Manchester Me}noirs, Vol. Iv. (191 1), No, 19. 



XIX. The Development of the Atomic Theory : — (6) 

 The Reception accorded to the Theory advo- 

 cated by Dalton. 



By Andrew Norman Meldrum, D.Sc 



(Conwwmcated by Mr. R. L. Taylor, F.C.S., F.I.C.) 



Recei'c'ed ]\Iarch 22)uU igrr. Read April 4th, igri. 



" From the nature of the human mind, time is 

 necessary for the full comprehension and perfection of 

 great ideas." Thus the histor)' of an idea necessarily 

 includes the reception accorded to it on publication, and 

 the steps by which it came to be of influence in the world. 



Science, considered as an impersonal thing, advances 

 by assimilating new and sound ideas. Yet this process of 

 advancement, as the following paper shows, depends on 

 the temperaments of individual men. The consideration 

 of i)aramount importance in this respect is the fact that 

 these men, according to their outlook on matters of theory, 

 can be divided into two classes. There are (i) the men who 

 are alive to the immense value of theory in science, and 

 (2) the men who would confine science to a collection of 

 facts and laws, as if it were "based entirely upon experi- 

 ment or mathematical deductions from experiment." * 



At any given time, the direction in which a particular 

 branch of science advances is determined by a few 

 persons only. Consequently, the men who are inimical 



^ P. G. Tail, " Recent Advances in Physical Science," p. 10. 

 May 2gth, igii. 



