to-day, science, 

 they argue, is not in the least to be de- 

 pended on ; and therefore objections 

 made in the name of science to any 

 opinion or set of opinions should not be 

 allowed to carry any weight. This is a 

 very popular line of argument, but it is 

 also very fallacious, as a moment's con- 

 sideration will show. In the investi- 

 gation of Nature the mind necessarily 

 forms theories as it goes along. Some 

 kind of a theory is almost necessary 

 even to observation ; and the theory 

 which, at the moment, best accounts 

 for the facts is the one toward which 

 the mind must incline. This is a law 

 which no one can hope to escape. The 

 most reasonable thing any man can do 

 is to accept from moment to moment 

 the soundest and most comprehensive 

 generalization offered to his thought. 



If that generalization should be incom- 

 plete, or in any way unsound, the quick- 

 est way to discover its weakness is to 

 put it to the strain of daily use. The 

 question to ask regarding Science — the 

 only really pertinent question — is as to 

 whether she has not, from the dawn of 

 rational thought, been extending her 

 observations and improving her theo- 

 ries. Is she not, has she not always 

 been, on the road to truth? Has she 

 not already established a great many 

 substantially true theories, and is she 

 not daily adding to the number? If 

 scientific men have been too confident 

 in times past as to the absolute truth 

 of their hypotheses, one good result at 

 least has followed from their over con- 

 fidence: their partial views have all 

 the sooner been displaced by more com- 

 prehensive ones. But because science 

 is progressive, because its work is never 

 done, is it never to venture to criticise 

 opinions that are not progressive ? We 

 say that the holder of even an imper- 

 fect scientific theory, provided it is the 

 best obtainable at the time, has a per- 

 fect right to say to one who holds a 

 view that embodies no scientific theory 

 whatever, but simply contradicts all 

 scientific theory, that he is wrong in 

 holding that view. Grant that the 

 view in question maybe in unsuspected 

 harmony with some higher truth or 

 principle not yet discovered, we may 

 still say that, in the absence of a present 

 justification in fact, it is not right to 

 hold it as true now. Better far to take 

 one's humble place in the great proces- 

 sion that is moving steadily onward 

 toward the goal of a true scientific phi- 

 losophy, and let the higher views dawn 

 on us in their own good time. 



It is a strange accusation to bring 

 against science that it is progressive, 

 that it provides means, from age to age, 

 of expressing all the truth that is at the 

 time obtainable, while reserving full 

 liberty to widen, as circumstances may 

 permit, the circle of its inductions, and 

 consequently the basis of its theories. 



