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accessible as jjossible, and that men should be accustomed to distinguish 

 between science real and sound and science falsely so called. Societies 

 such as yours will do something if they only give currency to sound views on 

 scientific subjects — if they only lead men into healthy lines of thought ; 

 if they only help men to perceive that science, if it be science indeed, 

 must be, and cannot fail to be, a form of the knowledge of God. 



But, to take what may be regarded as a somewhat lower and yet 

 very important view of this subject, I think it may fairly be argued tliat 

 societies which mark upon their banner " literature and science " do so 

 far declare themselves as intended and intending to minister to the better 

 and more spiritual side of men's nature, that they may be rightly regarded 

 as allies of that other society in which I am more directly appointed to 

 bear office. This age in which we live is undoubtedly a very utilitarian 

 age. I do not assert — and I do not in reality believe — that it is worse 

 either in this respect or in many others than some of the ages which have 

 gone before ; but certainly there is much in the atmosphere of our times 

 to make us look very earnestly to the utilitarian side of almost every 

 subject, for unquestionably this our age is one of unprecedented command 

 of money, and command of mechanical power, and consequent connnand 

 of luxury. It can scarcely be called a simple age ; and though there has 

 been a large and very happy development of taste in many dejjartments, 

 still, upon the whole, there is also a very great tendency towards the wor- 

 ship of the material, and a temptation, in the way of literature, to mag- 

 nify the Timei newspaper as greater than Thucydides, and in the way of 

 science to lay special stress upon such things as iron shipbuildino-, and 

 steam hammers, and electric telegraphs. This being so, there is some- 

 thing comforting in the mere fact of the juxtaposition of tlie terms 

 literature and science in such a manner as to make it clear that both the 

 one and the other are intended to be taken in a higher sense — that litera- 

 ture is intended to embrace all the wisdom of the past which has been 

 embalmed and conserved in good books ; and that science is intended to 

 witness all kinds of knowledge which the human mind is able to acquire 

 by observation, or study, or discourse of reason, whether the same can 

 properly be regarded as technically useful or not. Thus it may be said 



