374 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. 



VII. 



whicli added to the precision of tlie senses and rendered abstract 

 demonstrations sensible. This immense labour was uninterrupted, 

 co-ordinated, controlled ; it had its origin in self-abnegation, it 

 was regulated by precision, and had time for its sanction. Thus 

 Was it fruitful. 



Such was the idea of Francis Bacon. To observe all things ; 

 by the rational comparison of these observations to disclose the 

 hidden connections of phenomena, and to- rise by induction tO' 

 the discovery of their real nature and their causes, all with the 

 view '' of extending the empire of maa, over entire nature, and of 

 executing everything possible for him to do;" such is the object 

 which he has pointed out to us; such is the function of science. 



This great exploration of the earth which he desired to insti- 

 tute, this patient and exact research of the laws of the universe,, 

 this deliberate intervention of science in the affairs of life and of 

 the universe, — could all this be the work of his own time? He 

 knew it too well to venture to hope it himself, and it is on this 

 account, doubtless, that he placed the fortunate country which 

 enjoyed so noble an institution in the solitude of the great ocean. 



Two centuries and a half ago the conception of Bacon was 

 regarded as a noble Utopia ; to day it is a reality. That magni- 

 ficent programme which he theu di'ew out, is ours, gentlemen ; 

 ours, not in the narrow sense of the word, for I extend this pro- 

 gramme to all who, in modern times and in all countries, give 

 themselves to the search for truth, to all workers in science,, 

 humble or great, obscure or famous, who form in reality, in all 

 parts of the globe and without distinction of nationality, that vast 

 associa,tion which was the dream of Francis Bacon. Yes, science 

 is now a neutral field, a commonwealth, placed in a serene region, 

 far above the political arena, inaccessible, I wish I could say, to 

 the strifes of parties and of peoples ; in a word, this property is 

 the patrimony of humanity. It is, too. the principal conquest 

 of this century, which my illustrious predecessor characterised, 

 with so much justice, as the century of science. 



Modern generations are spectators, indeed, of a magnificent 

 spectacle. For a century past the human mind has directed an 

 immense effort to the study of the phenomena and the laws of 

 the physical universe. Hence an astonishing development of all 

 the sciences founded on observation and experiment. New ideas 

 which have arisen in our days in the correlation and conservation 

 of forces have been like a revelation to some of these sciences, 



